Aidar Akmaev
Disclosure: NOXI publishes this guide and is one of the tools it mentions; the method works in any presentation software.
Quick answer: A teaching demonstration is a short lesson you teach to a hiring committee, usually 15 to 30 minutes, with the committee playing your students. Treat it as a lesson, not a talk: one objective, a two-minute hook, short explanation, a task the committee does, and a check that shows they learned it, all inside the time you were given.
Most candidates prepare a teaching demonstration like a conference talk: twenty slides, every graph explained, a question slide at the end. That is what committees screen out. This guide gives you a 20-minute plan whose minutes add up, 15, 30 and 50-minute versions, a script for treating the committee as students, a self-check rubric and a chemistry demo rehearsed three times. The candidate, Dr. Lena Ortiz, and Bayview Community College are fictional; every calculation is shown.
In short
- The ruleTeach, don't present. The committee should leave able to do one thing it could not do 20 minutes earlier, and you should have seen the proof.
- LengthUsually 15 to 30 minutes (Middle Georgia State); 20 minutes, plus or minus 5, at the University of Turku's Faculty of Science. Always ask.
- 20 minutesHook 2 + objective 3 + explain 6 + committee task 5 + check 3 + close 1 = 20.
- 8 slidesFor 20 minutes: title and objective, hook, one idea, one worked example, the task, the check, the answer to the hook, next class.
- What is scoredAccuracy, clarity, organisation and level first; enthusiasm, confidence and active learning lift a demo to outstanding.
- ExampleA limiting-reagent demo cut from 23:10 to 19:40 in three timed rehearsals.
Key numbers
Pay and job figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), lengths from university guidelines, all opened on 21 October 2026.
103,300 openings a year against 1,378,200 jobs is 103,300 ÷ 1,378,200 = 7.5% of the occupation each year (BLS page modified 27 August 2026).
What is a teaching demonstration (teaching demo)?
A teaching demonstration, or teaching demo, is a lesson a candidate teaches during a job interview so the hiring committee can see how they teach, not how much they know. It runs at the level of a real course, the committee or invited students act as the class, and it is judged on whether learning happens.
In a presentation you do the thinking and the audience watches; in a lesson the audience does part of the thinking while you watch, and you change course when they have not got it. A committee reading your demo asks one question: "would I want this person teaching our students on Monday?"
A survey of biology faculty advises keeping a demo to three or four major points, because less is more [5].
What do committees look for in a teaching demonstration?
Committees look first for accurate content, a lesson students would understand, clear organisation and the right level for the course; they then look for engagement, because a demo where the audience only listens rarely stands out. The published criteria cited in this guide all say some version of this.
The clearest published evidence we found is the 2013 survey by Smith, Wenderoth and Tyler of 113 biology faculty at community colleges and undergraduate, master's and PhD-granting institutions [5]:
- 62% of the biology departments surveyed required a teaching demonstration [5].
- 47.0% of respondents said the demo carries equal weight with the research talk, and 28.1% said it carries more weight [5].
- On 21 statements rated from 1 (not important) to 4 (very important), the top five were: content is accurate (3.86), the presentation would be understandable to students (3.82), material is organised effectively (3.73), the talk is pitched at the correct level (3.68), topics are introduced in a way that connects to the audience (3.63) [5].
- Incorporating active learning scored 2.52 as an item, yet asked what makes a demo outstanding rather than adequate, respondents most often named enthusiasm, passion for the topic and a relaxed, confident manner, and also cited active learning [5].
The 2.52 is not permission to lecture: an inaccurate demo fails whatever activity it contains, and an accurate one becomes memorable when the committee does something.
The University of Turku's Faculty of Humanities assesses five aspects: content and mastery of the subject, relevance of the topic to the field and the announced topic, structure, presentation style and use of time, oral presentation skills, and interaction that supports teaching, such as taking participants into account; its committee grades a demo excellent, very good, good, satisfactory or failed [4].
How long is a teaching demonstration?
