Carpentry Volunteering
Running a workshop is done through the group effort of people in teaching and/or assisting roles. The lead instructor directs the curriculum development and establishes learning goals of the workshop. They also teach segments of the workshop to a live audience. For certification to be a lead instructor, read onto “Becoming a Certified Carpentry Instructor”. Lead instructors are not expected to teach a whole workshop themselves: through co-instructing, others may teach some workshop segments and support any discussion initiated by the lead instructor. Because workshops depend on live-coding and hands-on demos, helpers are needed to provide immediate help to workshop attendees. Helpers also assist in the workings of workshops; such as hosting remote/in-person meetings, taking lesson notes, and answering questions from attendees. For all stages of workshop development; lead instructors, instructors, and helpers are supported by staff in DREAM Lab (formerly, Interdisciplinary Research Collaboratory).
Becoming a Certified Carpentry Instructor
The UCSB Library and Enterprise Technology Services maintain a membership to the Carpentries. Each year we send a cohort of people through the Instructor certification process, which includes:
- A 2-day, 16 hour training workshop plus some preparatory reading.
- Making an edit to a Carpentry lesson.
- Attending at least one session of a Carpentries discussion group.
- A practical teaching demonstration.
Once you are a certified Instructor, you are able to self-organize Carpentry Workshops on your own. The Library’s DREAM Lab also organizes and hosts about three workshops every quarter. If you participate in an upcoming instructor training, we expect some things from you in return:
- Complete the certification process (there are 3 post-training tasks)
- Contribute to lessons on the UCSB Carpentry Repo
- Be a helper and an instructor for a Library-organized workshop before the end of the next school year
- Participate in team meetings in the lead up to, and immediately after, workshops in which you participate.
Please contact us if you are interested in becoming a Carpentry Instructor or Helper!