Research/Teaching/Admin demands: Coping Strategies

1. Hang on until things begin to get easier! Bunching teaching Negotiate Joint-authored articles Get students to gather data! Careful management of office hours – including virtual office hours Managing student expectations Use sharpest time for most valuable activity Leave teaching preparation to last minute! Work insane hours!! Prioritise Try to align teaching and research Use term time for teaching and vacations for research Understand policies of department and maximise within these Research/Teaching/Admin demands: Coping Strategies

2. What to do with students who are poorly prepared or unmotivated Mixed ability groups (different degrees, different prior experience) Fitting teaching into the university’s curriculum and objectives What materials to give to students and effects on attendance Applying to real-world issues – theories may be wrong! Too little interaction – makes it difficult to judge understanding Range of student abilities – where to pitch Choice of assessment methods – assessing large groups Students’ difficulties in essay writing – difficult for them to express their knowledge How to check students’ learning in lectures Lectures: Issues / Solutions

3. Inconsistent notation Insufficient value added - seminar delivered as lecture (affects lecture attendance) Insufficient time for students to prepare Unsocial time of day Too much material Skipping key steps in argument Some students want tutor to give mini lecture Poor communication between lecturer and tutor Poor material from lecturer Too many students Too few students Unpredictable size Where students sit No interaction – tutor monologue Some students prepared – some unprepared Mixed ability students Tutor poorly prepared Not mapped to lecture - inconsistency What makes a bad small class?

4. Lack of training Personal response systems Electronic pad for writing to screen Electronic whiteboard Tablet / on-screen writing Lack of room space or equipment for all students Podcasts of lectures – good or bad? Checking for plagiarism Rules for online submission Distance learning students on existing degrees / distance learning degrees Students making videos Using a whole range of web resources Motivating students to use online resources – incentives Managing student expectations Too many resources – problem of choice / priorities Should align use of technology with learning objectives Online resources attached to books WebCT/Blackboard/Moodle – making files available Complement or substitute? Does it replace teaching or support it? Different role of lectures? Use of chat facilities Shared web pages for groupwork / building pages Wikis Students more familiar with technology than lecturers Divide between colleagues Online quizzes/tests Misunderstanding students’ use of devices Virtual classes Is there sufficient technical support – equipment and staff Uses of / Issues with e-learning