Roles#
The following page content is designed to give an overview of the different roles within the Coding for Reproducible Research (CfRR) programme. Together this content provides a clear overview of how the programme operates.
What is a workshop helper?
Workshop helpers support the workshop leader and participants as required. They are there to ensure participants can engage fully with the workshop and to ease the workload of the workshop lead. Depending on the nature of the workshop, there mat be one or more helpers. We keep a record of contributions on our website, here.
What are the responsibilities of the workshop helper?
In advance of the workshop
Review the pre-existing course materials and notify programme management if there are any concerns with these.
Review reports from previous deliveries of the same workshop.
Coordinate with the other members of the workshop delivery team and ensure that they are clear on their roles and know when and where to attend on the day.
This is often best achieved by attending a pre-workshop meeting of up to 30 minutes with the rest of the delivery team.
Review the pre-course questionnaire information for participants to familiarise themselves with the current experience level and expectations of the participants.
During a workshop
Arrive in advance of the scheduled start of the workshop, as decided with the workshop lead.
Support the workshop lead and participants as required. This may include:
Engaging with participants to ensure that the pace of the course is appropriate and feeding this back to the workshop lead if necessary.
Answering participants’ questions.
Supporting participants to get back up to pace if they hit difficulties.
Flag issues to the workshop lead.
Remind participants to sign the register.
Prompt the workshop lead to include regular breaks and keep to time.
After a workshop
Provide feedback to the workshop lead on how the workshop went, common issues that might be useful for next time.
Report any suggestions for, or errors with, the course notes as issues on GitHub.
What is a workshop leader?
Workshop leaders are responsible for delivering the content of a workshop and managing the session(s). Workshops typically have one leader or possibly co-leads. We keep a record of contributions on our website, here.
What are the responsibilities of the workshop leader?
In advance of the workshop
Review the pre-existing course materials and notify programme management if there are any concerns with these. The workshop lead is not expected to create course materials; this is handled by a different role. Similarly, the workshop lead should not revise the materials without first consulting the programme management.
Review reports from previous deliveries of the same workshop.
Decide whether a troubleshooting session for installation queries will be held and liaise with programme management to communicate this to participants.
Coordinate with the other members of the workshop delivery team and ensure that they are clear on their roles and know when and where to attend on the day.
Attend a pre-workshop meeting of up to 30 minutes with the rest of the delivery team. Experienced workshop leads may be happy to organise and host this meeting. Otherwise, programme management can facilitate.
Review the pre-course questionnaire information for participants to familiarise themselves with the current experience level and expectations of the participants.
During a workshop
Arrive 10-15 minutes before the scheduled start of the workshop, ensure the IT is setup appropriately, and display the welcome slides with QR codes.
Provide an introduction to the workshop covering the following points:Welcome to the workshop, introduce the delivery team and their roles.
Ask participants to add their name to the participants list.
Share the learning objectives of the workshop and the delivery method.
Reference it is part of the CfRR programme.
Share the Code of Conduct and note that attendance is an agreement to adhere by this.
Deliver the course materials using a methodology appropriate to the learning objectives. For novices, this is predominately by live coding.
Schedule regular breaks (one/two for a three-hour session).
Leave adequate time to wrap up the workshop:
Summarise the content of the workshop.
Signpost to next steps (e.g. future workshops in the programme that follow on) and where to access help after the end of the workshop (e.g. Slack channel).
Highlight the importance of the feedback survey.
Thank participants for supporting the programme.
After a workshop
Collate feedback from workshop delivery team and provide a summary of the delivery experience (via GitHub).
Report any suggestions for, or errors with, the course notes as issues on GitHub.
What is a workshop developer?
