Instructor Trainers Handbook#

About This Handbook#

The Instructor Trainers Handbook is designed to support members of The Carpentries community who are serving as a Instructor Trainer. It is maintained by The Carpentries Workshops and Instruction Team. If you believe anything needs to be added or updated here, or if you would like to provide feedback on the content, please email the Workshops and Instruction Team or open an issue on the source repository of this handbook. If you are unfamiliar with any of the terms used in this handbook, please refer to our Glossary of terms.

Introduction#

Instructor Trainers are certified to co-teach Carpentries Instructor Training events, the first step in certification for Carpentries Instructors. Instructor Trainers also support Instructor certification, also known as Checkout, evaluating trainees’ teaching demonstrations.

The Instructor Trainer community plays a leading role in The Carpentries, maintaining our flagship Instructor Training Curriculum, supporting policy development around training, and bringing Carpentries instructional practices to leadership roles across our local and global communities.

Instructor Trainers join a global community of skilled professionals with a passion for evidence-based teaching and a shared goal of expanding access to instructional training. Instructor Trainers build their knowledge and skills through co-instruction and monthly discussions, with additional opportunities for in-depth exploration of relevant topics throughout the year.

Instructor Trainers often engage in leadership roles in their home communities, mentoring local Instructors and modelling best practices. Instructor Trainers can assume leadership roles within the Instructor Trainer community as Instructor Training Curriculum Maintainers or members of the Instructor Trainers Leadership Committee.

Roles and Responsibilities#

Instructor Trainers teach Instructor Training events, host teaching demonstrations, and attend Instructor Trainer community meetings. To remain active, we ask that Instructor Trainers annually do all of the following:

  • Teach 1 Instructor Training event.

  • Host 2 teaching demos.

  • Attend 4 Instructor Trainer community meetings.

OR

  • Equivalent engagement with curriculum, trainees, or the Instructor Trainer community, as approved by the Instructor Trainers Leadership.

The estimated time investment for these activities is 25-30 hours per year, depending on preparation needs.

Instructor Trainers whose service is included in a member agreement may have additional requirements – please refer to your member agreement for details.

Scheduling Training Events#

Instructor Training events, bonus modules, and teaching demos are scheduled on a quarterly basis. Four times a year, the Core Team will poll Trainers for their availability to teach Instructor Training. At the same time, Trainers will be asked to sign up to host teaching demos using Calendly.

The Core Team creates a training calendar by matching up availability of Trainers and posts it with our curriculum. Member sites each receive a unique registration code allowing their team members to sign up for these events.

Teaching demos are listed on the teaching demo etherpad. Trainees can sign up for teaching demos at any time.

Onboarding#

Instructor Trainer Training Program#

Admission#

The Instructor Trainer community periodically accepts new members via application.

  • Instructor Trainer Training is a 10-week program held 1-2 times per year as needed.

  • All Instructor Trainer candidates must apply and be approved by a panel of current Instructor Trainers. We strongly recommend that candidates have either had

    • prior experience teaching Carpentries workshops (with existing Instructor certification) or

    • significant prior training in teaching (e.g. courses or a degree in education; experience teaching is also useful but is not the same as training)

  • Instructor Trainer Training seats are offered to approved applicants based on current organisational needs and training capacity. Space is limited, and qualified candidates may not be selected if we have low demand or multiple applicants in the same region.

  • Members can reserve Instructor Trainer Training seats for a fee. In these cases, while the seat is reserved for someone from the member institution, individual candidates must still apply and be approved.

  • The Carpentries keeps a list of interested applicants and member contacts who would like to be notified when the next round of Instructor Trainer Training applications open. To be added to this list, please email the Instructor Training Team.

Training and Initial Certification#

To be certified as an Instructor Trainer, all trainees must:

  • Agree to abide by the Code of Conduct in all communications and interactions with The Carpentries community.

  • Attend weekly virtual seminar meetings.

    • Time commitment: 1 hour per week for 10 weeks; can miss up to 2 meetings.

    • Meeting times are determined by a poll. Trainees may wait for a future cohort if their scheduling needs are unmet.

  • Review How Learning Works by Susan Ambrose et al. and The Carpentries Instructor Training Curriculum.

    • Time commitment: approximately 2-4 hours per week.

    • The actual time necessary for the full benefit of preparation depends on prior familiarity with content and English language proficiency.

  • Agree to participate as an Active Instructor Instructor Trainer for at least 1 year.

Trainees who are previously certified as Carpentries Instructors must additionally:

  • Observe a teaching demonstration session (1 hour).

  • Observe part of an online Instructor Training event (4 hours).

