Content from Introductions
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
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.
To begin class, each Host should give a brief introduction of themselves.
Ask trainees to introduce themselves using an icebreaker question of your choice. Some examples are:
- Why is The Carpentries community important to you?
- Why are you excited to become an Instructor Trainer?
- What role does training play in your current job?
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.
Content from Prior Knowledge
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- How does what learners know (or think they know) impact their learning?
- How can we help learners organize their knowledge in useful ways?
Objectives
- Examine a past experience with learner motivation in terms of environment, efficacy, and value.
- Classify learner goals as learning or performance-based.
- Assess the usefulness of different motivational strategies for Carpentries workshops and trainings.
Reading
From How Learning Works:
- Chapter 2: How Does Student’s Prior Knowledge Affect Their Learning? (p. 39 - 63)
- Chapter 3: How Does the Way Students Organize Knowledge Affect Their Learning? (p. 64 - 83)
- Appendix D: What Are Concept Maps and How Can We Use Them? (p. 229 - 231)
From The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum:
Other:
- Instructor Training pre-survey.
- Workshop pre-survey.
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from this week’s reading? Think of things that made sense in light of your own experience, things you’re not convinced of, or questions that you have.
Give an example of a time from your experience when a learner’s prior knowledge negatively affected their learning. Why do you think prior knowledge had such an impact in this case? Do you think any of the strategies suggested in this chapter might have helped?
What information do we have about learners prior knowledge in Carpentries workshops? What information do we have for trainees in Instructor Training? Describe some specific actions Instructors and/or Instructor Trainers can take based on this information.
Examine Figure 3.2 (p.71). How do these diagrams relate to knowledge or learner mental models that you are familiar with? Which do you think best represents a learner who has just taken a Carpentries workshop?
Read the strategies for how Instructors can assess and enhance their own knowledge organization at the end of Chapter 3 (p. 78-83). Choose one strategy and think about how an Instructor could apply it when preparing to teach a Carpentries workshop. On a scale from 1-10, how challenging do you think it would be for a new Instructor to use?
-
Create a concept map (3-5 items with labeled connections) that partially explains one of the following topics:
- Prior knowledge
- Knowledge organization
- Workshop organization
Then, share your experience with the process. Did you learn anything from making this map? How could you organize it differently if you tried it again?
Key Points
- Prior knowledge about teaching strategies varies among trainees in Instructor Training courses. Being attentive to this will improve your impact.
- Pre-assessment surveys are a critical component of all Carpentries workshops and trainings.
Content from Motivation
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- How can we positively impact learner motivation?
- How can we empower learners to continue learning after their workshop or training?
Objectives
- Examine a past experience with learner motivation in terms of environment, efficacy, and value.
- Classify anticipated goals of learners as learning or performance-based.
- Assess the usefulness of different strategies related to motivation in Carpentries workshops and trainings.
- Predict the impact of cognitive limitations on both learners and Instructor Trainers in Instructor Training.
Reading
From How Learning Works:
- Chapter 4: What Factors Motivate Students to Learn? (p. 84 - 105)
- Chapter 8: How Do Students Become Self-Directed Learners? (p. 187 - 211)
From The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum:
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from this week’s reading? Think of things that made sense in light of your own experience, things you’re not convinced of, or questions that you have.
There are many demotivating “traps” an instructor can fall into. What strategies can we give our instructors for recovering from these slip-ups?
How might the concepts taught in this lesson apply to the process of learning to becoming a better teacher?
How can we support our learners in transferring metacognitive skills to the materials learned in a workshop?
Make a concept map (3-5 items with labeled connections) that links one or more of the strategies on p.200-211 to one or more practices that could be implemented in a workshop to support metacognition. What concepts did you connect? What relationships did you identify?
Examine Figure 4.2 (p.97). Think of an situation you’ve encountered in a classroom that is explained by this figure.
Will learners at Carpentries workshops have primarily learning goals or performance goals? What about at Instructor Training events?
Which are the strategies on p.99-104 are most relevant to Carpentries workshops and trainings? Are any of them not relevant in this setting? Why or why not?
Key Points
- We expect trainees to have diverse motivations for joining Instructor Training.
- Although Carpentries workshops and trainings are short, there are many strategies that we can employ to keep learners and trainees motivated.
Content from Mastery
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- How can we support new Instructors in developing mastery?
- How can we mitigate our own expert awareness gaps?
Objectives
- Predict the impact of cognitive limitations on both trainees and Instructor Trainers in Instructor Training.
- Compare the challenge of preparing different types of learners (Instructor trainees vs. workshop learners) to transfer skills to usable contexts.
- Predict challenges posed by expertise awareness gaps in the context of teaching Instructors how to teach.
- Distinguish challenges related to skill level faced by learners from those faced by Instructors.
Reading
From How Learning Works:
- Chapter 5: How Do Students Develop Mastery? (p. 106 - 129)
- Appendix C: What Are Student Self-Assessments and How Can We Use Them? (p. 226 - 228)
From The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum:
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from this week’s reading? Think of things that made sense in light of your own experience, things you’re not convinced of, or questions that you have.
