Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

[Christina Koch]

Bit late to this conversation, but thank you all for these perspectives!
This was incredibly interesting to read through.  :)

Christina

On Sun, Mar 18, 2018 at 3:11 PM, David Martin (Staff) <
d.m.a.mar...@dundee.ac.uk> wrote:

> I make extensive use of videos in the courses I teach. I find the
> carpentries method to be not suitable for novices (ie the starting from
> scratch group)  for the reasons given - there is no context on which to
> hang the material they are given. The videos typically will be taking them
> through the introduction parts - what is a list, how do you work with it
> etc.) and they then have exercises ('labs') in iPython notebooks. They make
> extensive use of the videos for reference during their labs which typically
> are started in class and then homework to be worked through during the week.
>
>
> This is mid undergraduate (Scottish level 2 and 3, level 4 is honours).
> Postgrads are typically selected as being more able students so they are
> better able to handle the intensity and use scaffolding better.
>
>
> I like the carpentries approach but it is not suitable for all cases, and
> I also like to see these developments springing up from it. The benefit of
> carpentries is that they give the students two things - the knowledge that
> a certain thing can be done, and the knowledge and confidence that it is
> within their ability. These allow/permit/encourage a student to then take
> the further steps in learning as they need to.
>
>
> ..d
>
>
> Dr David Martin
> Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics
> College of Life Sciences
> University of Dundee
>
> --
> *From:* Discuss  on behalf
> of Ethan White 
> *Sent:* 16 March 2018 15:28:30
> *To:* Greg Wilson; Software Carpentry Discussion
> *Subject:* Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?
>
> I think this is a really interesting idea and I tried this a few years
> back in the university classroom in my Carpentries' style courses (i.e.,
> https://www.programmingforbiologists.org/ & http://www.datacarpentry.org/
> semester-biology/). I found that the classic approach of watching videos
> in advance and then jumping straight into exercises in class was great for
> the top 20% of students. They had basically processed things successfully
> on the first exposure (the videos) and enjoyed getting to immediately apply
> it. It did not work as well for the bottom 50% of students. Watching the
> videos had given them a useful first exposure, but lacking the well
> developed scaffolding to hang that information on it had already started to
> fade and they couldn't immediately apply it. They wouldn't speak up about
> not getting it quickly enough and would struggle.
>
> As a result I ended up switching to teaching my university classes on this
> just like we teach workshops, but with just a little more assumption of
> having seen the basic idea before in readings/videos. Students view the
> material in advance. I then provide a brief overview of the first topic and
> show one or two examples. The students then work on an example that builds
> on what I just demonstrated and we iterate this way throughout the class
> period. This feels a little slower to the top 20% of students, but I've
> found it to be more effective for everyone else.
>
> This is also in a fairly ideal setting for this kind of approach in that
> the students are graded so there is external pressure to come prepared and
> the exercises we do in class count towards their grades. All of this is to
> say that based on my (certainly limited) experience doing things both ways
> in the university classroom that the I do, we do, you do, style of the
> current workshops may end up being the best approach.
>
> That said experimentation is always good and I like Greg's idea of a
> fusion as a possible approach to letting students move at different speeds
> and potentially learn different material. We should just pay attention to
> make sure that this doesn't end up leaving the folks behind that need us
> the most.
>
> Ethan
>
> On 03/14/2018 07:39 AM, Greg Wilson wrote:
>
> I like the idea of flipping the Carpentry classroom as well, but I think
> the first day or two should still use our regular approach: for many
> learners, the biggest benefit of a workshop is the way it helps them get
> over the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) they feel whenever they try to
> get computers to be useful, and I don't think that starting with videos
> will accomplish that.
>
> An experiment I'd really like to try is a regular two-day workshop
> immediately followed by the same people working side-by-side in the same
> classroom through a series of vi

Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

[David Martin (Staff)]

I make extensive use of videos in the courses I teach. I find the carpentries 
method to be not suitable for novices (ie the starting from scratch group)  for 
the reasons given - there is no context on which to hang the material they are 
given. The videos typically will be taking them through the introduction parts 
- what is a list, how do you work with it etc.) and they then have exercises 
('labs') in iPython notebooks. They make extensive use of the videos for 
reference during their labs which typically are started in class and then 
homework to be worked through during the week.


