Designing Better Belonging: Creative Leadership for Supporting Adjunct Faculty

The ideas and language in this post belong to Matt Cogswell. They reflect work he did within some of his doctoral classes and operate as talking points for later development and collaboration. 

Designing Better Belonging: Creative Leadership for Supporting Adjunct Faculty

Contents

Project Outcomes                                                                                                                   

Playbill (Two-Sided Agenda)                                                                                                 

Facilitator Handbook                                                                                                              

References                                                                                                                              

Appendix A: Adjunct Testimonials                                                                                        

Appendix B: Facilitator Bio                                                                                                   

 

Designing Better Belonging: Creative Leadership for Supporting Adjunct Faculty

Project Outcomes

1. Foster Connection and Psychological Safety
   Create an environment where adjunct faculty, full-time faculty, and administrators feel comfortable engaging in playful, creative activities that build trust and mutual respect.
2. Enhance Awareness of the Adjunct Experience
   Deepen participants’ understanding of adjunct faculty perspectives through empathy-driven activities such as gallery walks and reflection.
3. Strengthen Collaborative Problem-Solving Skills
   Use improvisation and systems sketching to practice creative thinking and co-create solutions that address belonging and inclusion.
4. Visualize and Map Institutional Systems
   Identify structural dynamics affecting adjunct faculty by collaboratively sketching interconnected systems from multiple stakeholder viewpoints.
5. Generate Actionable Strategies for Belonging
   Co-design both immediate and long-term interventions, ranging from low-effort/high-impact to high-effort/high-impact, that strengthen institutional support for adjunct faculty.

 

🎭 Designing Better Belonging - Creative Leadership for Supporting Adjunct Faculty

  

 

Today’s Performance Aims to…

• Create the Stage for Connection – Warm up together, build trust, and invite every voice into the room.
• Shine the Spotlight on Stories – Explore the lived experiences of adjunct faculty through shared narratives and reflection.
• Improvise New Possibilities – Play, experiment, and discover fresh ways to collaborate and solve problems.
• See the Whole Production Company – Map out the systems that shape adjunct life and uncover how each role fits into the bigger picture.
• Compose the Next Scene – Co-create strategies for making adjunct faculty feel valued, supported, and connected.
• Take a Bow and Carry It Forward – Leave with new insights, tools, and ideas ready for action.

 

 

 
Company Warm-Up: Creating Our Rhythm                                                                   9:00 – 9:30 The Genius of Noticing
Gentle body and breath exercises to prepare mind and spirit for the day. A shared laugh or story to open the curtain on connection.

Act One: Improvising Together      

9:30 – 11:30 Theater Games for Insight
Whole-group, partner, and triad activities that explore listening, adaptability, and status. This is play with purpose.

11:30 – 12:00 Gallery Walk & Empathy Mapping
Engage with real adjunct stories, reflect, and respond to deepen understanding.

Intermission

12:00 – 12:30 Lunch    

 

Act Two: Seeing the Bigger Picture

12:30 – 2:30 Systems Sketch
Visual mapping of institutional systems from multiple perspectives, turning complexity into clarity.

  Break: 2:30 – 2:45

2:45 – 3:15 Second Gallery Walk - Fresh Eyes on Our Work

Observe and respond to the creative products from systems sketching.
 

Act Three: Writing the Next Scene

3:15 – 4:30 Designing Belonging with Adjuncts
Co-create practical strategies for immediate and long-term impact on belonging and support.

 

Company Bows: Curtain Call and Reflection

4:30 – 5:00 Debrief Wall
Share what you’ve learned, what you’ll carry forward, and the moments that mattered most.

 

Designing Better Belonging: Creative Leadership for Supporting Adjunct Faculty

Facilitator Handbook

This handbook was created by Matt Cogswell, the original facilitator of this particular studio experience. Drawn from his many years in theater and from being an adjunct faculty member, this guide incorporates work from his doctorate program as well to create a one-day workshop to illuminate the experiences of adjunct faculty.

