Merge pull request #246 from tobyhodges/instructor-capitalisation

Instructor capitalisation

source/resources/curriculum/lesson-development-roles.md

@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 # Lesson Development Roles
+**A note about _Instructors_ and _instructors_:** in most of this handbook we refer to Instructors, capitalised to indicate that this is a certified role within the community i.e. somebody who has completed Carpentries Instructor Training. 
+Some of our handbook content about curriculum development makes reference to instructors (without capitalisation), to distinguish between those who teach a workshop but may not yet be certified Instructors.
+You may also notice the same distinction between _Maintainers_, who have completed Maintainer Onboarding and take care of an official Carpentries lesson, and _maintainers_, who look after community lessons.
+
 Creation of a new lesson or curriculum is a collaborative process, usually involving many community members taking up different roles. It is also [an iterative process](./lesson-life-cycle.md), meaning that a lesson can always be considered as under development to some extent.
 
 This page describes the different roles people can take in the design, development, testing, and maintenance of a new lesson or curriculum.
@@ -29,15 +33,17 @@ Our lessons are primarily intended to be taught in workshops, and their design a
 It is common – but not essential – that the instructors for the first pilot of a new lesson will be the original lesson developers. We refer to these events as _alpha pilots_ and they present a great opportunity to gather information and get early feedback to inform the further development of the content. In addition to collecting feedback from learners, alpha pilot instructors should take extensive notes during the event. We recommend that pilot instructors meet as soon as possible after the workshop, or at the end of each teaching session, to debrief their experience and prepare a list of action points for lesson developers to address to improve the lesson. 
 
 ### Beta Pilot Instructors
-If the new lesson is being considered for adoption into The Carpentries official curriculum, instructors for these beta pilot workshops should be certified Carpentries Instructors who have previously taught at least two Carpentries workshops. Instructors with this level of experience will be more prepared to troubleshoot issues that arise during the workshop, and more likely to provide useful feedback after the workshop. Beta pilot instructors may be Maintainers, Curriculum Advisors, or any Carpentries community member other than the original lesson developers. In fact, recruiting beta pilot instructors who are already playing active roles in the lesson is likely to be fruitful, as these people are invested in bringing the lesson to maturity. For two beta pilot workshops, you will need at least four instructors. Lesson authors should plan to meet virtually with pilot instructors before the workshop to answer questions and provide any technical help with setup.
+If the new lesson is being considered for adoption into The Carpentries official curriculum, instructors for these beta pilot workshops should be certified Carpentries Instructors who have previously taught at least two Carpentries workshops. Instructors with this level of experience will be more prepared to troubleshoot issues that arise during the workshop, and more likely to provide useful feedback after the workshop. Certified Instructors are not required for beta pilots of lessons that will not become official Carpentries curriculum. 
+
+Beta pilot instructors may be Maintainers, Curriculum Advisors, or any Carpentries community member other than the original lesson developers. In fact, recruiting beta pilot instructors who are already playing active roles in the lesson is likely to be fruitful, as these people are invested in bringing the lesson to maturity. For two beta pilot workshops, you will need at least four instructors. Lesson authors should plan to meet virtually with pilot instructors before the workshop to answer questions and provide any technical help with setup.
 
 ### Resources for Pilot Workshop Instructors
 - [The Lesson Pilot Workshops section of this handbook](lesson-pilots) includes more information about the purpose of lesson pilots, guidance for lesson developers and hosts, templates for communications and feedback surveys, etc.
 - The [Preparing to Teach](https://carpentries.github.io/lesson-development-training/preparing.html) episode of Collaborative Lesson Development Training provides guidance for lesson developers planning alpha pilots for a new lesson.
 
 ## Maintainers
-Lesson Maintainers are essential for the long-term viability of a lesson. As a lesson is taught, new instructors and learners identify potential places for improvement - whether correcting a typo, simplifying code, or suggesting a significant shift in the narrative of a lesson. Maintainers proactively monitor their lesson’s GitHub repository to make sure that issues and suggestions for improvement are addressed in a timely manner. Maintainers also play a vital role in communicating with contributors, ensuring that our community lives up to its ideals in welcoming and appreciating contributions from everyone - from first-time contributors to long-time members of The Carpentries community.
-People acting as Maintainers should be experienced with the tools that are taught in the lesson, ideally using it daily or weekly in their own work. In addition, they should have experience working in a relevant domain related to the lesson, and/or experience working with GitHub and the other technologies we use to create and host our lessons. Each lesson should have at least two Maintainers, and it is beneficial for those Maintainers to have a diversity of experience levels with the domain and technical aspects of the lesson – and the tools for maintenance.
+Lesson maintainers are essential for the long-term viability of a lesson. As a lesson is taught, instructors and learners identify potential places for improvement - whether correcting a typo, simplifying code, or suggesting a significant shift in the narrative of a lesson. Maintainers proactively monitor their lesson’s GitHub repository to make sure that issues and suggestions for improvement are addressed in a timely manner. Maintainers also play a vital role in communicating with contributors, ensuring that our community lives up to its ideals in welcoming and appreciating contributions from everyone - from first-time contributors to long-time members of The Carpentries community.
+People acting as maintainers should be experienced with the tools that are taught in the lesson, ideally using it daily or weekly in their own work. In addition, they should have experience working in a relevant domain related to the lesson, and/or experience working with GitHub and the other technologies we use to create and host our lessons. Each lesson should have at least two maintainers, and it is beneficial for those maintainers to have a diversity of experience levels with the domain and technical aspects of the lesson – and the tools for maintenance.
 