Many of our curricula contain more content than can be covered in our ‘2-day’ format. How can we help our trainees remember to keep it slow and resist the urge to ‘get through’ everything by talking faster?
What expert awareness gaps might you have on the subject of teaching or learning? How might such gaps become apparent when teaching others how to teach?
How might “blind spots” (now re-named in our curriculum as “expert awareness gaps”) and cognitive load affect learners during Instructor Training? What about Instructor Trainers?
How can we help learners bridge the gap between learning and application? Is this different for Instructor Training vs Carpentries workshops?
Key Points
- To be effective Instructor Trainers, we must be aware of our own expertise in teaching.
- Teaching Instructor Training creates a lot of cognitive load! The Instructor Trainer community has developed several strategies to help manage this load during training events.
Content from Feedback
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- How can we use feedback to help new Instructors improve their teaching?
- How can we use feedback to improve our own teaching?
Objectives
- Analyze how Carpentries teaching practices align with strategies for designing effective practice opportunities.
- List two important characteristics of effective feedback.
- Explain strategies for helping trainees and new Instructors give good feedback.
Reading:
From How Learning Works:
- Chapter 6: What Kinds of Practice and Feedback Enhance Learning? (p. 130 - 161)
From The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum:
Other:
- Instructor Training post-survey.
- Workshop post-survey.
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from this week’s reading? Think of things that made sense in light of your own experience, things you’re not convinced of, or questions that you have.
When trainees give feedback, especially when giving feedback to themselves, they are VERY likely to comment on the number of times they said “um” or “uh” during their practice presentation. How would you go about helping them to level up their feedback to address more impactful features?
How can you (as an Instructor Trainer) use information in the pre and post-Instructor Training surveys to improve your teaching? How can we help Instructors make good use of pre and post-workshop surveys?
In the context of a Carpentries workshop, what role does an Instructor play in creating opportunities for practice? What role does a helper play?
In what ways do learners in a workshop get feedback on their progress? Is that feedback likely to meet the criteria for useful feedback outlined in this chapter? Why or why not?
How can we, as a community, encourage and facilitate co-Instructors (and co-Trainers!) to share feedback with one another and live our core value of “Always Learning”?
Key Points
- Feedback is an essential part of Carpentries workshops and Instructor Training. Trainees often need guidance on how to invite, give, and receive good feedback.
- The ways that a team of Instructors and Helpers manages the learning environment of a workshop can have a profound effect on how much effective feedback learners receive. Instructor Training should make trainees aware of this and give them strategies to maximise their impact.
Content from Code of Conduct
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- How should we introduce the Code of Conduct at workshops and trainings?
- How can we be prepared to handle Code of Conduct incidents?
Objectives
- Explain the impact of The Carpentries Code of Conduct on classroom climate.
- Identify strategies to handle Code of Conduct incidents during an Instructor Training event.
- Identify areas of uncertainty with regard to handling Code of Conduct violations.
Reading:
- The Carpentries’ Code of Conduct and Incident Reporting Guidelines.
Transparency Reports
The Code of Conduct committee publishes quarterly transparency reports, which include information on potential Code of Conduct breaches, police matters, policy changes, and committee changes that occurred during the quarter.
Discussion Questions
What questions do you have about our community’s Code of Conduct?
Plan how you will introduce the Code of Conduct at your trainings. Practice delivering this introduction out loud to yourself or to a colleague. A few individuals will be asked to present their introduction during our meeting.
Scenario practice: You are teaching Instructor Training online. At the end of the first day, you receive a private message from a trainee saying an individual in their breakout group was displaying political insignia which made them feel uncomfortable. They request not to be placed in a breakout group with that individual again. What actions do you take?
Scenario practice: You are teaching Instructor Training online. During the training, your co-Trainer uses a word or phrase which you know can be exclusionary or derogatory. You assume that your co-Trainer does not know about this exclusionary or derogatory usage. What actions do you take?
Scenario practice: You are teaching Instructor Training online. While your co-Trainer is teaching, you receive a private message from a trainee saying that something the co-Trainer just said was exclusionary or derogatory. What actions do you take?
How prepared do you feel about handling a Code of Conduct incident at an event? What questions do you have?
Key Points
- Highlighting the importance of the Code of Conduct sets the tone for the your training.
- Code of Conduct incidents are rare in our community, but we need to be prepared to handle one if it arises.
Content from Course Climate and Identity
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- Why is it important to create a welcoming learning environment?
- How can we support Instructors in creating a welcoming learning environment?
Objectives
- Describe the target audience of Instructor Training.
- Plan strategies for supporting Instructor Trainees from a diversity of backgrounds and previous experiences.
- Predict challenges faced by new Instructors in creating a positive classroom climate and propose possible solutions.
Reading:
From How Learning Works:
- Chapter 1: Why Do Students’ Identities and Stages of Development Matter for Learning? (p. 9 - 38)
- Chapter 7: Why Does Course Climate Matter for Student Learning? (p. 162 - 186)
- Appendix A: What are Instructor Self-Assessments / Reflections and How Can We Use Them? (p. 219 - 222)
From The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum:
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from this week’s reading? Think of things that made sense in light of your own experience, things you’re not convinced of, or questions that you have.
