Striking a Balance between Teaching and Research as a PhD Student
Seven things to consider
Before I get into the specific details of this week’s post, I want to caution it by saying that teaching opportunities available to PhD students will vary greatly between universities, and even between departments within a university. This includes whether teaching is organised centrally by the department or by individual lecturers, and how much teaching responsibility you are allowed to take on (e.g. helping at a workshop vs running a seminar).
With that out of the way, today I’d like to discuss how to balance teaching and research commitments as a PhD student.
1. Understand Your Priorities
The first thing to understand is that ultimately research has to be your main priority. As a PhD student you’re being paid to do research and write your thesis, and this is the only way to graduate. This doesn’t mean that research always has to come first over teaching, just that overall the balance should be in favour of your research.
Additionally, it’s important for you to understand your reasons for performing teaching, as this will help you determine how to prioritise your teaching activities. For example, are you just trying to hit a minimum number of teaching hours because this is mandated by your funding body or because you need the money? Or are you considering moving into teaching afterwards and so are trying to get as much teaching experience as possible?
2. Time Management is Key
Efficient time management is crucial when juggling teaching and research responsibilities. Create a schedule that allows for dedicated blocks of time for both activities. Prioritise tasks based on deadlines and urgency. Remember to allocate time for personal commitments and self-care as well, as it’s easy to try and take on too much work. Utilise tools such as calendars, to-do lists, and productivity apps to stay organised and ensure that important tasks are completed in a timely manner. Personally, I find that Google Calendar works great for this. When I was teaching, I would put all of my teaching activities in my calendar at the start of the term and colour-code them, so I could tell at a glance how much teaching I was doing in a week.
3. Plan Ahead
Effective planning is essential to avoid last-minute stress and conflicts. Be proactive in coordinating your teaching and research schedules. Within this, it’s important to know which parts of your schedule can be flexible (e.g. you can probably run that western blot tomorrow if needed) and which cannot (e.g. if you’re booked onto a fancy departmental microscope you might not be able to move that booking). As a general rule of thumb, research commitments (outside of deadlines and meetings) are more flexible than teaching commitments.
Keep track of important deadlines for both activities and plan your workload accordingly. Communicate with your supervisor and teaching coordinators to ensure they are aware of your commitments, and seek their guidance if necessary. Planning ahead will help you allocate your time and resources effectively.
4. Make realistic estimates about how much time teaching will take
The biggest mistake that I made when I first started scheduling my teaching was to only schedule the time in the workshop itself. This is an easy mistake to make, since this is typically the only time that you’re paid for (although this may vary at different institutes). You also have to make sure to factor in preparation time as well! This will vary based on how familiar you are with the material that you’re teaching. I would typically apply for workshops where I was already fairly comfortable with the material to cut down on prep time, but this isn’t the only way to go. As part of this, make sure you understand how much teaching material is being provided to you, and how much you will have to create yourself.
5. Communicate with Your Students
Clear communication with your students is vital in managing their expectations and ensuring their learning experience. Be transparent about your availability and let them know how they can reach you for support. Communicate any changes in deadlines or scheduling well in advance. Establish a healthy balance between being accessible to your students and protecting your research time. Setting boundaries and managing expectations will help maintain a productive teaching environment while protecting your research focus.
At some universities, it is the responsibility of staff to handle student queries, rather than postgraduate teaching assistants, in which case this point won’t apply.
6. Find Synergies Between Teaching and Research
Look for opportunities to integrate your teaching and research activities. Explore ways to align your research topics with your teaching materials or assignments. This synergy can create a more cohesive and enriching experience for both you and your students. It’s going to be much easier to teach about something that’s linked to your research, since you’ll likely be very familiar with it! Incorporating your research findings or methodologies into your teaching can also help you stay engaged and passionate about your work.
7. Take Advantage of Professional Development Opportunities
Universities often provide professional development opportunities for PhD students involved in teaching. Attend workshops, seminars, or training sessions that focus on effective teaching strategies, time management, and pedagogical techniques. These resources can equip you with valuable skills and insights to enhance your teaching practice while maintaining a balance with your research. These resources will be of most interest to those who are actually interested in the teaching itself, rather than just as a source of income (see above section on priorities).
Epilogue: Supervisor support and trying out different teaching activities
I want to finish by mentioning two points that don’t really fit elsewhere in this post. Firstly, different supervisors will have varying levels of support for teaching activities based on their own opinions. When deciding how much teaching to take on, I would advise using some discretion based on your supervisor’s opinions of teaching. Your relationship with your PhD supervisor is crucial and so it’s best to try and maintain it.
Secondly, you may have the opportunity to be involved in many different types of teaching activities. Some of the graduate teaching work I’ve done includes running workshops for problem sheets, lab practicals, marking reports, and giving feedback on presentations. I’ve enjoyed each of these to varying degrees, and so I would encourage you to try as many different teaching activities as possible!