Post on 16-Jan-2016
GTA Training 2011
Managing Seminars
Dr Anna Goatman
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)
• To date, I have taught several hundred seminars to several thousand students
• Offered a full-time academic job on the basis of my seminar teaching
• Still teach seminars now (some on the same course I started teaching on in 2004)
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
The first seminar
• Let them know a bit about you–Your academic background–What your outside interests are
A bit about me
• Find out a bit about them– Which programmes are they on?– Do you have any exchange students?– Do they know each other?
• Use name cards
• Establish the ground rules– Expectations of them– What they can expect from you
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
• Formalised 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– Acetate sheets– White boards– Mini PowerPoint presentations
• Move around the room
• Introduce some controlled competition• Offer small prizes
– Sweets/ chocolates usually do the trick
Things to avoid
• Just repeating what they’ve done in the lecture
• Giving a mini lecture
• Filling in all of the silences yourself
Dealing with unprepared students
• Set/ reinforce the ground rules in the first seminar– Is the reading compulsory?
• Discuss in advance how the course co-ordinator wants you to deal with unprepared students. – Are you expected/ allowed to throw them out?
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?
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
• “It’s not me, it’s you”– 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 their personal tutor/ academic advisor
Seeing the whole picture
• Have a clear introduction, explain the format of the session to the students
• Manage the tasks and stay aware of the time
• Have a brief plenary to check what they have learned
Why teach seminars?
• Seminar teaching is a fulfilling, enriching experience– But it can also be frustrating
• Seminars are an integral part of university teaching and learning– Seminar leaders are part of a teaching team that includes
lecturers, professors and administrative staff
• It keeps you in touch
• It’s an opportunity to discuss ideas
…and finally
• Keep in mind what the seminar is supposed to achieve
• Students should feel comfortable, but not be complacent
• 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