This is mid undergraduate (Scottish level 2 and 3, level 4 is honours). 
Postgrads are typically selected as being more able students so they are better 
able to handle the intensity and use scaffolding better.


I like the carpentries approach but it is not suitable for all cases, and I 
also like to see these developments springing up from it. The benefit of 
carpentries is that they give the students two things - the knowledge that a 
certain thing can be done, and the knowledge and confidence that it is within 
their ability. These allow/permit/encourage a student to then take the further 
steps in learning as they need to.


..d


Dr David Martin
Senior Lecturer in Bioinformatics
College of Life Sciences
University of Dundee


From: Discuss  on behalf of Ethan 
White 
Sent: 16 March 2018 15:28:30
To: Greg Wilson; Software Carpentry Discussion
Subject: Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

I think this is a really interesting idea and I tried this a few years back in 
the university classroom in my Carpentries' style courses (i.e., 
https://www.programmingforbiologists.org/ & 
http://www.datacarpentry.org/semester-biology/). I found that the classic 
approach of watching videos in advance and then jumping straight into exercises 
in class was great for the top 20% of students. They had basically processed 
things successfully on the first exposure (the videos) and enjoyed getting to 
immediately apply it. It did not work as well for the bottom 50% of students. 
Watching the videos had given them a useful first exposure, but lacking the 
well developed scaffolding to hang that information on it had already started 
to fade and they couldn't immediately apply it. They wouldn't speak up about 
not getting it quickly enough and would struggle.

As a result I ended up switching to teaching my university classes on this just 
like we teach workshops, but with just a little more assumption of having seen 
the basic idea before in readings/videos. Students view the material in 
advance. I then provide a brief overview of the first topic and show one or two 
examples. The students then work on an example that builds on what I just 
demonstrated and we iterate this way throughout the class period. This feels a 
little slower to the top 20% of students, but I've found it to be more 
effective for everyone else.

This is also in a fairly ideal setting for this kind of approach in that the 
students are graded so there is external pressure to come prepared and the 
exercises we do in class count towards their grades. All of this is to say that 
based on my (certainly limited) experience doing things both ways in the 
university classroom that the I do, we do, you do, style of the current 
workshops may end up being the best approach.

That said experimentation is always good and I like Greg's idea of a fusion as 
a possible approach to letting students move at different speeds and 
potentially learn different material. We should just pay attention to make sure 
that this doesn't end up leaving the folks behind that need us the most.

Ethan

On 03/14/2018 07:39 AM, Greg Wilson wrote:

I like the idea of flipping the Carpentry classroom as well, but I think the 
first day or two should still use our regular approach: for many learners, the 
biggest benefit of a workshop is the way it helps them get over the FUD (fear, 
uncertainty, and doubt) they feel whenever they try to get computers to be 
useful, and I don't think that starting with videos will accomplish that.

An experiment I'd really like to try is a regular two-day workshop immediately 
followed by the same people working side-by-side in the same classroom through 
a series of video lessons, with the helpers still there to assist them whenever 
they hit a stumbling block. Different learners could go at different speeds, or 
even through (somewhat) different material, but they would still get the social 
benefits of working alongside their peers, and the instructional benefits of 
one-to-one assistance when most needed. I haven't been able to find anything in 
the educational research literature describing this hybrid model, but I'd be 
willing to bet a dollar that it would outperform either of the pure 
alternatives, and I believe that at least some learners would be willing to 

Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

[Ethan White]

I think this is a really interesting idea and I tried this a few years 
back in the university classroom in my Carpentries' style courses (i.e., 
https://www.programmingforbiologists.org/ & 
http://www.datacarpentry.org/semester-biology/). I found that the 
classic approach of watching videos in advance and then jumping straight 
into exercises in class was great for the top 20% of students. They had 
basically processed things successfully on the first exposure (the 
videos) and enjoyed getting to immediately apply it. It did not work as 
well for the bottom 50% of students. Watching the videos had given them 
a useful first exposure, but lacking the well developed scaffolding to 
hang that information on it had already started to fade and they 
couldn't immediately apply it. They wouldn't speak up about not getting 
it quickly enough and would struggle.


As a result I ended up switching to teaching my university classes on 
this just like we teach workshops, but with just a little more 
assumption of having seen the basic idea before in readings/videos. 
Students view the material in advance. I then provide a brief overview 
of the first topic and show one or two examples. The students then work 
on an example that builds on what I just demonstrated and we iterate 
this way throughout the class period. This feels a little slower to the 
top 20% of students, but I've found it to be more effective for everyone 
else.


