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# Team leaders / Helpers / Exercise leaders

We use this page during team leader onboarding.
```{admonition} We use this page during team leader onboarding.
The minimum to mention/read when preparing:
- The summary
- Code of conduct
- What can I do to prepare for the workshop?
- What we want to avoid
```

**Thanks for being a team leader :heart:**!
Without you, these large online workshops would not be possible.


## TL;DR (Summary of this page)

- Everyone watches the CodeRefinery stream ({ref}`how to attend via livestream <attend-stream>`)
- Communication happens via collaborative document ({ref}`Collaborative document mechanics <how-to-hackmd>`)
- Exercises can be done individually, in a pre-formed or ad-hoc team online or in person
- Team leads are between the instructors and learners, please
- Keep track of things like learner progress, instructions and time and report them via collaborative document
- All communication, questions, and feedback happen via collaborative document ({ref}`Collaborative document mechanics <how-to-hackmd>`)
- Exercises can be done individually, in a pre-formed or ad-hoc team, online or in person
- Team leaders are an important link between the instructors and learners. Please:
- In the collaborative document let us know about progress of the team and any issues
- Be available for learners to ask their questions and lead discussions
- If idle, check the collaborative document for open questions and answer them
- Please write questions that you cannot answer in the collaborative document (then others will answer)
- If idle, check the collaborative document for open questions and try to answer them

If you want to contact us before the workshop you can send an email to our general email address <[email protected]> or you can join the
{doc}`CodeRefinery chat <chat>` (we recommend the `#workshops` stream,
If you have questions before the workshop, write to <[email protected]> or you can join the
{doc}`CodeRefinery chat <chat>` (we recommend the `#tools-workshop` stream,
and if you can't find it then `#general` is good).

If you have fun being a team leader for the workshop, please visit our
{ref}`contributing page <volunteering>` page, to find out about further
volunteering possibilities within CodeRefinery.


## Code of Conduct

We follow [a code of
conduct](https://coderefinery.org/about/code-of-conduct/) for all our
interactions before, during and after workshops, also for this session.
sessions before, during, and after workshops.

We've designed the workshop so that it is very hard for one person to
ruin it for everyone. Within your team, you will need to take on the
role of ensuring a good environment.

If you see anything that is not supporting an positive learning
environment, let us know!
environment, please let us know.
* If it's a general issue that can be mentioned publicly, write it
immediately in the collaborative document.
* Send a message to <[email protected]> if it is private and can
be handled asynchronously.


## CodeRefinery project

We teach all the essential tools which are usually skipped in
academic education so everyone can make full use of software, computing, and
data. We don't just give courses, but we are a training network that you can
join to share the effort and bring better courses to your community.


## ..and you?

Shortly introduce yourself in the collaborative document of the onboarding session:
* Who are you?
* What do you do?
* Where are you connecting from?


## What is needed to be a team leader?

Most importantly, *you do not have to know everything* (we don't, either), but you are expected to:
Most importantly, **you do not have to know everything** (we don't, either).
If you aren't sure if you can be a team leader: you probably can be one!

- Have been to a CodeRefinery before and used git some since then, OR have some general experience with git (branching,
This is what we expect:
- Have been to a CodeRefinery before and used Git some since then, OR have some general experience with Git (branching,
pull requests) and command line work, OR be able to generally follow
the path of the exercises that we have laid out.
- Be present in your teams physical/virtual room at least during exercise sessions of the workshop.
- Show a positive, motivating attitude to learners.
- Keep exercises going and let us know when there are difficult questions!

> If you aren't sure if you can be a team leader: you probably can be one!

## Who is joining this workshop?

Be aware of the different

* career stages (students, postdoc, researcher, professor, industry),
* backgrounds (computer scientist, IT, domain scientist, coding beginners,...),
* infrastructure (operating system, access restrictions, preferences on graphical vs command line interfaces, ...) and
* preferred programming languages (Python, R, Matlab, Julia, Fortran, ...) of your learners.
* Career stages (students, postdoc, researcher, professor, industry),
* Backgrounds (computer scientist, IT, domain scientist, coding beginners,...),
* Infrastructure (operating system, access restrictions, preferences on graphical vs command line interfaces, ...) and
* Preferred programming languages (Python, R, Matlab, Julia, Fortran, ...) of your learners.

There is also usually a great variety of pre- knowledge on the different topics of the workshop.