A teaching demonstration usually lasts 15 to 30 minutes, followed by questions, but the department sets the length and some ask for a full 50-minute class. Middle Georgia State University's guidelines call 15 to 30 minutes the average [2]; the University of Turku's Faculty of Science sets 20 minutes, plus or minus 5, for a lecture excerpt [3].
| Guideline | Length | What else it sets |
|---|---|---|
| Middle Georgia State University (US) | 15 to 30 minutes on average | Committee gives the length and subject area; the committee acts as students [2] |
| University of Turku, Faculty of Science (Finland), 2025 | 20 (± 5) minutes, as an excerpt from a normal lecture, unless otherwise specified | Professors choose and announce the topic; lecturer and teacher applicants are given it [3] |
| University of Turku, Faculty of Humanities (Finland), 2022 | A self-contained 20-minute unit; it may be interrupted after 25 minutes | State the audience level at the start; public, so students may attend [4] |
Plan to finish at 19:00 to 19:40 of a 20-minute slot. Under Turku's humanities rule, a demo past 25 minutes may be interrupted before your conclusion [4].
What to ask the search committee before you build anything
Middle Georgia State's guidelines ask committees to tell candidates the length and subject area and to offer AV equipment [2]; not every committee does. Send these seven questions in one email when you accept:
- How long is the demonstration, and is question time inside or after it?
- Which course and level? Majors or non-majors, class size.
- Is the topic set, chosen from a list, or mine to choose?
- Who will attend? Committee only, other faculty, or real students. In the 2013 survey, students were present in about one-third of cases [5].
- Should I treat the audience as students? The usual answer is yes [2][5]; confirm it.
- What is in the room? Projector, laptop, whiteboard, internet, polling.
- Online or in person? If online, which platform and whether breakout rooms work.
The 20-minute teaching demonstration plan, minute by minute
A 20-minute teaching demonstration fits six parts: a 2-minute hook, 3 minutes for the objective and prior knowledge, 6 minutes of explanation with one worked example, 5 minutes in which the committee does a task, a 3-minute check and a 1-minute close. The committee is working for 8 of the 20 minutes.
| Minutes | Part | What happens | Slides |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Hook | A question or puzzle the class cannot answer yet, tied to something familiar | 1 |
| 2–5 | Objective and prior knowledge | One objective on screen ("By the end you can…"); one quick question to see what they already know; restate the course and level | 1 |
| 5–11 | Explain | Two chunks of about 3 minutes: the one idea, then one worked example, written on the board step by step | 2 |
| 11–16 | Committee does it | A problem in pairs; you walk the room, listen, and pick two answers to share | 1 |
| 16–19 | Check | Two questions whose answers you can see (hands, cards, a poll, written answers) | 1 |
| 19–20 | Close | The answer to the hook and what the next class covers | 2 |
| Total | 2 + 3 + 6 + 5 + 3 + 1 = 20 minutes; committee active 5 + 3 = 8 minutes, or 40% | 8 |
The plan is our guidance, not a published standard, built on the survey's advice to hook with a puzzle, ask rather than tell, give activities enough time and keep to three or four points [5]. The hook and the close are the same question; the check uses a problem the committee has not seen.
15, 30 and 50-minute versions
Keep the order and resize the blocks; longer slots get more cycles of explain, do and check, never one stretched explanation.
| Length | Minute plan | Committee task time | Slides |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | Hook 1.5 + objective 2 + explain 4 (one chunk with the example) + task 4 + check 2.5 + close 1 = 15 | 4 of 15 = 27% | 6 |
| 20 minutes | Hook 2 + objective 3 + explain 6 + task 5 + check 3 + close 1 = 20 | 5 of 20 = 25% | 8 |
| 30 minutes | Hook 2 + objective 3 + explain 7 + task 1 6 + misconception 3 + task 2 5 + check 3 + close 1 = 30 | 11 of 30 = 37% | 11 |
| 50 minutes | Hook 3 + objective 4 + cycle 1 (explain 8 + task 8 + check 4) + cycle 2 (explain 7 + task 8 + check 4) + close 4 = 50 | 16 of 50 = 32% | 14 plus the board |
A misconception slide shows a wrong answer a real student would give and asks the committee to find the error. It shows you know where students struggle. The general arithmetic of slides and minutes is in our slides per minute guide.
