TAPP Training – learning about teaching

This month I finally got around to attending the Teaching Assistant Preparation Programme (TAPP) course, which is offered to all postgraduate students at the University of Huddersfield. The course teaches postgrads about the ‘ins and outs’ of lecturing in higher education and about creating lectures which really encourage students to learn and engage with the content.

I absolutely loved the course and I learnt so much from fellow colleagues, both about their experiences and their areas of research. It was interesting to see others put into practice the skills and structure that had been discussed and developed with the help of the course leader.

I’m not generally confident standing up at the front of a classroom to discuss my research or subject area, but this course helped me learn the necessary skills to confidently convey a well-structured and well-supported learning experience for my future students. The course was only four days long but it was jam-packed with information about learning styles and teaching skills.

I enjoyed the course so much that when the opportunity to take part in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition came up, it did not feel like such a daunting prospect. 3MT is an international research communication competition, where doctoral researchers have just three minutes to deliver an engaging presentation on their thesis topic, its originality and significance.

I’m now looking forward to implementing what I have learnt into producing lectures and presentations that are interesting to my audience and adapted to their knowledge of the subject.

The TAPP course has definitely been one of my favourites offered to postgraduate students, and though it can be hard to find four free days in a row it is worth taking the time to step back from your studies and consider what you would like to do after completing your degree. I definitely feel more confident about this now, both as a result of the support I have from my supervisor’s Dr Simon Parkinson and Professor Rachel Armitage and from the multiple courses provided by the research and development team.