Interview for tenured lectureship on Thursday how should I prepare?

[Teabag2023]

Just this really .. my first interview for a permanent academic appointment (RG uni, sciences). The role is teaching heavy though my experience to date has been research focused. I think I understand my strengths and weaknesses reasonablely well (strengths: srong publication record for career stage, genuinely love supervising grad students with several MSc and one PhD student already completed, pretty good external esteem. Weaknesses: limited formal lecturing experience and only so-so record of grant success). The role would require teaching on a subject close to melt heart that I (without beening obnoxious) I consider myself to be an 'expert' (or at least highly experienced) in. Any thoughts on how to prepare and angles I could take on why I'd be great despite limited lecturing experience would be really appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!!

Be sure to have questions prepared for the interviewer to ask about the school, the department, and students.

I’d say make sure you can give a detailed answer to how you’d structure/plan a teaching session to make it interesting. So stuff about chunking, activities, clear learning objectives, revisiting the learning objectives, flipped learning.

universities are obsessed about the NSS so you might be asked about how you think that could be improved. Make sure you’ve read the nss results for that course.

have you done your PG cert in education?

i agree with Ontario. If you’re weak on teaching and the position is teaching-centric, it’s probably a good idea to make your syllabi beforehand at least in outline.

They will probably have a fixed list of questions to ask everyone so the lead questions probably won't be specific to you, though follow-ups could be. Expect questions that are more concrete than "why would you be a good lecturer" - think "how's would you structure a first-year tutorial?" or "what makes a good lecture?" (with follow-ups on "how would you ensure X?" for any X you say it should have). They can see what experience you have and have chosen to interview you, so you are in with a chance.

The more you can have investigated the department and its research and teaching, so that you can mention specific individuals with whom you might like to collaborate and specific courses you might like to teach, the better.

Don't forget to gather information about the department, too, and think about whether you want a job there if they offer it.

Good luck!

Congratulations on getting short listed?
Would you teach lectures? Lead labs? Tutorials? Research the latest trends in these. Things have moved on from when the lecturer speaks for an hour at the front of the lecture theatre for example.
As for content, things you may want to look at are: research led/ research based/ research informed, assessment (continuous, peer, self, AI), transferrable skills, links with industry, collaboration among students, with other unis etc.
I know nothing about sciences I must say!
Will you have to present something at the interview?

RG social sciences lecturer here, a couple of questions from the last time I was on an interview panel were:
How do you 'fit' into the department?
tell me about your most recent collaboration?
How would you manage diverse classes / ensure the student voice is heard?
I'm racking my brain for others now :)

Thank you all so much I'm amazed how quickly you've replied and how much great advice already forthcoming!!

I know the department reasonably well, can see clear collaborative opportunities and think I'd love to work there from what I know but will certainly do more digging

The student body on the course is very diverse but it's a strong course (I currently employ 2 of its graduates and have a fair idea of the strengths and weaknesses)

The teaching would be entirely online so am finding literature re online engagement. Thanks for the heads up on having a lesson plan up my sleeve

I have to pre record a 10 minute 'lecture' but it's a bit unclear who the audience is as it's quite blue sky (future directions). My get feeling is that I'm pitching my vision to the panel so will concentrate on how courses such as this will support the development of a future workforce in this area along with (less emphasis) a research agenda. I do worry about though that this doesn't showcase setting of and teaching to learning objectives.

No Pg cert yet but would indicate it as a priority within my first 2yrs in post. Working towards associate fellowship HEA at the moment which is helping me and would be finished before taking up post should I get it.

Popping out now but will check in later as can see theres going to be lots of useful pointers for me! Thanks again

Sorry bad phrasing. The student body is fairly diverse. Full stop. From what Ive experienced it's a strong course (but was not the right adjoining word there!)

Hi, I'm a head in a science department at a university, I carry out a lot if interviews.

In terms of the recording, I would not take a vision approach. It's highly likely they are using it to see if you can actually teach!

Start your 10 minutes by stating what the topic you are covering is (make it very very small as 10 minutes is nothing), state the target audience (pick it yourself for example Level 4 students) and also state the learning outcomes (what you expect the audience to know by the end of the 10 minutes). At the end of the session too and tail the same information...
Today we learned how to do xyz.
As Year 1 students this is useful to you because....
In the next session we will cover....