How to prepare for a teaching demonstration: a 10-day plan
Prepare a teaching demonstration over about ten days: confirm the brief, narrow the topic, write a one-page lesson plan, build the few slides it needs, and rehearse three times with a timer. Most of the work is cutting.
| Day | Task | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Send the seven questions; find the course syllabus and textbook online | You know the length, level, audience and room |
| 2 | Choose the topic and write one objective starting "By the end of class you can…" | The objective has one verb you can check (calculate, identify, explain) |
| 3 | Write the hook, the worked example, the task and two check questions, with answers | All four fit on one page |
| 4 | Write the one-page lesson plan with minutes per block | The minutes add up to the slot minus 1 |
| 5 | Build the slides from the plan | No slide has a paragraph; every number is checked |
| 6–9 | Three timed rehearsals: alone, then with two colleagues as students, then in a similar room with the board | Finished between 19:00 and 19:40; colleagues solved the task unaided |
| 10 | Pack: slides as .pptx and PDF on a USB stick, markers, printed task and handout | The demo works without the internet or your laptop |
The survey adds two steps: sit in on a similar course and read its textbook, so you know what students already know, and rehearse the activity itself, because practice shows the range of answers the room may give [5].
Teaching demonstration ideas and topics: how to choose
Choose a teaching demonstration topic that is taught in the department's real courses at the level you were given, small enough to teach to an objective in the time, and known for a common student mistake you can fix. If the topic is assigned, narrow it rather than cover all of it.
| Test | Pass | Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Course fit | A topic from week 4 of the department's introductory course | Your dissertation topic, pitched at graduate level |
| Size | One skill or concept students can practise in 5 minutes | "An overview of thermodynamics" |
| Misconception | A known wrong shortcut you can make visible | A topic students rarely get wrong |
| Checkable | An answer you can see in 30 seconds | "Do you understand?" |
Teaching demonstration ideas built around one checkable skill: limiting reagents or a titration curve (chemistry), a Punnett square (biology), choosing a test for two groups (statistics), price elasticity from two points (economics), evaluating a primary source (history), a drip-rate calculation (nursing), tracing a loop (computer science).
Treating the committee as students: the script
Treat the committee as students from the first sentence: say which course and level they are playing, ask them a real question within two minutes, and give them a task they actually do. Middle Georgia State's guidelines tell committee members to respond as students [2].
If you are asked to introduce yourself first, keep it to 30 to 60 seconds and one slide or none, as in our about me presentation guide, then step into the teacher's role. Restating the course context shows you followed instructions and reminds faculty to give typical student answers [5]. A first 30 seconds:
Task instructions a tired first-year could follow without asking twice:
Three habits make the role-play work:
- Wait. After a question, count silently to five; wait time of at least 3 to 5 seconds is one of the elements the survey asked faculty to rate [5].
- Build on answers. Use part of each answer to build the correct one and correct errors politely [5]; never say "no, anyone else?"
- Never cut the activity short. "In a real class I'd give you more time" can read as poor time management [5]; shrink the task instead.
If a committee member steps out of role with a hard question, answer in under a minute or turn it to the room to buy thinking time [5]. For openers beyond this script, see how to start a presentation.
Teaching demo presentation slides (PPT): how many and what on them
Use about 8 slides for a 20-minute teaching demonstration, 6 for 15 minutes and 11 for 30, and put questions, problems and images on them rather than notes. Write the steps students must copy on the board, so the pace is set by their writing, not your clicking.
The survey is direct: bullet points remind the speaker but do not help students learn; slides should pose questions, ask students to interpret graphs with labelled axes, and show pictures; anything students must write down, you write too [5].
| # | Slide | What goes on it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title and objective | Course, week, your name; "By the end of class you can…" in one line |
| 2 | Hook | The puzzle as a question with one image or two numbers |
| 3 | The one idea | A diagram or rule in under 15 words; the rest happens on the board |
| 4 | Worked example | The problem only; you solve it on the board, step by step |
| 5 | Your turn | The task, the time limit, who writes and who checks |
| 6 | Check | Two questions, answers revealed one at a time |
| 7 | Back to the hook | The answer, with the number students can now calculate |
| 8 | Next class | One line on what comes next and one practice problem |
When to use no slides at all
Use the board alone for subjects built step by step (proofs, derivations) or when the department asks for a chalk talk, which the survey describes as chalk only, no slides [5]. Either way, bring the task on paper, and test the projector early or use a low-tech alternative to clickers [5]. For AI help turning a lesson into slides, our guide to AI presentation tools for teachers compares the options.
Checks for understanding: two questions that prove learning
A check for understanding is a question asked during or at the end of a lesson whose answers show the teacher, in seconds, whether students learned the objective. In a teaching demo, ask two: one that applies the skill to new numbers, and one that targets the common mistake.