This guidebook is for the day’s facilitator, that brave soul with similar experience working in both the performance and education field who wants to change the career trajectory for an often overlooked population – the lonely adjunct begging for a better seat at the table (or a new table!). This is a “guide.” It is offered as a template, and you are encouraged to put your own creative spin on the elements of the day.

This guide will sometimes call the participants ‘actors.’

Setting the Scene in Advance of the Studio Experience

Who

This experience is most beneficial when it includes a blend of adjunct faculty, full-time faculty, and administrative leaders. If you are proposing this professional development day or are being asked to lead this, communicate the need for this diversity. Having all adjunct faculty or all full-time faculty, especially without an administrator, defeats the purpose of shared narrative. Having representatives in key demographics is essential for effective design.

Where

This experience requires a lot of open playing space and open wall space where items can be situated for relaxed observation and interaction with the items. Have enough chairs for the participants and you, but please, do not set this up to reflect a standard classroom. How depressing.

What

Have the following items ready for use:

Post-its. Several Post-its. An unhealthy amount of Post-its. Different color sticky notes are key to a couple steps.

Pens. Colored pencils. Thin markers.

Six presentation easels (if taping paper to a wall is not possible)

Tape (see above) or Magnets for magnetized walls/whiteboards

Presentation paper (flip-charts)

Posterboard (at least 9-12 – they’re used a few times and it’s likely you’ll have three groups and different final prompts to collect – explained further later in document)

Small, moveable tables (for writing support)

An Important What: Adjunct Testimonials

The original facilitator of this experience, Matt Cogswell, has collected some qualitative data that speaks to the experiences of adjunct faculty. This may be used for the Gallery Walk and Empathy Mapping activity. However, if you ask adjunct faculty for their testimonials in advance, those provided as printed documents (confidential) in the art gallery would be particularly meaningful to those participants. This requires the most significant and perhaps labor-intensive element of the prep work for this studio experience. It must be completed in advance of the studio experience.

How, When, and Why

The rest of this guide.

House Open (or letting in your participants)

Have light music without words playing in the space. If the room is set up to allow projection, find a moving scenery compilation. I recommend this link:

3 Hours of Amazing Nature Scenery & Relaxing Music for Stress Relief. (Cat Trumpet)

Keep the music and the projection playing until the first session begins. Meet your participants and give them a copy of the playbill (two-sided agenda), but don’t get into talking about any of it yet. In fact, don’t even address it.

When all have arrived, hopefully on time, begin the first session inspired by Berger and Coughlin (2023). This is one of your big moments! Don’t worry; it will become less and less about you as the day continues.

Note: For each section or activity, introduce the totality of that activity in advance. The guidebook is offered for you to get a clear picture of the activities for smooth work among all people. While I offer suggestions and descriptions, please make it your own!

Company Warm-Up: Creating Our Rhythm                             

 9:00 – 9:30 The Genius of Noticing
Gentle body and breath exercises to prepare mind and spirit for the day. A shared laugh or story to open the curtain on connection.

Introduce yourself and share your enthusiasm for why you are there facilitating this studio experience. Set the scene by saying we will all be working together in various groupings throughout the day and will also have time to sit and think. Reinforce the fun of this opportunity and calm anxieties people may have about being “creative.”

Introduce early that you will ask volunteers for a quick joke or funny story later on in the warm-up.

Initiate getting into our bodies. Suggest participants remove their shoes (assuming safe to do so). Do that yourself! Have participants put away anything in their pockets, including those intrusive phones. Situate participants so they and you are in a circle or semi-circle, with no one in “the lead.”

Demonstrate some light physical stretching.

Talking points:

The goal is not perfect form or even stretching in the way someone else does.

Reinforce the goal of tuning into your body. Stretch what feels like it needs stretching.

Demonstrate a body shakeout (kick out right leg five times, kick out left leg five times [sing out “to the left, to the left” from Beyonce or “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift), raised knees, hip to the left and to the right; you get it – elbows, arms, fingers. But stop before the head – it’s dangerous to shake that!

