Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
Hey all, I actually ran my first full 2-day workshop last week, and agree with Bill's points on the blog post. Luckily I had a good mentor to help me through the process (thanks Damien Irving), but even then it was a steep learning experience, even though I've helped at bootcamps before and run smaller components. Here are some of the major things I found challenging: - Existing instructions are out of date, and not kept all in one place. Luckily I was able to bug Damien to find out the correct and current process. - Pacing issues. All of the lessons took much longer than expected, which I suspect in part was due to me talking too much. It's hard to get a feel for how long lessons take just by reading through the material, and I just didn't have time to do a trial run beforehand. - Recommendations for instructor notes and multiple screens. Where do instructors keep them during the bootcamp? How do you keep track of the etherpad while the lesson material is on the screen? Plus some miscellaneous advice for other new instructors: - Standing up in front of a room for two days instructing was surprisingly exhausting - Bring a large bottle of water, as talking leaves you dehydrated very quickly. - If you're going to remember anything, get the intro right. It's much easier to instruct if you're mentally in the right place. - Last helper to arrive buys the instructor coffee if they're late ;) Running your first workshop is incredibly overwhelming so I completely agree with the strong mentoring suggestions. On the other hand I realise that's also a big ask on the mentors time so may not always be possible. On 15 December 2014 at 08:20, Karin Lagesen karin.lage...@medisin.uio.no wrote: Personally, I did attend a workshop before instructor training and subsequently teaching my first workshop. But, I do not think that this should be a requirement, just recommended. However, I think it somehow should be a requirement that the person has taught before, although I am not certain how this could be implemented. I also think that we should go heavier on mentoring first time instructors, either online or in person, and (perhaps this goes without saying) make sure that every new instructor teaches with a more experienced instructor for their first workshop. I also think it should be made clear that the more experienced instructor should get in touch with the newbie instructor well in advance to discuss lessons and teaching. In hindsight, I know that I should have prepared better before my first workshop, but I didn't know that at the time. Karin -- Karin Lagesen, Ph.D. Department of Medical Genetics Oslo University Hospital http://blog.karinlag.no ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. software-carpentry.org -- Scott Ritchie, BCompSci, MSc, Ph.D. Student, Medical Systems Biology Group, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne Parkville, Victoria, Australia W: http://www.inouyelab.org P: +61 3 9035 8916 E: s.ritc...@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au Research Community Co-ordinator for the Life Sciences Software Carpentry Instructor for R and Data Science. Department of Research Platforms, The University of Melbourne. W: http://resbaz.tumblr.com/ W: http://software-carpentry.org/ President, Bioinformatics Graduate Student Association (BGSA), The University of Melbourne. W: http://bioinformatics.asn.au/bgsa/ F: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BGSA.melbourne/ E: bgsa.unim...@gmail.com General Committee, COMBINE: The Regional Student Group (RSG) Australia; for the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) W: http://combine.org.au/ http://www.iscb.org/ ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
Hi all, OK - those are some good points surrounding accessibility of instructor training, and not putting too many hurdles and requirements in the way. A few tasks and roles have come out of this that make some sense to pursue if people are interested, that don't conflict with anyone's concerns: - Clear guidance for instructors in the form of a short, useful Instructor Handbook, that guides the process of setting up preparing for a workshop. This should be short, practical, and complete - feel free to continue brainstorming at https://etherpad.mozilla.org/newInstructorWelcomePackage, and perhaps we can write up a first cut based on your ideas there in the new year. - A more structured mentorship model. Greg has hopes to pursue this in concert with the Steering Committee in the new year. In the meantime, more community brainstorming is always better: https://etherpad.mozilla.org/SWCmentorsGuide - A video maintainer role, to help organize and maintain a collection of videos that will bring examples of teaching to the community, without the overhead of actually attending events. In 2015, I'll be continuing to work from the Mozilla Science Lab to help train instructors (big thanks to Greg for his awesome mentorship here over the past few months), and to support instructors after training, first by working on that road from Instructor Training to the first workshop, and more broadly by investigating what we can offer to support the heroic efforts of the instructor community, both within Software Data Carpentry, and beyond. You all do amazing work, thanks for jumping in with your thoughts and please be in touch with any ideas, concerns or questions on how I can support you! On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 3:29 AM, Scott Ritchie s.ritc...@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au wrote: Hey all, I actually ran my first full 2-day workshop last week, and agree with Bill's points on the blog post. Luckily I had a good mentor to help me through the process (thanks Damien Irving), but even then it was a steep learning experience, even though I've helped at bootcamps before and run smaller components. Here are some of the major things I found challenging: - Existing instructions are out of date, and not kept all in one place. Luckily I was able to bug Damien to find out the correct and current process. - Pacing issues. All of the lessons took much longer than expected, which I suspect in part was due to me talking too much. It's hard to get a feel for how long lessons take just by reading through the material, and I just didn't have time to do a trial run beforehand. - Recommendations for instructor notes and multiple screens. Where do instructors keep them during the bootcamp? How do you keep track of the etherpad while the lesson material is on the screen? Plus some miscellaneous advice for other new instructors: - Standing up in front of a room for two days instructing was surprisingly exhausting - Bring a large bottle of water, as talking leaves you dehydrated very quickly. - If you're going to remember anything, get the intro right. It's much easier to instruct if you're mentally in the right place. - Last helper to arrive buys the instructor coffee if they're late ;) Running your first workshop is incredibly overwhelming so I completely agree with the strong mentoring suggestions. On the other hand I realise that's also a big ask on the mentors time so may not always be possible. On 15 December 2014 at 08:20, Karin Lagesen karin.lage...