Overview from the [pre-workshop survey](<https://github.com/coderefinery/pre-workshop-survey>)


## What will happen during workshop?

The workshop schedule on the main workshop page contains
Expand All @@ -104,13 +119,15 @@ do your own thing.
Overview of the different options of doing the exercises individually or in a team.
```


## Exercise sessions

We try our best to be very explicit about what is going on.
Your first goal should be to make sure the learners are engaged and no one is left behind.

The instructors should clearly tell which exercises and for how long (minimum 10-15 min);
if anything is unclear please ask via collaborative document, you are our safety net.
The instructors should clearly tell which exercises and for how long (we try to
make all exercise sessions at least 20 minutes long). If anything is unclear
please ask via collaborative document, you are our safety net.

**Make it easy for learners to ask for help**:
* Make sure your group knows your name and that you are their team lead.
Expand All @@ -137,14 +154,20 @@ topics of the exercises. b) team status. c) as always,
questions at the bottom.
```


## What can I do to prepare for the workshop?

As a team leader, we do not expect you to know all our [CodeRefinery training material](https://coderefinery.org/lessons/core/), but if you have time:

- **Take a look at the exercises in advance** of each day (the exact
plan is on the workshop page. Lessons have an "exercise list" page that shows everything), check that you understand the general point of each of them.
- **Take a look at the exercises in advance** of each day (the exercise
plan is on the workshop page. Lessons have an "exercise list" page that
shows everything), check that you understand the general point of each of
them.
- Often we only manage to adjust exercises and lessons shortly before the
workshop. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
- If you are interested, also read through the **instructor guides** for the lessons (there is a link at the top or sidebar of each lesson).
- Use github issues on the lesson github page to point out issues with exercises and the materials
- Use GitHub issues on the lesson GitHub pages to point out issues with exercises and the materials.


## Any questions?

Expand All @@ -153,23 +176,8 @@ As a team leader, we do not expect you to know all our [CodeRefinery training ma
`#tools-workshop` during the workshop itself (you need to join the stream, it is not default for new chat members).
* During the workshop, please use the collaborative document.

## Path ahead

Would you like to
* become an instructor?
* help organizing a workshop?
* contribute to lesson material?
* have any other ideas to contribute?
* community calls: see <https://coderefinery.org/organization/meetings/>

See our [website](https://coderefinery.org/get-involved/) and {ref}`volunteering`.
Best way to get started is to join the [Zulip chat](https://coderefinery.zulipchat.com).

## Tips and Tricks

This section provides some tips and tricks for being a team leader. Be aware that there are **different types of team leads (online/in-person/team of colleagues/team of strangers)** and these tipps may not apply to evryone.

### How to create a positive learning environment?
## How to create a positive learning environment?

As a team leader, you have a crucial role during workshops:

Expand All @@ -189,14 +197,45 @@ As a team leader, you have a crucial role during workshops:
won't. Students rarely try to get your attention from across the room if you
don't look ready.

### Strategies for leading a team

## What we want to avoid

- **Take over the learner's keyboard** (neither physically nor remotely). It is rarely a good idea to type anything
for your learners and it can be demotivating for the learner because it
implies you don't think they can do it themselves or that you don't want to
wait for them. It also wastes a valuable opportunity for them to develop muscle
memory and other skills that are essential for independent work. Instead, try
to have a sticky note pad and pen / use the collaborative document and write the commands that they should type.
- **Criticize certain programs**, operating systems, or GUI applications, or
learners who use them. (Excel, Windows, etc.)
- **Talk contemptuously or with scorn about any tool**. Regardless of its
shortcomings, many of your learners may be using that tool. Convincing
someone to change their practices is much harder when they think you disdain
them.
- Dive into **complex or detailed technical discussion** with the one or two people
in the audience who have advanced knowledge and may not actually need to be
at the workshop.
- **Pretend to know more than you do**. People will actually trust you more if you
are frank about the limitations of your knowledge, and will be more likely to
ask questions and seek help.
- **Use "just", "easy", "simply", or other demotivating words**. These signal to the learner
that the instructor thinks their problem is trivial and by extension that
they therefore must be stupid for not being able to figure it out.
- **Feign surprise** at learners not knowing something. Saying things like “I can't
believe you don't know X” or “You've never heard of Y?” signals to the
learner that they do not have some required pre-knowledge of the material you
are teaching, that they don't belong at the workshop, and it may prevent them
from asking questions in the future.


