Dear all,

I'm a UK PhD student at a southern university on a GTA scheme.

In my 'agreement', it is stated that we must undertake no more than X hours of teaching per week.

Before I take this up with my university, how many hours of teaching would you consider the following as?

* Officially teaching a three hour seminar, but been told that attendance at the preceding lecture (3 hours) is compulsory so that I have context for the seminar.

Many thanks.

Sounds like 6 hours to me.

As in any job, I would be careful about rocking the boat unless you really need to though ie if it's interfering with your studies. Remember you probably need to be on good terms with your university/supervisors for references/collaborations.

Additionally, they have probably deliberately left this ambiguous so it will be difficult for you to argue that it's actually 6 hours not 3.

At my uni, we get paid for 3 hours per teaching session. If it goes on for 2 hours, we still get paid for 3. Obviously if it runs over, we still only get paid for 3.

Here's the issue... if it counts as 3 hours, I am 2 hours over my required teaching, which means I'll be obligated to do 2 hours LESS next term.

If it counts as 6 hours, I'm of course 5 hours over my required teaching, requiring me to do ONE hour next term.

I think it should count, the lecture. They are dictating my free time. If I HAVE to be in the room, it is surely eating into my 'work time' for the university?

Edit: It's an 'average' of X hours across the year, so one term can be higher, so long as the next is lower.

I think you're right but I'm guessing the university are only going to agree if it's to their advantage or if they are feeling extra nice that day.

Is your issue purely upon principle? If it is you should probably think carefully about making your next move since your emotions are likely to be influencing your decision making. If I were you I would also see what other in your position think and how they work with the situation.

Hi. I have just finished my period as a GTA and, personally, I would just suck it up. You're sat in, not delivering, the lecture and I wonder whether it is worth causing a fuss about an arrangement that will probably only last until Christmas, after which you will have a month off. I would then, if the arrangement persists in January or starts anew, point out that I had done additional hours the previous term; I think that would appear more accommodating of you. In any case, the chance to attend the lectures is useful and might actually save you some preparation time, as you will know exactly what the students need to be doing. Good luck!

If it was me, I would be keen to go to the lecture regardless; to ensure that I had my own context for the seminar. How can you tailor your seminar to the lecture if you have not been? As a GTA, you are unlikely to be an 'expert' on the topic, and when teaching in HE, I believe it is more about challenging assumptions, rather than reinforcing them. If you are only thinking about the PhD at the end, that is disappointing. The GTAs in my department are keen to pick up as much knowledge and understanding as possible of a multitude of topics that will help them further down the line in their prospective HE careers. By attending the lecture, they are seeing the pedagogy of working with large groups in action. The dynamics of seminar teaching by comparison are very different. I will often get my GTAs to give their own perspective to the cohort of undergraduates during the lecture. I am happy for them to ask questions while I teach. They might not agree with my interpretation, but it is good for the undergraduates present to see debate and different perspectives. By attending a lecture, they are going through the process of equipping themselves to be better teachers and researchers, rather than focussing only upon their final PhD. By querying a few hours here and there, I would be concerned that my GTAs were not really interested in a lifelong career in academia, and were only really interested in the kudos gained by earning a PhD.