Become an Instructor and help bring data and coding skills to people across the globe!

We often receive inquiries from people who are interested in becoming certified Carpentries Instructors or in recommending an opportunity for certification to a friend or colleague. In this post, we will review a few frequently asked questions and share a new avenue for priority admission to our Open Instructor Training program.

How can I be trained as a Carpentries Instructor?

Carpentries Instructor Training seats can be purchased for groups and individuals through Membership and A-la-carte seat purchases. In addition, we offer free access to individual applicants through our Open Instructor Training program. Anyone with an interest in becoming certified as a Carpentries Instructor can apply to this program. Applications are scored periodically and admitted in order of rank as seats become available.

Priority admission to applicants interested in teaching Centrally-Organised workshops

We are actively recruiting Instructors to teach Centrally-Organised workshops. These workshops, which are currently being held entirely online, are a great way to connect with our global community, meet new colleagues with shared interests, and share your skills with researchers around the world. They also, vitally, support the sustainability of The Carpentries and help us to continue all of the work that we do. We are currently offering priority admission to our Open Instructor Training program for applicants who indicate interest in teaching Centrally-Organised workshops. To indicate this in your application, see our instructions below.

Who is eligible?

All applicants are welcome! No specific expertise is necessary, but we do expect that trainees will have the technical knowledge necessary to teach one or more of the core lessons from Data Carpentry, Library Carpentry, or Software Carpentry. Instructor Training events are held online (this is always true, not only during the pandemic), so anyone with internet access and time to share can participate.

What is involved in Instructor Certification?

The first step of certification as a Carpentries Instructor is attending an Instructor Training event. When your application is accepted, you will be given a code that will allow you to choose from our upcoming online events. Instructor Training runs over two full days or four half days and covers the basics of educational psychology, evidence-based classroom practices, and how to apply both to teaching workshops for The Carpentries. For more details, visit the Instructor training curriculum page.

After attending an Instructor Training event, we ask trainees to complete three “checkout” tasks. The purpose of these tasks is to ensure that trainees are fully prepared to teach and take advantage of our global community of practice. We are here to help! For more details, see the Checkout Instructions page.

How do I apply?

To apply, please select “Open Training Application” in our Instructor Training application form. If you are willing to teach one or more Centrally-Organised Carpentries workshops in the first year after certification, please state this the “Anything else?” question at the end of the application.

I’m already an Instructor! How can I help?

Spread the word! The growth of The Carpentries around the world has been made possible by enthusiastic community members who get their friends and colleagues excited about what we do. If you know someone who would enjoy honing their teaching and technical skills with The Carpentries Instructor community, please share this post with them!