Trainees who are *not* previously certified as Carpentries Instructors must concurrently pursue Instructor certification, with all steps completed or scheduled prior to receiving the Instructor Trainer badge

Total time estimate for previously certified Instructors to become certified Instructor Trainers: 35 hours (minimum) over a 3-month period

For more information, see The Carpentries Instructor Trainer Training Curriculum.

Active Status Renewal Process#

Version 1.0.1 – Approved 8 February, 2023

Active status for Instructor Instructor Trainers is renewed annually.#

New Instructor Trainers who have not yet been certified for a full year and Instructor Trainers who have returned to Active status within the past year will automatically be renewed.

Active status may be renewed by either:#

A. participating in curriculum and community activities during the prior year, as described below OR
B. meet with the Director of Workshops and Training (DWIT) to catch up on curriculum and community changes and discuss plans for the coming year.

Instructor Trainers who do not renew their Active status before the deadline will have their status changed to Alumni. Instructions for Alumni returning to Active status are detailed below.

In the case of option A above, certification will be renewed automatically when records indicate that Instructor Trainers have completed all activities expected for Active Instructor Trainers, detailed below. If records are incomplete, Instructor Trainers may self-report their activities via a form. The Instructor Trainers Leadership Committee will review form responses and recommend either renewal or a meeting (option B) based on reported activities.

Participation Expectations for Active Instructor Trainers#

To be renewed based on prior participation, an Instructor Trainer is expected to participate as follows during the 1 year period prior to renewal:

  • teach 1 Instructor Training event, and

  • host 2 teaching demos, and

  • attend 4 Instructor Trainer community meetings

OR

  • equivalent engagement with curriculum, trainees, or the Instructor Trainer community, as approved by the Instructor Trainers Leadership

As a general rule, equivalent activities must be self-reported via form submission. The Instructor Trainers Leadership Committee will provide guidance to help Instructor Trainers choose what to share in the form and when to select a meeting instead.

Offboarding#

Instructor Trainer Alumni Status#

Active Instructor Trainers may elect to become inactive by requesting Instructor Trainer Alumni status at any time by contacting instructor.training@carpentries.org. Alumni may also submit re-activation requests to the same address.

Active Instructor Trainers may elect to become inactive at any time if they expect to be unavailable to participate in the Instructor Trainer Roles and Responsibilities for 1 year or more. Active Instructor Trainers may also have their role changed to Instructor Trainer Alumni if they do not renew their Active status during the annual renewal period.

Instructor Trainer Alumni will not be permitted to:#

  • Teach Carpentries Instructor Training workshops.

  • Host teaching demonstrations.

  • Vote in Instructor Trainer community elections.

Exceptions may be made at the discretion of The Carpentries Core Team. To request permission to teach or host a demo, contact instructor.training@carpentries.org.

Instructor Trainer Alumni may select to:#

  • Continue to receive Topicbox Instructor Training emails and participate in conversations.

  • Continue to participate in the Slack private Instructor Trainers channel.

  • Receive an annual newsletter during agreement renewal with community updates and details on how to return to Active status.

An Instructor Trainer who wishes to return to Active status will have a different path depending on the amount of time they’ve been inactive:

  • 0-12 months: Meet with the Director of Workshops and Training to learn about curriculum updates and discuss plans for re-activating.

  • more than 12 months: review Instructor Trainer Training curriculum, observe part of an Instructor Training workshop, and meet with the Director of Workshops and Training to review and discuss plans, including re-introduction to the Instructor Trainer community via meetings or other arrangements.

Communication and Collaboration Spaces#

Community Calendar#

All regularly scheduled Instructor Trainer community meetings and teaching demonstrations hosted by Instructor Trainers are listed on The Carpentries Community Calendar. Below is a list of Etherpads relevant to serving as an Instructor Trainer.

GitHub Repositories#

Slack#

Join The Carpentries Slack workspace. To follow conversations relevant to this role, you should join the following channels:

  • #trainers: a private channel open to only Instructor Trainers and members of The Carpentries Core Team used to discuss anything related to Instructor Training

  • #welcome: new instructor trainees are often directed here to introduce themselves upon joining Slack.

Instructor Trainers may also wish to join:

  • #Instructor-training: this low-traffic channel is open to the full community for questions or conversations related to Instructor Training

  • #jobs: recruit more Carpentries folks to build your community at work, or find a new post that values Carpentries credentials

New to Slack? Check out our Slack Guide.

TopicBox#

You can access The Carpentries mailing lists from TopicBox. Below is a list of those relevant to the activities and programs covered by this handbook. If you are new to Topicbox, please check out our Topicbox Guide.

  • Instructor Trainers: This is the primary communication channel for Instructor Trainers. All active Instructor Trainers are required to be on this list. It is used for community announcements and occasional discussions about issues relevant to Instructor Training or the Instructor Trainer community.

