Teaching and demonstrating

While you are undertaking a doctorate it is common to take on work through your institution delivering classes to undergraduate students. Typically, this takes the form of either facilitating small group tutorials or demonstrating in practical classes. This is good experience to have on your CV, whether you go into an academic career or take a different route.

To make the most of your experience as a teacher or demonstrator try the following.

• Spend some time understanding the context. You will get more out of teaching if you understand why it is being done in the way that it is
• Seek advice from more experienced teachers on how to do a good job. Some institutions will encourage or require you to have a teaching mentor
• Try to attend some training. Teaching is a professional role that requires you to develop a range of skills to do it well. The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education recommends that all postgraduate researchers and part-time teachers should receive a minimum level of training and support for their teaching role, so your institution should make some training available for you.
• Don't give up when things don't go well. Learn from your mistakes and continue to improve. Remember it takes a school teacher two years to fully qualify so you shouldn't expect to be able to get it right first time.
• Consider gaining some accreditation of your experience as a teacher. The Higher Education Academy, as the professional body for teachers in higher education, supports professional accreditation. Researchers who teach are eligible for Associate membership status if they meet Level 1 of the Professional Standards framework (PDF). Membership is granted to individuals that have either completed an HEA-accredited course at their own institution or who apply through the HEA recognition scheme .

As a teacher or demonstrator you should be careful not to:

• let the amount of time you are teaching take over your doctorate. Teaching is challenging and rewarding and can expand to fill the time that you have available. Remember that your doctorate should continue to have top priority
• get bogged down with student problems. As a part-time teacher or demonstrator it is not your job to deal with every problem that your students throw at you. Make yourself aware of departmental procedures for dealing with student problems and with the wider student support offered by your institution. Try and refer problems to appropriate places as early as possible.

Remember: Teaching experience develops a wide range of transferable skills. When you discuss your teaching experience in job applications you should typically be able to talk about presentation skills, people management, the ability to influence and persuade and many other transferable skills. The experience is not only applicable to teaching jobs.