Getting Started on Instructor Certification

Last updated on 2024-03-11 | Edit this page

Estimated time: 30 minutes

Overview

Questions

  • What do I need to do to finish certifying as a Carpentries Instructor?

Objectives

  • Describe the final steps required to qualify as an Instructor.
  • Schedule a checkout step.

In this short episode, we will take a moment to review the actions you will need to take after this training to become a fully certified Carpentries Instructor.

Instructor Checkout

After attending Instructor Training, there are three final steps to complete before qualifying as an Instructor. Briefly, the three steps are:

  1. Take part in a Community Welcome session.
  2. Successfully demonstrate participatory instruction in a Teaching Demonstration session, as approved by a Carpentries Instructor Trainer.
  3. Choose another step to ‘Get Involved’ with The Carpentries, and submit this to our database, AMY.

All trainees have 90 days from the end date of your training to complete checkout. If you need more time, 3-month extensions may be requested by emailing instructor.training@carpentries.org. Extensions may be granted for any reason up to 1 year from your training date.

Be The Expert: Checkout Q & A

In small groups, read and discuss one of the three checkout procedures described on this page: https://carpentries.github.io/instructor-training/checkout Make notes in the Etherpad:

  • What points do you think it is most important or helpful for people to remember?
  • What questions or points of confusion do you have, or think others might have? When you are done, report back to the full group about that stage of the process.

This exercise should take about 10 minutes.

Schedule a Checkout Step

Take a moment to review your calendar and sign up for one or more sessions to get your checkout process rolling!

Visit the Welcome Session Etherpad: https://pad.carpentries.org/welcome-sessions-2024

Visit the Teaching Demonstrations Etherpad: https://pad.carpentries.org/teaching-demos

If you would like to attend another community session for your ‘Get Involved’ step, visit the Community Sessions Etherpad: https://pad.carpentries.org/community-sessions-2024

This exercise should take 5 minutes.

What does a badge mean?

  • You can teach any Carpentries workshops! Carpentries Instructor badges are valid to teach any Software Carpentry, Data Carpentry, or Library Carpentry lesson. You can teach branded workshops locally, or network with experienced co-Instructors as a volunteer with our global community. While local co-Instructors need not be badged or experienced, every Carpentries branded workshop must have at least one badged Instructor to lead the way. (More on branding in the next episode!)
  • You get to vote! Badged Instructors are eligible to vote in Carpentries Executive Council elections for their first year, and for all subsequent years in which they continue to participate through teaching or other involvement. See this section from the Carpentries Bylaws for rules governing continuing voting eligibility.
  • You can share! Looking for language to add to showcase your skills and experience on a CV or resume? Here is some text to get you started!

Key Points

  • To certify, you must take part in a Welcome Session, pass a Teaching Demonstration, and share an additional step you have taken to ‘Get Involved’ with The Carpentries within 90 days of your training event.