To ease into breathwork, start by demonstrating clowning faces – move those lips, scrunch the forehead, make eyes large and then tiny. The sillier you are, the freer they become to be silly.           

Demonstrate simple breathing in through nose and expanding the diaphragm and breathing out by letting go of the diaphragm. Encourage them to close their eyes and continue the breathing. As they breathe, share a joke or brief funny story with them (if you’re good at this and have one). Ask if there are any volunteers (because you primed them earlier, right?). Share that space.  

Note on Timing: While timing is everything in comedy and theater, these are offered as suggested timeframes. Read the room and adjust as necessary. Reinforce that participants can come and go as needed. Allow breathing time between activities.

 

Act One: Improvising Together      

 

9:30 – 11:30 Theater Games for Insight
Whole-group, partner, and triad activities that explore listening, adaptability, and status - play with purpose.

 

Pick and choose from these categories and adjust as needed based upon engagement. Prioritize activities with asterisks, as they are most aligned with the purpose of the studio experience. Follow order of whole group, partner work, triad – flexibility within groupings. Encourage participation but ensure psychological safety. These activities are likely to exceed a two-hour time frame. Make choices along the way based on group dynamics.

 

Whole Group

·       A to Z

Gather participants in a circle, facing each other for directions. Explain the rules of the game. As a group, you will name the letters of the alphabet in order, but you cannot do this in order of the circle. You will turn away from each other. Listen to the room. One person (not chosen) will start with A and move toward Z. If/likely when two individuals attempt the same letter, the game starts again. Reinforce not establishing a pattern. It defeats the purpose of the activity, which is to sense the energy of the group and get on the same page. Allow this to continue until the goal is met.

·       Name and Gesture Game

Facing each other. The first volunteer says their name and pairs it with a gesture (exaggerated thumbs up, clap round, body melt shake) of their own choosing. The person next to them (decide direction in advance) mimics the person before them only and then offers their own combination (name, gesture). The third person mimics the second, and so on. When everyone has offered a name and gesture, see who wants to try mimicking the entire group! This should be fun and silly, mimicking, but not mocking.

·       Yes, Let’s!

Group Movement in Open Space. Participants begin to move about the space, with no clear direction or purpose. Facilitator explains that someone will shout out a suggestion (“Let’s run in place) and the group responds, “Yes, let’s” and then performs the action. If two or more suggest something at the same time, combine the ideas! Again, fun and silly.  

·       Cross the Circle *

Group Movement in Defined Space. Start with participants on the periphery of the circle. The first volunteer will propose “Have you ever… (sung Karaoke).” Whoever has will move from one side of the circle to the other. A second person will offer a “Have you ever,” and participants will cross the circle if they have, ending in a different spot. Continue with volunteers/gentle guiding if needed, for a good amount of time, if they are into it. The takeaway is to nearly silently recognize similarities.

·       Pass the Sound & Movement/Sound Ball

Individual movement with “partner.” Demonstrate a “sound ball,” an imaginary ball that is thrown to a partner across the way. The partner is established through eye contact and reading receptive body language. (In other words, don’t just throw the ball at someone. That could hurt.) As the first person throws the ball, weight of the ball is expressed in the physicality of the ‘actor’ and the sound made when throwing the ball. The partner receives the ball as sent (if heavy, received heavy) but then changes the weight-size-shape-movement of the ball with a new throw and sound.

·       Status Walk *

Group movement in large space. Led by non-participating facilitator to ensure safety. Facilitator calls out specific movements for participants to demonstrate. (cont.)

 

Ideas:

Walk as if you are the most important person in the room

Make yourself as wide as possible (while walking for all)

… small as possible

As if you’re heading to an interview, etc

This is probably a good time for a brief, unscheduled break.

After the short break, introduce that we will be doing partner work and most participants (assuming a decently sized group) will get to sit and watch at various times. Ask for volunteers for the first attempt at first activity. If you have noticed particular energy between participants, suggest they collaborate. The purpose of partner work is to get participants to feed off others’ energy and to witness that energy.  