@medisin.uio.no wrote: Personally, I did attend a workshop before instructor training and subsequently teaching my first workshop. But, I do not think that this should be a requirement, just recommended. However, I think it somehow should be a requirement that the person has taught before, although I am not certain how this could be implemented. I also think that we should go heavier on mentoring first time instructors, either online or in person, and (perhaps this goes without saying) make sure that every new instructor teaches with a more experienced instructor for their first workshop. I also think it should be made clear that the more experienced instructor should get in touch with the newbie instructor well in advance to discuss lessons and teaching. In hindsight, I know that I should have prepared better before my first workshop, but I didn't know that at the time. Karin -- Karin Lagesen, Ph.D. Department of Medical Genetics Oslo University Hospital http://blog.karinlag.no ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists. software-carpentry.org -- Scott Ritchie, BCompSci, MSc, Ph.D. Student, Medical Systems Biology Group, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
I had a friend ask me to assist a Software Carpentry workshop in the summer of 2014. I really enjoyed doing that and just completed the Fall 2014 instructor training. I've taught a bunch of small (weekend long) programming workshops and have taught children adults in other capacitiess as well, and was excited to learn about more opportunities to teach. I have not yet led a Software Carpentry workshop. I didn't have many apprehensions about the stuff inherent to teaching but If I didn't have any teaching experience I know I would. Without having seem a workshop I think I'd still be a little nervous about leading a Software Carpentry workshop - about balancing the part about just being prepared to teach with all the planning, organization, etc. Just having a good feel for what a workshop looks like beyond reading the curriculum. I'm glad I got to assist at a workshop before going through the training to become a full-fledged instructor. Even then, if I hadn't actually assisted at the workshop this summer, I would feel unsure of myself leading a workshop for the first time. I like the idea of having new potential instructors assist at a workshop, or at least watch videos or livestreams of workshops. Having a hard rule that everyone must attend/assist at a workshop doesn't seem reasonable given constraints of time geography. -Maneesha On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 7:19 PM, Rémi E. r...@heeere.com wrote: Hi all, On 12/12/2014 11:00 PM, Bill Mills wrote: - 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. I've been teaching at only one workshop up to now, and never attended one before. I thus want to voice a mitigated opinion. If the attendance requirement had been in place, I wouldn't be an instructor today, I wouldn't have taught at a workshop and I wouldn't be discussing here… and that would be sad :'( for me. Here is my story. I have a reasonable computer and teaching experience. I registered for the instructor training because I was happy to find a community that cared about teaching basic computer skills to scientists. My weekly planning was very busy but I though: ok, I can pack a few more hours, it's worth it. And it was: I really appreciated the dynamics of the instructor training (it seems it even improved since then). While preparing the first workshop a few month later, I obviously had a lot of interrogations. Part of them were about what the typical workshop looks like, and obviously, having attended a workshop would have helped a lot. However, a lot of my interrogations won't go away for my hopefully next workshops, as they are inherent to teaching: who is the audience, what should be targeted for them, how much can we cover, ... Another part of my interrogations were about organization, planning with the hosts, and introducing the workshop. I had the chance to be with an amazing mentor, Aleksandra Pawlik, that handled most of it. Overall, I managed teaching a workshop without attending one before, and I feel the attendees were not harmed. I think a lot of us have limited time resources (and traveling takes a lot of it) and we might loose some people with a hard rule. Cheers, Rémi ___ 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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
Excerpts from Greg Wilson's message of 2014-12-13 13:06:10 +0100: Mentoring is definitely part of the solution; I think demo lessons like the ones Damien Irving posted a while back are too. What else can we do, and who'd like to do it? how about video recordings of some lessons? not only a camera on the instructor, but also a handcam following helpers as they walk around and assist. would probably take some effort to set up, but it would only need to be done a few times (until there is enough material to learn from) given the number of instructors, i think it could be worth the effort. this material could also be used directly in the instructor training. greetings, martin. -- eKita - the online platform for your entire academic life -- chief engineer eKita.co pike programmer pike.lysator.liu.secaudium.net societyserver.org BLUG secretary beijinglug.org foresight developer foresightlinux.orgrealss.com unix sysadmin Martin Bähr working in chinahttp://societyserver.org/mbaehr/ ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