Lost students rarely speak up in front of a class, so the survey recommends a diagnostic question instead: pose it, have people write and compare answers with a neighbour, then ask them to share [5].
| Check | What you ask | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| New numbers | The same skill with values they have not seen | Whether they can transfer the method |
| Common mistake | "A student says X. Where is the error?" | Whether they hold the misconception |
Afterwards, say briefly what you would do next week if half the room got it wrong.
Teaching demonstration rubric: a self-check before the day
Departments write their own teaching demonstration evaluation forms, but the guidance cited here points to eight things: fit to the course, one clear objective, accuracy, active learning, checks for understanding, clarity, timing and handling questions. Score your final rehearsal against the pass rules below.
| Criterion | Pass rule | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Fit to course and level | The topic is taught in the department at the level you were given, and you say so in the first minute | Correct level, 3.68 of 4 [5]; relevance [4] |
| One clear objective | Stated on a slide and met by minute 19 | Organisation, 3.73 [5]; structure [4] |
| Accuracy | Every number and definition checked twice; units on every value | Accuracy, 3.86, top-rated [5] |
| Active learning | The committee works for at least 5 of 20 minutes (25%) | Cited for outstanding demos [5]; interaction [4] |
| Checks for understanding | At least 2 questions with answers you can see | "Ask, don't tell" advice [5] |
| Clarity | Every slide readable from the back row; no paragraph slides; key steps on the board | Understandable, 3.82; readable slides, 3.20 [5] |
| Timing | Ends between 19:00 and 20:00 of a 20-minute slot | Use of time; interruption after 25 minutes [4] |
| Handling questions | Answers in under 60 seconds, or turns the question to the room, or offers to follow up | Advice on hard questions [5] |
This is our self-check, not any department's form; if your invitation includes a form, score yourself on that first.
Teaching demonstration for a community college interview
At a community college the teaching demonstration is often the centre of the interview, so prepare it as carefully as a research candidate prepares a job talk. In the 2013 survey, 83.3% of community-college respondents said candidates give a teaching demonstration only, with no research talk, and 6.7% said both [5].
That is 83.3% + 6.7% = 90.0% of community-college respondents (n = 30) whose candidates teach in the interview, against 36.6% at PhD-granting institutions (n = 41) [5]. In the same survey, 85.7% of community-college respondents (n = 28) said teaching is heavily weighted in tenure and promotion [5].
- Pitch to the actual students: ask who takes the course (first-year students, career changers, nursing prerequisites) and use examples from their world.
- Show the whole cycle: objective, practice, check, and one line on how you would grade it.
- Bring a one-page practice sheet for the task, and in a 15-minute slot keep one task rather than rushing two.
Pay context: May 2025 medians were $81,640 at local junior colleges and $68,160 at state junior colleges, against $96,120 at state colleges and universities (BLS) [1].
Faculty interview presentation: teaching demo vs job talk
A faculty interview often includes two presentations that need two different decks: a teaching demonstration, in which you teach a class-level topic to people playing students, and a job talk, in which you present your own research to faculty as colleagues. Never shorten your job talk into a teaching demo.
| Aspect | Teaching demonstration | Job talk |
|---|---|---|
| Audience role | Students in a named course | Colleagues and future collaborators |
| Typical length | 15–30 minutes, sometimes 50 | Set by the department; ask |
| Success | They can do one new thing | They believe your research will thrive there |
| Deck | 6–11 slides, board work, a task | Data-rich slides, methods, results, future directions |
The academic job talk
The job talk is closer to a conference talk with a future-directions ending; the structure in our research paper to conference presentation guide carries over.
Lecturer interview presentation
Lecturer interview briefs vary: some ask for a mini-lecture to students, others for a talk about your teaching or research. If the brief says "teach" or "session", use this guide's plan; if it says "vision" or "research plans", build a talk; if unclear, ask. For "present yourself" or 30-60-90 briefs, see our job interview presentation guide.