Partner Work

·       Shadowing *

This is the classic partner connection theater exercise. While normally done in multiple pairs simultaneously, for the objectives of this studio experience (visualizing individual systems, strengthening collaboration, in particular), this is best done as individual showcases.

Two people are placed comfortably apart but still connected to one another, front to front. To start, choose one person (or have them decide – that could be revealing!) to be the partner leader. The leader will create “movement.” It can be creating a pattern with arms, leaning in or away in a particular direction, moving the head in a particular direction, and so on. The partner will follow the lead of the other person, imitating their movement. Allow this for a good 30 seconds if it is going well. Announce a switch of roles (the other person becomes the leader). Assess interest and enjoyment. Switch to a new pairing before it gets stale. Start a few pairings without announcing who’s the leader. Encourage them to switch leadership at random times without announcing it. (Another revealing moment!)

 

[Recommend new partner pairings for the next activity. Offer it is a voluntary experience. Ensure psychological safety.]

 

·       Expert Interview *

Pull two chairs to use for this activity. One person will be the interviewer and one the interviewee. For extra fun and discomfort, place the interviewer away from the sightline of the interviewee, but allow access to the audience (Symbolic – what we don’t know about the other.) In the expert interview, questions are asked about a particular random topic that would likely never be discussed in an interview. The interviewee needs to respond to questions about the topic as if they are the expert in that topic. The interviewer needs to help out the interviewee if they get stuck by asking relevant questions, so it is very much a collaborative process (as interviews should be!).

Sample expert interview topics (Source: ChatGPT, 8.17.2025)

• The Leading Authority on Why Socks Disappear in the Dryer
• A Specialist in Perfectly Buttering Toast Without Tearing It
• Renowned Consultant for Naming Houseplants
• Expert in Accidental Nap Scheduling
• Distinguished Scholar of Awkward Elevator Conversations
• Professor of Dramatic Sighing
• World’s Foremost Interpreter of Cat Side-Eye
• Senior Analyst of Snack-to-Meal Conversions
• Chief Strategist for Surviving Group Texts
• Internationally Recognized Specialist in Untangling Christmas Lights
• The Leading Voice on Why Pens Only Run Out of Ink Mid-Signature
• PhD in Decoding Grocery Store Self-Checkout Machines
• Expert in Losing Sunglasses Already on Your Head
• Veteran Negotiator of Who Gets the Middle Seat
• Official Historian of the Dance Move Known as “The Sprinkler”

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

 

Triad Work

·       Park Bench *

This activity starts with two people but gradually involves others, but a maximum of three people ‘appear’ at any one time. Place two chairs close together, facing an audience. Explain to participants that they are to decide for themselves “who they are” (encourage playing a character who is like or not like them) but to not share it with anyone. That gets revealed in the moments on the park bench. This is a speaking activity, as appropriate – silence and body language can be just as revealing.

 

[Maybe two painfully shy people find themselves on the park bench. Maybe two alpha males/alpha females/alpha non-binary find themselves on the same bench.]

 

Let these first two actors (participants) figure out how this scene unfolds, including if both are sitting at the beginning. Encourage truthful responses to whatever is offered (Yes, And: This improvisation foundation means actors respond to whatever is offered as the scenario and plays within that set-up.). It is not the intention for this to be intentionally funny, but it probably will be.

 

Have a third “in the wings” ready to go. The third will watch the scene unfold and find a way to get into the scene and get one of the other characters to leave the park bench. [If the threesome is working, don’t push it, but the goal of the third is to get alone on the bench with one of the first characters (participants).]

 

This pattern continues with a fourth, fifth, and so on character. There is no need to determine which character gets to leave. In fact, it could be fun if someone is stuck on the park bench for multiple rounds.

 

·       Hitchhiker *

This is the same basic premise as Park Bench. It taps into a way to think about status in relationships.

