A Train-the-Trainer Workshop Series: Proficiency in Teaching Technical Skills Related to Programming and Data Science

Overview

This five-session Train-the-Trainer workshop series is designed to help participants develop confidence, structure, and practical skill in teaching technical topics such as programming, data science, research software engineering, and reproducible research.

Teaching technical skills presents distinctive challenges: learners often arrive with varied levels of confidence, prior knowledge, disciplinary background, and access needs. This course introduces participants to practical pedagogical approaches that can be applied directly in technical training environments, including workshops, taught modules, research group training, community-led sessions, and informal support contexts.

Across the series, participants will explore how people learn, how to structure technical lessons effectively, how to support diverse groups of learners, and how to use feedback, reflection, and assessment to improve their teaching practice. The course combines short taught components with interactive exercises, group discussion, reflection, and practical application. By the end of the series, participants will have developed a stronger pedagogical toolkit for designing and delivering inclusive, engaging, and effective technical training.

Intended audience

This course is intended for anyone involved in, or interested in becoming involved in, teaching technical skills related to programming, data science, reproducible research, research software engineering, or computational research methods.

It is particularly suitable for:

• University educators teaching programming, data science, computational methods, or digital research skills.

• Research Software Engineers who deliver training, mentoring, or technical support.

• Researchers, postgraduate researchers, and technical specialists who support others in learning coding or data skills.

• Learning technologists, training coordinators, and professional services staff involved in digital skills provision.

• Members of research communities, coding clubs, or communities of practice who design or deliver peer-led training.

• Anyone who wants to improve their confidence and effectiveness when teaching technical material to learners with mixed levels of experience.

• The course is suitable for both new and more experienced trainers. Regardless of your teaching experience, participants should have an interest in improving how they design, deliver, and reflect on technical training.

Prerequisite knowledge or preparation

No formal teaching qualification or prior pedagogical training is required. Participants should ideally have some experience of, or be currently involved in (or expecting to become involved in), one or more of the following:

• Teaching, training, mentoring, demonstrating, or supporting learners.

• Programming, data science, research software engineering, reproducible research, or another technical research skill.

• Designing or delivering workshops, taught sessions, self-study materials, or community training.

• The course focuses on how to teach technical skills effectively. Participants do not need to be expert programmers or data scientists. However, this course will not cover technical content in specific programming languages or software tools that participants may intend to use or teach.

• Before the first session, participants may be asked to reflect briefly on their own teaching or training context, including the kinds of learners they support, the challenges they encounter, and the skills they would most like to develop during the course.

Learning aims

At the end of this series of workshops, participants will be able to:

• Explain the learning process and factors that influence its success.

• Compare a range of teaching methods and evaluate their effectiveness for specific groups of learners, from novices through intermediates to experts.

• Adapt teaching methods for diverse backgrounds and effectively manage varying skill levels and learning needs within the classroom.

• Demonstrate a range of pedagogical techniques tailored to delivering technical training.

What participants will gain

By taking part in this workshop series, participants will:

• Gain practical frameworks for designing effective technical lessons.

• Build confidence in teaching programming, data science, and related technical skills.

• Learn strategies for supporting learners with varied backgrounds and skill levels.

• Develop approaches for making technical training more inclusive and accessible.

• Explore methods for encouraging motivation, confidence, and learner independence.

• Practise using reflection, feedback, and assessment to improve teaching.

• Leave with ideas and tools they can apply directly in their own teaching or training context.