A small note: I don't think it's particularly important whether in-workshop experience comes before, after, or during the instructor training.
- Matt On Fri Dec 12 2014 at 2:00:45 PM Bill Mills <b...@mozillafoundation.org> wrote: > Thanks everyone for your comments; three points: > > - There appears to be overwhelming support for starting the instructor > journey the oldschool way - by attending or helping at a workshop. I > also will join the chorus of agreement, since this is certainly the best > way to understand what actually goes on at the event proper. But in that > case, shall we make it official, and promote previous workshop > attendance as a hard requirement for future instructor training? Greg > and I have chatted about this previously, too - perhaps it's time to set > it on the path to enshrinement. > > - As Justin rightly points out: attending a workshop does not address > the problem of increasing new instructors' comfort level *before* they > get in front of that class. The feedback I got from people was that > there was a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety on how to prepare for > their first workshop - unpacking that more could make a much smoother > path for this part of the instructor experience, which many people are > struggling with, and that's what the Welcome Package should try to address. > > - I agree completely with pursuing a more structured mentorship model > - that's what I'd like us to spitball some ideas for in the Mentor's > Guide brainstorm etherpad. It will take some leadership from the > Steering Committee as Greg suggests, but no need to wait for process to > get some thoughts out now! Having that as raw material will help that > future champion hit the ground running with some ideas to start from. > > On 2014-12-12 1:54 PM, Greg Wilson wrote: > > I'm strongly in favor of more structured mentorship - the problem is > > finding time both to set it up and to actually do it. I hope a member > > of the Steering Committee that's to be elected at the end of January > > will take this on as their primary responsibility. > > Cheers, > > Greg > > > > On 2014-12-12 4:42 PM, Justin Kitzes wrote: > >> +1 from me also, although I want to make sure that we don't lose > >> sight of Bill's original question, which was about how to bridge new > >> instructors from post-training to becoming confident independent > >> instructors, not about how to prepare for the training. > >> > >> I've suggested several times, most recently on the SWC blog [1], that > >> we should have a more structured mentorship program for new > >> instructors in which they're guided in person and individually by > >> more experienced instructors. I feel fairly strongly that the > >> mentorship direction that we seem to be headed in by default, which > >> is a mix of conference calls, written post-assessment, and written > >> guide books (see [2] for example), is fundamentally not the right > >> approach. Teaching this stuff is difficult, and I believe that > >> learning to do it requires something closer to an apprenticeship than > >> a distance learning course (e.g., joining a lab to earn a PhD rather > >> than taking a series of MOOCs). > >> > >> I'm not sure why, but I've felt in the past that there wasn't a whole > >> lot of momentum for setting up a structure for this type of "thicker" > >> interaction. (Incidentally, I thought that the need for this was the > >> #1 takeaway from the Building a Better Teacher book that many of us > >> read on Greg's suggestion.) I'm OK if this isn't a direction that we > >> want to go now, but I can't help but continue to think that the > >> issues raised by Bill would be better solved by this approach. > >> > >> Best, > >> > >> Justin > >> > >> [1]: > >> http://software-carpentry.org/blog/2014/09/further-thoughts- > on-better-teachers.html > >> [2]: > >> http://software-carpentry.org/blog/2014/12/plans-for-2015- > mentorship-and-assessment.html > >> > >> > >> On Dec 12, 2014, at 1:08 PM, Greg Wilson > >> <gvwil...@software-carpentry.org> wrote: > >> > >>> I'd like to +1 Matt's comment as well -- given how many workshops we > >>> run, and how much demand there is for instructor training, I think > >>> it makes sense to say that people ought to attend or help at a > >>> workshop before starting instructor training. ("Ought to" because > >>> there will always be exceptions: some people have lots of teaching > >>> experience in other grassroots groups, and when we're moving into > >>> new geographical regions, it won't always be possible for people to > >>> attend one before starting training.) > >>> > >>> Thanks, > >>> Greg > >>> > >>> On 2014-12-12 3:41 PM, Ted Hart wrote: > >>>> I'll also +1 Matt's comment. Way back in 2012 I attended my first > >>>> SWC workshop hosted by the CS dept at UBC, taught by Greg. I then > >>>> helped organize a couple more where I co-taught with Greg and Ethan > >>>> at different workshops. I had this experience under my belt before > >>>> I began instructor training, I think one of the first that Greg ran > >>>> online. > >>>> > >>>> It seems like path to becoming an instructor is a bit different > >>>> now, starting off with instructor training, and then running a > >>>> workshop. Less of the 'journeyman' system of a few years back. > >>>> And while sending helpers around isn't feasible because of $$, what > >>>> about requiring interested people to organize a workshop and they > >>>> could help, if one isn't already being run locally? After all, it > >>>> was that effect of getting one or two instructors out of each > >>>> locally run workshops that helped us get so many instructors in the > >>>> first place. > >>>> > >>>> Maybe it's not a good idea to take on instructors if they haven't > >>>> at least attended a workshop (I'm not sure how common this is though) > >>>> > >>>> T > >>>> > >>>> On Fri Dec 12 2014 at 12:24:03 PM Kara Woo <woo.k...