Fundamentals of Teaching

The course aims to introduce tutors and demonstrators to a range of key teaching concepts and ideas to support you in the classroom. As well as highlighting some important areas of theory, we focus on providing you with practical strategies that we hope will be useful in your role.

Throughout the course, we offer links to further resources and recommended reading that you can refer back to in the future. You will also hear from current teaching staff from across the University (including PhD tutors, teaching fellows, lecturers and technicians), who share their experiences and advice.

It is hoped that the course might also be of interest to teaching staff and staff who support teaching.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

The course has been designed for tutors and demonstrators at The University of Edinburgh, from all disciplines. However, it is also hoped that existing teaching staff and other staff who support teaching activities might find the content useful as a ‘refresher’ or as a source for further reading and resource recommendations.

What does the course cover? 

Fundamentals of Teaching is made up of 5 sections, which together comprise a general introduction to teaching practice:

1. Teaching in Higher Education: An Introduction to the Context and Theory 
2. Tutorials and Small Group Teaching
3. Planning and Preparing Teaching Materials
4. Assessment and Feedback
5. Evaluating and Developing Your Teaching Practice

Each of these sections covers a key aspect of teaching practice that will be relevant for tutors and demonstrators. This includes signposting policies and frameworks that you should be aware of, as well as highlighting further resources and support available for you. In each section, there is a strong emphasis on encouraging self-reflection and preparing ideas and activities that you can take with you into the classroom.

Additionally, throughout the course you will find videos of current teaching staff from across The University of Edinburgh who share their experiences and advice. Each section is rounded off with a short ‘knowledge check’, which you will need to pass to complete the course.

When should I do this course?

The course has been designed to be completed by new tutors and demonstrators as part of the induction process before tutoring or demonstrating begins. However, once completed, the course will always be available to you via People and Money, so you can dip back into it at any time to refresh your knowledge of specific areas and access the recommended resources.

How do I access the course? 

Once the course is available, University of Edinburgh tutors, demonstrators, and other staff should enrol on the course through People and Money Learning.

Please click on the enrolment link below. Please log in to People and Money via the Company Single Sign On button, and ensure you use your University of Edinburgh staff username (UUN) and EASE password.

How long will it take to complete? 

We estimate that it will take 3 hours to complete the course. This includes watching the embedded videos, but does not include accessing or reading any of the additional links or suggested resources. The course is self-paced, you can leave and return to it where you left off at any time.

To complete the course, and in order for your completion to be recorded, you must work through all five sections and complete the required ‘knowledge check’ at the end of each section. 

Does this course fulfil the training requirements for tutors and demonstrators? 

No; it is important to be aware that this course has been designed as a general introduction to teaching practice and should be supplemented by discipline-specific guidance from the School employing you, as part of your course-level induction. If you have not received information about your course-level induction, please contact your Course Organiser.

Will my attendance be recorded? 

To complete the course successfully, and in order for your completion to be recorded, you must work through all sections and pass the ‘knowledge check’ at the end of each section. People and Money will automatically track your completion. 

IAD will keep a record of attendance and completion of this course. Attendance updates will be provided to the School in which you are teaching. 

You will not be issued a certificate of attendance on completion but please email IAD.TutDem@ed.ac.uk  if you require one.

Who do I contact if I have comments or problems accessing the course?

If you have problems accessing the course, please first check the help suggestions below to see if these resolve your issue. If you still continue to have issues, please email IAD.TutDem@ed.ac.uk.

We welcome comments on the course so please contact us if you have any feedback. There is also a feedback form in the final module of the course.  

People and Money (P&M) access help suggestions

Please ensure you are using your University of Edinburgh staff username (UUN) and password to log in, and not your student log in if you have one. 

Please ensure you click the ‘Company Single Sign On’ button if / when prompted – do not type your staff UUN and password into the data entry boxes below the button. 

If you do not yet have a staff username and password issued to you – for example because you have just been appointed to your tutor role and are still waiting for your contract to be processed – please wait until you have been issued with your staff username before attempting to enrol on the above People and Money course link. 

If you do have both University of Edinburgh student and staff usernames, please ensure that People and Money is not defaulting to picking up your student username. This can happen sometimes if you are already logged into your web browser as a UoE student. If you are having any P&M access issues, it can help to first completely sign out of your student log-in on your browser, in case that is causing any problems.

If you have got yourself locked out of People and Money – for example by incorrectly attempting to log in too many times – system access can only be reinstated by contacting HR. You could email HRHelpline@ed.ac.uk and ask for your P&M access to be restored – this may take at least a day or two to be resolved. 

Who do I contact if I have other questions about my role as a tutor/demonstrator? 

Your first point of contact should be the Course Organiser for the course you will be tutoring or demonstrating on. 

If you do not know who your Course Organiser is, please contact the School office staff in the School you will be teaching in.

For other questions about your teaching role that are not specific to your course, please email IAD.TutDem@ed.ac.uk