EECS Student Handbook 2024/25

4.10. Teaching methods - OPTIONAL

Lectures

The principal method of communicating material in most modules is by 2 - 3 hours of lectures per week. During lectures, the lecturer presents material to the whole class, usually using teaching aids such as data projectors, white-boards, videos and computer demonstrations. Lecturers have individual styles of teaching: some may offer lecture slides or notes (handed out in the lecture, downloadable from the module website or available from reception for a small fee to cover printing costs), while others will expect students to take all their own notes, or to supplement supplied notes with their own additions. 

Students should re-read their lecture notes, where possible, before the next lecture, so that they can ask any questions or clarification before the next set of material is handed out. It is worth remembering that notes will be the basis of revision for exams, so it is wise to put some effort into making them as good as possible.

Labs

Many modules use weekly laboratory classes (labs) in order to give students practical experience of applying or testing concepts discussed during lectures. Practical skills, e.g. programming, are best developed in this type of environment. Teaching Assistants (typically members of staff or postgraduate research students) will be on hand to answer questions and help with practical problems. The support staff will not solve the problem on the student’s behalf, but will try to guide them towards finding a solution themselves. Set tasks are usually assigned in advance, and students should look at them before the class, if possible, and identify any problems, so that they can ask about these during the lab. 

A module will often have several time-slots set aside for labs, and each student will be assigned to a lab group, which has an individual time-slot. Labs are usually run in a particular section of the Temporary uilding, depending on the level of the module and the number of students. Lab groups and time-slots for individual modules are usually available on your EECS landing page under quick links. If a student wishes to change lab groups or time-slots, s/he must have good reason, e.g. a timetable clash. Changes cannot be made for other, more minor reasons; it is the student’s responsibility to be available during timetabled hours in term-time.

Modules that involve hardware also usually have several laboratory sessions as part of the module. The schedule for your laboratory sessions will be available on your EECS landing page. It is important that you prepare for the laboratory sessions in advance of the session. 

Tutorial Exercise classes

Like labs, some modules use exercise classes in order to give students practical experience of applying concepts discussed during lectures. Classes are usually held in a seminar room, and are often based on pen-and-paper tasks. Teaching Assistants (typically members of staff or postgraduate research students) will be on hand to answer questions and check solutions. The Teaching Assistants will not solve the problem on the student’s behalf, but will try to guide them towards finding a solution themselves. Set tasks are usually assigned in advance, and students should look at them before the class, if possible, and identify any problems, so that they can ask about these during the exercise class. Students should attempt to complete the tasks while help is at hand; if the work cannot be finished in the timetabled exercise class slot, students may finish it in their own time (but without the help of teaching Assistants).

A module will often have several time-slots set aside for exercise classes, and each student will be assigned to a group, which has an individual time-slot. Exercise classes are often run in the Temporary building, or in small seminar or lecture rooms elsewhere in the College. Groups and time-slots for individual modules are usually posted on your landing page or QM Plus. If a student wishes to change groups or time-slots, s/he must have good reason, e.g. a timetable clash. Changes cannot be made for other, more minor reasons; it is the student’s responsibility to be available during timetabled hours in term-time.

Project meetings (second, third and final year, and Masters students)

Some second, third, final year and Masters modules are project-based (e.g. group projects and the final year project). Support for these modules is often in the form of weekly project meetings, either in groups or individually. During these meetings, the student, or group of students, meets with a project supervisor or consultant, who is usually a member of academic staff. This provides the student(s) with an opportunity to summarise progress since the previous project meeting, discuss any problems and possible solutions, and plan the work to be carried out before the next project meeting. The project supervisor or consultant has two main roles: academic, ensuring that the intellectual content of the work is rigorous and well considered, and project management, ensuring that a satisfactory time-plan is formed and followed.

Independent study

In addition to the timetabled classes, students should plan to spend at least 5 hours per week on private study for each module they are studying. The division of this time between study tasks may vary with the nature of individual modules, e.g. a substantial part of the additional study time on a programming module may be spent in the lab, while other modules may demand more time spent on reading background material or solving exercise sheets. A variety of sources of material may be recommended: lecture slides and/or notes (for information tailored towards the individual module concerned), text-books (for basic, factual information), journals (for in-depth exploration of recent research trends), and conference proceedings (for cutting-edge research in progress). Some of this scientific material may be authored by the module teaching staff.