This is also in a fairly ideal setting for this kind of approach in that 
the students are graded so there is external pressure to come prepared 
and the exercises we do in class count towards their grades. All of this 
is to say that based on my (certainly limited) experience doing things 
both ways in the university classroom that the I do, we do, you do, 
style of the current workshops may end up being the best approach.


That said experimentation is always good and I like Greg's idea of a 
fusion as a possible approach to letting students move at different 
speeds and potentially learn different material. We should just pay 
attention to make sure that this doesn't end up leaving the folks behind 
that need us the most.


Ethan

On 03/14/2018 07:39 AM, Greg Wilson wrote:


I like the idea of flipping the Carpentry classroom as well, but I 
think the first day or two should still use our regular approach: for 
many learners, the biggest benefit of a workshop is the way it helps 
them get over the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) they feel 
whenever they try to get computers to be useful, and I don't think 
that starting with videos will accomplish that.


An experiment I'd really like to try is a regular two-day workshop 
immediately followed by the same people working side-by-side in the 
same classroom through a series of video lessons, with the helpers 
still there to assist them whenever they hit a stumbling block. 
Different learners could go at different speeds, or even through 
(somewhat) different material, but they would still get the social 
benefits of working alongside their peers, and the instructional 
benefits of one-to-one assistance when most needed. I haven't been 
able to find anything in the educational research literature 
describing this hybrid model, but I'd be willing to bet a dollar that 
it would outperform either of the pure alternatives, and I believe 
that at least some learners would be willing to sign up for a 
week-long hands-on workshop in this format between semesters or over 
the summer.


Cheers,

Greg


On 2018-03-14 12:21 AM, Kunal Marwaha wrote:
This is a sweet idea. We already have a few videos up on the website: 
https://software-carpentry.org/lessons/#video


I often find (especially with free workshops) that many learners do 
not prepare (a significant portion do not even install software 
beforehand). I would not expect many learners to watch videos before 
they come to class.


I find in-person Q&A/debugging and exercises to be very useful parts 
of the workshop. When I teach the collaboration part of Git ([usually 
in line with 
this](http://swcarpentry.github.io/git-novice/08-collab/)) I have 
pairs of learners do a number of exercises (collaborator clones, 
edits, commits & pushes; owner pulls; owner edits, commits & pushes; 
both edit, commit, push at same time; both edit same line, commit, 
push) at their own pace. The helpers & I check in with each group 
periodically and debug / discuss concepts, conflicts in git, and so 
on. This takes 30-45 minutes, and if some learners are advanced, I 
ask them to explore GitHub's UI, merges, pull requests, and so on. 
This environment is most similar to the "flipped classroom" that I've 
seen Software Carpentry taught.




On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 2:07 AM, Peter Steinbach 
mailto:steinb...@scionics.de>> wrote:


Hi to all,

I was discussing the idea of an "inverted class room" teaching
approach with a friend of mine who is a high school teacher (he
uses that based on video recording

Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

[Ethan White]

I think this is a really interesting idea and I tried this a few years 
back in the university classroom in my Carpentries' style courses (i.e., 
https://www.programmingforbiologists.org/ & 
http://www.datacarpentry.org/semester-biology/). I found that the 
classic approach of watching videos in advance and then jumping straight 
into exercises in class was great for the top 20% of students. They had 
basically processed things successfully on the first exposure (the 
videos) and enjoyed getting to immediately apply it. It did not work as 
well for the bottom 50% of students. Watching the videos had given them 
a useful first exposure, but lacking the well developed scaffolding to 
hang that information on it had already started to fade and they 
couldn't immediately apply it. They wouldn't speak up about not getting 
it quickly enough and would struggle.


As a result I ended up switching to teaching my university classes on 
this just like we teach workshops, but with just a little more 
assumption of having seen the basic idea before in readings/videos. 
Students view the material in advance. I then provide a brief overview 
of the first topic and show one or two examples. The students then work 
on an example that builds on what I just demonstrated and we iterate 
this way throughout the class period. This feels a little slower to the 
top 20% of students, but I've found it to be more effective for everyone 
else.