Workshop developers are responsible for creating, updating or maintaining the course materials used in workshops as determined by the Programme Management. This role is crucial for ensuring that the content is accurate, up-to-date, and meets the standard for the programme’s overarching objectives. They may work independently or as part of a team. There is no expectation that those developing the materials will deliver the training. As CfRR is community-led, course materials will evolve over time with changes to content made by multiple individuals and arising as part of an ongoing discourse with the community. Suggestions, agreed actions and ongoing development work will be documented via GitHub as issues, branches, commits and pull requests. As a workshop developer you will become familiar with these tools and the CfRR community can support you in this regard.
What are the responsibilities of the Workshop Developer?
Develop materials for new workshops planned for inclusion in the wider programme
Liaise with programme management to confirm
the brief for the new workshop in terms of learning objectives and content
the format and standard of the materials (e.g. sufficient for workshop delivery teams or self-study notes)
timeline for development
Review existing workshops already offered that may serve as pre-requisite materials or that follow on from this training.
Develop course materials in the agreed format to the specified standard, which may include slides, notebooks, datasets, coding exercises, questions or any combination of these, depending on the workshop and as agreed with programme management.
Adhere to standardised software choices for delivery of specific languages and topics. For example this includes using Anaconda and JupyterLab to teach Introductory Python, RStudio to teach Introductory to R and learnr for R workshops that extend beyond beginners.
Ensure the materials are clear, concise, and pedagogically sound, catering to the diverse experience levels of participants and appropriate for both in person and online delivery.
Ensure that all materials are accessible and easily distributed to participants. Some accessibility elements that might be included are consistent layouts and headings, colourblind-safe schemes chosen, alternative text provided for images, etc. Guidance for developing a course within the context of CfRR is available here.
Provide course content in a timely manner so it can be reviewed in advance of the first delivery.
Respond to feedback and make agreed amendments as discussed.
Update materials for existing workshops
Review feedback from previous workshops available as issues on GitHub to identify necessary improvements or changes and action as required.
Ensure that all materials are accessible and easily distributed to participants. Some accessibility elements that might be included are consistent layouts and headings, colourblind-safe schemes chosen, alternative text provided for images, etc. Guidance for developing a course within the context of CfRR is available here.
Follow the specified process for making changes to the materials, to ensure transparency and documentation of changes made. This includes:
Opening a GitHub Issue that describes the change to be made and its justification (assuming a relevant issue does not already exist).
Committing necessary changes to a feature branch.
On completion or at an appropriate milestone, submitting a pull request for review.
Responding to suggestions from the Review process, incorporating additional changes as required.
What is a workshop participant?
Participants are University of Exeter staff and students interested in furthering their technical skills, without whom the training programme would not exist. They attend all sessions in a workshop series, either in person or remotely, engaging fully with the content, workshop lead and helper(s), and their fellow participants.
What are the responsibilities of a participant?
In advance of the workshop
Carefully review the workshop objectives and descriptions to ensure that the workshop fits with their expectations and that they satisfy any pre-requisites. If unsure where to start, we recommend they complete one or more of the interactive quizzes which provide guidance on the most appropriate courses for you.
Register for any workshops they are interested in using the standard process and complete the pre-course questionnaire as accurately as possible, documenting their current experience level and expectations for their chosen workshop series.
Hold the time in their calendar for any workshops they register for, and to officially cancel their place if they can no longer attend.
Install any required software ahead of the first session, in accordance with the installation instructions.
During a workshop
Arrive on time to the workshop - either to the allocated venue for in-person sessions or via the Teams link for online courses, ready to learn.
Sign the register, shared as a Google Doc during the session.
Engage with the workshop, asking questions of the workshop lead and/or helper(s), and flagging any difficulties they encounter.
Adhere to the programme’s code of conduct, ultimately being respectful of both the workshop delivery teams and other participants
If it is a multi-session workshop, and you are no longer able to attend the subsequent sessions, please inform the programme administrator via CodingForReproducibleResearch@exeter.ac.uk.
After a workshop
Provide feedback on how the workshop went via the online feedback form, reporting any suggestions for, or errors with, the course notes.
Who is the programme management?
