Starting Your Own Study Group

Presentation given as part of the RDS Holz Brown Bag series, October 2016.

Transcript

1. Starting Your Own Study Group Sarah Stevens| Microbiology, Graduate Student| UW-Madison
2. Starting Your Own Study Group
3. Introduction •  Microbiology Grad Student •  McMahon Lab •  Study Microbes in Lakes •  Computa:onal Biologist •  So<ware Carpentry Instructor •  sarahlrstevens.info
4. 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/
5. 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/
6. 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
7. 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
8. Some Managing Tips • Let the community lead • Plan a few months at a :me • Communicate clearly and o<en • Have a Code of Conduct • S:ck to it! hFps://mozillascience.github.io/studyGroupHandbook/running.html
9. 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
10. 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
11. Questions? • About... • my groups? • Mozilla Science Lab Study Groups? • Mozilla Science Lab? • So<ware Carpentry? • Open/Reproducible Research?