## Strategies for leading a team

There are several strategies you can use to run your team, no matter if you meet in a physical or virtual room (Physical room would need a larger screen for every one to see though):

Strategy 1:
- **Everyone does the exercises themselves until someone has a question**
- Encourage learners to ask multiple times; if necessary share your/learners screen and discuss.
- If everyone is active, this can be good, but there is a risk that the barrier for distrurbing the silence is too big.
- If everyone is active, this can be good, but there is a risk that the barrier for disturbing the silence is too big.

Strategy 2:
- **To start things off, team leader can share the screen.**
Expand All @@ -219,7 +258,8 @@ lesson material to your own team's work, review what was just said,
have a free-form discussion, etc. - if those are more valuable. You
can always come back to exercises later, or let learners do them as homework.

### How to solve common problems in teams?

## How to solve common problems in teams?

- **One learner asks very many questions**, ends up monopolizing all of
the time. Other learners are left without help, and the whole group
Expand All @@ -239,40 +279,9 @@ can always come back to exercises later, or let learners do them as homework.
- Some exercises are easier than others and people really may not need any help with some of them
- Remind that the recording can also be watched later, if people cannot keep up
- Use your time answering questions the collaborative document
### Please do not ...

- Take over the learner's keyboard (neither physically nor remotely). It is rarely a good idea to type anything
for your learners and it can be demotivating for the learner because it
implies you don't think they can do it themselves or that you don't want to
wait for them. It also wastes a valuable opportunity for them to develop muscle
memory and other skills that are essential for independent work. Instead, try
to have a sticky note pad and pen / use the collaborative document and write the commands that they should type.
- Criticize certain programs, operating systems, or GUI applications, or
learners who use them. (Excel, Windows, etc.)
- Talk contemptuously or with scorn about any tool. Regardless of its
shortcomings, many of your learners may be using that tool. Convincing
someone to change their practices is much harder when they think you disdain
them.
- Dive into complex or detailed technical discussion with the one or two people
in the audience who have advanced knowledge and may not actually need to be
at the workshop.
- Pretend to know more than you do. People will actually trust you more if you
are frank about the limitations of your knowledge, and will be more likely to
ask questions and seek help.
- Use “just”, “easy”, or other demotivating words. These signal to the learner
that the instructor thinks their problem is trivial and by extension that
they therefore must be stupid for not being able to figure it out.
- Feign surprise at learners not knowing something. Saying things like “I can't
believe you don't know X” or “You've never heard of Y?” signals to the
learner that they do not have some required pre-knowledge of the material you
are teaching, that they don't belong at the workshop, and it may prevent them
from asking questions in the future.


## Background

The following section provides some background on our workshop setup.
### Hierarchical workshops to scale
## More background about scaling workshops

Traditionally, a workshop has instructors and team leaders/helpers, but the
capacity is limited by instructors, so we are limited to ~30-40 people
Expand All @@ -288,21 +297,27 @@ Instructors and expert helpers are always available via the collaborative docume
likely that you'll grow as a mentor and learn how to be a more efficient
teacher.

### Teams

## More background about teams

A team could be for example a
group of colleagues/friends where one of the team members has a bit of knowledge
on the tools presented in the workhop. This person can act as team leader
on the tools presented in the workshop. This person can act as team leader
for the workshop, but may still learn a thing or two themselves. In that way
you can work with people you know and the barrier for asking questions and
discuss together may be a bit lower than in a group of strangers.

Sometimes we also allow learners to register as invidual learner with interest in being in a team. We then try to arrange those people in teams which stay together for all exercise sessions on all days and provide a zoom breakoutroom with a team/exercise leader. Since this is dependent on our team leader capacities, we cannot accept infinte amount of learners.
Sometimes we also allow learners to register as individual learner with
interest in being in a team. We then try to arrange those people in teams which
stay together for all exercise sessions on all days and provide a zoom breakout
room with a team/exercise leader. Since this is dependent on our team leader
capacities, we cannot accept infinite amount of learners.
Being assigned a team as a learner allows people to form a bond and get the
rooms started sooner. We will try to keep you in the same team
room as long as we can, but we give no promises and will rearrange as
needed when people can't attend.


## See also

* Carpentries instructor training
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