Four chairs will be placed facing an audience, two per row to resemble a car. Two people are the driver and primary passenger. Again, do not assign characters to any actors. (Leadership involves taking risks!) See what develops from the start. Let the first two develop a dialogue. A third will be waiting in the wings again (although this activity does not involve more than three people per situation). The third, the hitchhiker, will get the attention of the driving couple, who agree to pick up the hitchhiker. The hitchhiker must bring in a different energy or complication as they enter the backseat. Matching their energy defeats the purpose of the activity. Continue the scene and watch how the primary players adjust and adapt to the new energy. The hitchhiker needs to determine a way to leave the scene, which will end the scene.

Change actors (or change character positions as much as possible) and continue hitchhiker scenes.

·       Storytelling/Mime

This triad activity involves one speaker and two non-speaking “mimes.” The speaker makes up a story (or tells a true story!) that involves two people. The mimes listen to the details the storyteller is revealing and physically and wordlessly act out the actions being described, each playing one of the characters. It is okay for the storyteller to change direction with the story. This fun activity is all about listening and adjusting. Again, actors should not discuss what they are about to do, but trust in their partners.

Repeat, if desired.  

Optional Transitional Idea: Ask for feedback on what it was like to not know all the details and to depend on one another to support them.

11:30 – 12:00 Gallery Walk & Empathy Mapping
Engage with real adjunct stories, reflect, and respond to deepen understanding.

This is the Important What section. The designer has provided sample adjunct testimonials from his own research. Any additional data from the participants should be printed out – as visually accessible as possible without being unnecessarily obnoxious. These can be placed on presentation easels or taped on walls/whiteboards. Disperse artifacts in a gallery style as much as possible, allowing each to be treated individually. It is ideal if this can be done in a different location near the primary space.

This is a silent activity. Have Post-its and pens available to record observations and reactions to place on and near the stories. Pace the Gallery Walk so participants start at different “art works,” leaving their comments, and return to see just the Post-its on the second round (and can add additional Post-its of a different color.)

Intermission

12:00 – 12:30 Lunch    

 

Act Two: Seeing the Bigger Picture

12:30 – 2:30 – Systems Sketch
Visual mapping of institutional systems from multiple perspectives, turning complexity into clarity.

Overview:

For the purpose of this studio experience, people in similar positions (adjuncts, full-time, administrators) should be put in the same group. [Later we will incorporate a method for seeing each others’ perspectives.]

A systems sketch (or map) is the product of systems mapping. Systems mapping is a visual method for showing how different elements of a system are connected to and affect one another. It is meant to helps us all see the bigger picture – not just the perspectives we already bring into our jobs, for the purpose of this activity. The goal is not to create a perfect map or sketch. It is using the physical activity (sketch) to help participants understand relationships and patterns within that system.

As an example, a systems map could outline the different demands on a faculty member, from course preparation to lesson planning to on-site teaching and interacting to grading, and so on.  The systems map could highlight the amount of time these tasks take, as an example. As another map example, you could examine how communication flows in an institution (faculty to students, administration to faculty, etc.)

The specific purpose of this systems sketch is for all parties to see the entire system, including where adjuncts are positioned within the greater system. This begins with exploring what we already know from our perspectives.

Specific Steps in Process:

Step 1: The facilitator should verbalize the above information or read it verbatim. Emphasize that we’re making the systems map to see how different people, processes, and resources interact within this institution. The goal is to not create a perfect diagram, but to sketch out our individual views of this scenario.

Step 2: Within each group, provide a specific focus question relevant to them. Give them a few minutes just to talk and let them know you will return with more specifics on sketching.

Note: while the overall objective of the studio is to support adjunct faculty, for true systematic change, all players’ voices must be incorporated. The following examples are provided to position all parties on the same field.

Adjuncts: What is it like to work as an adjunct at our institution? What challenges do you face? What would you like higher education administrators to know about being an adjunct?

Full-time Faculty: What is it like to work as a full-time faculty member at our institution? What challenges do you face? What would you like higher education administrators to know about being a full-time faculty member?

Administrators: What is it like to be an administrator at our institution? What challenges do you face? What would you like your faculty members to know about being an administrator?

