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Does is matter how recent a job applicant’s teaching experience is?

In our newest “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks:

Does it matter how recent a job applicant’s teaching experience is? If I’ve just completed a year of adjuncting, can I pivot to more research-oriented positions (e.g., non-teaching postdoc, permanent research associateship)? Or will committees desire recent teaching experience, such that I should continue adjuncting with some regularity? If so, how much would be a good benchmark?

I’m not sure, but I suspect that (A) a longer, several-year gap might cause more problems than a short gap (at least for competitiveness for jobs at teaching-focused institutions), and (B) there’s also the issue of perceptions of the candidate’s trajectory/values (i.e., the candidate looking more aligned with research than teaching). But these are just off-the-cuff reactions.

What do readers think?

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3 responses to “Does is matter how recent a job applicant’s teaching experience is?”

  1. R2 search member

    I think it really depends on the type of institution. At my R2, we wanted people who had taught a few courses on their own before, and who had evidence of success in teaching. I don’t think it ever occurred to me to look at the dates the courses had been taught once I saw that a representative range of them were present, and I don’t think I would really have minded if the teaching had occurred a few years prior (although I can’t speak for other members of the committee on that). The important thing though is that we also wanted researchers who would be able to meet the research requirements of tenure in addition to being good teachers, and so if you’ve already done a representative amount of teaching, I don’t think adjuncting more is really going to help; researching more is.

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  2. Anonymous

    In my experience at three fancy R1s, everything trumps research ability. As in “it would be good if our hire has taught before”. That kind of sentiment. If we like your research best, and your teaching history lacks red flags, you’re in.

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  3. Anonymous

    For a teaching focused institution, I think that so long as you have fairly recent solo teaching experience, with good evaluations, you’re fine. In my experience, teaching schools focus on, in order: (A) there is solo teaching experience, (B) the outcomes of such teaching were positive, and, crucially (C) such experience comports with the kind of students/setting we have at our school. So long as there isn’t a 2-3+ year gap between your teaching and applying, I don’t think you should worry.

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