By Tarnjit Sidhu

For PhD students, teaching is a brilliant way of getting hands on experience of working with students and building your CV, especially if you’re wanting to progress within academia. There are many ways of getting involved with teaching opportunities at UoM, for example The Brilliant Club, Manchester Access Programme (MAP), and general Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) positions. With this wide range of teaching placements available to us, a big part is meeting new students, whether that be in a classroom with KS2 through The Brilliant Club or a seminar room with undergraduates.

So you’ve been accepted onto a placement and you’re getting geared up to meet a new bunch of students – but then you get the email saying your teaching is all online. What does this mean? How do you build rapport with students over a screen? I have taught as a GTA, for The Brilliant Club, and also a tutor for MAP, all online. In the uncertain times that we have been living through, Zoom has been our best friend some days, and a pain on others. So how does teaching on Zoom go? Within this post I’ll discuss the challenges I’ve faced, and things that have helped.

1. Teaching on Zoom can be lonely

Firstly, it is important to acknowledge that the support network we usually have, surrounded by other staff, GTA’s, and students, is no longer there when we are teaching over Zoom. Because of this, the process of teaching online can be a lonely experience.

To overcome this, keep in touch with other TA’s throughout the semester, and try and attend any TA training ran by the University. It is amazing how reassuring it is to speak to people who are going through the same experiences as you. Additionally, if you are struggling with any aspect of teaching on Zoom – make sure you reach out to the appropriate member of staff (e.g. The Brilliant Club Programme Officer, the lecturer delivering the module, etc.) as they are there to provide you with support. By working together, we can make this a less lonely and more enjoyable experience.

2. Your Comfort Zone

You’re already nervous about teaching a new group of students – now you have to teach these students on a computer screen. ‘Will they all be watching me?’ you may be asking? The answer is YES, and that’s okay! Teaching online has pushed many people to step outside their comfort zone and speak in groups of large numbers – once you have done your first seminar/lesson you will realise that this is not as scary as it seems. Stepping outside of your comfort zone and doing this once will help you realise that the students appreciate your time and support during this pandemic, and although it can feel uncomfortable at first, getting to know your students and turning up means a lot to them.

Remember, the process of learning online is also new to students, so you are both going through a new experience together. Share with the students how you are feeling and see how they are feeling too – this open conversation will help you feel better about feeling nervous, which is completely normal.

3. The blank boxes on Zoom – are students actually listening?

Students have faced many challenges throughout this pandemic. One of them has been all learning being moved online. If you have done any teaching, you will be familiar with the ‘blank screen’ on Zoom. This is where the students have their cameras off. At a glance, this can seem disheartening, however Zoom is a nifty tool and engagement can still be a thing even if students do not have their cameras on. Encouragement of the use of these tools can be a brilliant way of getting students involved:

• Using reactions: Zoom has a tool which allows students to ‘react’ – you can use this to engage with students and encourage them to get involved!

• The chat function: if students aren’t comfortable speaking, encourage the use of the chat function. This is a great way of getting students to start conversations.

• Breakout rooms: Want to get students chatting? Breakout rooms may be a good way of getting students speaking to one another. This can reinforce the fact that students are all in the same boat with the way they are feeling about online learning, which is comforting to know.

It is important that we try to make students feel comfortable and enable them to engage in a way that works best for them, as online sessions are very different for them too. This can be with cameras turned off/on, through the reactions, or just through the chat function. Any engagement is better than no engagement!

4. Building rapport with students – How do I remember names?!

Taking part in a placement like The Scholars Programme in The Brilliant Club means you may be teaching groups of 6 students at a time, who are based in a classroom environment, over Zoom. Teaching a small group means that remembering names may be something you want to do to build rapport with your students. How do I remember names through Zoom? If you’re like me and need glasses to spot people in person – then this will be especially difficult.

Something I have found that helps is making a table plan at the beginning of the lesson. I jot down where students are sat while I am doing the register, and over the weeks this helps me learn names. This has been super helpful and means I can put a face to a name. Again, this is much easier in person, but over Zoom this tip will hopefully help!

These are just a few of the things that are involved with online teaching. As we evolve into a world where online teaching becomes more of the norm, I’m sure we will establish new methods to overcome the challenges that come with teaching online. Be sure to speak to your peers who are also teaching and share tips on what has helped – I’m sure your peers will appreciate this as much as you do!

Do you have any tips on online teaching? Tweet us at @UoMHive and let us know!