Instructor Training

Over the last hundred years, researchers have discovered an enormous amount about how people learn and how best to teach them. Unfortunately, much of that knowledge has not yet been translated into common classroom practice, especially at the university level.

This two-day class has the following overall goals:

Because we have only two days, some things are beyond the scope of this class. We will not be learning:

*Please fill in the online application form if you wish to take part in this course. Participants from member organizations should receive a registration code to use in this application. We review open applications on a rolling basis, and accepted applicants are invited to join one of our online events.

The class will be hands-on throughout: short lessons will alternate with individual and group practical exercises, including practice teaching sessions. Those who complete the two full days and some short follow-up exercises online will be certified to teach Software Carpentry, Data Carpentry, and Library Carpentry workshops.

Feedback on these materials is welcome as an issue on the GitHub repository that hosts this site.

These materials are freely available under a Creative Commons license.

Note: The schedule below describes an approximate layout for the four day training. Please contact your Instructor Trainers if you have questions about the schedule for your specific training event.

Sample Schedule for a four-day Training

Setup Instructions to prepare for this workshop
Pre-training survey General link to our pre-survey. Please see your contact email for links customized to your event.
Day 1 10:00 1. Welcome What is The Carpentries and how do we approach teaching?
What should you expect from this workshop?
10:30 2. Building Skill With Practice How do people learn?
Who is a typical Carpentries learner?
How can we help novices become competent practitioners?
11:30 3. Expertise and Instruction Does subject expertise make someone a great teacher?
How are we (as Instructors) different from our learners and how does this impact our teaching?
12:15 4. Lunch Break
13:00 5. Memory and Cognitive Load What is cognitive load and how does it affect learning?
How can we design instruction to work with, rather than against, memory constraints?
14:05 6. Building Skill With Feedback How can I get feedback from learners?
How can I use this feedback to improve my teaching?
14:30 7. Wrap-Up and Homework What have we learned so far?
What needs to be done to prepare for the next part of the workshop?
14:50 Finish
Day 2 10:00 8. Welcome Back What have we learned so far?
What will we focus on today?
10:10 9. Motivation and Demotivation Why is motivation important?
How can we create a motivating environment for learners?
11:30 10. Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Why are equity, inclusion, and accessibility important?
What can I do enhance equity, inclusion, and accessibility in my workshop?
12:15 11. Lunch Break
13:00 12. Teaching is a Skill How can I improve my teaching?
14:30 13. Wrap-Up and Homework What have we learned so far?
What needs to be done to prepare for the next part of the workshop?
14:50 Finish
Day 3 10:00 14. Welcome Back What have we learned so far?
What will we focus on today?
10:10 15. Getting Started on Instructor Certification What do I need to do to finish certifying as a Carpentries Instructor?
10:40 16. The Carpentries: How We Operate How is The Carpentries organised and run?
What is the difference between SWC, DC, and LC workshops?
How do you run a Carpentries workshop?
11:25 17. Live Coding is a Skill Why do we teach programming using participatory live coding?
12:15 18. Lunch Break
13:00 19. Live Coding is a Skill - cont Why do we teach programming using participatory live coding?
13:30 20. Preparing to Teach How should I prepare to teach?
14:35 21. Wrap-Up and Homework What have we learned so far?
What needs to be done to prepare for the next part of the workshop?
14:55 Finish
Day 4 10:00 22. Welcome Back What have we learned so far?
What will we focus on today?
10:10 23. More Practice Live Coding How did you change your teaching in response to feedback?
11:05 24. Working With Your Team What are the challenges of managing a heterogeneous classroom?
What should we do if there is a Code of Conduct violation?
What does it mean to be a co-Instructor?
How does an instructional team prepare for a workshop?
12:15 25. Lunch Break
13:00 26. Launches and Landings How do you actually start a workshop?
13:40 27. Putting It Together How are the teaching practices we have learned used in our workshops?
14:05 28. Wrapping Up What can we improve in this training?
14:20 Post-training survey General link to our post-survey. Your Trainer will provide a link customized to your event.
14:35 Finish

The actual schedule may vary depending on the time format of the workshop and the topics and exercises chosen by the Trainer.