When you are recording yourself, talk as if you were addressing the students, it's a recording of a real session delivery. This will be much better received than a vision approach if 'here's how I would do this'. They want to see you in action.

Thanks that's a great heads up. Will let you know how it goes!

I'll look through my past interview notes and compile a list of questions I have asked for L posts.

Have you had any student feedback from any modules or supervision you've been involved with. From my (PS rather than academic) pov we'd like to see awareness of importance of student survey, esp assessment and feedback components and ensuring your students' voices are heard.

Great that you're an expert in your field, but don't rely on that- undergrad teaching doesn't really need experts!

As an aside do you really want a teaching heavy job? Don't most academics hate teaching

Hi @titchy I've received module feedback so will pull that out. On the other question, I think (hope) that I'd enjoy more teaching and wouldn't get the chance where I am as I'm based in a research institute with only a tiny % with a university. Let's hope I'm not wrong!😀

Here is a sample of real questions I have used in the past:

1. Why have you applied for this role?
2. What do you know about our department and the university?
3. What are you interested in? What's your expertise? What would you feel most comfortable teaching?
4. Why does xyz matter in this subject area? Talk to us as if we were a group of Year 1 students.
5. Thinking about the student experience…how would you measure this? Give an example of when you have contributed towards improving the student experience.
6. How can you contribute to the teaching delivery in the department?
7. How do you see yourself contributing to a lecturer role?
8. I'm interested to know more about your teaching ethos and how you approach your classroom management. For example, you may have a class with students of varying abilities, or you may have a diverse student body with different backgrounds and culture. What are your tips and techniques to ensure all your students achieve maximum success?
9. Could you give us an example of when you designed innovative curriculum or teaching materials, or innovative assessment task to support effective learning?
10. We have a strong commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. How do you demonstrate your commitment to this in your work with students and colleagues?

@RockGirl those are so useful! Thank you so much!

I thought I'd focus on the teaching type questions. Assume you may get something around research informed teaching, public engagement and also how you may be able to contribute to the next REF.

They'll want to know they can put you in front of a class (or online!) without worrying. So prioritise being clear, engaging and concise. Be able to discuss your subject at a level suitable for school students so you can entice them to join at open days.

Make it clear that you understand the basics - replying to student emails, uploading materials promptly, clear assessment guidelines with timely useful feedback. They want you to come in and take on a big load without causing problems.

Hi all. Thanks so much everyone for their really valuable advice. The interview went well (I was a little verbose and forgot to mention some of the things I'd prepared but hey ho). They've invited me for a second interview sometime in the next couple of weeks. No details yet. Is this pretty standard? Any thoughts on what might be coming next?! Or should I just forget about it and enjoy the weekend until I hear more 😁

Never known a second interview but well done on being invited back.

Sounds positive, well done.

I went through a 2 day interview process but it was for a leadership role. For a lecturer role, I may ask for a pre-recording, or a ten minute presentation followed by an itnerview, but never two interviews.

Could it be that there is a second tier where you have to meet more senior management? Some managers like to micro manage the hiring process. It's quite difficult to get fired from academia so they want to ensure they hire the right person.

Did we predict any of the questions? :)

Qus'. Career highlights, Why I'd applied, my research focus, teaching experience, supervisory experience, what mark I'd make on the university and the course. My experience in building collaborations and knowledge exchange. All very predictable from the JD but Much less on teaching that I'd expected

It's my weakest area so maybe that's what stage 2 will focus on more? I wonder if there might be a couple of us very close... Anyhow I'm sure I'll find out soon enough!

Hi all. Thanks for all the previous help preparing for my interview. I have the second interview on Thursday and have had to provide a pre recorded presentation on preparing and assessing students to reach a set learning outcome. I prepared a course proposal with example assessments and marking rubrics. I'm assuming they will concentrate on teaching in this next interview as it's certainly my weakest area (I've been practically 100% research to date). Will let you know how it goes ..

Good luck. I can't believe they've left you hanging for this long.

Hi all. So after the long gap till the second interview they got back to me yesterday evening to offer me the role. Hurrah! Thanks for the advice preparing was really useful. A bit of negotiation to get through but looking forward to a new uni and to get some intensive teaching experience for a while at least. Have a lovely weekend all