One of the best ways I’ve found to develop my own teaching is to talk about it with other people – sometimes it can be reassuring to know that other people are encountering the same issues as you (why has the attendance tailed off after the first few weeks? what do I do about the group at the back of the class who were chatting all the way through my session? what could be going on with the student who doesn’t seem to take part in any of the group discussions?). Often other people might have different ways of looking at something that you’re finding difficult – as they’re more removed from the situation, they will have a less emotional reaction to the behaviour of your student, and might be able to suggest reasons why the student might be acting in that way, and how to resolve the situation. It’s also really useful to share ideas for different kinds of activities, and different ways to get students excited about your subject and what they’re learning.

Some of you might have already developed informal ways of talking about teaching with your PhD colleagues – perhaps just over a cup of tea in your shared office after you come back from a seminar or lab session. But would you like the opportunity to discuss teaching with PhD students from across City on a regular basis?

If so, I could set up some forums for PhD students who teach at City, where we could get together to discuss ideas and share solutions for issues that you might be encountering. We could have a different theme each time – perhaps based around particular types of teaching, or maybe focused on specific aspects, such as technology or classroom management.

Does this sound like something you’d be interested in? If you would like to attend a City teaching forum for PhD students who teach, please use the comments below or my email (jessica.hancock@city.ac.uk) to get in touch with me. Alternatively, if you have another suggestion, let me know about that too.