This is also in a fairly ideal setting for this kind of approach in that 
the students are graded so there is external pressure to come prepared 
and the exercises we do in class count towards their grades. All of this 
is to say that based on my (certainly limited) experience doing things 
both ways in the university classroom that the I do, we do, you do, 
style of the current workshops may end up being the best approach.


That said experimentation is always good and I like Greg's idea of a 
fusion as a possible approach to letting students move at different 
speeds and potentially learn different material. We should just pay 
attention to make sure that this doesn't end up leaving the folks behind 
that need us the most.


Ethan

On 03/14/2018 07:39 AM, Greg Wilson wrote:


I like the idea of flipping the Carpentry classroom as well, but I 
think the first day or two should still use our regular approach: for 
many learners, the biggest benefit of a workshop is the way it helps 
them get over the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) they feel 
whenever they try to get computers to be useful, and I don't think 
that starting with videos will accomplish that.


An experiment I'd really like to try is a regular two-day workshop 
immediately followed by the same people working side-by-side in the 
same classroom through a series of video lessons, with the helpers 
still there to assist them whenever they hit a stumbling block. 
Different learners could go at different speeds, or even through 
(somewhat) different material, but they would still get the social 
benefits of working alongside their peers, and the instructional 
benefits of one-to-one assistance when most needed. I haven't been 
able to find anything in the educational research literature 
describing this hybrid model, but I'd be willing to bet a dollar that 
it would outperform either of the pure alternatives, and I believe 
that at least some learners would be willing to sign up for a 
week-long hands-on workshop in this format between semesters or over 
the summer.


Cheers,

Greg


On 2018-03-14 12:21 AM, Kunal Marwaha wrote:
This is a sweet idea. We already have a few videos up on the website: 
https://software-carpentry.org/lessons/#video


I often find (especially with free workshops) that many learners do 
not prepare (a significant portion do not even install software 
beforehand). I would not expect many learners to watch videos before 
they come to class.


I find in-person Q&A/debugging and exercises to be very useful parts 
of the workshop. When I teach the collaboration part of Git ([usually 
in line with 
this](http://swcarpentry.github.io/git-novice/08-collab/)) I have 
pairs of learners do a number of exercises (collaborator clones, 
edits, commits & pushes; owner pulls; owner edits, commits & pushes; 
both edit, commit, push at same time; both edit same line, commit, 
push) at their own pace. The helpers & I check in with each group 
periodically and debug / discuss concepts, conflicts in git, and so 
on. This takes 30-45 minutes, and if some learners are advanced, I 
ask them to explore GitHub's UI, merges, pull requests, and so on. 
This environment is most similar to the "flipped classroom" that I've 
seen Software Carpentry taught.




On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 2:07 AM, Peter Steinbach 
mailto:steinb...@scionics.de>> wrote:


Hi to all,

I was discussing the idea of an "inverted class room" teaching
approach with a friend of mine who is a high school teacher (he
uses that based on video recording

Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

[Rayna Harris]

Sarah Stevens made 4 videos for how to install Shell, Git, Nano, R, and
Python on Windows and Mac machines. I find these very, very useful. I'm not
sure if they are linked in any of the installation guidelines.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj0I4MtVxi6rMH0iYLkva5w

Rayna Harris
@raynamharris 
http://raynamharris.github.io/

On Wed, Mar 14, 2018 at 9:08 AM, Bennet Fauber  wrote:

