Mini Profile: Dr Chris John, Senior Lecturer in Medicine

Chris John began his Imperial career as a PhD student then researcher in pharmacology, but developed a passion for teaching, which he now focuses on.

How did you come to focus on teaching?

Back when I started, the Department of Pharmacology was very much pro-teaching and my supervisor Julia Buckingham (former Pro Rector for Education) was always incredibly supportive of my own teaching. I basically continued teaching as a postdoc because I enjoyed it. The people I knew best (Julia, Sue Smith, John Laycock) were all involved in teaching and often asked me to help out. So I developed a heavy teaching load with organisational involvement from an early stage in my career.

Did that put a strain on your research?

It’s difficult generating research when you have to split your focus with teaching and teaching organisation. Those involved with teaching often have strong research groups to rely on so they can commit time. As most of my time is spent with teaching and not in the lab, there is a feeling of guilt. But research can be hard work; you can put in tremendous effort for little gain. Whatever you put into teaching, you always get that back.

Also the personality traits needed in a good researcher are not necessarily the same as the ones needed in a teacher. Teaching is not about you, it’s about the students and what they understand.

What do you most enjoy about teaching?

I especially enjoy small group teaching. You can see what individual students know and their interpretation of what you taught them, which you don’t get from a lecture. This helps because it is possible that what you thought you were explaining was perhaps not explained that well. It’s a two way progression of understanding, theirs and yours.

What did you gain from the MEd?

I wanted to know whether what I’m doing maps onto how students learn and I had to think hard about what was important for me about teaching, which helped me improve as a teacher. I used concept maps to look at student understanding pre- and post-course, noticing that certain concepts disappeared by the end, which lead me to think about course improvements so that students retain and integrate concepts.

Is formal training in teaching the new norm?

Not yet. The people heavily involved with teaching are still in small pockets around College, although the Educational Development Unit’s courses build networks for knowledge-sharing within and across faculties. I do believe that the more people go down this route, the better understanding we will have of how students learn, making a positive impact on the student experience.