Demo lesson for a teacher interview: K-12, demo teaching and online ESL
A demo lesson for a teacher interview, also called a mock lesson or demo teaching, is the school-level teaching demonstration: you teach part of a real lesson to pupils or to a panel. The six-part plan still works; the learners, the lesson plan you hand in and the scorer change.
| Setting | What usually changes | How to adapt the plan |
|---|---|---|
| K-12 demo lesson with real pupils | Behaviour and routines; observers watch the pupils too | Shorter chunks, a routine for the task, name cards, specific praise |
| Mock lesson to a panel | Adults acting as pupils of a stated age | Name the year group and last lesson; ask the panel to answer at that age |
| Demo teaching with a written lesson plan | A detailed plan submitted in a set format, scored with the lesson | Write the plan first; mirror its parts on the slides and in your timing |
| Online ESL demo lesson | One learner or a small group on video, sometimes recorded | Speak less, one image per slide, model then elicit, end with the learner using the target language |
| Nurse educator or clinical trainer | Learners are practitioners; safety and accuracy are scored | Use a case, a skill check (a calculation or teach-back), and the source of every clinical value |
DepEd demo teaching (Philippines)
In Philippine public schools, demonstration teaching can be part of filling teaching posts, scored against the Philippine Professional Standards for Teachers (PPST). A 4 August 2025 memorandum of DepEd's Schools Division of Bulacan, scheduling demonstration teaching for Master Teacher I and II applicants, lists PPST classroom observation indicators worth up to 25 points and non-classroom observation indicators (portfolio annotations and a behavioural event interview) up to 15 [6]. Durations, lesson-plan formats and rubrics are set by the current DepEd order and your division's memo; build your lesson plan to the indicators named there.
The demo teaching script
Write the demo teaching script in full once, time it at 120 to 150 words a minute, then cut it to cue cards: the hook, the two explanation steps, the task instructions word for word, the two check questions and the closing line.
Microteaching: what it is and how it helps you prepare
Microteaching means teaching a very short lesson to a small group of peers, getting feedback and teaching it again with changes. It is a structured way to rehearse a demo, because it builds in feedback you will not get on the day.
Run it for your demo with two or three colleagues:
- Teach the full demo with a timer per block, recorded on your phone if they agree.
- Feedback in five minutes: where each person was lost or most engaged, and the block times.
- Re-plan by cutting from the longest block, never from the task or the check.
- Re-teach the next day and compare the times.
Teaching demo tips: common mistakes and how to fix them
Common teaching demo mistakes, as faculty describe them, are too many slides packed with facts, explaining every graph instead of asking the audience to read it, leaving the audience passive, giving a research talk instead of a lesson, and cutting the planned activity short. Each has a simple fix.
| Mistake | What the committee sees | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Too many dense slides | A lecture to be endured | 8 slides for 20 minutes; questions, not notes |
| Interpreting every graph | Students never practise reading data | Ask "what is on each axis?" and "what would you conclude?" first [5] |
| A passive audience | No evidence anyone learned | A 5-minute task and two visible checks |
| A research talk in disguise | No sense of the course or students | Introductory-course topic; restate the level at the start [5] |
| Philosophy without practice | A teaching statement about active learning, then a lecture | Use in the demo what your statement promises [5] |
| Cutting the activity short | Poor time management | Time the task in rehearsal; shrink the problem, not the minutes [5] |
| Running over | Being stopped before the conclusion | Rehearse to 19:40 [4] |
Middle Georgia State reminds committees to allow for nervousness, even in excellent teachers [2], so recover calmly from a slip. Keep a "skip plan": know which slide you drop if minute 11 arrives before the task.
Teaching demonstration example: a 20-minute limiting-reagent lesson, timed
A full 20-minute demo for a community-college chemistry interview, with the arithmetic, the task, the checks and three timed rehearsals. Example Dr. Lena Ortiz and Bayview Community College are fictional.
Lena is invited on Monday 25 January 2027 to interview for a chemistry instructor post at Bayview Community College. Her demonstration is on Thursday 4 February 2027: 20 minutes plus 10 minutes of questions, General Chemistry I, topic "limiting reagents", the search committee of four acting as first-year students. Objective: "By the end of class you can find the limiting reagent and the mass of product from the masses of two reactants."
The hook and the misconception
The hook slide: "3.0 g of hydrogen and 32.0 g of oxygen react to make water: 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O. Which one runs out first, and how much water do we get?" Many students will guess hydrogen, because 3.0 g is less than 32.0 g. Here they are right for the wrong reason, which is why the task uses numbers where the smaller mass is not the limiting reagent.
