Mentoring on The Carpentries

Apply to Join The Carpentries 2021 Mentoring Program!

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Do you have a Carpentries goal that you are not sure how to accomplish? Or do you want to help your fellow instructors gain the skills and confidence they need to achieve their goals? If so, we encourage you to join a Carpentries Mentoring group!

We are seeking mentors and mentees to participate in The Carpentries Mentoring Program in 2021!

Mentors are certified instructors who facilitate a community of fellow instructors with similar interests.

Meet our 2020-2021 Cohort of Instructor Development Committee Leaders

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Instructor Development Committee (IDC) leaders in The Carpentries lead efforts to organise Community Discussions, set up mentoring cycles, and advocate for activities and initiatives that promote professional development, equity and inclusivity for Carpentries instructors. During their year-long term, IDC leaders also work on special projects aimed at improving instructor resources in The Carpentries, and facilitate conversations with other Carpentries instructors to brainstorm and discuss matters arising.

The Instructor Development Committee (formerly known as the Mentoring Subcommittee) was established in 2015 to develop and maintain a mentorship program to support instructors as they progress through training, teaching, curriculum development, and other community-related activities. The committee helps promote community-building and networking by providing virtual spaces where instructors from all over the world can share teaching success stories and discuss strategies for overcoming challenges. You can find more information about the IDC and its activities in the Instructor Development section of our handbook.

Tips for Organising Your First Carpentries Workshop

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

How This Blog Post Came About

Angela: We’re wrapping up the Fall 2019 set of mentoring groups, and I’m so proud of the work that the Organising Workshops Mentoring Group did over the past three months. Through the group, I was able to meet Carpentries community members who were going through the process of putting on their-first ever workshops, something I had recently begun to do at my own research center. The conversations I had with my mentees allowed me to reflect on how the Carpentries community is about so much more than teaching specific technical skills; it’s about sharing knowledge in a community of practice, whether that knowledge is organising individuals to start a new initiative, or wrangling a university department to fund a much-needed resource.

Mentoring Groups Virtual Showcase: Oct 15 at 19:00 UTC

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Have you ever been curious about what happens in a Carpentries Mentoring Group?

The Instructor Development Committee will be hosting its first Mentoring Virtual Showcase for the 2019-2020! The showcase will take place on October 15, 2019 at 19:00 UTC. During the showcase, current mentors and mentees will share progress on their projects, how they’ve grown, and how you can get involved. Come and see presentations from the mentoring groups who met over the summer to get an idea of what possibilities there are, whether you’re a future mentor, mentee, or enthusiast!

Call for 2019 Mentoring Group Participation

Fri, 24 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The Instructor Development Committee is excited to announce Round 1 of the 2019-2020 Mentoring groups.

Do you have a Carpentries goal that you’re not sure how to accomplish? Or do you want to help your fellow instructors gain the skills and confidence they need to achieve their goals? If so, we encourage you to join a Mentoring group! Each small group will be formed around common interests and goals. You’ll spend 8-12 weeks working with your colleagues to refine your goals and make progress toward them in a format that works for your group.

Introducing the New Carpentries Instructor Development Committee

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The Instructor Development Committee (originally the Mentoring Subcommittee) was established in 2015 to develop and maintain a mentorship program to support instructors as they progress through training, teaching, curriculum development, and other community-related activities. The committee helps promote community-building and networking by providing virtual spaces where instructors from all over the world can share teaching success stories and discuss strategies for overcoming challenges. Any Carpentries community member is welcome to join the Instructor Development Committee. You can find more information in the Instructor Development section of our handbook.

You’re Invited! Mentoring Meetup November 8th

Mon, 05 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

As we approach the holiday season, I am reflecting on the year and what has given me joy. One thing I am truly grateful for is our Instructor Development Committee. Toby Hodges, the committee’s co-chair, has done a phenomenal job in his term thus far pushing us to think broadly about ways to engage and support our growing instructor pool. I’m grateful for you Toby!

In this State of Instructor Development slide deck, you’ll notice something else I’m grateful for: The Carpentries Mentoring Groups. Mentoring groups have been supporting each other since 5 September in several areas. A few of the groups’ activities include:

Introducing the Instructor Development Committee

Mon, 27 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

After some discussion, at recent meetings of the Mentoring Committee and on the associated GitHub repository, members of the Committee have chosen to rename the group. We will now be the Instructor Development Committee.

