Exercise: Managing a diverse classroom

• Workshops targetted at novices, but they have various backgrounds and skills
• Can be novice in one topic, and more advanced in others
• What are the challenges in adjusting your instruction accordingly?

Some strategies

• Communicate level of workshop clearly - with details
• Have ‘beginner’ and ‘advanced’ exercises
• Ask more advanced learners to help the more novice
• Don’t let ethusiastic advanced questions carry the conversation
  • Alienates novices
• Keep an eye out for anyone falling behind to pick it up early

No class is homogeneous, so can’t meet everyone’s needs!

Code of conduct violations

• We use a code of conduct to create a respectful, inclusive learning environment
• Occasionally, managing a classroom includes handling a violation
  • Warning/ apology/ leave workshop depending
  • Report to the Carpentries

Never teach alone

• Carpentries tend to use ‘teach and assist’ rather than ‘team teaching’
• Both provide opportunities for lateral knowledge transfer
• Gives your voice a rest
• In-class support from ‘helpers’
  • Set-up, spot people who need help, monitor shared notes

Exercise: teaching together

• You’re going to teach a workshop
  • How do you prepare
  • What should(n’t) the assisting intructor do to help during the workshop?

Key points

• Working with a broad range of learners can be challenging, but there are many ways to keep a classroom happy and motivated.
• Response to a Code-of-Conduct violation at a workshop is subject to instructor discretion, but all violations should be reported to the Carpentries for follow-up.

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