Starting Your Own Study Group Sarah Stevens| Microbiology, Graduate Student| UW-Madison

Starting Your Own Study Group

Introduction •  Microbiology Grad Student •  McMahon Lab •  Study Microbes in Lakes •  Computa:onal Biologist •  So

Introduction •  ComBEE •  Support group for computa:onal methods used in biology, ecology, and evolu:on •  Python and R study groups, every other week hFps://sites.google.com/a/wisc.edu/combee/

Why start a study group? •  Skill Sharing •  Teach each other new skills/tools •  Fill in for a lack of formal training •  Idea Discovery •  Learn about tools others are using •  How to use those tools in your research •  Community Support •  Someone to share your struggles with •  Another person to help solve your problem •  Access to exper:se outside your research group hFps://mozillascience.github.io/studyGroupHandbook/

Study Group Formats •  Hacky Hour •  Very informal, get together and talk about topic, discuss ideas •  Minimal prep •  Work-along •  Hands-on guided tour of code/tool/skill •  Prep required •  Co-working session •  Working on separate projects, help each other with problems/ques:ons, share successes •  No prep •  Strategy Circle •  Each person comes with a problem and the group takes turns trying to solve them •  LiFle prep •  Lightning Demo Series •  Short talks about tool/code/library/skill •  Organiza:onal prep but otherwise distributed among members hFps://mozillascience.github.io/study-group-onboarding/2.2-op:ons-sessions.html

Study Group Lead Role • Outreach and communica:ons • Logis:cs and event coordina:on • Strategy and planning • Teaching or facilita:ng • Community-building • Mentoring hFps://mozillascience.github.io/study-group-onboarding/1.1-lead-role.html

Some Managing Tips • Let the community lead • Plan a few months at a :me • Communicate clearly and o

Study Group Resources •  GeZng Started •  hFps://mozillascience.github.io/studyGroupHandbook/ •  hFps://mozillascience.github.io/study-group-onboarding/ index.html •  Mozilla Monthly Study Group Leads Call •  First Friday of each month 10 am CT •  hFps://mail.mozilla.org/lis:nfo/msl-study-groups •  hFps://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/mozilla- studygroup-leads-october-2016

Challenges I’ve had •  What topic to center around? •  Can I come if I don’t use sequencing data? •  Adver:sing / GeZng people to come •  Slowly geZng beFer at this •  GeZng Feedback •  In progress

Questions? • About... • my groups? • Mozilla Science Lab Study Groups? • Mozilla Science Lab? • So