Programme management includes two co-directors, Eilis Hannon and Fliss Guest who are supported by a part-time administrator, Anne Bell. While the programme directors are ultimately accountable for the following responsibilities, the administrator’s role is to support in the delivery of these and may oversee their day-to-day implementation.
What are the responsibilities of the programme management?
Upholding programme standards and evaluation of performance
Ensure that workshop materials are fit for purpose and facilitate the delivery of professional-level workshops suitable for either online or in-person delivery.
To provide a detailed brief of the objectives and content for new workshops and regularly liaise with workshop developers to ensure that courses are developed in line with these expectations, and on time.
To implement a process of material review for the development of new materials or major adjustment of existing materials.
To develop guidance for ensuring course materials are accessible to all, and consider the optimal way for workshop delivery to be inclusive, including elements such as colour-blind-friendly images, alt text for images, explain domain specific jargon etc.
Frequent review of participant feedback and workshop delivery team reports to identify and triage actions for improvement. To log summaries of the delivery of each workshop based on this feedback via GitHub to support the team who deliver the next instance.
To monitor registration and attendance statistics to identify trends in workshop popularity.
To provide mechanisms for workshop delivery teams or participants to feedback on the delivery of the programme, including both positive and negative feedback, and violations of the code of conduct. There should continue to be options for this to be done anonymously.
Programme strategic direction and oversight
To have a clear idea of the strategic objectives of the overall programme and an action plan for achieving these.
To ensure that there are adequate resources for delivering workshops and that this is sustainable. To identify and target opportunities that build and underpin capacity in the programme management, workshop development and delivery.
To continually review the workshop offerings and identify gaps or opportunities to develop new courses to ensure maximum outreach and impact.
To be conscious of the sensitive data that we hold and who has access to it. To ensure we are GPDR complaint through the development of clear processes for handling participant data.
To establish and maintain a spirit of collaboration and inclusion in the wider CfRR community of workshop developer and delivery teams.
To ensure that contributors to the programme in any form, as a developer or workshop delivery team, are given appropriate acknowledgement.
To ensure that members of the community understand their roles and expectations and abide by the ethos of the programme.
To liaise and work with relevant stakeholders to ensure harmonious relationships.
To ensure that the code of conduct is fit for purpose, adhered to and violations are dealt with effectively and in a timely manner.
Programme planning & logistics
To provide a timetable for workshops for the academic year that best matches supply to demand, in a timely manner. This includes deciding the timing, optimum delivery mode, and location for each workshop. This additionally includes confirming a workshop lead and appropriate number of workshop helpers.
To advertise workshops as widely as possible across the University to ensure equitable access.
To respond to and triage enquires from participants and other individuals interested in the programme and our workshops.
To operate a transparent bookings system.
To inform participants whether they have a place on a workshop and provide them in a timely manner with the specific details for the workshop they are due to attend.
To decide whether it is appropriate to run a workshop if registration numbers are too low or a workshop will not be adequately supported.
To provide ongoing support for workshop delivery teams to ensure they feel appropriately prepared and provide advice for unexpected enquires, unforeseen circumstances or disruptions to workshops.
To provide and signpost relevant opportunities for training and personal development for workshop delivery and development teams.
For each individual workshop
Set up and share calendar events with delivery teams and participants containing specific details for the delivery of that workshop, including venue (in-person) or Teams link (online) and a reminder of pre-workshop expectations.
Organise a pre-workshop meeting of up to 30 minutes with the delivery team. Experienced Workshop Leads may be happy to organise and host this meeting. Otherwise, Programme Management can facilitate.
If necessary, support Delivery Teams to set up and advertise installation drop-in sessions.
Provide technical guidance on recommended software for teaching and how to set up the IT equipment - either in the room or online.
Prepare and share the relevant materials for the delivery of each workshop. This includes welcome & closing slides with a summary of key points to be made, workshop materials, installation guides, and participant lists and registration details.
Collect and upload attendance registers to populate participant’s learning records.
Collate post-workshop feedback and share this with the workshop delivery team.