A reader writes in by email:
I am currently adjuncting at a number of institutions (I've attached my CV). Most of the teaching I am doing is online. I wanted to ask how a hiring committee may view online teaching experience as opposed to in person teaching experience. Do you think one is–generally–better than the other? Or does it just depend upon the expectations associated with the position in question?
Good questions, and I'm curious to hear readers' answers. My sense is that while online teaching experience is definitely advantageous, hiring committees for tenure-track jobs are probably likely to weight in-person teaching experience more heavily. This is for a couple of reasons. First, COVID pandemic aside, in-person teaching is likely to be your primary mode of instruction if you're hired into a TT job. Second, in-person teaching requires distinct skills, such as being able to manage a classroom, answer questions and guide discussion on the fly, and so on. My sense is that those hiring for TT jobs are likely to care about these skills.
But these are just my reactions, and maybe they're wrong. What do you all think?
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