Teaching Centrally-Organised Workshops

If you are a certified Instructor for The Carpentries, I am sure you have received an email/slack message or two announcing “Upcoming Teaching Opportunites” around the world. Specifically our Centrally-Organised workshops. These workshops are requested by organisations and come with the full support of The Carpentries Workshop Administration Team and Instructors.

Whether you are a newly certified Instructor or an experienced Instructor, this blog post will provide detailed information that will give more insight to Centrally-Organised workshops.

What is a Centrally-Organised Workshop?

These workshops are requested globally by institutions and organisations all over the world. Workshop Hosts pay an administrative fee to have Instructors selected, Registration setup and additional support while planning workshops by The Carpentries Workshop Administration Team.

Why should I teach and what are the benefits for Instructors?

Participating in Centrally-Organised workshops give you the opportunity to engage and network with people and new communities from various backgrounds, disciplines and cultures. If that doesn’t entice you, see the added benefits:

• To make your world better. By teaching peers how to accomplish more with software and data skills, you are improving the environment that they themselves work in, clearing obstacles to their own success.
• To build a reputation. Teaching a workshop is a great way to introduce yourself to places you would eventually like to work, and to make contact with potential collaborators around the world.
• To get practice teaching. You will learn to implement evidence-based practices in a supportive, team environment. You will also receive feedback through Carpentries surveys, creating a track record that can be useful in applications for teaching-related positions.
• To help get people of diverse backgrounds into the pipeline. Some of our Instructors are involved in part because they want computational science to include people from a broader range of backgrounds.
• To expand your technical skills. Carpentries Instructors continue to learn the very skills they teach, and more! Not only is teaching an excellent way to solidify existing skills, teaching with a team exposes you to new tips and tricks from others along the way.
• Virtual and In-person teaching opportunities. Soon The Carpentries will offer both virtual and in-person workshops and you will be able to select based on the Workshop Host preferred method of instruction. Added bonus… once in-person workshops are available, you are provided with accommodations (travel, lodging and meals) for traveling to teach a workshop.
• Supporting the mission. By teaching workshops to learners, you are building global capacity in essential data and computational skills for conducting efficient, open, and reproducible research.

What are the steps to signup to teach?

1. Join the Instructors mailing list to be notified of upcoming teaching opportunities.
2. The Workshop Administration Team will notify you via email and direct you to the sign-up sheet for the various workshops. (These workshops have been requested by our community via the workshop request form)
3. Once you provide your availability, you will be contacted via email by a Workshop Administrator if you have been selected to teach.
4. Once your participation is confirmed, you will be connected with the Workshop Host and co-instructor(s). During this time you will discuss the logistics of the workshop (teaching schedule, create workshop website, and identify the roles of the Instructors and Helpers)
5. You will have access to The Carpentries Workshop Administration Team for support throughout the entire process.

The Carpentries’ vision is to be the leading inclusive community teaching data and coding. We cannot do that without the help of our Instructors. It is my hope that the next time you see that email/slack message with “Upcoming Teaching Opportunities” you consider all that you have to gain from participating as well as the impact your efforts can have on researchers and information professionals around the world. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact workshops@carpentries.org.