GTA Training 2013 Teaching and Supporting Learning Anna Goatman Senior Lecturer in Marketing and former GTA

Why am I here? To share my experiences of seminar teaching To give you some hints and tips To give you confidence To bridge the gap between the lecturer perspective and the GTA perspective To improve the seminar experience for students and GTAs

My experience Started teaching seminars in 2004 –Taught throughout my PhD –Taught on around 5 different courses (levels 1, 2, 3 and PGT) Offered a full-time academic job on the basis of my seminar teaching in 2008 Still teach seminars now (some on the same course I started teaching on in 2004) Promoted from Lecturer to Senior Lecturer in 2013

What are you hoping to achieve by being here?

Why are the students here? What are they trying to achieve?

What are seminars for?

What makes a good seminar? What do you think students like about seminars? What do you think students dislike about seminars?

Before the first seminar Talk to the course leader about what they expect you to deliver If you are part of a GTA team for course, have a team meeting at the beginning of the semester Read the full course outline Request access to Blackboard Possibly attend the lecture(s) Possibly sit in on somebody else's seminar

Get the right atmosphere Body language What you wear Room layout

A bit about me

Find out a bit about them Establish the ground rules Discuss in advance how the course co-ordinator wants you to deal with unprepared students.

What are you going to do with - Students who are late? Students who are rude? Students whose phones go off? Students who don’t participate? Students who won’t participate?

Tactics for getting them talking Highlight that the seminar is a forum for discussion –Explain that it’s OK to be wrong, but not to be silent Have a brief starter activity (5 minutes) to get everyone involved Divide the seminar into smaller groups to discuss different questions.

Encourage debate Think about different ways of asking the same question Break questions down into smaller parts Encourage the students to ask questions Of you Of each other Play devil’s advocate Have a vote

Dealing with dominant students Formalise group feedback Ask questions to specific individuals –Pull names out of a hat –Pick at random from the register Ensure that different students present each week

Tactics for getting them working Make the feedback process formal –Flip charts –Visualiser –White boards –Mini PowerPoint presentations Move around the room Introduce some controlled competition Offer small prizes –Sweets/ chocolates usually do the trick

Avoid: Giving a mini lecture Filling in all of the silences yourself Just repeating what they’ve done in the lecture

The feedback loop Keep the channels of communication open –with the course co-ordinator Raise any problems Offer feedback on how things are going Make suggestions –with the students Check how things are going Ask for comments

Things I wish I’d known Sometimes the students want to be there… and sometimes they don’t You know more than you think you do… but sometimes the students know more than you You can’t plan for every eventuality… but how you deal with the unexpected matters You are not a personal tutor/ academic advisor… but you can make a difference.

…and finally Keep in mind what the seminar is supposed to achieve Students should feel comfortable, but not be complacent Most students do not aspire to be you Reflect on, and learn from, your experience Teaching is a privilege, not a right –Don’t tell them that you’re only doing it because you get paid Enjoy the experience …it might just get you a job