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This section contains advice and guidance for postgraduate research students interested in gaining undergraduate teaching experience.

Teaching

 

The MPLS Division recognises that undergraduate teaching such as tutorial teaching or laboratory demonstrating provides a variety of benefits for graduate students. We encourage students to explore these opportunities provided that it does not conflict with progress of their graduate degree.

Through teaching, students have the opportunity to:

  • further develop their facilitation and communication skills
  • deepen understanding of their academic discipline
  • engage with a wider network
  • build experience that may be useful to their future career

Deciding whether or not to undertake teaching

While teaching is an opportunity that develops a wide range of skills, it is potentially very time consuming and can significantly interfere with the progress of a research project. Any proposal to take on a significant amount of teaching, for either a College or Department, should therefore be discussed with your supervisor in advance. The decision whether or not to undertake teaching is ultimately decided by the supervisor and, if consulted by either the student or supervisor, the Director of Graduate Studies. If a supervisor judges that teaching is interfering significantly with the progress of the graduate students’ project, the supervisor should be able to request that the arrangement should cease.

Guidelines on the amount of teaching undertaken

The Division provides a guide to the number of hours a student should teach annually in order to allow flexibility for substantial involvement in a particular course for a limited amount of time. It is recognised that students may be departmentally funded (in lieu of a research council or other grant) but this should not carry a condition of teaching beyond the Divisional guidelines, except where a specific Teaching Assistantship Scheme has been established.

The MPLS Division recommends a guideline maximum of 120 hours' work overall in any year to balance the desirable development of teaching skills against the potential impact on research progress.

  • For tutorial or class teaching it is recognised that each hour a graduate student spends in contact is likely to involve at least two hours of preparation and marking. It is therefore recommended that no more than 40 contact hours should be arranged.
  • For demonstrating or marking, no more than 120 hours should be undertaken.
  • It is recognised that students whose regular funding has ended may need to exceed these guidelines.

Training to support teaching

Graduate students in the MPLS Division must attend an appropriate teaching skills training course before undertaking any teaching activity which also carries an additional time demand.

The departments organise training in house. For more information please contact the relevant person in your department and/or The Centre for Teaching and Learning: https://www.ctl.ox.ac.uk/