  • Discuss: This general community list is one of The Carpentries’ oldest channels and is a useful way for Instructor Trainers to keep up with news and events from the broader community.

To join or view the archives of one or more Carpentries mailing lists, you will need to create a login on TopicBox. Once you have done this, you can scroll through the list of groups and select “Join the Conversation” (for open mailing) or “Request to Join” (for those mailing lists requiring administrator approval).

Meetings#

Instructor Trainer meetings are scheduled at two time slots, twice monthly. Each month includes a primary, “discussion” meeting, where Instructor Trainers are invited to discuss upcoming trainings or events they have recently led, and receive updates on recent developments from the community and Core Team. The second time slot is used on an “as needed” basis, and may be used for focused discussion on a specific topic or cancelled.

Meetings are open to Instructor Trainers, Instructor Trainer trainees, and invited guests. Anyone else with interest in attending an Instructor Trainer meeting should first contact the Instructor Training Team.

Meeting notes are recorded in the Instructor Trainers Etherpad and archived in the Instructor Trainers repository on GitHub.

Step-by-Step Guides#

Quarterly Scheduling Calendar#

Instructor Training events and Teaching Demonstrations are scheduled on a quarterly basis. Refer to this schedule for planning and signing up to support events, using the instructions below.

For the period

1 Jan - 31 Mar (Q1)

1 Apr - 30 Jun (Q2)

1 Jul - 30 Sep (Q3)

1 Oct - 31 Dec (Q4)

Signups open on

15 Nov

15 Feb

15 May

15 Aug

Responses due by

30 Nov

28 Feb

31 May

31 Aug

Calendar published by

7 Dec

7 Mar

7 Jun

7 Sept

Training events#

Sign up to Teach an Instructor Training Event#

  • When signups open, Instructor Trainers will receive an email via Topicbox asking them to share their availability for the upcoming quarter in a Google form based on the dates provided.

  • After the response deadline has passed, a Carpentries Core Team member will create a draft schedule and confirm events with individual Instructor Trainers.

  • We ask that Instructor Trainers keep available dates open until they have received confirmation of a training date or notification that they have not been scheduled for the quarter.

  • Once all events have been confirmed, the schedule is posted to the Instructor Training Calendar.

In rare instances, events may be cancelled due to low enrollment. If this happens, Instructor Trainers will be notified of potential cancellation two weeks before the event.

Cancel a Teaching Signup#

Once events have been scheduled, any Instructor Trainer who needs to cancel will normally be replaced by another Instructor Trainer from the community or The Carpentries Core Team.

If you need to cancel after signing up to teach an Instructor Training event, email the Instructor Training Team. If your event is less than 2 weeks away, please include “urgent” in your subject line. For last-minute emergencies (e.g. illness on the day of an event), additionally consider using Slack to the #Instructor Trainers channel, tagging members of the Core Team.

Teach Instructor Training#

Preparation and Instruction#

Guidelines on preparing to teach an Instructor Training Event can be found in the Instructor Trainer Notes section of the Instructor Training Curriculum

Tracking Training Event Attendance#

During an Instructor Training event, Instructor Trainers are asked to record attendance for all trainees using a spreadsheet similar to this. This spreadsheet will be created by the Core Team and shared with Instructor Trainers a week before their event. Attendance may be taken at the beginning of an event. In addition, Instructor Trainers are asked to observe continued attendance for all participants and annotate the attendance sheet if a trainee is absent for more than 1 hour on any day. Accurate records of time missed will allow the Core Team to determine appropriate makeup options for trainees who wish to complete checkout.

Teaching Demonstrations#

Sign up to Host a Demo#

Signups for teaching demonstrations are normally announced with Instructor Training event signups, but may be opened at other times if there is a need for additional sessions.

  • When signups open, Instructor Trainers will receive an email via Topicbox asking them to sign up for teaching demos in the coming quarter via Calendly.

  • Calendly will automatically send an event confirmation email and calendar invitation.

  • After the response deadline has passed, a Carpentries Core Team member will create a list of events to post to the Teaching Demonstrations Etherpad.

Prepare for a Demo#

  • If you would like to review an example teaching demo, there is a recording of one here.

  • Instructor Trainer-suggested scripts and other tips and tricks for hosting these sessions are included in the Instructor Notes section of the Instructor Training Curriculum.

  • Get acquainted with using Zoom for videoconferencing.

  • Check your Calendly confirmation email for the Host Key to use on Zoom, and keep this where you can find it. This will be necessary to allow trainees to screen share during your demo.

  • A day or two before the demo, send a reminder to trainees based on this email template. This often prompts questions or cancellations. You may wish to use this community-developed script to generate your emails.

  • Trainees will select their starting point. Suggested start points are available in the Instructor Training Curriculum (under More).