The worked example (minutes 5–11)
- Grams to moles. Hydrogen, 2.016 g/mol: 3.0 ÷ 2.016 = 1.488, so 1.49 mol H₂. Oxygen, 32.00 g/mol: 32.0 ÷ 32.00 = 1.00 mol O₂.
- Compare with the equation. 2 mol H₂ react with 1 mol O₂, so 1.00 mol O₂ needs 2 × 1.00 = 2.00 mol H₂. Only 1.49 mol H₂ is there, so hydrogen is limiting.
- Product. 2 mol H₂ make 2 mol H₂O, so 1.488 mol H₂ makes 1.488 mol water; water, 18.02 g/mol: 1.488 × 18.02 = 26.8, so 26.8 g of water.
- Check by mass. Oxygen used: 1.488 ÷ 2 = 0.744 mol, and 0.744 × 32.00 = 23.8 g; oxygen left: 32.0 − 23.8 = 8.2 g. Water plus leftover oxygen: 26.8 + 8.2 = 35.0 g, the same as 3.0 + 32.0 = 35.0 g of reactants.
The task (minutes 11–16)
In pairs: "4.0 g of hydrogen and 16.0 g of oxygen. Which runs out first, and how much water forms?" Answer: 4.0 ÷ 2.016 = 1.98 mol H₂; 16.0 ÷ 32.00 = 0.500 mol O₂; 0.500 mol O₂ needs 2 × 0.500 = 1.00 mol H₂, and 1.98 mol is there, so oxygen is limiting, although it has four times the mass of hydrogen (16.0 ÷ 4.0 = 4). Water: 2 × 0.500 = 1.00 mol, and 1.00 × 18.02 = 18.0 g. Mass check: hydrogen left 1.98 − 1.00 = 0.98 mol, or 0.98 × 2.016 = 2.0 g; 18.0 + 2.0 = 20.0 g, equal to 4.0 + 16.0 = 20.0 g.
The checks (minutes 16–19)
- New numbers, on cards: "2.0 g of hydrogen and 8.0 g of oxygen: which is limiting, and how much water?" Expected: 2.0 ÷ 2.016 = 0.992 mol H₂; 8.0 ÷ 32.00 = 0.250 mol O₂, which needs 0.500 mol H₂, so oxygen is limiting; water 2 × 0.250 = 0.500 mol, and 0.500 × 18.02 = 9.0 g.
- The misconception: "A student says hydrogen must be limiting in the task because 4.0 g is less than 16.0 g. Where is the error?" Expected: you compare moles against the equation's ratio, not grams.
The close (minute 19–20) returns to the hook: hydrogen ran out first, 26.8 g of water formed, and next class covers percent yield, "why a real reaction gives you less than 26.8 g".
Three rehearsals, timed by block
Lena rehearsed alone on Saturday 30 January, with two colleagues as students on Monday 1 February, and in a similar classroom on Tuesday 2 February, days 6 to 9 of the ten-day plan (minutes:seconds).
| Block (plan) | Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hook (2:00) | 2:20 | 2:00 | 1:50 |
| Objective and prior knowledge (3:00) | 3:10 | 3:00 | 2:40 |
| Explain (6:00) | 8:40 | 6:55 | 5:30 |
| Task (5:00) | 4:30 | 5:00 | 5:00 |
| Check (3:00) | 3:00 | 2:40 | 3:10 |
| Close (1:00) | 1:30 | 1:30 | 1:30 |
| Total (20:00) | 23:10 | 21:05 | 19:40 |
- Run 1 to run 2: 23:10 − 21:05 = 2:05 shorter. Run 1 overran in the explanation (8:40 against 6:00) and squeezed the task to 4:30, the mistake the survey warns about. Lena dropped her second worked example.
- Run 2 to run 3: 21:05 − 19:40 = 1:25 shorter. She moved a slide on the history of the mole to a one-page handout; the explain block fell from 6:55 to 5:30, exactly 1:25. The other blocks moved by −0:10, −0:20 and +0:30, which net to zero.
- Total: 23:10 − 19:40 = 3:30, which matches 2:05 + 1:25 = 3:30. Run 3 leaves 20 seconds of margin, and the committee works for 5:00 + 3:10 = 8:10 of the 19:40, or 41.5%.
Her eight slides follow the slide table above. Any skill-based topic fits the same structure: swap the reaction for a calculation in your field and keep the order and times. Our training presentation guide adapts the cycle for adult learners, and the journal club presentation guide shows how to teach from a paper.
