Instructor Training: Key Points

Welcome

The Carpentries is a community of practice. We strive to provide a welcoming environment for all learners and take our Code of Conduct seriously.
This episode sets the stage for the entire training. The introductions and exercises help everyone begin to develop a relationship and trust.
This training will cover evidence-based teaching practices and how they apply specifically to The Carpentries.
Learner motivation and prior knowledge vary widely, and can be quickly assessed with a multiple choice question.

Our goal when teaching novices is to help them construct useful mental models.
Exploring our own mental models can help us prepare to convey them.
Constructing a useful mental model requires practice and corrective feedback.
Formative assessments provide practice for learners and feedback to learners and instructors.

Most adults can store only a few items in short-term memory for a few seconds before they lose them again.
Things seen together are remembered (or mis-remembered) in chunks.
Cognitive load should be managed through guided practice to facilitate learning and prevent overload.
Formative assessments can help to consolidate learning in long-term memory.

Give your learners time to fill out the post-workshop survey at the end of your workshop.
Take the time to respond to your learners’ feedback.

A positive learning environment helps people concentrate on learning.
People learn best when they see the utility in what they’re learning and believe it can be accomplished with reasonable effort.
Encouraging participation and embracing errors helps learners to stay motivated.

Like all other skills, good teaching requires practice and feedback.
Lesson study is essential to transferring skills among teachers.
Feedback is most effective when those involved share ground rules and expectations.

So far, we have learned about how people learn, how to build a positive classroom environment, and how to give feedback.
In parts 3 and 4 we will cover specifics of Carpentries workshops and teaching practices.

Instructors guide learners to construct the proper big picture (accurate mental model) of the topic rather than focus on details.
Instructors rely on frequent feedback from learners to monitor their own presentation of the material.
Instructors introduce a few concepts at a time to avoid cognitive overload.
The best way to motivate learners? Show them how to do something they can immediately put to use and be enthusiastic about it.
Teaching is a learned skill.

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.

The Carpentries materials are all openly licensed, but names and logos are trademarked.
Carpentries workshops must cover core concepts, have at least one certified Instructor, and use our pre- and post-workshop surveys.
Guidance for teaching and hosting workshops is provided in The Carpentries Handbook.

Live coding forces the instructor to slow down.
Coding-along gives learners continuous practice and feedback.
Mistakes made during participatory live coding are valuable learning opportunities.

To teach effectively, you have to know who you are teaching.
Good learning objectives identify specific events that can be evaluated through formative assessment.
A good exercise informs Learners and Instructors when an objective is achieved.

Team work takes work, but allows you to share the load and build connections.
Working with a broad range of learners can be challenging, but there are many ways to keep a classroom happy and motivated.
The instructional team decides how to respond to Code-of-Conduct incidents during a workshop; all violations should be reported to The Carpentries Code of Conduct committee for follow-up.

A planned introduction is key to creating a functional workshop environment.
Conclusions support reflective practice and set the stage for continued learning.

Having a plan makes it easier for you to remember to implement the important teaching practices you have learned.