Small Group Teaching and Lab Demonstration Course

The course is aimed at anyone who is new to teaching i.e. Teaching Assistants, PhD students, Lab Demonstrators etc. The course is pitched at an introductory level, and it is assumed that participants have little to no teaching experience prior to commencement. 

Modules include:  

• An introduction to the role of a small group teacher/lab demonstrator  
• How to facilitate online teaching  
• Building a positive learning environment  
• Inclusive teaching  
• Principles of digital accessibility  
• Learning Design  
• Assessment and Feedback  

Course content is reviewed each summer ahead of the new academic year and amended based on feedback from participants/Schools.  

On completion of this course, participants should be able to:  

• Employ various active teaching methods to engage learners 
• Recognise their role in supporting learners by building a positive learning environment 
• Display an awareness of how people learn through the lens of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) 
• Engage and facilitate learners in self-assessment and peer review 
• Provide constructive feedback and support around assessment
• Support learners in their content knowledge through multi-modal practices 

This is a blended course, meaning that some of the content is self-paced (on Canvas VLE) and some of the content is delivered live (on MS Teams).

The suggested order of completion is as follows (click to expand):

The length of time it takes to complete the course will vary as the course contains supplementary additional resources for participants to engage with. As an estimate, the average participant will spend approximately 8 hours in total to go through the core course content and complete the activities.

There are two course intakes per academic year, one per semester. 

Registration for semester 1 Ay23/24 is closed

Registration for semester 2 AY23/24 will close on – Friday 9th February at 10am

CED will make contact with Schools each August and December with information about the course as well as a link to a Microsoft Form for participants to complete. Schools will then need to inform their new TAs/lab demonstrators about the course and provide them with the link to the MS Form. 

On the MS Form, participants can select their preferred date for the MS Teams sessions and they will receive calendar invites for their chosen sessions. At the welcome session, the link to the Canvas Course will be shared with them. 

Dates for the Semester 2 Cohort – AY23/24  

Yes, TAs and lab demonstrators need to have “staff credentials” to be able to access the Small Group Teaching course. This is usually processed through QWork where they are enrolled with a Canvas TA role against modules in QSIS to create their Canvas account.  

If participants already have a staff account and have been enrolled against an academic module in Qsis with a Canvas TA role, they will automatically have a Canvas account created for them.

If they are not already enrolled against any academic modules in Qsis, they can request (via support@instructure.com) that a Canvas account be created using their new “staff id”.

There is no formal assessment for the course, but participation is noted and provided to Schools if they request it. Participation is considered to be:  

1. Attendance at both MS Teams sessions  
2. Contribution to discussions  
3. Completion of surveys and quizzes  

Schools can email ced@qub.ac.uk to request a spreadsheet outlining the completion status for each participant. Please note, this should be done towards the end of the semester so that participants have enough time to work through the course.  

Yes. If participants believe they have completed the course in full (including attending the MS Teams sessions, contributing to the discussions and completing the quizzes/surveys), they can request a certificate of completion for their records. Details on how to request a certificate can be found in Module 8 of the Canvas Course.