Steps 3 and 4: When you return to each group, provide pens and sticky notes (e.g., Post-its) and a single posterboard sheet. Ask what some of the topics they’ve mentioned so far have been (e.g., faculty scheduling). Demonstrate how to turn them into idea themes (faculty scheduling) and put those themes onto individual sticky notes. Steps 3 and 4 will blend and grow from each other. Tell them they are to map these connections on their posterboard. Encourage them to cluster similar ideas. Advise them to not go into this sketching with any preconceived ideas of what it “should look like.” Have them consider it a visual means for capturing their thoughts. If ideas influence one another, have them note arrows between the ideas. Again, this is not about creating a perfect map in the given time. It is to visually demonstrate the ideas that came to mind for them.

Step 5: Monitor groups, but let them work. If necessary (interest/work seems to have decreased), intervene by asking them to look for patterns in their sticky notes. This can also be done as an entire group interruption when deemed necessary (perhaps closer to end of dedicated time).

Prompts: Are there connections being ignored? What is missing from this map? How are these elements connected? Is there anything surprising? Are there small changes that can me made? How might be explore some of these ideas outside of this workshop?

Step 6: Collect their posterboards.

Break: 2:30 – 2:45 (Facilitator sets up Gallery Walk. Indicate which group created which product. Ensure different colored sticky notes and pens are available.)

 

2:45 – 3:15 Second Gallery Walk - Fresh Eyes on Our Work

Observe and respond to the creative products from systems sketching.

Reinforce routine from earlier gallery walk. Participants should read all the products (including their own). This time, though, people will place reaction Post-its outside the original product to separate original thoughts from reactions. Different colored Post-its would be helpful as well.

This is a silent activity, but comments are likely to be verbalized.

Act Three: Writing the Next Scene

3:15 – 4:30 Designing Belonging with Adjuncts
Co-create practical strategies for immediate and long-term impact on belonging and support.

 

This should be done as a whole group activity in the same space as the gallery walk. This means the facilitator may need to bring chairs into that space. Small tables (writing background) should also be available.

The purpose of this activity is to brainwrite [instead of brainstorming verbally, writing out ideas] small-scale and large scale interventions.  Use of another posterboard is probably the most practical way to collect this information.

Theme: Ideas for supporting our adjunct faculty, honoring their experience, helping them feel connected to the institution

Key questions:

·       What low-effort, high impact measures can be implemented immediately?

·       What high-effort, higher impact measures can we begin working toward?

Company Bows: Curtain Call and Reflection

 

4:30 – 5:00 Debrief Wall
Share what you’ve learned, what you’ll carry forward, and the moments that mattered most.

 

It is best to do this in the same room where the theater games and other elements were conducted, if you were able to secure a second room for the studio experience.

Let participants begin to leave when they have contributed their responses. Encourage people to take the various products with them.

[Note to facilitator: It is this creator’s belief that the physical products are important artifacts and those motivated to collect that data will do so. However, it is not worth the extra work for the facilitator to provide summaries. The Debrief Wall is useful for the facilitator, but not as useful for the participants.]

By now, participants are quite familiar with this process. Allow at least one posterboard/presentation flip-chart – whatever feels right or underused – per question below.

Prompts:

·       What do you know about this situation that you didn’t know before?

·       What about today can you take with you as you return to work?

·       What was your favorite part of the day?

 

 

References

Berger, J.G., & Coughlin, C. (2023). Unleash your complexity genius: Growing your inner capacity to lead. Standford University Press.

Greenberg, S.S. (2021). Creative acts for curious people: How to think, create, and lead in unconventional ways. Ten Speed Press.

Hodgson, A. (2020). Systems thinking for a turbulent world: A search for new perspectives. Routledge.

Michalko, M. (2006). Thinkertoys: A handbook of creative-thinking techniques, 2nd Ed. Ten Speed Press.

OpenAI. (2025, August 2, August 3, August 12, August 13, August 17). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/

Scharmer, C.O. (2018). The essentials of theory u: Core principles and applications. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

 

 

Appendix A: First Gallery Walk (Collected Adjunct Testimonials)

Adjunct 1

What was your experience as an adjunct like?

