As well as a knowledge of the principles involved with the experiment, the postgraduate should be given an idea of the likely problems students will encounter and their solutions. An ideal opportunity to do this would be to allow the postgraduates involved to work through the experiment beforehand. Experience of a class as an undergraduate several years before is not sufficient training to teach others. All students involved in demonstrating should be given hands-on experience with the equipment concerned and written guidance as to the expected results and common problems of an experiment. They should receive this training a suitable period in advance of the demonstration work concerned.
Exam results are obviously of great importance to the students concerned.
Guidance for postgraduates involved in marking scripts is required to ensure consistency and fairness. Even given suitable training, not all postgraduates find themselves able to teach all the different subjects in a particular department either for academic or other reasons. It is unfair to undergraduates and the postgraduate if such students are required to teach, and so there should be some procedure for assessing suitability for teaching. All postgraduate students employed part-time by the university for academic purposes should undergo prior assessment of their suitability. This assessment should take place before the teaching starts, perhaps incorporated with training, and could for subsequent years operate through undergraduate feedback on their classes.