ECR Teaching overview
Undertaking some teaching in a thriving academic department presents an excellent career development opportunity for postdoctoral Early Career Researchers(ECRs). ECRs are regularly involved in teaching classes for third and fourth year undergraduate students and MSc students, and dissertation/project supervision. These roles are outlined further below.
Your contract outlines the specific teaching requirements associated with your role but, for example, general expectations are:
- Hooke & Titchmarsh Fellows are required to contribute up to three hours of teaching per week for the 24 teaching weeks of the year as part of their contract. This requirement is referred to as your ‘stint’ and can be fulfilled with combinations of the roles outlined below (the same principle applies for permanent faculty).
- PDRAs have the opportunity to teach, where the conditions of the research funding allow it, and the department may require a PDRA to undertake teaching should there be a departmental need; additional renumeration is paid, and such teaching would generally not exceed 3 hours per week for the 24 teaching weeks of the year.
Questions / Sources of support
If you have any queries or would like any further advice please do not hesitate to contact the Head of Academic Administration (@email).
The Mathematical Institute provides a mandatory training session as part of induction during week 0 of Michaelmas Term.
There is a range of teaching resources available on the Information for Teaching Staff pages; such as past examination papers and lecture notes
LaTeX guidance is also available, including the Problem Sheet template.
The Centre for Teaching and Learning offers a range of teaching programmes to support you at all levels of your teaching career.
Timeline
The Academic Administration team contact all new starters before they arrive to ask about class teaching.
Class teaching is organised by the Subject Panel Convenors who oversee Part B and C undergraduate lectures and classes. This teaching is organised in the Trinity term before the academic year starts. However, if you have a start date at the beginning of the academic year, you should contact the relevant Subject Panel Convenor contact details and courses information can be found here or email @email to discuss teaching opportunities for the coming year.
Please note that you may not necessarily be offered your first choice, so it is very helpful for you to offer multiple options.
Additional teaching opportunities may be circulated by email during the year.
Please try to respond promptly to requests for information from the Academic Administration team, as they have a significant volume of teaching resources to process.
Overview of Teaching Roles
| Role | Description | Hours against stint |
| Class tutor | Departmental classes are run in Michaelmas and Hilary terms in support of the third and fourth year undergraduate lecture courses. In general, students attend a set of (four) classes (of 90 minutes) for each lecture course they take. Problem sheets written by the course lecturer form the basis of the classes, which are taught by a class tutor. For Part C classes, section B of problem sheets 1 & 3 are marked. The class tutor may mark these sheets themselves and receive payment, or recruit a marker (a DPhil student). For marking in Part B classes, see below. | 1 set = 1.5 teaching hours per week for one term 2 sets = 2 teaching hours per week for one term 3 sets = 2.5 teaching hours per week for one term 4+ sets = three teaching hours per week |
Class Teaching Assistant (Part B only) | As above, in general, students attend a set of four classes of 90 minutes for each lecture course they take. For Part B, class tutors teach the classes, with support from a teaching assistant. For Part B classes, section B of all four problem sheets are marked and the teaching assistant will mark the students’ work. | Acting as TA for two sets of classes in a term (including marking) will meet the requirement of three teaching hours per week for one term. |
| Consultation sessions | These comprise one 1-hour revision lecture and one 1-hour consultation session for up to 40 students (with an additional session for every extra 40 students on course). Sessions run in weeks 2-5 of Trinity term for third and fourth year undergraduate courses. Tutors will support by revisiting course content (lecture notes, recommended reading, problem sheets and questions from past examinations). | 1 set of consultation sessions = 0.5 teaching hours per week for one term. |
Dissertation supervision and marking (Part C/OMMS and MSc programmes) | The department produces a list of potential project topics and everyone is encouraged to contribute topics to supervise the following year. Supervision takes place from late Michaelmas term through to the end of Hilary term; students typically receive 6 hours of supervision. For the OMMS/Part C dissertation, students may be supervised in groups of up to 4.
| Supervising a group of four students for a dissertation, and marking the dissertations, meets the requirement of one teaching hour per week for one term. Supervising one student for a more substantial MSc dissertation (MFOCS/MMSC), and marking meets the requirement of 0.5 teaching hours per week for one term. You may be asked to act as a second marker for a dissertation. Marking one dissertation which you have not supervised meets the requirement of one teaching hour per dissertation. |
Undergraduate, MSc and CDT lectures
Undergraduate lectures are usually given by faculty members. However, there will occasionally be an opportunity for a suitably experienced ECR to deliver a Part C/OMMS course or graduate course. These courses normally consist of 16 one-hour lectures held in weeks 1-8 of either Michaelmas or Hilary term. As the course lecturer you will be expected to set problem sheets and lead the class teaching team. You will also be expected to set and mark the assessment, which is usually held in Trinity term. Details regarding payment for giving a lecture course will be discussed on an individual case-by-case basis.
College teaching arranged by the department
Some ECRs may be asked to fulfil their department teaching stint obligation by assisting with college teaching - perhaps covering for a member of faculty who is on leave or buy-out. Such arrangements are made by the department and you will be notified if this is a requirement in your case.
Other career development opportunities
If ECRs are keen to be involved in other teaching opportunities within the department as a career opportunity you may wish to consider participating in the following, after discussion with the Advisors for ECRs (North or South Wing) or the Head of Academic Administration. Note that there is no payment for participation in the following:
DPhil co-supervision
More experienced ECRs can act as joint supervisor to DPhil students, and the MPLS Division provides training for PhD supervision.
Taught Course Centre lectures
The department jointly runs the Taught Course Centre (TCC) with the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Imperial, and Warwick. The TCC offers a series of lectures to graduate students based at the listed universities.
Video conferencing is used so that audiences in all participating universities can participate in the lectures. If ECRs are not able to meet their teaching requirement through the teaching opportunities listed above, they may wish to give a TCC lecture course. TCC courses are assessed by mini project which you will be expected to set and mark. Courses must be approved in advance by the TCC Director. All queries should be sent via @email
Graduate lectures
ECRs may wish to offer a graduate lecture course. The arrangements for these are more flexible than the undergraduate lectures and there is no assessment. You should note that the provision of one of these courses will not automatically count towards your teaching stint, and should be seen as a career development opportunity. Those wishing to give a graduate lecture course should send a proposal to the Director of Graduate Studies c/o @email.
Summer project supervision
The department is keen to provide opportunities for undergraduate students to obtain experience of mathematical research by undertaking summer research projects in the department under the supervision of a member of faculty or ECR. Projects are usually 4–10 weeks in duration and the department can provide some funding to support students undertaking these projects. Further information is circulated to members of the department by email or in the weekly departmental bulletin.
Teaching outside the department (including teaching for colleges)
If you wish to independently undertake any teaching outside the department (including teaching for colleges), you must seek the prior approval of the Head of Department, in line with the outside appointment policy. This includes any proposed teaching for colleges, which might include small-group tutorials for first-year or second-year undergraduates, or tutorials for visiting students. If you are unsure about whether you need to seek approval, ask the Head of Academic Administration.