Information: The Carpentries Learner-Centered Teaching

Last updated on 2026-03-13 | Edit this page

General Information

The Carpentries is a global community of practice focused on advancing effective, evidence-based teaching and learning practices worldwide. Learner-Centered Teaching equips participants with the strategies and tools necessary to use effective, hands-on teaching practices in short-format trainings. This 8-hour interactive program introduces key principles of educational psychology and evidence-based teaching. Through a blend of short lessons and hands-on practice, participants develop their instructional skills while engaging with a cohort of peers who share their interest in teaching and learning.

Learner-Centered Teaching has the following goals:

  • Introduce you to evidence-based teaching practices.
  • Teach you strategies to foster positive, inclusive learning environments.
  • Provide opportunities to practice and receive feedback on teaching techniques.
  • Prepare you to lead effective short-format training sessions.

Because we have only limited time, some things are beyond the scope of this training. We will not be learning: - How to become a Carpentries certified Instructor and become integrated into the Carpentries community to teach Carpentries workshops. If you would like to learn more about becoming a Carpentries Instructor, you must attend Instructor Training. Please visit the Become an Instructor page on The Carpentries website for details on admission. - How to program in R or Python, use the Unix shell, Git or SQL, or any of the other topics taught in Data Carpentry, Library Carpentry, or Software Carpentry workshops. - How to create your own lessons from scratch (although you will have a good start on the principles behind that sort of work if you are inspired to learn more, for example, in our [lesson development training][cldt-curriculum]).

Learner-Centered Teaching events are hands-on throughout: short lessons alternate with individual and group practical exercises, including practice teaching sessions.

Code of Conduct

All participants are required to abide by The Carpentries Code of Conduct.

Where

Learner-Centered Teaching is typically conducted using the Zoom video conferencing platform. No log-in is needed. However, if you have not used Zoom before, please click the link a few minutes early as it may prompt you to install the Zoom app or browser extension. If you have registered to join a Learner-Centered Teaching event, you should have received a connection link in the information email about your training event. If you did not receive that email, please check your spam folder, then email instructor.training@carpentries.org to request help.

If your training event will take place in-person, you will receive details about the location directly from your Trainers before the event.

Accessibility

We are committed to making this training accessible to everyone.

Materials will be provided in advance of the event.

We do not require participants to provide documentation of disabilities or disclose any unnecessary personal information. However, we do want to help create an inclusive, accessible experience for all participants. We encourage you to share any information that would be helpful to make your Carpentries experience accessible. To request accessibility support for this training, please fill out the Accessibility Support Request form. If you have questions or need assistance with the Accessibility Support Request form please email us.

For in-person training events, organisers have checked that:

  • The room is wheelchair / scooter accessible.
  • Accessible restrooms are available.

How to Prepare for Instructor Training

Please review Preparing for your training for complete instructions. A brief summary of these instructions is as follows:

  1. Complete our Pre-training Survey. You will receive a custom link for your event when you receive your connection information.

What to Bring to an In-Person Event

Most Learner-Centered Teaching events take place online. If your training will take place in-person, please bring a laptop that is Internet connected and has a functioning browser.

Attendance and Cancellation

Trainees who miss more than 1 hour of the training may be marked absent. If you unexpectedly need to miss more than 1 hour of your event, please contact your Trainers using the details provided in the information email for your event or email us.

For events in which registration occurs through The Carpentries via Eventbrite, cancellation may be performed in Eventbrite up to the start of the event. Canceled seats cannot be filled after the 1 week registration deadline for these events, so we ask that you only cancel if absolutely necessary.

More information on our cancellation and makeup policy is available in The Carpentries Handbook.

Contact

Please contact your Trainers using the details provided in the information email for your event or email us with questions about Instructor Training.

Training Materials and Schedule

This website contains the curriculum for Learner-Centered Teaching. Use the left sidebar to browse the content, and visit the landing page in Instructor View for a sample schedule.

Collaborative Notes

Trainers will share the link to an Etherpad that can be used for chatting, collaborating on notes, and sharing URLs and bits of code during the training.