Here are two slides from this article's worked example, as NOXI built them, unedited.
3 AI prompts for a teaching demonstration
These prompts work in NOXI and most AI presentation tools; replace the text in square brackets and attach your own lesson plan. Check every number and definition yourself before the day.
Create an [8]-slide teaching demonstration from the attached [lesson plan]. It is a [20]-minute lesson for [General Chemistry I, week 6, first-year community-college students], taught to a search committee acting as students. Use only my document's facts and numbers. Slides: title with one objective starting "By the end of class you can"; the hook question; one idea in under 15 words; the worked example as a problem only; a pair task with a [4]-minute limit; two check questions; the answer to the hook; next class. No paragraphs, large type.
Rewrite slides [3 and 4] so they ask instead of tell: slide 3 asks "[How do we compare reactants fairly?]" and shows the molar masses [2.016, 32.00 and 18.02 g/mol]; slide 4 shows only the problem [3.0 g H₂ and 32.0 g O₂; 2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O]. Keep slide 6 to the two check questions, with no answers on the slide.
Make a [15]-minute version with [6] slides: keep the title and objective, the hook, the worked example, the pair task and the check; merge "back to the hook" and "next class" into one closing slide. Keep every number unchanged.
How to build a teaching demonstration in NOXI
NOXI turns the lesson plan you already wrote into a short, structured demo deck. It is free, with no card and no watermark; uploading files needs a free account, and a full deck uses about 25 of the 1,000 monthly credits.
Step 1: Attach your lesson plan
Choose Create from file and attach your one-page lesson plan (Word or PDF, up to 200 MB per file). Paste Prompt 1 with your course, level, length and slide count.
Step 2: Review the outline first
Choose Plan mode to review the outline before generating. Check that the slides follow the six-part plan, that there is one objective, a task and two check questions, then generate and watch each slide being built.
Step 3: Check every number and definition
Read each slide against your lesson plan and recompute every value. Edit text on the slide, or ask the AI in plain English to fix one slide or the whole deck.
Step 4: Turn telling into asking
Use Prompt 2 to turn explanation slides into question slides and leave the steps for the board. Click any element and tell the AI what to change, for example "make this problem larger" or "remove the bullet list".
Step 5: Rehearse in present mode
Present full-screen from NOXI during your timed rehearsals and note the time of each block. If you overrun, use Prompt 3 to make the 15-minute version or ask the AI to cut one slide.
Step 6: Export and pack
Download an editable PowerPoint (.pptx) with real text boxes and embedded fonts, and a PDF as a backup; put both on a USB stick. Share a view-only link if the committee asks for your materials in advance.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a teaching demonstration?
- A teaching demonstration is a short lesson a candidate teaches during a job interview, usually 15 to 30 minutes, with the hiring committee or invited students acting as the class. The department sets the course, level and length, and the committee judges accuracy, clarity, organisation, level and how well the candidate engages learners.
- How long is a teaching demonstration?
- Most teaching demonstrations last 15 to 30 minutes plus questions; Middle Georgia State University calls 15 to 30 minutes the average, and the University of Turku's Faculty of Science sets 20 minutes, plus or minus 5. Some departments ask for a full 50-minute class, so confirm the length and question time in writing.
- How do I prepare for a teaching demonstration?
- Confirm the length, course, level, audience and room; choose a topic taught at that level; write one objective, a hook, a worked example, a task and two check questions; build about 8 slides for 20 minutes; then rehearse three times with a timer per block, at least once with colleagues acting as students.
- What do committees look for in a teaching demo?
- Committees look first for accurate content, an explanation students would understand, clear organisation and the right level. In a 2013 survey of biology faculty these scored 3.68 to 3.86 out of 4. Enthusiasm, a relaxed and confident manner and active learning are what respondents said make a demo outstanding rather than adequate.
- How many slides should a teaching demo have?
- Use about 8 slides for a 20-minute teaching demo, 6 for 15 minutes and 11 for 30 minutes. Put questions, problems and images on the slides rather than notes, write the steps students must copy on the board, and bring the deck as PowerPoint and PDF on a USB stick.
- Should I treat the committee as students?