The discussion came about from an acknowledgement that “Mentoring” implied that the Committee focussed solely on mentoring activities such as the Mentoring Groups Program (more on which below). While it’s true that part of what we do is to support the amazing work that Kari Jordan and others do with mentoring groups, that’s only one aspect of the conversations that we have at our monthly meetings and the activity of the Committee members outside of those meetings.

Mentoring Groups Showcase Their Achievements - All Welcome

Wed, 25 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The most recent round of mentoring groups will wrap up in mid-August. As with previous rounds, groups will share what they have learned and achieved during their time together in a virtual showcase (also known as a get-together via Zoom).

To maximise attendance, showcases will take place at two different times and members of our community are invited to attend. You don’t need to be a mentor or mentee to attend the showcase, and you can come to either or both.

Join an Onboarding Session for Hosting Discussion Sessions

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Instructor discussions are important to our community to help Instructors prepare to teach, to debrief after Instructors have taught, and to help new Instructors complete their certification as Carpentries Instructors. Sessions are regularly run and are generally well-attended. Feedback to the Mentoring Subcommittee proves they are highly valued.

Toby Hodges recently put out a call to recruit new session hosts so we can meet continuing demand for these sessions.

Why it is worthwhile

As someone who has hosted a few in her time, I would say that, far from being hard work, these sessions are a joy to run and be part of. Meeting new people in our wide global community is always stimulating. People in discussions I have hosted have ranged from ‘old hands’ coming back to share their workshop experience to new members of the community about to teach for the very first time and bursting with questions. Attendees have been based in Japan, the US, South Africa, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands … the list goes on.

Get More Involved with The Carpentries' Instructor Community

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Hi folks,

Are you looking for a way to get more involved in The Carpentries instructor community? Would you like to meet more members of the community, help new instructors to prepare for organising and teaching a workshop, and benefit from the experience that other instructors have gained from teaching? We are looking for volunteers to host instructor discussion sessions.

These sessions are regular, one-hour online meetings that bring together trainee and experienced instructors to reflect on teaching experience and prepare for future workshops. The job of the host is to participate in and facilitate these discussions, and to make sure that all participants have an equal opportunity to participate in the conversation.

Mentoring Groups Open for Multiple Timezones

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did you miss the deadline to join a mentoring group? Do not fear, there are still openings for mentees to join groups in the following timezones:

To join, fill out the mentoring application.

Mentoring groups are beneficial to participants because group members are able to focus on specific goals, including teaching their first workshop and developing new lesson contribution material. Being a part of a group that addresses something important to you is both powerful and enjoyable. You do not want to miss out on The Carpentries mentoring opportunities. Join a mentoring group today!

Mentoring Groups are Back!

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

In February, we held our mentoring groups virtual showcase, and community members engaged with mentors and mentees virtually to hear about the accomplishments they made over the course of their mentoring experience. Not only were mentees able to finish their instructor checkout tasks and contribute to the CarpentryCon taskforce, mentors started local communities and reconnected with community members globally.

You’ve expressed to us and each other the benefits these mentoring groups have had on your growth in and outside of the Carpentries. You are building powerful, and meaningful connections by developing peer communities. Because of that, we want to continue to support these groups, and give more community members the opportunity to join, either as a mentor, or a mentee.

Mentoring Groups Showcase their Accomplishments

Mon, 19 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

We just finished our second round of mentoring groups and had an amazing showcase of their work and ideas. In this round, we were more specific and focused on multiple topic areas. There were groups on community building, lesson maintenance, and preparing for instructor checkout.

The feedback and outcomes were great! Participants were able to focus on specific goals, including teaching their first workshop and developing new lesson contribution material. Being part of a group that addressed something important to them, (e.g. developing new communities in Japan and Singapore), made the mentoring groups powerful and enjoyable.

Call for Applicants: Mentoring Subcommittee Co-Chair

Tue, 21 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Dear Carpentries Community,

How would you like to work first-hand on developing our ever growing instructor pool? A Mentoring Subcommittee Co-Chair position has just opened!

The leader serving in this year-long position (December 2017- December 2018) will share duties with the co-chair of the mentoring subcommittee, with a workload averaging 1.5 hours/week.

