Kathryn Hindmarsh - Faculty of Science

'Excellence in Teaching - what is it?'

Being a relatively novice teacher myself there are a couple of things that I do which seem to have been appreciated by the students. The first is to be friendly and approachable so that the students see you as a person, rather than 'The Lecturer'. The second is to add some humour. Teaching Chemistry I have some very corny chemistry jokes and songs, which lighten lectures and get a very good reaction from students (although with the jokes it is usually groans not laughter!). Adding demonstrations is great for illustrating ideas too. It is also important to enjoy lectures yourself.