There were good and bad aspects to it. As someone hired to teach freshman writing and introductory speech classes, I certainly enjoyed the freedom to connect with some motivated students and develop courses with readings, discussions, and assignments that would challenge them and help them grow intellectually. And I appreciated the flexible schedule--outside of a few scheduled hours each week when you have to be in a classroom, you are free to do all your prep and grading at whatever times you want. But it can also be an alienating career because the university would always treat me like a temporary employee and I would have very few interactions with anyone besides my students, and no opportunity to move into a more stable position or to broaden my course assignments.

What challenges did you face?

When I began teaching, I did not have much guidance and had to learn what could work in a college classroom mostly through trial and error. My initial ideas about what readings to assign, for example, did not work well, and it took me 2-3 semesters to find my footing and figure out what young people were interested in reading and talking about.

After that phase, I would say the biggest challenge I faced was dealing with academic dishonesty--students who tried to pass my classes by plagiarizing their essays. I realized early on that every one of my classes would include some number of students who had no intention of ever reading anything that was assigned or doing any of their own writing, and would simply look for ways to copy essays from websites or fellow students. I have always hated the feeling of being lied to, and I came to dread grading finals essays each semester because I know there would be at least 4-5 students I would have to "bust" for cheating and back up my zero grade with full documentation of their lack of integrity. Around the time of the pandemic when some classes moved online, that number went way up, and then of course after ChatGPT came out, cheating became rampant because it was now so convenient. During my last two years of teaching, the majority of time was spent adjudicating and enforcing my policies against submitting AI-generated text and acting like they wrote it. Students had even begun using AI to generate speeches that they would get up and read without understanding. My last semester, I realized that even many of my "good" students, the ones who participated heavily in class discussions and had engaging conversations with me after class, were using AI and lying about it. At the same time, whenever I would attend a workshop or meeting on campus that I could manage to get myself included in, I would hear from most other professors on campus that they saw nothing wrong with students using AI to avoid actually reading or writing anything, and were encouraging them to do so. I reached a point where I felt that, in just a few years, this technology had broken social compacts that make teaching liberal arts in a formal setting a worthwhile activity, because true education begins with honesty. So I have stopped.

What would you want higher education administration to know about the adjunct experience? 

Well, I would just question the use of adjuncts at all except for situations in which the need for a certain teacher is truly temporary. If a professor goes on leave or quits suddenly and you need someone to fill in, fine--a temporary contract is needed. Or perhaps you want someone from a professional field to come in once in a while to teach a specific class. But that is not what is happening. What is happening is that universities have come to rely on adjunct instructors whose services are actually needed on a permanent basis. They want and need them keep coming back and teaching them every semester, but they maintain a legal fiction that they are temporary contractors so that they can pay them less and never offer any benefits. It's purely exploitative, of not only the adjuncts but also their students--the serious ones--who arrive on campus having no idea that many of their classes will be taught by people who have such weak ties to the institution they are paying so much tuition to.

Adjunct 2

What was your work experience as an adjunct (not full-time employee) like? 

About 25 years ago, I taught the research methods sequence (2 semesters) for MSW students at a School of Social Work (SSW) in New York City. At the time, I was a PhD student at a different SSW, & a full-time employee at a grant-funded think tank. 

What challenges did you face? 

The biggest single challenge to anyone teaching research methods to MSW students is to engage their interest in the subject matter. It's a required sequence for the degree, & most students take it only to meet the requirement. It's rare for their post-graduation plans to include developing & implementing research studies or keeping up with research literature to increase their knowledge & skill as practitioners.  

In addition to teaching in the classroom, I invested many hours in grading student work, & meeting with students 1-on-1 to support them in fulfilling course requirements. For the most part, I enjoyed teaching & mentoring and, since I had a full-time job elsewhere, the absurdly low pay was merely disappointing & insulting, not disastrous.

