Teaching Experience
Supply and H.E Teaching
Over the years I have had the opportunity to teach on a number of rewarding courses, as well as produce and deliver my own. In addition to the courses below, I have also provided one-off sessions for MA Medieval History students (‘An Introduction to Archaeology’) for a number of years, as well as taster lectures for sixth form students (‘Building a Monastery’).
Supply Teacher (Apollo Teaching Services)
Working as a supply teacher in secondary schools in the Berkshire area.
I provided cover in a number of secondary schools covering mainly English and Humanities subjects.
Moors, Monks and Magic: Patterns of Belief in Medieval Europe (University of Reading)
1st year undergraduate course, 8 weeks. Assessed via a 1200 word essay and an exam.
Working closely with primary sources, this course challenges assumptions about religious beliefs in the Middle Ages. Students learn about how religions influenced and lived with one another and ultimately helped shape the modern world.
Research Skills and Opportunities in History (University of Reading)
1st year undergraduate course, 15 weeks. Assessed via a 1000 word book review, a research outline of 2 A4 pages, and finally a 3000 word essay.
This course was delivered by the department as a whole, with content back up in seminars. I ran a seminar group. This involved preparing material (based on the week’s theme) and leading the seminar group through topics such as primary source analysis, how to cite, and critical analysis. I was also responsible for marking the work of those I taught.
Journeys through History 2: Culture and Concepts (University of Reading)
1st year undergraduate course, 10 weeks. Assessed via a group-work project, and 2000 word essay.
This was another course delivered by the department as a whole. Students would attend two lectures en masse, the topic of which would then be explored in greater detail in the seminar groups. I was responsible for preparing the material for each week on the chosen theme, and for marking my students’ work.
Approaches to History: The Rule of St Benedict (University of Reading)
1st year undergraduate course, 10 weeks. Assessed via a 2000 word essay, and a Summer term exam.
This was a seminar based course aimed at using primary sources to teach first year students how to analyse a text within its historical context. I chose the Rule of St Benedict as it related to my doctoral research. The course began with a guided reading of the text over the first few weeks before exploring the historical issues relevant to the text such as its effect on European religion and architecture. Students wrote essays based on questions designed by me, and sat an exam written by me. I was responsible for all marking.
Study Advice and Mentoring
This role was part of a university wide support scheme aiming to supplement the university’s central study support through mentors who were selected from within a department, to give subject specific advice. I launched the scheme in the department and opted to run it as a drop-in session. Students would also email with specific queries. The range of advice given ranged from time management and essay structure, to guidance in finding sources and citing them.
Disabilities Mentoring (University of Reading, 2012/13 and 2013/14)
Another university wide scheme, this role was overseen by the disabilities support office. My role was an ‘academic mentor’ for students qualifying for support. This entailed scheduling weekly meetings with students to help monitor their progress. Helping them manage their work load, improve their studies, and generally cope with the demands of a university course. This scheme was supplemented by social mentors who helped students with the social side of university. As a result of this mentoring work, I have experience of helping students with a range of mental and physical disabilities.