> Some kind of hybrid model does seem like it would be good, if it can be
> made viable.
>
> My experience with videos on computing and statistical topics is that some
> sort of guide needs to be provided to the viewer prior to watching to keep
> attention focused and to force at least some active processing of the video
> material.
>
> Attention straying is, I think, a particular problem with video watching,
> both anecdotally and from some research (see below).  The difference
> between 'live and Memorex' may be less pronounced for shorter material,
> e.g., in the ten minutes or less range.
>
> My personal experience is that tightly focused videos on one topic of
> three to five minute duration seems about right.  Some sort of exercise
> immediately following definitely helps a lot.  I've asked people, and those
> seem to be common impressions.
>
> Perhaps some sort of specific assignment, the 'answers' for which are
> contained in one to three short videos, where the assignment is due in
> person, and the workshop then builds on the assignment by generalizing,
> extending, or applying to a different situation/domain?
>
> This may all be getting too far away from the specific circumstances of
> the boot camp, though, as a longer time-scale seems implicit in the hybrid
> model to me.
>
>
> We examined mind wandering and memory for information in both live
>> undergraduate lectures and a laboratory-based video lecture. In Study 1,
>> which spanned a full-term live course, we found that degree of mind
>> wandering did not increase over time in an average lecture, and was
>> associated with poorer memory for lecture material. In Study 2, we examined
>> changes in degree of mind wandering across three groups that differed in
>> whether they viewed the lecture in video-recorded or live format, and
>> whether or not they were enrolled in the course. We found that despite
>> viewing the exact same lecture, participants who viewed it in video format
>> showed a significant increase in mind wandering over the duration of the
>> lecture, while those who viewed it live did not. This finding suggests that
>> video, relative to live lectures are especially likely to elicit increases
>> in mind wandering over the duration of a lecture.
>>
>
> "Examining the Influence of Lecture Format on Degree of Mind Wandering"
> Jeffrey D Wammes and Daniel Smilek
> *Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition*
> Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2017, pp174-184
> https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2017.01.015
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 14, 2018 at 7:39 AM, Greg Wilson 
> wrote:
>
>> I like the idea of flipping the Carpentry classroom as well, but I think
>> the first day or two should still use our regular approach: for many
>> learners, the biggest benefit of a workshop is the way it helps them get
>> over the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) they feel whenever they try to
>> get computers to be useful, and I don't think that starting with videos
>> will accomplish that.
>>
>> An experiment I'd really like to try is a regular two-day workshop
>> immediately followed by the same people working side-by-side in the same
>> classroom through a series of video lessons, with the helpers still there
>> to assist them whenever they hit a stumbling block. Different learners
>> could go at different speeds, or even through (somewhat) different
>> material, but they would still get the social benefits of working alongside
>> their peers, and the instructional benefits of one-to-one assistance when
>> most needed. I haven't been able to find anything in the educational
>> research literature describing this hybrid model, but I'd be willing to bet
>> a dollar that it would outperform either of the pure alternatives, and I
>> believe that at least some learners would be willing to sign up for a
>> week-long hands-on workshop in this format between semesters or over the
>> summer.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Greg
>>
>> On 2018-03-14 12:21 AM, Kunal Marwaha wrote:
>>
>> This is a sweet idea. We already have a few videos up on the website:
>> https://software-carpentry.org/lessons/#video
>>
>> I often find (especially with free workshops) that many learners do not
>> prepare (a significant portion do not even install software beforehand). I
>> would not expect many learners to watch videos before they come to class.
>>
>> I find in-person Q&A/debugging and exercises to be very useful parts of
>> the workshop. When I teach the collaboration part of Git ([usually in
>> line with this](http://swcarpentry.github.io/git-novice/08-collab/)) I
>> have pairs of l

Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

[Bennet Fauber]

Some kind of hybrid model does seem like it would be good, if it can be
made viable.

My experience with videos on computing and statistical topics is that some
sort of guide needs to be provided to the viewer prior to watching to keep
attention focused and to force at least some active processing of the video
material.

Attention straying is, I think, a particular problem with video watching,
both anecdotally and from some research (see below).  The difference
between 'live and Memorex' may be less pronounced for shorter material,
e.g., in the ten minutes or less range.

My personal experience is that tightly focused videos on one topic of three
to five minute duration seems about right.  Some sort of exercise
immediately following definitely helps a lot.  I've asked people, and those
seem to be common impressions.

Perhaps some sort of specific assignment, the 'answers' for which are
contained in one to three short videos, where the assignment is due in
person, and the workshop then builds on the assignment by generalizing,
extending, or applying to a different situation/domain?

This may all be getting too far away from the specific circumstances of the
boot camp, though, as a longer time-scale seems implicit in the hybrid
model to me.


