Teaching: Good, Bad or Evil?

Dan Hammett

School of GeoSciences

Teaching Commitments South Africa option course

Constraints of funding body

Previous experience in other departments

Surviving, Juggling or Coping? From surviving to coping – stresses of first experiences of teaching

and convening Preparation and assessment An example of what not to do

Increased experience brings efficiency

Be disciplined – with self and with students

Be selective – don’t take on too many responsibilities or commitments

Link teaching and research – teach what you know and avoid what you don’t know

Teaching – Good? CV and employability Another string to your bow Money (if not in existing contract) Useful ‘addition’ to funding applications? Work towards PG Cert Link research to teaching

Teaching – Bad? Time – easy to underestimate how much

time good teaching takes Takes time away from research and

commitments of funding awards Brings new set of administration and

meetings to deal with Another source of stress

Teaching – Evil? If workload becomes unsustainable If seen as soft-touch OR own insecurity of

tenure means you say ‘Yes’ too much

Overall – Teach to your strengths On balance, good for CV and useful for interviews Think ‘what’s in it for me?’ When, where, what level, what topic? Link to research interests (current or emerging) How does teaching relate to career development? Individual lectures over course convening Undergraduate and postgraduate Side benefits – PCUT, publications