- Yes, unless told otherwise. Middle Georgia State University's guidelines ask committees to tell candidates to treat them as students, and committee members to respond as students. Say which course and level they are playing in the first minute, ask them real questions and give them a task they actually do.
- What is the difference between a teaching demo and a job talk?
- A teaching demo is a lesson: you teach course content to people playing students and are judged on whether they learn. A job talk is a research presentation to faculty as colleagues, judged on your scholarship and plans. They need two different decks; never shorten the job talk to make the demo.
- What is microteaching?
- Microteaching is a teacher-training method in which you teach a short lesson of a few minutes to a small group of peers, receive structured feedback, then re-teach it with changes. The cycle is plan, teach, feedback, re-plan, re-teach, and it gives you a structured way to rehearse a teaching demonstration.
- What is a demo lesson for a teacher interview?
- A demo lesson, also called a mock lesson or demo teaching, is part of a school lesson taught during a teacher interview, sometimes to real pupils and sometimes to a panel acting as pupils. You usually submit a lesson plan, teach one objective, involve the learners and show how you check what they learned.
- Can AI make a teaching demonstration from my lesson plan?
- Yes. AI presentation tools can turn a lesson plan into a short demo deck if you attach the plan, name the course, level, length and slide count, and ask for questions and problems instead of notes. Recompute every number, check every definition and rehearse with the deck yourself before the interview.
Sources & methodology
How this guide was made: it combines BLS data, teaching demonstration guidelines from Middle Georgia State University and the University of Turku, the 2013 CBE—Life Sciences Education faculty survey and a 2025 DepEd division memorandum with practitioner method. The plans, rubric and scripts are editorial recommendations, not published standards; follow your department's instructions. Dr. Lena Ortiz, Bayview Community College and the rehearsal times are fictional; every calculation was checked twice. All sources were checked on 21 October 2026.
- [1] Median annual wage of $85,330 in May 2025; 1,378,200 jobs in 2025; employment growth of 7% from 2025 to 2035, "much faster than the average for all occupations"; about 103,300 openings a year; May 2025 medians by industry of $96,120 (state colleges, universities and professional schools), $89,660 (private), $81,640 (local junior colleges) and $68,160 (state junior colleges); page last modified 27 August 2026 — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Postsecondary Teachers.
- [2] Fifteen to thirty minutes as the average time for presentation; telling the candidate the length and subject area; treating committee members as students and responding as students; providing AV equipment; allowing for nervousness — Middle Georgia State University, Faculty Affairs, Teaching Demonstration Guidelines (PDF).
- [3] Teaching demonstration as an excerpt from a normal lecture lasting 20 (± 5) minutes unless otherwise specified; topic chosen and announced by professor applicants; topic and level given to university lecturer and teacher applicants — University of Turku, Faculty of Science, Assessment of teaching skills and teaching demonstrations in recruitment (2025 guidelines, PDF).
- [4] A self-contained 20-minute unit that may be interrupted after 25 minutes; audience level stated at the start; public demonstration; five assessment aspects; grades from excellent to failed — University of Turku, Faculty of Humanities, Guidelines for the Teaching Demonstrations for Those Applying for the Position of University Lecturer and University Teacher (16 June 2022, PDF).
- [5] Survey of 113 biology faculty; 62% of departments require a teaching demonstration; requirements by institution type (community college 83.3% demo only, 6.7% both; PhD-granting 36.6% both); 47.0% equal and 28.1% more weight than the research talk; 85.7% of community-college respondents say teaching is heavily weighted; mean importance scores from 3.86 to 1.98 on a 1–4 scale (49 respondents); advice on audience as students, three to four major points, slides, the board, wait time, questions and active learning — Smith, Wenderoth and Tyler, "The Teaching Demonstration: What Faculty Expect and How to Prepare for This Aspect of the Job Interview", CBE—Life Sciences Education 12(1):12–18 (Spring 2013).
- [6] Demonstration teaching for Master Teacher I and II applicants in junior and senior high school, assessed on PPST classroom observation indicators (up to 25 points) and non-classroom observation indicators, portfolio annotations and BEI (up to 15 points); memo dated 4 August 2025 — Department of Education, Schools Division of Bulacan, Division Memorandum No. 378, s. 2025 (PDF).
Build your teaching demonstration in NOXI, free: attach your lesson plan, review the eight-slide outline in Plan mode, rehearse in present mode, and export an editable PowerPoint or a PDF.
