So I've been doing my first few weeks of lecturing and I feel so disappointed in myself. It hasn't put me off completely, I love the idea of it, but so far I have been struggling to make the sessions last for a full hour (sometimes I have only been 20 minutes!), and some students have also said that they cannot hear me. I'm being observed next week (it was my request before I started, nothing to do with my performance), and I'm now terrified.

If anyone has any tips/advice for improving lecturing skills that would be great.

Do you embed elements of interaction with the students in your lecture? that will help you fill in 20 minutes and engage the students more into learning rather than them sitting and listening to you all the time. Have you done a PgCert course or a PGR course?

I have tried, it did work quite well in one lecture but in last week's they weren't really willing to engage. My uni have a compulsory training course before you start teaching but it isn't really that useful. I looked into doing a PgCert-well the academic equivalent (PgCAP or something?), but they wouldn't let me do it alongside my PhD as they said it was too much work.

Hey Butterfly,

I've been lecturing for about 4 years now in guest lecturing and unit coordination/lecturing/chief examiner roles.

The first thing I've learned is that it doesn't matter how many classes you take on lecturing, it's something you develop over time, and you'll always be rusty and uncertain in the beginning. You'll find a style that works for you through trial and error.

Some things that helped me:

1) Embedding questions into the lecture, as Mon1985 suggested. This allows for a more interactive lecture, and you sometimes do need to push students to engage. You could also embed a bit of group work, such as "take 5 minutes and discuss X with the person sitting next to you).

2) Using short videos and/or images where appropriate. I teach in the social sciences, so there is plenty of material I can use for students to analyse and cement the concepts.

3) Talking slowly, it's tempting to talk very fast and you just rush through the material!

4) Not using scripted lecture notes. This is scary, but a new thing. In reading my qualitative feedback, a number of students highlighted that they didn't like my lecturing when I read straight from a script. Rather, they liked it when I spoke from the top of my head! It's a scary thing to do, but start to slowly work this style in.

5) Allowing students to ask questions. This can be tricky, because sometimes they ask questions about things you'll be covering in subsequent weeks, or sometimes its to try and catch you off guard, etc. But it can help facilitate some lively discussion as well.

6) At the end of the semester, reading your qualitative feedback if you get any. This is absolutely soul destroying, my first set I cried the whole weekend I felt so horrible. But, reading it over really helped me develop a better style and a better unit for the following semester.

Hi awsoci,

Thank you so much for this advice. I'm also from social sciences and have started to incorporate video clips and discussions. I think my main problem is the speed that I talk at. Overcoming my nerves and learning to talk slowly is something I really need to work on.

Thanks again :)

If possible, place a waterglass next to you and drink a tiny bit every 5 minutes or so. Helps you to relax and slow down ;-)

Or pose a controversial questions and let the students discuss for 5-10 minutes.

Example: In our last stem cells and tissue engineering session we discussed the aspects of cloning - should you be allowed to clone your pet? your "over the top teacher"? your parents? And are they the same after cloning? ;-)

I've been lecturing for a few years now and am now in a full time teaching position (while attempting to finish my PhD).

Truth is, teaching takes practice. And preparation. I would strongly advise having more to say than is on your slides, keep notes to remind you of points, and specific examples you can use to illustrate your points. And I always have an exercise of some sort in my pocket for the end of the lecture, just in case I go through too quickly. I don't always use these exercises, depends how the class is going. The best teachers are flexible and can respond to what is going on during the session.

If you're asking questions and the students aren't responding, my favourite technique is to ask the students to discuss the question in pairs. And then pick on individuals to tell me what their partner said. That way, the students are more likely to speak up - because they're responding with their partners ideas, rather than their own. And what often happens is that the other student will chime in to clarify or explain what they actually meant leading to a broader discussion.

Another thing I usually have which I can drag out on no notice is a 10 minute review of the course so far or a "look ahead to what's coming next" discussion. Then, if we're going quickly through the material I can take some time to situate the students in the wider course which is helpful for everyone, encourages self reflection and takes up time.

Lectures don't (and in my view shouldn't) just be about the teaching delivering information. The students should be chatting with each other and forming their own thoughts and opinions. Give them time to do this, and you'll be using more than 20 minutes for sure.

But equally, timing material in lectures is tough. The more you do it, the better you get at judging how much to include in each lecture.