Week 1 Discussion Questions

Last updated on 2024-04-18 | Edit this page

Overview

Questions

  • What is involved in serving as a Carpentries Trainer?
  • What should you expect from this training?

Objectives

  • Understand what is involved in being a Trainer.
  • Prepare to complete the steps for Trainer checkout.
  • Predict what they will learn from reading How Learning Works.
  • Recognize that teaching principles may apply differently to different training contexts within The Carpentries.

Reading

How Learning Works:

  • Foreword
  • About the Authors
  • Introduction

Carpentries readings:

Preview to get a sense for what is contained in these lengthier references:

Discussion Questions

Discussion questions in this curriculum for each week serve the following purposes:

  • To help structure your reading and thinking about topics prior to each meeting
  • To help structure our conversations about topics during each meeting

Please write or think through short answers to the discussion questions before each week’s meeting.

Carpentries Readings & Previews

1. What questions do you have about being a Trainer?

How Learning Works:

Foreword

2. What do you think about the distinction between “Science of learning” and “Science of instruction”? How do you expect these ‘sciences’ to intersect? Where might they be different?

3. 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?

About the Authors

4. How might the backgrounds and research interests of the authors shape their writing?

Introduction

5. This book is organized around seven principles for teaching. Share an example of how you’ve seen one of these principles influence learners’ experience.

6. In our discussions, we will often move between levels in the diagram below. We will apply the 7 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 a Trainer! Do the 7 principles apply equally well to all of these contexts? Are there any important differences to keep in mind?

Layers of Carpentries Instruction

Overview of Trainer Training

This program is an on-boarding course 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.

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 Trainer community after completing this training.

Trainer Checkout

In addition to attending weekly meetings, there are additional requirements for Trainer certification. These are:

  • Observe a teaching demonstration session
  • Observe (with option to participate) 4 hours of an Instructor Training course
  • Trainees who are not certified Carpentries Instructors should complete Instructor certification concurrently. This includes attending a full Instructor Training course as a learner if not yet attended. Attending a course or demo within the training time frame can fulfill the above requirements for observation if requested.

Each week, we will discuss assigned readings. Discussion questions are provided to offer a framework for reading and conversation; these should be completed or at least thought through before each meeting. If you need to miss a meeting, questions may be submitted by email or by adding responses to the Etherpad to enrich your group’s conversation. When we meet we will always begin with a discussion of the first question about trainee perspectives and interests, facilitated by your host. Discussion may at times digress from the discussion questions, and we will usually will not have time to talk about all questions during our 1 hour meeting slots.

At sessions 2-9, one participant will play each of the following roles:

  • Lead: assumes the Zoom “host” role and faciliates conversation after discussion of the first question has concluded. Importantly, the lead selects from remaining Discussion questions in the curriculum, choosing which to use first, and which to cut if they wish to spend more time on a particular topic. Leads should consider experimenting with structure, e.g. using breakout rooms or other facilitation strategies as desired. This is a great place to get feedback on a method you’d like to try! 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 out as needed. If you use breakouts, you can decide if you wish to join a group or discuss faciliatation strategies with your host during the breakout time.
  • Notes: takes notes on conversation in the collaborative document (Etherpad or Google Doc) for the session. 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.
  • Questioner: The Questioner strives to identify questions, concerns, or points of confusion that trainees might have. The person assigned to this role has a responsibility to set aside time to think about possible questions, but this is a role that everyone should strive to help out with. The person in the Questioner role is also asked to serve as a backup note-taker, which means paying attention to times when the notetaker is speaking or has to step away.

Your host will provide you with a proposed schedule for these roles for the full term. If it is impossible or impractical for you to play a role on any week assigned to you, please let your host know immediately.

Instructor Training Events (in brief)

Most of our Instructor Training events are taught online, via Zoom. When circumstances permit, some Member organisations also host events in- person. All events must have a least 2 Trainers in attendance. New trainees should plan to be available for teaching assignments as soon as certification is complete. New Trainers will be matched with experienced Trainers whenever possible. New trainees are also welcome to request a role as a third trainer to reduce the teaching load and enhance observation opportunities during their first training.

The Trainer Community

Trainers meet monthly for calls at 2 different time slots to accommodate global time zones. Attending these calls his highly recommended (trainees are welcome!), and all 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.

Trainers also communicate asynchronously via Topicbox listserv, 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, The Carpentries Discuss listserv on Topicbox for anyone who has not done so already.

Communications Checklist

Take a moment to sign up for commmunications channels:

Communications channels to participate in

General sources of information about The Carpentries

Trainers Leadership

Once upon a time, the 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 Trainers were adequately addressed in decisions.

In 2020, some of these active participants were recruited to draft a new governance structure for the Trainer community, and in 2021 our first elections were held. The Trainers Leadership group meets 1-2 times per month, consults with Core Team on matters of interest to Trainers, and proposes changes to management of our curriculum and community to make it more welcoming, fun, and sustainable.

New 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

Trainers are a vital part of The Carpentries community. In addition to training Instructors and supporting the collaborative maintenance of our Instructor Training curriculum, Trainers typically take on leadership roles in their own communities, locally or globally. Many assume leadership within the 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 Trainer meetings now!

Key Points

  • The Trainer role comes with powers and responsibilities. Some powers are limited to preserve sustainability of The Carpentries, but we will work with you to meet your goals as closely as possible.
  • Teaching and learning are separate, though related, processes. And then there is learning to teach!
  • Most popular texts do not aim to onboard readers to engaging with primary literature in a field. This presents barriers to responsible engagement across disciplines, particularly in education.