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >>>> Helping at real workshops would indeed probably be the best way to > >>>> build experience, but it's not going to be logistically or > >>>> financially feasible for everyone, since as far as I know workshops > >>>> don't typically cover travel costs for helpers. While not a > >>>> substitute for firsthand experience, a network of > >>>> community support and resources for new (and experienced!) > >>>> instructors will definitely help people (or at > >>>> least, me) feel more prepared and confident. > >>>> > >>>> On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 11:44 AM, Marianne Corvellec > >>>> <marianne.corvel...@gmail.com> wrote: > >>>> Hello, > >>>> > >>>> I would like to +1 Matt's comment. I don't really see how you would > >>>> do without this very natural, gradual, beneficial process. > >>>> > >>>> I know people who have attended, helped and sometimes instructed at > >>>> several workshops but haven't taken the instructor training program > >>>> (yet). So when/if they become Software Carpentry instructors, I think > >>>> the transition will be pretty smooth... > >>>> > >>>> As a new instructor, I don't see how you would want to read a > >>>> guide/manual rather than helping at real workshops, because that's > >>>> when you start feeling useful and you learn a lot and you're not alone > >>>> and that's a great experience. :) > >>>> > >>>> Marianne > >>>> > >>>> On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 2:01 PM, Matt Davis <jiffyc...@gmail.com> > >>>> wrote: > >>>>> I had one question after reading your post, and that's what role > >>>>> being a > >>>>> workshop helper/assistant has in the instructor on-boarding process? > >>>>> > >>>>> A couple years ago before our explosive growth and the instructor > >>>>> training > >>>>> program, the on-boarding process was (perhaps informally), > >>>>> something like: > >>>>> > >>>>> - attend or be a helper at a workshop > >>>>> - teach at a workshop with an experienced instructor > >>>>> > >>>>> We have different processes and more people now, but you can't > >>>>> discount the > >>>>> value of "learn by doing". > >>>>> > >>>>> - Matt > >>>>> > >>>>> On Fri Dec 12 2014 at 10:47:53 AM Bill Mills > >>>>> <b...@mozillafoundation.org> > >>>>> wrote: > >>>>>> Hey everyone, > >>>>>> > >>>>>> I spoke privately to some of you over the past couple weeks on > >>>>>> what it's > >>>>>> like being a Software Carpentry instructor, particularly a new > >>>>>> instructor - what are the challenges you face, and what can we do to > >>>>>> make your first few workshops a smoother experience? I summarized > >>>>>> the > >>>>>> most popular comments in this blog post: > >>>>>> > >>>>>> http://mozillascience.org/starting-instruction-feedback- > from-the-new-instructor-community/ > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> One of the main things that came out of this, was a need for a > >>>>>> smoother > >>>>>> on-ramp going from Instructor Training to your first workshop - > >>>>>> what are > >>>>>> the steps involved, how do you prepare, and what are everyone's > >>>>>> responsibilities? To this end, I think it would be valuable if we > >>>>>> created a short Welcome Package explaining these things and > >>>>>> providing > >>>>>> some clear instructions for people, and a Mentor's Guide for more > >>>>>> experienced instructors guiding this process. More details are in > >>>>>> the > >>>>>> blog post, but we're brainstorming ideas for both of these things > >>>>>> in the > >>>>>> following etherpads: > >>>>>> > >>>>>> New Instructor Welcome Package: > >>>>>> https://etherpad.mozilla.org/newInstructorWelcomePackage > >>>>>> Mentor's Guide: https://etherpad.mozilla.org/SWCmentorsGuide > >>>>>> > >>>>>> What do people think? Please jump in and share your thoughts! > >>>>>> Thanks in > >>>>>> advance, > >>>>>> > >>>>>> -- > >>>>>> Bill Mills > >>>>>> Community Manager, Mozilla Science Lab > >>>>>> @billdoesphysics > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>>>> Discuss mailing list > >>>>>> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > >>>>>> > >>>>>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. > software-carpentry.org > >>>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>>> Discuss mailing list > >>>>> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > >>>>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. > software-carpentry.org > >>>>> > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> Discuss mailing list > >>>> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > >>>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. > software-carpentry.org > >>>> > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> Discuss mailing list > >>>> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > >>>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. > software-carpentry.org > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> _______________________________________________ > >>>> Discuss mailing list > >>>> > >>>> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > >>>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. > software-carpentry.org > >>>> > >>> -- > >>> Dr. Greg Wilson | > >>> gvwil...@software-carpentry.org > >>> > >>> Software Carpentry | > >>> http://software-carpentry.org > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> Discuss mailing list > >>> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > >>> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. > software-carpentry.org > >>> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Discuss mailing list > >> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > >> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. > software-carpentry.org > >> > > > > -- > Bill Mills > Community Manager, Mozilla Science Lab > @billdoesphysics > > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. > software-carpentry.org >
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