  • If a trainee has selected a lesson that is not on the list above, you may ask them to choose a different lesson or, if you are familiar with the lesson, you may choose a start point and allow them to use it anyway. Be sure the start point does not require any setup or rely on any dependencies from prior episodes.

Host a Demo#

  • Go to the Zoom room. The link is in the Etherpad.

  • Once everyone is on the call (with their audio and video working), remind them of the Code of Conduct, explain the procedure for the demo session, and remind them that trainees have to be able to teach from any episode from their chosen lesson. Ask whether anyone has only prepared for one episode, and if so, suggest strongly they reschedule.

  • Let trainees know that you will not tell them if they passed during the session, but instead will follow up with an email afterward. It can help to remind them that this is not a high stakes test but a friendly opportunity for feedback.

  • Ask those not presenting to give feedback using the same positive-vs-areas of improvent and content-vs-presentation rubric used in training. For a full session (5 trainees), they should add feedback to the Etherpad for you to summarise. If you have fewer people, you may have them take turns sharing verbally.

  • Give each trainee a few moments to get set up and initiate screen sharing before counting down to begin. Start a timer.

  • While they present, consider feedback, and take notes privately. Use this rubric as a guide, focusing on feedback that you think will be most necessary or helpful for the trainee as they progress toward teaching.

  • After the timer ends, trainees should wrap up and share feedback on themselves first.

  • Summarise or share other trainees’ feedback as time allows, concluding with your own comments. It is sometimes necessary to (gently) disagree with feedback from another trainee.

  • Do NOT tell a trainee whether they passed immediately after their demo.

  • After everyone has gone, if all of trainees passed, it is ok to tell the group. Either way, tell the group you will email them afterward to follow up .

  • More tips can be found in the instructor notes of the instructor training website.

After a Demo: Report and Etherpad Cleanup#

  • Fill out this form to notify The Carpentries of who passed and who did not pass.

  • Save Etherpad by selecting the “star” at the top right of the screen

  • Clear Etherpad of data from your session.

  • Send each trainee an email using our templates letting them know they passed or did not pass the teaching demo. If needed, let them know the reason they did not pass and ask them to retry.

Cancel a Demo#

If no trainees have signed up:

  1. Remove the event from the Etherpad. It is important to do this first to prevent anyone from signing up! You have permission to remove your own demo and do not need to ask.

  2. Notify instructor.training@carpentries.org to let us know that your event needs to be removed from the Community Calendar.

If trainees have signed up:

  1. If there is enough time, post a message in the #Trainers Slack channel and/or send an email to Instructor Trainers@lists.carpentries.org to find someone who can take your place. (You may choose to skip this step, e.g. if there are only 1-2 people signed up.)

    1. If someone can take your place, confirm with them and have them add their information on the Etherpad.

    2. Ensure someone on the Core Team knows so they can be added to the calendar invitation. When in doubt, email instructor.training@carpentries.org.

    3. You are done!

  2. If step 1 is skipped or unsuccessful, email the trainees to let them know the demo has been cancelled, and ask them to sign up for a different session.

  3. Remove the event from the Etherpad.

  4. Notify instructor.training@carpentries.org to let us know that your event needs to be removed from the Community Calendar.

Share lessons learned from a Training event or Demo#

Sharing your experience after teaching or hosting a demo helps everyone to think about their practice, learn from what you have learned, and consider ways to make our program better. To make the most of this opportunity, consider sharing details about:

  • What content you spent extra time on. This tells people what you and your trainees considered most interesting, most important, or most challenging. Sometimes there are good things to explore behind those choices.

  • What content you skipped. This helps newer Instructor Trainers consider how to cut when they need to. It also helps Maintainers think about areas where future cuts or adjustments should be made in the curriculum.

  • What choices you made to manage engagement. Every group is different! Did you need to work harder to allow everyone to contribute? Mix up groups to break up some low energy combinations? Maybe you embraced your introverts and did more work in the Etherpad this time. Sharing choices you made in response to ‘reading the room’ (or your feedback) helps others expand their choice options and discussion can inspire new ideas for handling tough problems.

  • Subjective details. “It went well” is great but hard to learn from. Why do you think particular things worked for your group? In what areas do you feel uncertain about your outcomes, and why? There are no right or wrong answers to questions like this, but your opinions tell a story that helps others reflect and understand their own practice.

Don’t remember? You’ll be surprised how much you can refresh in 5 minutes! A quick review of your Etherpad, notes, etc. really helps to get ideas flowing before the meeting.

To share these ideas, please join one of the monthly Instructor Trainer meetings. There will always be time allotted to share feedback.

Resources#

Visit our Instructor Training resources section to for more resources including email templates for Trainers and Member Organisations.