Introductions
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Overview
Questions
- What is an Instructor Trainer?
- How do I become an Instructor Trainer?
- What will I learn in this Training?
Objectives
- Describe the role of Instructor Trainers in The Carpentries community.
- List the steps involved in becoming a certified Instructor Trainer.
- Identify the eight principles of learning we will focus on in this course.
Reading
From How Learning Works:
- Foreword (pp. xiii - xv)
- About the Authors (pp. xix - xxi)
- Preface to the Second Edition (pp. xxiii - xxvii)
- Introduction: Bridging Learning Research and Teaching Practice (pp. 1-8)
From The Carpentries’ documentation:
- “Instructor Trainers” section of The Carpentries Handbook
- The Carpentries Code of Conduct
Discussion Questions
Each week you will be provided with a set of questions to help structure your reading and thinking about the assigned readings. Please write down some thoughts on these discussion questions before the weekly meeting. You will not be asked to share your written responses with Erin and Sher! unless you are unable to participate in that week’s meeting.
This week’s questions are:
What questions do you have about being an Instructor Trainer?
How Learning Works is presented as a solution to the “too soft/too hard” problem. What experience have you had with sources that are too soft or too hard? In education, programming, or other areas?
This book is organized around eight principles for teaching. Share an example of how you’ve seen one of these principles influence learners’ experience in a Carpentries workshop or other learning environment.
In our discussions, we will often move between levels in the diagram below. We will apply the eight principles to teaching about how to teach (in instructor training) as well as teaching technical skills (in a Carpentries workshop). We’ll even talk about learning how to teach teaching in your role as an Instructor Trainer! Do the eight principles apply equally well to all of these contexts? Are there any important differences to keep in mind?
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.
Introductions
Hello everyone, and welcome to The Carpentries Instructor Trainer Training. We are very pleased to have you with us.
Overview of Instructor Trainer Training
This course is designed to support Carpentries community-members in preparing to teach Instructor Training courses. It is not a substitute for Instructor Training; in contrast, this training includes fewer contact hours and more independent work time stretched over a 10 week period. If you have not already certified as a Carpentries Instructor, you will need to complete Instructor Training alongside taking Instructor Trainer Training. Please contact Erin or Sher! if this applies for you.
Each participant brings a different skill set to this training. Most trainees have background in educational settings and/or experience teaching Carpentries-style workshops. Trainees who are new to both should plan to invest extra effort in the readings. All trainees, and particularly those new to the community, are expected to seek continuing connection and mentorship through engagement with the Instructor Trainer community after completing this training.
Each week’s discussion will focus on our assigned readings. Starting next week, trainees (that means you!) will play an active role in leading the discussion, with individuals serving in the following roles:
- Lead: Faciliates conversation about the discussion questions. The lead selects from the listed discussion questions, choosing which to use first, and which to cut if they wish to spend more time on a particular topic. The Lead role is not about being an authority, but rather is an opportunity to practice guiding discussion – a skill you will use when you teach Instructor Training. Your host will be available to help as needed.
- Notetaker: Takes notes on conversation in the Etherpad. We do not need perfect notes! In fact, lengthy notes can be hard to read. The goal is to create a basic record we can use, e.g. to refresh a prior conversation, review a missed meeting, or see what the other group talked about. It is ok to ask a speaker to make corrections if you feel something important was missed.
Sign Up!
Add your name to the Training schedule, once each for the Lead and Notetaker roles.
Instructor Trainer Checkout
In addition to attending weekly meetings, there are additional requirements for Instructor Trainer certification. These are:
- Observe a teaching demonstration session (1 hour)
- Observe part of an Instructor Training course (4 hours)
- (if you are not already a certified Instructor) complete Instructor Training and checkout
For more detailed information about these requirements, please read the Checkout Instructions page of this curriculum.
Instructor Training Events (in brief)
Most of our Instructor Training events are taught online, via Zoom. All events must have a least 2 Instructor Trainers in attendance. New trainees should plan to be available for teaching assignments as soon as certification is complete. New Instructor Trainers will be matched with experienced Instructor Trainers whenever possible.
The Instructor Trainer Community
Instructor Trainers meet monthly for calls at 2 different time slots to accommodate global time zones. Attending these calls is highly recommended (trainees are welcome!), and all Instructor Trainers are asked to review meeting notes when they are unable to attend, as important information and updates are shared there. Regular meeting times are on the first Thursday of the month; however, we keep a ‘placeholder’ slot on the calendar for the 3rd week of the month. The placeholder can be used for special events or non-routine discussions, and is also a substitute time when the first week falls during a holiday. All meetings can be found on the Community Calendar and joined via links on the meeting Etherpad.
Instructor Trainers also communicate asynchronously via Topicbox, Slack, and GitHub. New trainees will be invited to join the Topicbox list early in their training, and will also be added to the #trainers Slack channel if they have registered with The Carpentries Slack community. Communications on the Instructor Training GitHub repository can be received by “watching” the repository. We also suggest joining our general list, “Discuss” on Topicbox for anyone who has not done so already.
Communications Checklist
Take a moment to sign up for the following commmunication channels:
Communications channels to participate in
General sources of information about The Carpentries
Instructor Trainers Leadership
Once upon a time, the Instructor Trainer community consisted of a handful of people who met twice monthly: once to discuss training events, and once to make decisions about community business. As our community grew, decision-making became more complex, often falling to a handful of people with time to invest, or to The Carpentries Core Team. This system did not ensure that the interests of all Instructor Trainers were adequately addressed in decisions.
In 2020, some of these active participants were recruited to draft a new governance structure for the Instructor Trainer community, and in 2021 our first elections were held. The Instructor Trainers Leadership group meets 1-2 times per month, consults with Core Team on matters of interest to Instructor Trainers, and proposes changes to management of our curriculum and community to make it more welcoming, fun, and sustainable.
New Instructor Trainers are an important voice to represent in Leadership, because they have a fresh perspective on the challenges faced by newcomers. This role is available to all participants, not only those with extra time to share: we suggest that people serving in this role consider reducing their other service activities in the community to compensate during their tenure. The period of service is 1 year.
A Culture of Contribution
Instructor Trainers are a vital part of The Carpentries community. In addition to training Instructors and supporting the collaborative maintenance of our Instructor Training curriculum, Instructor Trainers typically take on leadership roles in their own communities, locally or globally. Many assume leadership within the Instructor Trainer community, but all are expected to contribute by coming to meetings and/or sharing thoughts or feedback in other ways. Whatever your plans, don’t wait to get involved! If you see a typo in the curriculum, try out a pull request to fix it, or ask around to learn how. If you wonder if a section could be better, search the repository for existing issues on the subject, and add your voice to the conversation or start a new issue for us to work through during our next update. If you have time, consider joining Instructor Trainer meetings now!
Key Points
- This course will focus on participant-led discussion of assigned readings.
- Becoming a certified Instructor Trainer requires you to complete additional steps after this training concludes.