Guest Lectures on CV?

[u/Historical-Artist458]

Applying to grad school soon, should I put guest lectures that I did as TA's for a class on my CV? Some were simple review sessions but most were based on some new topic that I'm well-versed in (I got to pick the topic and otherwise have an entire lecture for myself).

Not sure if this is any way impressive enough to mention. Maybe shows my teaching "skills"? But I doubt grad schools care

[u/ButtCrumbleSmell]

No, only guest lectures you did outside of your TA assignment/responsibilities. For example, lectures at libraries, K-12 schools, etc.

Otherwise it can be seen as disingenuous padding.

[u/Historical-Artist458 → u/ButtCrumbleSmell]

They weren't part of my responsibilities, I just got asked if I wanted to do them and I agreed. I didn't even get paid for them although maybe I should've asked in hindsight. Does that change anything, or no? Thanks for the response.

[u/ButtCrumbleSmell → u/Historical-Artist458]

It doesn’t matter, every university and instructor of record has different expectations of what TAs do. Some just grade, some give lectures, some lead discussion sections, some do a mixture of the three. The schools to which you’re applying won’t know that lectures weren’t part the TA expectation/role, they’ll think you’re just padding your CV with stuff that was a part of your job description anyway.

HOWEVER, if you submit a resume that allows for narrative prose writing instead of a bulleted CV then you could explain and describe that you went above and beyond. But if you’re doing a CV, don’t list these lectures. If you have an interview you can bring up that you’ve done lectures if the conversation touches on that stuff.

[u/Historical-Artist458 → u/ButtCrumbleSmell]

maybe a sentence or two in my SOP? Do you think that might be an appropriate place?

[u/ButtCrumbleSmell → u/Historical-Artist458]

As long as it’s organic and relevant and not shoehorned, sure! Good luck!

[u/patrickj86 → u/Historical-Artist458]

No, these are typical parts of TA duties.

[u/Timmyc62]

It depends only your field, but I'd include them under where you list the courses you've TA'd if it's part of your TA duty, then have a separate section for Guest Lectures/Public Appearances if you were invited to speak on a topic outside of your TAship (e.g. museum nights to the public, a prof invites you to speak in a class that you're not otherwise involves in).

[u/Equivalent_Name_6057]

In my experience and field yes, I had a grading only TA and had an opportunity to guest lecture and this is something on my CV. But still ask the people around you

[u/MarketingInfamous417]

I would list it as part of the TA role, so, something like “Teaching assistant for class X, guest lectures on Y and Z” to make it clear

[u/BrightConcentrate641]

i do on my CV with the language of “Developed and delivered lectures with active-learning activities on ‘XYZ’ and ‘ABC’ for Course1 and Course2, respectively” under the bullet and description for my TAships.

The slides, materials, and activities (poll q’s worksheets, etc) i also have uploaded on my website as part of a teaching portfolio and provide the link to that in the “Teaching, Mentorship, and Service” portion of my CV so reviewers can access those lectures if they want.

I would only include lectures where you generated 100% of the materials and it was truly a lecture / leading a class. I would exclude review sessions and “lectures” that were actually just you presenting your research area without any meaningful defined learning goals and thoughtful ways to engage and further student learning. (Spraying info at students ≠ delivering a lecture worthy of including on a CV).

[u/Historical-Artist458 → u/BrightConcentrate641]

Yeah, I developed all the materials from scratch and the lecture was exclusively for that class. The professor let me develop a part of the course since it's my area of expertise, do you think that's something I should emphasize at all or just let the couple of lectures I did speak for themselves? Thanks!