Most Important Skills for Faculty at Chandler Gilbert Community College
Robert, a faculty member at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, emphasizes that effective time management is crucial due to the independent nature of the role, stating that "when there's a lot of freedom, there's a lot of personal accountability." Equally important are strong interpersonal skills, necessary for navigating the diverse needs of "a hundred different students" and conveying accountability "in a way that's motivating, but not mean."
Time Management, Interpersonal Skills, Empathy, Communication, Accountability
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Robert Soza
Faculty
Chandler Gilberty Community College
Arizona State University
UC Berkeley, Dept. of Ethnic Studies, PhD
Humanities, English, Writing & Education
Education
Education
HSI Grad, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Time management is crucial for success due to the autonomy of the role. The ability to self-manage workload and meet deadlines is essential for effective teaching and timely feedback.
2. Excellent interpersonal skills are vital for handling diverse student personalities, needs, and maturity levels. The ability to provide constructive feedback and maintain positive relationships is key.
3. Empathy and motivational communication are important to convey accountability to students in a supportive manner, even when addressing performance issues.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
This builds off the previous question. I do have a lot of freedom, but I think one of the most important things is time management. Because I have so much freedom, if I don't want to grade on a given day, I don't have to.
The supervisory structure in higher education is pretty loose. No one asks about my daily KPIs or performance indexes. Whether I do the work or not is entirely up to me.
But to be a good teacher, if a student hands something in on a Wednesday, I need to get it back to them no later than Monday. They need to see the work and the comments to incorporate the feedback for the next week or assignment cycle. So, time management is crucial because a lot of freedom means a lot of personal accountability.
The second important thing is people skills. In the five classes I teach, I have a hundred different students, each with unique personalities, needs, maturity levels, and life stories. So, being nimble and empathetic interpersonally is really important.
It's also about conveying accountability to students in a way that isn't harsh or mean. My students are young, and at some point, I have to tell them, "Hey John," or "Hey Jane, you're screwing up. You're going to fail." Figuring out how to convey that in a motivating, but not mean, way is key.
Again, those interpersonal skills are really important. It's the same with my professional colleagues; they are a diverse group. So, I think those are the two most important things I can think of: time management and good interpersonal skills.
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