Introduction

Last updated on 2024-02-02 | Edit this page

Overview

Questions

  • What is covered in this training?
  • Who are the trainers?
  • Who is participating?

Objectives

After completing this episode, participants should be able to…

  • Explain how trainers and participants will interact throughout the workshop.
  • Summarise the main skills that will be taught in this workshop.

Note: some of the content in this course is reproduced or adapted from The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum.

Pronouns and Names

Using correct names and pronouns (e.g. “she/her”) is important to setting a tone of respect. Learning these is hard to do quickly, so we recommend displaying it prominently during the workshop.

In an online workshop, give everyone a moment to update their display name to reflect how they would like to be addressed.

At an in-person event, we recommend supplying name tags and markers, or using plain paper to create table-displayed name placards.

Note that pronouns are personal and some participants might prefer not to share them. Do not force people to share their pronouns.

Before The Training Begins

Getting to Know Each Other

If the Trainer has chosen an icebreaker question, participate by writing your answers in the shared document for the workshop.

Code of Conduct

To make clear what is expected, everyone participating in The Carpentries activities is required to abide by our Code of Conduct. Any form of behaviour to exclude, intimidate, or cause discomfort is a violation of the Code of Conduct. In order to foster a positive and professional learning environment we encourage you to:

  • Use welcoming and inclusive language
  • Be respectful of different viewpoints and experiences
  • Gracefully accept constructive criticism
  • Focus on what is best for the community
  • Show courtesy and respect towards other community members

If you believe someone is violating the Code of Conduct, we ask that you report it to The Carpentries Code of Conduct Committee by completing this form.

Today’s Trainers

To begin class, each Trainer should give a brief introduction of themselves.

(For some guidelines on introducing yourself, see the Workshop Introductions section of the Instructor Training curriculum).

Now, we would like to get to know all of you.

Our First Exercise (10 minutes)

What was the best lesson you ever followed (were taught in a class, read through online, read in a book)? Try to differentiate between what was good about the performance of the teacher/trainer and what was good about the content of the lesson itself. Take a few minutes to write down some notes about your answer, then introduce yourself to the other participants and tell them about it.

Collaborative Lesson Development Training Overview

The main objective of this training is to teach you the skills you need to design and develop an effective lesson, in collaboration with other members of the community.

A graphical representation of the schedule and structure of collaborative lesson development training.
Collaborative Lesson Development Training is taught over three days (six half days), with an extended break between the first two days (“part 1”) and the last day (“part 2”). The training in part 1 focusses on good practices in lesson design and development, and the concepts and skills needed to build a lesson website with The Carpentries lesson infrastructure. Part 2 of the training begins with a reflective discussion of lesson deisgn and iterative development, before shifting focus to the skills required for effective collaboration on open source projects.

During the training, we will introduce the steps you can take to design and develop a lesson to meet the needs of your target audience, and give you time to begin implementing those steps during the workshop itself. By the end of the training, you can expect to have defined an outline for your whole lesson, and begun filling in a detailed plan for some of its individual sections. The content you create in the training will exist as an open source lesson website similar to the one this training is based on. You should also know how you can continue building on the lesson and some plans for how you will collaborate on the project after the training ends.

We will focus on three main areas:

Designing a Lesson

Much of the training will discuss a process to incorporate good practices in lesson design. We will explore how defining the specific skills you wish to teach early on in the development process provides a foundation from which you can build a stronger, more impactful lesson.

Building a Lesson Website

Throughout the training, while you design and begin developing the content of your lessons, we will teach you how to incorporate this into an organised and accessible website using our lesson infrastructure.

Collaborating Effectively

We believe that lessons are much more likely to succeed, and to remain useful in the long term, if they are developed collaboratively. This training will discuss some of the ways that you can welcome new collaborators and work effectively and efficiently with those you already have.

Learning How to Teach a Lesson

This training will focus on the content - how to prepare a good lesson. More about the performance - how to deliver a lesson most effectively - is covered in The Carpentries Instructor Training.

Key Points

  • This training aims to teach you a process for designing a lesson and the skills to develop it as an open source website, in collaboration with others.