The expectations of the mentoring co-chairs are to host the monthly mentoring subcommittee meetings, facilitate opportunities for building connections across our community to better serve our instructors, and to manage the weekly instructor discussion sessions hosted on this etherpad.

Carpentries Mentorship Program - 2.0

Thu, 12 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

We’re starting a new round of mentoring groups, centered on specific lessons

Mentorship is an important part of the Carpentry experience. As Instructors, we both teach and mentor our Learners. We also mentor each other as Instructors, learning something new from each other every time we teach and interact with one another. The Mentoring Subcommittee offers guidance to new and continuing Instructors through weekly discussion sessions, where Instructors from the global Carpentry community gather to share their experiences and learn from each other. This is a fantastic opportunity to interact with other Carpentry Instructors from around the world.

Mentoring is Back! Round Two of the Carpentries Mentoring Program begins October 25th

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Mentoring groups provide experienced instructors with the chance to help small groups develop confidence in teaching, lesson maintenance and community building

The inaugural Carpentries mentoring program was a great success, and we have used the feedback we received from both mentors and mentees to craft a new and improved mentoring experience in round two. The next round will run October 25th - January 10th.

What is the reward for empowering others?

Sun, 14 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Following a few round-table discussions with Software Carpentry instructors, I gained some insight into what drives so many of us to volunteer our time so enthusiastically. I came to the conclusion that many of us share a sense of accomplishment when we empower others through mentoring and education. Software Carpentry gives us a fountain-full of opportunities to contibute through community developed lessons, community supported workshops, and world-wide community conversations. We start out volunteering a little when there is time, but we soon carve out more and more space in our schedule for Software Carpentry events and activities that provide the opportunity to empower others.

Changes on Mentoring Subcommittee

Mon, 11 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

The first quarter of 2016 is almost over and so far the Mentoring Subcommittee have been very quiet although we have continued hosting the post workshop debriefing sessions and the pre-workshop helping session.

We have been quiet because we were busy with the Steering Committee election and reorganization of the volunteer hours from our members since six of them (Belinda Weaver, Bill Mills, Karin Lagesen, Kate Hertweck, Rayna M Harris and I) were elected as Steering Committee members. In addition to this some members had to temporarily reduce their volunteer hours for various reasons but are now back to help us.

A Proposal for Helping Instructor Trainees Finish

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Instructor training is one way we grow our community worldwide. Yet many people who go through instructor training never go on to teach at a Software Carpentry workshop. Can that be fixed? I suggest that shepherding people though the final stages might help with completion rates.

When the idea of running instructor training in Brisbane was originally mooted, I set up a survey, very early on, to record expressions of interest from people who might want to train. I tweeted that several times in the months leading up to the training. The survey captured name, email address, institution, discipline and how each applicant had heard about the survey. I wish now I had also asked ‘why do you want to train’ or ‘why do you deserve a place over someone else?’ as that would have helped me sift through the candidates.

Should We Combine Debriefing and Lesson Discussion?

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Belinda Weaver recently posted [a proposal for helping instructor trainees finish]({{site.baseurl}}/blog/2016/03/proposal-instructor-trainees.html). While reading her post and writing out [the current instructor training workflow]({{site.github_url}}/board/pull/81) for the benefit of GSoC students, I started wondering if it might also make sense to combine the workshop debriefing sessions with the trainee mentoring sessions: a couple of regularly-scheduled slots each week (times chosen to accommodate all comers) would be easier to wrangle, and trainees would get to meet more existing instructors and hear about their in-class experiences. We'd still need some sort of sign-up mechanism to keep numbers manageable, and we'd need someone to report back on which trainees had asked well-informed questions, and it would mean less coupling between the discussion and the specific lesson(s) trainees were working on, but the first two aren't new work (we're doing them already) and the third might actually be a good thing, particularly if we follow up on another suggestion and have people attend a discussion *before* submitting their lesson change. Please add comments to this blog post to let us know what you think of the idea, and to [Belinda's]({{site.baseurl}}/blog/2016/03/proposal-instructor-trainees.html) to give her feedback as well.

Launching Pre Workshop Help Session

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

Organizing one workshop isn't easy and sometimes things out of your control go wrong in the last minute like the internet access on the room is very slow. After months of discussions of what could be done to help instructors and hosts when organizing their workshops and being prepared for the show time the Mentoring Subcommittee decided to test some helping sessions.