Pay Scales: Maths Teaching and Marking in the UK

[vampire_kitten]

(cross-posted to gradstudents

Comments

[lostreality]

the average prep time was 15 minutes? Are these TAships where the students aren't lesson planning at all, or classes they have taught several times in the past? Because I don't know how you can prep a new hour-long lesson in 15 minutes, that seems insane (but if you figure out how let me know, cause I spend almost twice as much time prepping each new class as I do teaching it).

[vampire_kitten]

Ha, no. The averages were only taken on makring time (and from < 10 students)

We used to get an hour prep for each class. :(

(I would note the 15 minutes prep is also only for the FIRST time you teach a class - after that you get nothing. So if you teach say, Calc 1 to 4 groups, you get 15 minutes prep time for the lot, whereas last year you got 4 hours)

The only explanation we've been given is

"It might be that an inexperienced tutor requires more preparation time, but as Matt points out, a more experienced tutor doesn't require so much. So, I expect the 15 minutes is trying to strike a balance with that, without requiring the billing system to take on an extra level of complexity"

Which makes no sense when you can only claim 15 minutes prep time for the first class. There is no averaging opportunity.

[inkmark]

It's administrators thinking they know how to do your job better than you do. Same BS, different fields.

[tyopsqueene]

These figures are the average of figures given by postgrad students for the last year
vs
there are often times when courses take longer than average to mark

...but presumably about half the time the courses take *less* time than average to mark?

Or is the problem that you think the average from last year doesn't match the average from this year?

I think you have a stronger case re. the prep work - but that is something for communal action - i.e. you'll need to *do* 15 mins prep and no more, and demonstrate the effect that has on teaching quality.

[vampire_kitten]

..but presumably about half the time the courses take *less* time than average to mark?

But for those we are supposed to charge by the hour. The average figure is used as a cap on what we can claim, not a set figure we can claim.

[vampire_kitten]

Suppose we are given n homeworks in.

If we mark it in <8n minutes, we claim for the time we worked.

If we makr in >8n minutes, we claim for 8n minutes.

Ditto for teaching and prep (not that I imagine many people will come under 15 prep time)

But for a 45 minutes class, we get paid 45 minutes. For an 1h15 class, we get paid 1h.

[tisiphone]

My first question would be "is that legal?" In most of the US, it would not be legal to require you to work 1h15 and only get paid 1h - WalMart got slapped with an enormous lawsuit over it. Probably a dumb question, but do you have a grad students union or something?

[carmine_rose]

Oh my God. 15 minutes prep time? It takes longer than that to print/photocopy handouts. Your university is seriously taking the piss. Even an hour is unrealistic, especially if it the first time you've taught on a course. And 8 minutes per coursework marked? "Just mark faster?" That's outrageous. I'm sorry, I have no suggestions, just horror and sympathy. What bastards.

[vampire_kitten]

Thanks, it's good to know it isn't just us thinking that :)

[carmine_rose]

And I hadn't even read the comments when I posted that. It gets better and better! To get paid for 15 minutes prep time, instead of 4 hours (for 4 classes) is shocking. When I was a postgrad, it was acknowledged that the only way you'd actually get paid for the hours you'd really spent preparing was if you were teaching 3 or more classes, because then the 3 hours or more prep time almost matched the one hour per class official prep time payment. But to only pay you for prep for one class is so harsh. I do History, so perhaps have more reading to do that Maths (I'm guessing?) but even so. How long would you say you do spend on prep, on average?

I think the commenter above, who advised that you work to rule, has got it right. But that will only work if everyone does it, or they'll just give your teaching to the scabs/strike-breakers.

[vampire_kitten]

How long would you say you do spend on prep, on average?

I don't teach a class, just one (disabled) student. But I'm paid for that by the access office which is still paying by the hour, so it's not such a worry for me.

We have less reading than history, but just getting to grips with what notation the students are using/ how the along-side lectures are taught can be a nightmare.

The others PhD students are saying a hour for the first time you teach it is probably reasonable, but that it depends massively on the course, how on the ball the students are and how comprehensable the lecture notes/ question sheets are.

[the_reda]

As I see it they are asking for bullshit multiple-choice homework that can be graded by a monkey in less than a minute and get billed 8 min every time.

I have no figures of value to offer. Sorry. Just my sympathy.

[vampire_kitten]

they are asking for bullshit multiple-choice homework that can be graded by a monkey in less than a minute

Sorry, I don't understand where that came from?

[the_reda]

You get paid for 8 min for each homework graded, right? That is what I would to do get a decent wage out of it.

[vampire_kitten]

The lecturers set the homework, not us. :(

[kizzie]

I think we tend to give an hour prep time for an hour teaching and marking is just "however long it takes" with a rule in place about how many hours you can claim for in the year in total

[vampire_kitten]

Thanks for this. That sounds a much more sensible system.