Hi, Thanks, Mario and everyone, for sharing your perspective on the student-to-helper ratio. I asked this question in this comment https://software-carpentry.org/blog/2017/07/helper.html a few months ago. In the meantime, I found "one helper for every 10 attendees" in https://software-carpentry.org/workshops/operations/ (which also mentions a class size of 15-40).
Best, Marianne On Wed, Apr 25, 2018 at 8:38 AM, Mario Antonioletti <m.antoniole...@epcc.ed.ac.uk> wrote: > > Hi, > I have always gone with the rule of thumb of number of attendees divided > by 5 for the number of helpers required which I believe came from the > carpentry documentation somewhere. I would not assume that instructors are > going to play the part of helpers. I have often seen instructors do other > things while another session is taking place, as in they have done their bit > or are about to. If you want your instructors to be helpers make sure they > have agreed to act the part before hand. > > Mario > > > On Wed, 25 Apr 2018, Aleksandra Nenadic wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> I agree with Bianca here, class sizes of 20 (2 instructors + 2 helpers) >> work nicely, and I also would >> not go above 30 (with more helpers in this case 3-4). This is perhaps only >> marginally relevant, but I >> have been struggling to book rooms (at Uni of Manchester, UK) that can >> comfortably fit 30 (let alone > >> 30) people with enough room for helpers to move around and reach and talk >> to trainees without >> disturbing the rest of the class and for trainees to see the screen at the >> front properly (but this may >> be a limitation of rooms we have at our disposal here). >> >> Anything below 20 is possibly not such a good use of resources >> (instructors' and helpers' times), even >> though I did workshops for ~15 people from the same cohort in a nice and >> friendly environment. >> >> Regards, >> Aleks >> >> >> -- >> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . >> Dr Aleksandra Nenadic, Training Lead >> The Software Sustainability Institute >> The University of Manchester >> Email: a.nena...@manchester.ac.uk >> Email: a.nena...@software.ac.uk >> Skype: a.nenadic >> Office: +44 (0)161 275 0672 >> Web: www.software.ac.uk >> Twitter: @SoftwareSaved >> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . >> >> On 24/04/2018 16:41, Bianca Peterson wrote: >> >> Hi Maneesha, >> >> From past workshop experience (n=5), a class size of 20 has worked the >> best (in my opinion). For >> this class size, 2 instructors and 2 helpers were enough, since the one >> instructor usually helps >> while the other one teaches. However, it's important to keep in mind that >> one of the helpers >> might need to run/drive around to handle crises. >> >> Then again, on request, I did a one-day R workshop all by myself (I forgot >> to ask for helpers) >> with 15 participants, and I was able to manage it. However, there weren't >> a lot of questions and >> most of them just wanted to "have a look at R" and were not necessarily >> interested in using this >> post-workshop. >> >> Personally, I would not run a workshop with more than 30 people, because, >> as you said, the >> workshops should be engaging and interactive. >> >> Hope this helps! >> >> >> Bianca Peterson >> North-West University >> Potchefstroom >> 2531 >> >> On Tue, Apr 24, 2018 at 5:22 PM, Maneesha Sane <manee...@carpentries.org> >> wrote: >> Hey all - >> As I think about Carpentries workshop operations, I have a question for >> discussion. >> What's your ideal Carpentries class size? >> Assume 2 instructors and a 1:10 helper:learner ratio (3 people total for a >> class of 10, 4 >> people total for a class of 20, and so on) >> We want our workshops to be engaging, hands on, and interactive. Is there >> a lower limit to >> this, where it doesn't seem big enough to worthwhile in those ways? And is >> there an upper limit, where it's too big to be worthwhile in those ways? >> >> Perspectives from instructors, hosts, helpers, and learners are welcome! >> Feel free to >> reply all or email me directly. Thanks for your feedback. >> >> (Cross posted on slack. Not part of that communications platform? Join >> here: https://swc-slack-invite.herokuapp.com) >> >> Maneesha Sane >> Program Manager >> Instructor and Trainer >> Software Carpentry: https://software-carpentry.org/ >> Data Carpentry: http://www.datacarpentry.org/ >> ----- >> While I may be sending this email outside my normal office hours, I have >> no expectation to >> receive a reply outside yours. Your time, personal and professional, is >> valued. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Discuss mailing list >> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org >> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/listinfo/discuss >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Discuss mailing list >> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org >> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/listinfo/discuss >> >> >> >> > > +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ > |Mario Antonioletti:EPCC,JCMB,The King's Buildings,Edinburgh EH9 3FD. | > | Tel:0131 651 3534|m.antoniole...@epcc.ed.ac.uk | > +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ > -- > The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in > Scotland, with registration number SC005336. > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org > http://lists.software-carpentry.org/listinfo/discuss _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org http://lists.software-carpentry.org/listinfo/discuss