 ### Resources for Maintainers
 - The [Maintainers Handbook](../../handbooks/maintainers.md) includes guidance on communications, lesson repository management, and other aspects of the role.
@@ -46,12 +52,14 @@ People acting as Maintainers should be experienced with the tools that are taugh
 
 
 ## Curriculum Advisors
-While lesson developers and Maintainers handle the day-to-day improvement and upkeep of lessons, Curriculum Advisors provide higher level guidance on the direction of that development. Curriculum Advisors should be experts in the domain of the lesson, and aware of the way the skills it teaches are (or need to be) applied in that domain. Curriculum Advisors take responsibility for guiding the development of a whole [curriculum](./curriculum-structure.md): where that curriculum consists of multiple lessons, Curriculum Advisors should consider how it needs to develop as a whole – and how changes in one lesson might impact the others.
+(Although Curriculum Advisors can be very helpful for the development of any new lesson/curriculum, they are only required for official Carpentries curriculum.)
+
+While lesson developers and maintainers handle the day-to-day improvement and upkeep of lessons, Curriculum Advisors provide higher level guidance on the direction of that development. Curriculum Advisors should be experts in the domain of the lesson, and aware of the way the skills it teaches are (or need to be) applied in that domain. Curriculum Advisors take responsibility for guiding the development of a whole [curriculum](./curriculum-structure.md): where that curriculum consists of multiple lessons, Curriculum Advisors should consider how it needs to develop as a whole – and how changes in one lesson might impact the others.
 
 If a new lesson is intended to be incorporated into an existing curriculum, the lesson developers should consult the existing Curriculum Advisory Committee about their plans as early in the development process as possible. For example, lesson developers might share an overview of the planned design and content of the lesson before investing a lot of time in creating material. This early consultation allows Curriculum Advisors to comment on the planned lesson, evaluate how easily it will fit into the existing curriculum, and consider the impact it may have on other lessons therein.
 
 ### Resources for Curriculum Advisors
-The {{'[Curriculum Advisors Handbook]({}/handbooks/curriculum_advisors)'.format(handbook_url)}} includes more information on the role, the logistics of how Curriculum Advisory Committees are run, etc.
+The [Curriculum Advisors Handbook](/handbooks/curriculum_advisors.md) includes more information on the role, the logistics of how Curriculum Advisory Committees are run, etc.
 
 
 ## Reviewers

source/resources/curriculum/lesson-life-cycle.md

@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
 # The Life Cycle of Lessons
+**A note about _Instructors_ and _instructors_:** in most of this handbook we refer to Instructors, capitalised to indicate that this is a certified role within the community i.e. somebody who has completed Carpentries Instructor Training. 
+Some of our handbook content about curriculum development makes reference to instructors (without capitalisation), to distinguish between those who teach a workshop but may not yet be certified Instructors.
+
 The Carpentries community develops lessons as Open Source projects: lessons and their source files are typically available online from the earliest stages of development onwards.
 It can be helpful for visitors to a lesson -- instructors considering teaching it, potential contributors exploring its contents, etc -- and its developers themselves, to be able to quickly identify the development status of a lesson. 
 Lesson development is an iterative process, with content and design always subject to evolution and improvement. 
@@ -49,7 +52,7 @@ However, here are some other actions that lesson developers can take at differen
   * Run [alpha pilot workshops](lesson-pilots.md#alpha-and-beta-pilots) and iterate on the design and content of the lesson.
   * Raise awareness of the lesson in The Carpentries community
 * **Beta:**
-  * Find Instructors who can teach the lesson in [beta pilot workshops](lesson-pilots.md#alpha-and-beta-pilots), and gather feedback from them to improve the lesson further. 
+  * Find instructors who can teach the lesson in [beta pilot workshops](lesson-pilots.md#alpha-and-beta-pilots), and gather feedback from them to improve the lesson further. 
     Consider inviting those [beta pilot instructors](./lesson-development-roles.md#beta-pilot-instructors) to join the team developing/maintaining the lesson.
   * [Publish the lesson to Zenodo and obtain a DOI](./lesson-release.md)
   * [Submit the lesson for peer review in The Carpentries Lab](https://github.com/carpentries-lab/reviews/)