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BIOL40100

Academic Year 2025/2026

Teaching in Higher Education as a Graduate (SBES) (BIOL40100)

Subject:
Biology
College:
Science
School:
Biology & Environment Science
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Gavin Stewart
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Pass/Fail (GPA Neutral)

Curricular information is subject to change.

In this module, the participants, who are in the role of graduate teaching assistant, will engage in a scholarly critique of their teaching performance in supporting student learning in their disciplinary context. Participants will apply some of the basic generic and discipline specific skills in their teaching. They will be expected to engage in a scholarly discussion with their peers on best practices in teaching and learning in their context. They will be encouraged to self-assess based on feedback from their peers and/or their students, i.e. encouraged to take responsibility for judging the quality of their teaching. The module will be delivered with a mixture of face-to-face and online environment, and participants must be in an active teaching role.

Learning Outcomes:

- Demonstrate knowledge and critique of the principles of teaching and learning in relation to your own practice and subject area
- Critically evaluate your own teaching and learning approaches and their impact on learners and how they learn
- Take responsibility for planning teaching and learning activities to encourage student engagement in learning and the achievement of specified learning outcomes for each session
- Take responsibility for evaluating your own performance based on feedback from a variety of sources (student, peer ...) and demonstrate willingness to change in light of this feedback
- Demonstrate an awareness of UCD, College and School policies and procedures that impact on your roles as a Teaching Assistant and discuss their implications for your practice
- Demonstrate an ability to competently assess student assignments.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

50
Autonomous Student Learning

40
Small Group

15
Practical

20
Total

125

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Active/task-based learning;
Workshops;
Critical writing;
Reflective learning.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

Participants must:

(a) Be, or about to be, registered for PhD/Masters in UCD
(b) Have, or about to have, an active teaching role within UCD


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
UTL40230 - Intro to Univ T&L for Tutors


 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Reflective Assignment: Short, recorded presentation reflecting on your demonstrator experiences and suggesting improvements to stage 1 module teaching. Week 12 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No
50
 No
Reflective Assignment: A short reflective writing assignment based on assessment and feedback in Stage one SBES modules. Week 7 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No
50
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Class feedback Individual comments on submitted assignments

Name Role
Ms Ciara Graham Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Professor Carl Ng Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
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