Write a learner profile for an Instructor trainee and share with the group (see the “Additional Exercises” page for detailed instructions on learner profiles). How different are your profiles? What kinds of support might each of your imaginary trainees need?
What content do you think might be missing from the Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility episode that would be important for our Instructors to understand in the context of Carpentries workshops?
Try to identify one opportunity for interaction with learners during the Welcome episode. How might you use this to establish a positive learning environment?
How might The Carpentries Code of Conduct function in supporting an “explicitly centralizing” (p.167) classroom climate?
Choose a strategy among those suggested on pages 177-186 that seems useful or essential to a Carpentries workshop. What factors might prevent an Instructor from effectively implementing this strategy? As an Instructor Trainer, how might you help?
Key Points
- Student-centered teaching requires teaching students, not content. It requires not treating all students the same (equality) but giving each student what they need (equity).
- Class climate has a major impact on learning.
- Creating a safe and welcoming space for everyone in your workshop or training takes planning, self-reflection, and humility.
Content from Live Coding
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- How do I practice my own teaching?
- How do I practice giving feedback on other’s teaching?
Objectives
- Begin to develop confidence in teaching the Instructor Training curriculum.
- Practice giving feedback on teaching.
Reading:
From The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum:
Practice Teaching
Five members of the group will be selected to teach 3 minutes of their chosen lesson episode from Instructor Training. You can incorporate negative teaching practices, if desired. After you finish teaching, you will give yourself feedback and then receive feedback from other group members using The Carpentries 2x2 rubric.
Discussion Questions
After the teaching demonstrations are complete, session leader will choose questions from below for discussion:
Three minutes is not a lot of time! It is very common to get feedback that trainees wanted the practice teaching sessions to be longer. Do you think they should be longer? If so, why? If not, how do we help trainees use this time wisely?
Using breakout rooms for the practice teaching exercises means that Instructor Trainers don’t have a chance to observe (or at least can’t observe all sessions). What are the benefits to this? Do you think the non-teaching Instructor Trainer should join one of the breakout rooms, float between rooms, or stay in the main room? Why?
What other questions, concerns, or ideas do you have about how to effectively teach participatory live coding?
Key Points
- Participatory live coding is one of the core teaching practices of The Carpentries, and important to give trainees (useful!) practice in.
- It’s important to practice our own teaching and giving and receiving feedback!
Content from How We Operate
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- How do instructor trainees become certified?
- How do Carpentries workshops operate?
Objectives
- Suggest ways in which Instructor Trainers can support Instructor trainees who may be intimidated or confused by checkout procedures.
- Identify confusing features of The Carpentries operational landscape.
Reading:
From The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum:
From How Learning Works:
- Conclusion: Applying the Eight Principles to Ourselves (p. 212 - 218)
- Appendix E: What Are Rubrics and How Can We Use Them? (p. 232 - 241)
- Appendix F: What Are Learner Checklists and How Can We Use Them? (p. 242 - 243)
Practice Teaching
Individuals who didn’t practice teaching last week will be selected to teach 3 minutes of their chosen lesson episode from Instructor Training. You can incorporate negative teaching practices, if desired. After you finish teaching, you will give yourself feedback and then receive feedback from other group members using The Carpentries 2x2 rubric.
Discussion Questions
- What questions do you have about policies and procedures for running a workshop or training? Where do you think trainees might find this information confusing or unclear?
Key Points
- The Carpentries can appear large and complicated to newcomers, and Instructor Training may be a trainee’s first encounter with the community.
- Instructor Trainers may need to overcome their own expert awareness gaps in relation to The Carpentries while teaching Instructor Training.
Content from Conclusions
Last updated on 2024-12-04 | Edit this page
Estimated time: 60 minutes
Overview
Questions
- How do I become integrated with the rest of the Instructor Trainer community?
- How do I continue to develop my own teaching skills?
Objectives
- Explain the importance of an Instructor Trainer’s introduction to the success of Instructor Training.
- Apply concept mapping to organize content from the Instructor Training curriculum.
- Reflect on what has been learned during this training.
- Identify goals for the further development of teaching skill.
Reading:
From The Carpentries Instructor Training curriculum:
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from this week’s reading? Think of things that made sense in light of your own experience, things you’re not convinced of, or questions that you have.
What is one area of teaching skill that you would like to work on? How did you decide on that goal? How could you advise an Instructor to prioritize their skill development goals?
Introductions often include a lot of mundane content. How can an introduction cultivate motivation (per our recommendations) while still conveying necessary information?
Try the “Organize your knowledge” activity! Report back: what did you learn?
What questions do you have about your role as an Instructor Trainer?
What questions do you have about The Carpentries community?
What are your goals as an Instructor Trainer?
What can The Carpentries Core Team and the Instructor Trainer community do to support you in your goals?
Key Points
- Although Instructor Trainers are considered experts in teaching within The Carpentries community, we need to keep practising our skills to build and maintain them.
- Instructor Trainers are supported by each other and by The Carpentries Core Team.
- Teaching Instructor Training can be demanding but it is also very rewarding and often a lot of fun!