On Sat, Dec 13, 2014 at 3:25 PM, Ian Muñoz imu...@sesync.org wrote: Hey all, Mostly a lurker on this list but this information might be pertinent: The NIH workshop in DC on January 8-9 will be live webcast. I am sure I can arrange to record it as well. Also, there are video recordings of a workshop held at Stanford here: http://purl.stanford.edu/tx853fp2857 http://purl.stanford.edu/wm437jj2051 I think it is certainly more comfortable to be a helper first before being an instructor although not mandatory. I definitely think it helps to at least see a workshop once before trying to run one although also not mandatory; especially if one has prior teaching experience. There are a number of distracting logistics while trying to run a workshop. So I think it can only be beneficial to the flow of the workshop if the lead has some prior SWC experience. -IM -Original Message- From: Discuss [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.software-carpentry.org] On Behalf Of Martin Bähr Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2014 1:33 PM To: Greg Wilson Cc: Software Carpentry Discussion Subject: Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life Excerpts from Greg Wilson's message of 2014-12-13 13:06:10 +0100: Mentoring is definitely part of the solution; I think demo lessons like the ones Damien Irving posted a while back are too. What else can we do, and who'd like to do it? how about video recordings of some lessons? not only a camera on the instructor, but also a handcam following helpers as they walk around and assist. would probably take some effort to set up, but it would only need to be done a few times (until there is enough material to learn from) given the number of instructors, i think it could be worth the effort. this material could also be used directly in the instructor training. greetings, martin. -- eKita - the online platform for your entire academic life -- chief engineer eKita.co pike programmer pike.lysator.liu.secaudium.net societyserver.org BLUG secretary beijinglug.org foresight developer foresightlinux.org realss.com unix sysadmin Martin Bähr working in china http://societyserver.org/mbaehr/ ___ 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] Your ideas on instructor life
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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
The welcome package and mentor’s guide are excellent start !! It would be even perfect if there is a transition program from trainee to full instructor. For example, before becoming a full instructor, a trainee has an opportunity being a co-instructor. As an analogy, an R1 medical doctor must go through intern stage. -kai On Fri, Dec 12, 2014 at 10:47 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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
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 mailto: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 mailto: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 mailto: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 mailto: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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
+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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
This comment is separate from my previous note about workshop experience. This is related to the Welcome Package. I'm not saying we don't need a welcome package, but when I look at the list of proposed content on the etherpad I don't see anything particularly specific to new instructors. It all looks like content that would be welcome and useful for even our most seasoned instructors. (Since individually we don't teach all that frequently, I need refreshers on things every time I teach.) So maybe this is more about having an instructor help system period, not just something for new instructors. I bring this up here instead of on the etherpad in case having an expanded scope for the planning makes it more interesting for more people. - 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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
Makes sense to me - a pivot from 'Welcome Package' to 'Instructor Handbook' can achieve the same ends and encompass a wider use case. On 2014-12-12 2:33 PM, Matt Davis wrote: This comment is separate from my previous note about workshop experience. This is related to the Welcome Package. I'm not saying we don't need a welcome package, but when I look at the list of proposed content on the etherpad I don't see anything particularly specific to new instructors. It all looks like content that would be welcome and useful for even our most seasoned instructors. (Since individually we don't teach all that frequently, I need refreshers on things every time I teach.) So maybe this is more about having an instructor help system period, not just something for new instructors. I bring this up here instead of on the etherpad in case having an expanded scope for the planning makes it more interesting for more people. - Matt On Fri Dec 12 2014 at 10:47:53 AM Bill Mills b...@mozillafoundation.org mailto: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 mailto: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
Re: [Discuss] Your ideas on instructor life
Hi all, On 12/12/2014 11:00 PM, Bill Mills wrote: - 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. I've been teaching at only one workshop up to now, and never attended one before. I thus want to voice a mitigated opinion. If the attendance requirement had been in place, I wouldn't be an instructor today, I wouldn't have taught at a workshop and I wouldn't be discussing here… and that would be sad :'( for me. Here is my story. I have a reasonable computer and teaching experience. I registered for the instructor training because I was happy to find a community that cared about teaching basic computer skills to scientists. My weekly planning was very busy but I though: ok, I can pack a few more hours, it's worth it. And it was: I really appreciated the dynamics of the instructor training (it seems it even improved since then). While preparing the first workshop a few month later, I obviously had a lot of interrogations. Part of them were about what the typical workshop looks like, and obviously, having attended a workshop would have helped a lot. However, a lot of my interrogations won't go away for my hopefully next workshops, as they are inherent to teaching: who is the audience, what should be targeted for them, how much can we cover, ... Another part of my interrogations were about organization, planning with the hosts, and introducing the workshop. I had the chance to be with an amazing mentor, Aleksandra Pawlik, that handled most of it. Overall, I managed teaching a workshop without attending one before, and I feel the attendees were not harmed. I think a lot of us have limited time resources (and traveling takes a lot of it) and we might loose some people with a hard rule. Cheers, Rémi ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org http://lists.software-carpentry.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss_lists.software-carpentry.org