We examined mind wandering and memory for information in both live
> undergraduate lectures and a laboratory-based video lecture. In Study 1,
> which spanned a full-term live course, we found that degree of mind
> wandering did not increase over time in an average lecture, and was
> associated with poorer memory for lecture material. In Study 2, we examined
> changes in degree of mind wandering across three groups that differed in
> whether they viewed the lecture in video-recorded or live format, and
> whether or not they were enrolled in the course. We found that despite
> viewing the exact same lecture, participants who viewed it in video format
> showed a significant increase in mind wandering over the duration of the
> lecture, while those who viewed it live did not. This finding suggests that
> video, relative to live lectures are especially likely to elicit increases
> in mind wandering over the duration of a lecture.
>

"Examining the Influence of Lecture Format on Degree of Mind Wandering"
Jeffrey D Wammes and Daniel Smilek
*Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition*
Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2017, pp174-184
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2017.01.015


On Wed, Mar 14, 2018 at 7:39 AM, Greg Wilson  wrote:

> I like the idea of flipping the Carpentry classroom as well, but I think
> the first day or two should still use our regular approach: for many
> learners, the biggest benefit of a workshop is the way it helps them get
> over the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) they feel whenever they try to
> get computers to be useful, and I don't think that starting with videos
> will accomplish that.
>
> An experiment I'd really like to try is a regular two-day workshop
> immediately followed by the same people working side-by-side in the same
> classroom through a series of video lessons, with the helpers still there
> to assist them whenever they hit a stumbling block. Different learners
> could go at different speeds, or even through (somewhat) different
> material, but they would still get the social benefits of working alongside
> their peers, and the instructional benefits of one-to-one assistance when
> most needed. I haven't been able to find anything in the educational
> research literature describing this hybrid model, but I'd be willing to bet
> a dollar that it would outperform either of the pure alternatives, and I
> believe that at least some learners would be willing to sign up for a
> week-long hands-on workshop in this format between semesters or over the
> summer.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Greg
>
> On 2018-03-14 12:21 AM, Kunal Marwaha wrote:
>
> This is a sweet idea. We already have a few videos up on the website:
> https://software-carpentry.org/lessons/#video
>
> I often find (especially with free workshops) that many learners do not
> prepare (a significant portion do not even install software beforehand). I
> would not expect many learners to watch videos before they come to class.
>
> I find in-person Q&A/debugging and exercises to be very useful parts of
> the workshop. When I teach the collaboration part of Git ([usually in
> line with this](http://swcarpentry.github.io/git-novice/08-collab/)) I
> have pairs of learners do a number of exercises (collaborator clones,
> edits, commits & pushes; owner pulls; owner edits, commits & pushes; both
> edit, commit, push at same time; both edit same line, commit, push) at
> their own pace. The helpers & I check in with each group periodically and
> debug / discuss concepts, conflicts in git, and so on. This takes 30-45
> minutes, and if some learners are advanced, I ask them to explore GitHub's
> UI, merges, pull requests, and so on. This environment is most similar to
> the "flipped classroom" that I'

Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

[Greg Wilson]

I like the idea of flipping the Carpentry classroom as well, but I think 
the first day or two should still use our regular approach: for many 
learners, the biggest benefit of a workshop is the way it helps them get 
over the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) they feel whenever they try 
to get computers to be useful, and I don't think that starting with 
videos will accomplish that.


An experiment I'd really like to try is a regular two-day workshop 
immediately followed by the same people working side-by-side in the same 
classroom through a series of video lessons, with the helpers still 
there to assist them whenever they hit a stumbling block. Different 
learners could go at different speeds, or even through (somewhat) 
different material, but they would still get the social benefits of 
working alongside their peers, and the instructional benefits of 
one-to-one assistance when most needed. I haven't been able to find 
anything in the educational research literature describing this hybrid 
model, but I'd be willing to bet a dollar that it would outperform 
either of the pure alternatives, and I believe that at least some 
learners would be willing to sign up for a week-long hands-on workshop 
in this format between semesters or over the summer.


Cheers,

Greg


On 2018-03-14 12:21 AM, Kunal Marwaha wrote:
This is a sweet idea. We already have a few videos up on the website: 
https://software-carpentry.org/lessons/#video


I often find (especially with free workshops) that many learners do 
not prepare (a significant portion do not even install software 
beforehand). I would not expect many learners to watch videos before 
they come to class.


I find in-person Q&A/debugging and exercises to be very useful parts 
of the workshop. When I teach the collaboration part of Git ([usually 
in line with 
this](http://swcarpentry.github.io/git-novice/08-collab/)) I have 
pairs of learners do a number of exercises (collaborator clones, 
edits, commits & pushes; owner pulls; owner edits, commits & pushes; 
both edit, commit, push at same time; both edit same line, commit, 
push) at their own pace. The helpers & I check in with each group 
periodically and debug / discuss concepts, conflicts in git, and so 
on. This takes 30-45 minutes, and if some learners are advanced, I ask 
them to explore GitHub's UI, merges, pull requests, and so on. This 
environment is most similar to the "flipped classroom" that I've seen 
Software Carpentry taught.




