In September 2022, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation (CZIF) announced a partnership with four Historically Black Medical Colleges (HBMCs) based in the United States, aimed to further support the cutting-edge scientific research they are leading to address significant gaps in genomics research, create new tools and methods to prevent and treat disease and accelerate precision health for everyone, particularly Black people and other people of color.

CZIF’s Accelerate Precision Health (APH) program will advance genomics research by investing in genomics programs at each of the HBMCs — Charles Drew University College of Medicine in Los Angeles, California; Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C.; Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee; and Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.

In November 2023, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation and The Carpentries began a partnership, allowing The Carpentries to support the goals of both APH and the HBMCs. The Carpentries is uniquely suited to provide support towards these efforts through our 45 open-source lessons and our Instructor Training program. The Open Science program at CZIF supports expanding computational capacity at these HBMCs through memberships and engagement via Carpentries programming, which also facilitates interactions among the institutions.

The Carpentries will host ten workshops for the HBMCs to introduce them to foundational coding and data science skills. To build computational capacity at their institutions, we will offer Instructor Training to the participants who attend any of the ten workshops.

It is not often that The Carpentries host workshops. We generally only support logistics. However, we offered additional support for these workshops to reduce the barrier of hosting workshops and as a way for the Core Team to audit Centrally-Organised workshops. To date, we have hosted two workshops, and we have learned invaluable lessons that will help us improve our programming as well. Workshops and Training Manager Danielle Sieh has played a pivotal role in hosting and coordinating these workshops and has identified several lessons learned. Read on to learn more.

Lessons Learned from Danielle Sieh, Workshops and Training Manager

As a member of the Workshops and Instruction Team, you might think I would be an expert in all things workshops. But the truth is, as a first-time host I’ve learned so much from the Instructors, helpers, and learners! Below, I’ve highlighted some of the most valuable lessons I’ve gained from the experience to date:

1. To create a task checklist and schedule of availability for Instructors and helpers, we used a new resource developed based on feedback from our recent Instructor meetings - the workshop planning sheet. The sheet was super helpful in dividing tasks, storing important links for easy access, and providing a visual of everyone’s availability.

2. For the first workshop, I sent two emails - one with detailed information about workshop preparation, the workshop itself, and how to connect and a second reminder email with less detail. I received feedback that it would be helpful to have multiple pre-workshop emails with reminders about installations, so for the next two workshops I set up emails to go out as follows:
   • Two weeks before the workshop: all of the workshop information and pre-workshop tasks in full detail.
   • Two days before the workshop: a condensed version of the first email with a reminder of pre-workshop tasks.
   • Day-of the workshop: a reminder of the workshop and a link to the workshop details. It seemed like more people came to the workshop prepared and ensured everyone had the correct information!

3. Although we provided an extra hour before the workshop for learners to work through installations, attendance was low. The importance of completing installations before the workshop became apparent during the workshop, as we spent a significant amount of time troubleshooting. The big question remains: how can we encourage more participants to attend troubleshooting sessions in advance?

4. As the host, starting the workshop each day with introductions of the Instructors and helpers, setting expectations (how to ask questions, when lunch break will be, etc.), and reviewing the Code of Conduct was a good way to lead into the workshop and ensure everyone was starting on the same page.

5. Things that I learned from Instructors that seem small but extremely helpful were
   • including Instructor, helper, or host (depending on your role) as an extension of your Zoom name.
   • using the green check and red x react buttons in Zoom to gauge the room (especially with learners off camera). This was proven more effective than asking an open-ended question.
   • open breakout rooms for each helper at the beginning of the workshop so that they are readily available for anyone who needs additional help.
6. I also learned:
   • It’s okay to have a smaller group of learners who are truly engaged.
   • People will expect a recording, so if you’re not planning to record it’s important to set those expectations ahead of time and ensure the learners know where to find the content on their own.
   • Sometimes learners are more novice than we anticipate! Try opening an application (like R studio) for the first time while screen sharing, go slow, and check in!

The last lesson I learned? Hosting a workshop is a lot of work! But we have an INCREDIBLE Instructor and helper community that is ready to guide the novice, share knowledge, and do the best they can to have a successful workshop. A huge thank you to the Instructors and helpers who have made the CZI workshops possible. We truly could not do what we do without all of you!!