For most of my students, meeting the course requirements was a struggle, but my students persevered, & so did I. Perhaps 25% of my students even developed skills &/or a solid appreciation of research processes & products. Sadly, I had no alternative but to give 1 of my students a failing grade. She had attended class regularly, & I had worked extensively w/her 1-on-1, but she didn't succeed in mastering even the most basic concepts.

One of my most gratifying moments during my year of adjuncting was my encounter with a student who had been my boss at my first post-master's job, several years earlier, at a community-based family services agency. My job was to supervise 4 case workers & 1 peer counselor in an intensive, Medicaid-funded program of case management for HIV-affected households. Unfortunately, the social worker who had hired me for this position left the agency on short notice, just a few months after I started work. Her replacement didn't come on board until at least 2 months later. The background of my new boss was in public health, not social work. Far from demonstrating interest in & respect for me & my staff, she was rigid & loaded with biases (against obesity & against Jews, among others). We didn't work well together, & she was relieved to see me go once I'd completed a year of employment. Imagine my surprise to encounter her several years later in a lounge at the SSW where I was an adjunct. She was a 1st-year master's student! She remembered me, greeted me as if we were old pals and, on learning that I was an instructor, adopted an extremely deferential manner. What a turnaround!

What would you want higher education administration to know about the adjunct experience?

I wish I had the same supports available to regular faculty - at minimum, an assigned workspace & phone line, assistance from administrative support staff (i.e., w/copying & other clerical tasks), & access to the full array of library resources.

I never received an orientation. I was never introduced to regular faculty, never invited to their meetings, never included in chains of correspondence. It was painfully obvious that my students were the only people connected w/the school who thought of me as faculty. My sole faculty contacts were the research director who had hired me, & a faculty member who was a doctoral classmate of mine. More contact w/more of the faculty (i.e., to discuss strategies for managing workload & students' issues, &/or to team up on projects of shared interest) would've been helpful, & deeply appreciated.

During my year as an adjunct, I was still a PhD student (ABD). When my graduation was imminent, I started applying for research-related faculty positions at social work schools in the NY/NJ/CT region. I got only a couple of nibbles, 1 interview, & no offers. Along the way I learned not only that my certification as a field instructor & my experience as an adjunct didn't count, but also that I wouldn't be hired to teach research methods (my specialty & principal area of experience) unless I also could teach casework-oriented courses considered more central to the curriculum. In their view, my social work education & work experience had not prepared me to teach those courses. They didn't agree w/me that I could prepare myself to teach almost any master's level course.

It's possible that my academic job search would've been more successful had I applied for jobs farther from home, jobs for which I'd have had to relocate. The handful of SSW's in the US that have strong research programs are mostly at large universities w/strong schools of public health, & most are far from the tristate area.

 

What colleagues later told me, informally, was that if one's ambition was to join a faculty, adjunct experience was a handicap rather than an asset. Once an individual was known to the administration as an adjunct, schools preferred to keep the person in that role. Achievements that were (& are) more likely to strengthen an application for a junior faculty job were (a) success in competition for grant awards, & (b) lots of scholarly publications & presentations.

 

 

 

Appendix B: Facilitator Bio

Matt Cogswell is a performer, educator, and producer with over 25 years of teaching experience, including more than 16 years in higher education and 2 years in higher education administration. Currently pursuing an EdD in Educational Leadership and Management at Drexel University, with a concentration in Creativity and Innovation, he is engaging in research on identity and creative practice.

Matt’s professional background spans facilitating courses in college writing, public speaking, acting, playwriting, and college survival skills, with 169 sections led across multiple institutions. He has also served in student services leadership and contributed to curriculum development in theater.

A skilled communicator with expertise in public speaking, performance direction, and collaborative design, Matt brings a unique blend of artistry and educational leadership to his work. His creative portfolio includes directing original and published works for the stage, serving in production, stage, and house management roles, as well as acting in film and a diverse list of productions in community theater. Matt is committed to fostering belonging, inspiring creativity, and supporting transformative learning environments. Matt is a founding member of The Forge Theater Lab and Due Credit Productions.

For more information, visit the following link: Matt Cogswell | directing.