Many universities offer teaching assistantships or require graduate students to teach as part of their training. While lecturing opportunities are an excellent way to build professional skills, they can be daunting for those who lack prior teaching experience or feel nervous about public speaking. Here is some advice on how to prepare for and give a lecture to an undergraduate class, as well as how to set fair course policies.
Before your lecture
Practice. Just as you would prepare for an interview or research presentation, set aside time in your schedule to review class materials before your lecture. Whether these materials have been provided to you, or you have designed the lecture yourself, go through your notes and PowerPoints, and make sure you understand the key points and flow of logic. Don’t worry about memorizing a script: not only is this likely to take up far too much of your time, but a classroom environment is open to interruption with questions from students, and over-preparation may lead you to freeze when your speech is interrupted.
You will have to determine for yourself how much time you need for preparation. Do not be discouraged if you need more time than others, especially if public speaking is a new venture for you. You are gaining great experience by providing lectures, and your nerves will settle with increased exposure.
If you are particularly nervous, try practicing your lecture in front of a friend or colleague, even one who isn’t familiar with the subject matter. Alternatively, videotape yourself practicing the lecture. Watch the video for tell-tale behaviors of nervousness, such as fidgeting, overuse of filler words such as “um,” and other behaviors that make you appear uncertain.
Don’t forget that your students likely have no idea what you know or how much teaching experience you have. With appropriate preparation, students are unlikely to recognize any inexperience or lack of knowledge.
Prepare for your lecturing space. Prior to your first day of teaching, visit your assigned classroom, so you will know where it is located and what materials it contains. Will you need a dry erase board for explaining concepts? Many classrooms will have boards, but you may have to provide markers and erasers. Do you need a converting cable so your Mac is accessible to the projector, or can you upload your lecture to a desktop computer provided in the room? It’s also a good idea to know where the light switches and outlets are prior to your first day.
Another consideration is the temperature of your teaching space. Check if you can control the thermostat in the room or open windows. You might even bring a door-stopper to keep the door open and prevent the classroom from getting stuffy.
And don’t forget to bring a bottle of water to stay cool and to prevent your throat from drying out. Sipping water is also a good opportunity to pause during your lecture, take a breather and allow students to ask questions.
During your lecture
Take a pause if you need to. No matter how well prepared you are, it’s possible your mind may go blank during your lecture: you may forget the definition of a term or why you chose to include a particular PowerPoint slide. When that happens, stop and take a moment to look at your notes. It may feel uncomfortable to pause the lecture, but that will pass once you resume speaking. If you are unable to reach clarity, skip over that material and pick it up in a future lecture or message to students. Don’t risk teaching students something that is incorrect or incomplete.
Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.” In a similar vein, a student may ask a question that is beyond your scope of knowledge. While your instincts may urge you to form a mildly passable answer to appear informed, it is better to acknowledge that you don’t know. And then follow up with “but I can find that out and get back to you.” (Then make sure to follow up at the next lecture, through a direct email to a student, or by posting an announcement to the course online.)
Ask questions to determine understanding. While presenting your lecture, you may provide a thorough explanation of a concept. And when you ask, “Are there any questions?,” you see no hands raised. Victory! Complete and utter understanding. These students have successfully soaked up your words of wisdom… Or have they? Unfortunately, a lack of student inquiries does not always reflect complete understanding.
Students may fail to grasp a concept without realizing it. Alternatively, a student may be so confused by a subject that he or she doesn’t know how to formulate a question seeking clarification. Some students are also embarrassed to appear uninformed.
A better approach is to periodically ask students content questions. For example, let’s say your class is Introductory Statistics, and your day’s lecture focuses on analyses of variance. Throughout your lecture, include slides of scenarios in which students have to determine which type of test is appropriate: for example, “Kendall has sampled her elementary school class to determine if there is a difference in ice cream preference between chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. What test will determine if there is a statistically significant difference in preference?” Responses to such questions will help indicate what the students did and did not understand. Then you can review the concepts again, either going through at a slower pace or using a different approach. You might also want to revisit those concepts again in a subsequent lecture.
Importantly, when you pose a question to the class, be prepared to wait for someone to answer. Sometimes it can feel like an eternity before a student speaks up, but be assured that one will if you are patient.
Beyond the lecture
As a teacher, you may have the opportunity to set policies for the course. These regulations help ensure that both you and the students are treated in a fair and consistent manner. Here are some areas in which policies are regularly helpful and necessary.
Response by email. Establishing a clear policy for responding to email can inform students what to expect from the beginning of your course. You might say that you will respond within a particular time frame (e.g., 24-48 hours) and/or during certain hours of the day (e.g., 8 a.m.-8 p.m.). Do not feel obligated to respond to students who email you mere hours before an assignment is due.
Late assignments. It’s important to explicitly state your late assignments policy on the first day of class and in the syllabus. For example, you might deduct a certain number of grading points for each day an assigned paper is late — or perhaps not permit late submissions at all. Alternatively, you might choose not to penalize late submissions. Regardless of the policy, state it clearly and prominently, and hold to it for all students. This will turn out to be especially useful if any questions or conflicts arise during the semester.
Office hours. It’s helpful to hold weekly office hours for students who have questions or want to discuss the class material further. You should set those hours at times that most students can make, and which your schedule can reasonably accommodate. Occasionally, however, some students may not be able to meet during your selected office hours. You can offer to meet with them at another time, but you are not obliged to disrupt your own schedule for this. Similarly, you have the option of increasing your office hours during busier times of the semester (e.g., before final exams). But, again, be realistic about how much time you can give, while still fulfilling your other tasks as a graduate student.
Regarding these and other aspects of teaching, it is helpful to consult with faculty and other graduate students in your department, especially in the beginning of your graduate career. Your peers and mentors are assets to developing your identity as an instructor. You may initially find teaching to be a challenge, but it can also be greatly rewarding. Remember that this is your chance to share your enthusiasm for your field with the next generation of students. Have a great semester!
