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