GTA Training 2011 Managing Seminars Dr Anna Goatman Lecturer in Marketing and former GTA

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