Supporting postgraduates who teach: learning from our experience

In November 2003 UKCLE held an event for postgraduates who teach (often known as graduate teaching assistants – GTAs). This article from the Spring 2004 issue of Directions draws on the feedback provided by the participants to derive a number of conclusions about the current provision of support to postgraduates who teach.

What did the participants find useful?

When asked what they found useful about the day the overwhelming response from participants was the opportunity it afforded to meet with other postgraduates in law and to realise that they shared common concerns and anxieties. Typical responses included:

• “sharing our problems and concerns and finding solutions for each other was really useful”
• “I found the session on motivation helpful because it focused on real problems with concrete suggestions and sharing of experiences”
• “different ways of linking teaching and research in law”

What did they want more of?

Overwhelmingly the participants reported that they want concrete ‘how to’ tips and examples they can immediately use in their teaching practice, including:

• how to structure tutorials, construct a reading list and relate a tutorial to lectures
• how to teach postgraduate students
• how to facilitate group work
• giving formative feedback
• dealing with questions you don’t know the answer to
• making sense of educational theory in the context of law
• group dynamics based on practical experience
• teaching to large groups of undergraduate students
• teaching students with learning difficulties
• preparing presentations

Also highlighted was an opportunity to socialise with other postgraduates in law:

• “If there was more time for socialising/sharing with the rest of the group it would be helpful because it creates a sense of how common problems are and that we are not alone which is a very common feeling amongst GTAs/PhD students.”

What do GTAs need from departments?

Postgraduates not only have to manage their research, teaching and family commitments, but they are also juggling several different roles within the department. They are both researcher and apprentice law teacher. As one participant explained: “We all have different needs and we do things differently”. They need to have their unique position as pioneering researchers and novice teachers acknowledged. In addition, the role they take affords different status. Feedback suggests they find this puts them in a vulnerable position.

Students need support and protection from exploitation. Postgraduates need the money and experience that comes from teaching, but they also need the time to get on with their research. Too easily postgraduate teachers can become what Park and Ramos (2002) refer to as ‘the donkey in the department’. There is a temptation to give them supervisory duties, together with a responsibility for marking and teaching that they have not been adequately prepared or trained for. Departments can monitor this and ensure that their postgraduates are being treated fairly.

Training is also important. Our participants reported an initiation into teaching similar to a ‘baptism by fire’. Several spoke of being “thrown in at the deep end” before they had any real training or experience of teaching. In connection to this, several also complained about the quantity and quality of feedback they get on their teaching. It would appear that postgraduates are often excluded (albeit unintentionally) from peer review and observation schemes operating for teaching staff. Mentoring systems could (and should?) include all postgraduates. Education development units and learning and teaching co-ordinators within departments know who is teaching and can make support available, but our participants reported that very often departments didn’t seem to know who was involved in teaching and that they fell ‘outside the loop’ of training opportunities available to other staff. One suggested that it would be helpful to invite ex-postgraduates in law to talk about their experiences. This could be achieved by offering a monthly forum for debate and exchange of ideas.

Issues for departments to consider when offering support

Departments have access to student records and can easily put those who are involved in teaching in touch with each other. They can also make best use of education development units and invite staff to make contributions to training sessions tailored specifically to law teaching. As one participant reported: “make all the sessions relevant to law and not just general – topics need to address specific areas of law, for example contract”.

When developing training consider the level at which to pitch it. Postgraduates who have been teaching for several years throughout their PhDs will have different needs to those who have just started. The context of the department is also important. Whilst postgraduates value the opportunity to share experiences, law schools operate in different ways. Some postgraduates are faced with supporting seminar groups of 20 students, whilst others are involved in one-to-one supervision. These differences can only be appreciated at the departmental level. Lastly, but by no means least, our participants commented on the status they are afforded. Postgraduates are employed to teach on certain aspects of a programme, but rarely have control over course design or assessment procedures. Involving postgraduates in discussions about learning and teaching will give them a greater insight into the curriculum and make them feel more involved. However, this level of involvement needs to be balanced against other responsibilities.

Postgraduates have an enormous amount to offer to teaching. They can draw on their research to inform teaching, and vice versa. They are the future of law teaching, so it makes sense to invest in training and support that will help them to become professional university teachers.

Reference

• Park C and Ramos M (2002) ‘The donkey in the department?’ Journal of Graduate Education vol 3 issue 2

Last Modified: 4 June 2010