On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 2:07 AM, Peter Steinbach > wrote:


Hi to all,

I was discussing the idea of an "inverted class room" teaching
approach with a friend of mine who is a high school teacher (he
uses that based on video recordings for his students ... just
awesome AFAIK). I was hence wondering, if people have tried to
teach the carpentry lessons in this way?

This would mean, that I record some of the parts of a carpentry
lesson in video(s) (10-15 minute each) and ask the students to
watch these videos before the carpentry bootcamp! The in-presence
part of the workshop is then used to do exercises and try to
fortify the content of the videos.

For me the biggest advantage of this approach is, that each
learner can overcome the initial steep learning curve given their
own speed of learning - which is a constant source of trouble when
I teach.

Looking forward to your feedback -
Peter

-- 
Peter Steinbach, Dr. rer. nat.

Scientific Software Engineer, Scientific Computing Facility

Scionics Computer Innovation GmbH
Löscherstr. 16
01309 Dresden
Germany

phone +49 351 210 2882 
fax +49 351 202 707 04 
www.scionics.de 

Sitz der Gesellschaft: Dresden (Main office)
Amtsgericht - Registergericht: Dresden HRB 20337 (Commercial Registry)
Ust-IdNr.: DE813263791 (VAT ID Number)
Geschäftsführer: John Duperon, Jeff Oegema (Managing Directors)
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--
If you cannot be brave – and it is often hard to be brave – be kind.

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Re: [Discuss] inverted carpentries?

[Kunal Marwaha]

This is a sweet idea. We already have a few videos up on the website:
https://software-carpentry.org/lessons/#video

I often find (especially with free workshops) that many learners do not
prepare (a significant portion do not even install software beforehand). I
would not expect many learners to watch videos before they come to class.

I find in-person Q&A/debugging and exercises to be very useful parts of the
workshop. When I teach the collaboration part of Git ([usually in line with
this](http://swcarpentry.github.io/git-novice/08-collab/)) I have pairs of
learners do a number of exercises (collaborator clones, edits, commits &
pushes; owner pulls; owner edits, commits & pushes; both edit, commit, push
at same time; both edit same line, commit, push) at their own pace. The
helpers & I check in with each group periodically and debug / discuss
concepts, conflicts in git, and so on. This takes 30-45 minutes, and if
some learners are advanced, I ask them to explore GitHub's UI, merges, pull
requests, and so on. This environment is most similar to the "flipped
classroom" that I've seen Software Carpentry taught.



On Wed, Feb 7, 2018 at 2:07 AM, Peter Steinbach 
wrote:

> Hi to all,
>
> I was discussing the idea of an "inverted class room" teaching approach
> with a friend of mine who is a high school teacher (he uses that based on
> video recordings for his students ... just awesome AFAIK). I was hence
> wondering, if people have tried to teach the carpentry lessons in this way?
>
> This would mean, that I record some of the parts of a carpentry lesson in
> video(s) (10-15 minute each) and ask the students to watch these videos
> before the carpentry bootcamp! The in-presence part of the workshop is then
> used to do exercises and try to fortify the content of the videos.
>
> For me the biggest advantage of this approach is, that each learner can
> overcome the initial steep learning curve given their own speed of learning
> - which is a constant source of trouble when I teach.
>
> Looking forward to your feedback -
> Peter
>
> --
> Peter Steinbach, Dr. rer. nat.
> Scientific Software Engineer, Scientific Computing Facility
>
> Scionics Computer Innovation GmbH
> Löscherstr. 16
> 01309 Dresden
> Germany
>
> phone +49 351 210 2882
> fax   +49 351 202 707 04
> www.scionics.de
>
> Sitz der Gesellschaft: Dresden (Main office)
> Amtsgericht - Registergericht: Dresden HRB 20337 (Commercial Registry)
> Ust-IdNr.: DE813263791 (VAT ID Number)
> Geschäftsführer: John Duperon, Jeff Oegema (Managing Directors)
> ___
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss@lists.software-carpentry.org
> http://lists.software-carpentry.org/listinfo/discuss
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