Workshops

Teaching and assisting workshops is one of the main responsibilities of STS Trainers! When and how much a trainer teaches depends mainly on two things:

• Their availability (based on their Outlook calendar)
• Their trainer qualifications (as listed in their STS Trainer Profile on the STS Website)

Generally, trainers will likely be scheduled the following each semester:

1. Teach 1-3 Evening Workshops
2. Teach 1-3 Requested Workshops
3. Assist 2-3 Requested Workshops (Regular and/or In-Class Support)
4. Assist at least 2 Evening Workshops

There is no official limit to how often a trainer can teach, but in practice, teaching more than 6 workshops in a single semester can become challenging when trying to balance STS responsibilities with a full academic course load, student organization obligations, personal life, etc. However, trainers with more time and flexibility during a semester may be asked to cover a few more workshops to help out the rest of the team. Assisting workshops often doesn’t take as much energy as teaching, and so trainers often sign-up for more than the amounts mentioned above.

STS hosts free hybrid-style and fully-remote Evening Workshops on a variety of topics every semester open to all UW-Madison students! STS Trainers are responsible for teaching a few of these workshops every semester.

Trainers are scheduled for Evening Workshops by STS managers a few weeks before the start of a semester based on what they’ve communicated they can teach. Trainers teach workshop topics based on contents found within our STS Workshop Training Materials. Trainers are expected to help their fellow trainers by signing up to assist at least 2 workshops every semester from the Evening Workshop Assist Sing-Up spreadsheet

What Do Evening Workshops Cover?

Topics covered include programs like Microsoft Excel and Adobe Illustrator, as well as programming languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python and wider informational topics like AI and Machine Learning. Each workshop topic has training materials that the trainer uses as a guide for the session. These training materials contain information about the software or technology as well as hands-on exercises to help learners practice the concepts and features being learned.

The more a trainer knows about a given topic, the easier it will be to teach it and answer additional questions that come up, but trainers are only required to know what is contained in the workshop manual in order to teach a given session.

All of the current STS training materials are available directly from our STS Website. It’s worth browsing through some of these manuals in your first few weeks as a trainer to get a feel for the kind of material covered.

The target audience for most STS workshops are students who have little to no existing familiarity with the topic being taught. Our aim is to help learners go from knowing nothing, to knowing at least something about the topic. We sometimes say our teaching helps learners get “YouTube-ready”, meaning they will get enough in our workshops to be able to start doing more independent learning on their own using resources like YouTube, TikTok, tutorial articles, etc. without being totally lost.

They are NOT intended to be comprehensive tutorials on every part of the topics being covered; typically, more advanced topics are covered in 1-on-1 requests.

How Do Students Sign Up?

Students register via the list of upcoming workshops on the STS website. There is no cost to registering for evening workshops, but there is a limit of 25 spots (based on the number of students who can fit in the classroom). Once registered, they can choose whether or not to attend on the day of the session.

There is no penalty for not attending, and typically only about half the people who register for a workshop will actually attend, meaning if 12 people sign up, there will likely only be 5-8 attendees for that session (although during busy times of the semester, that number may be lower).

Where and When Are Evening Workshops?

Evening workshops are typically scheduled for Monday to Thursday, 5:30pm-7pm, although a few topics are scheduled from 5:30-6:30pm or 5:30-7:30pm. The actual length of a given session can also shift depending on a variety of things (e.g. the size of the group, how quickly the trainer goes through the material, technical issues, etc.).

These sessions are delivered in-person in room 2257 on the second floor of College Library or Morgridge Hall (specific room listed on calendar event), but are also expected to be available hybrid and remotely via our STS Zoom Room (https://go.wisc.edu/stszoom). It is the teaching trainer’s responsibility to open the STS Zoom Room before the start of a workshop.

In addition to the pre-scheduled Evening Workshops that STS offers, student organizations and course instructors can request STS workshops throughout the semester for their group of students. Instead of individually registering themselves for these classes, students are essentially required to join for class or a student org, meaning attendance numbers guaranteed. These requested workshops can come in two forms:

• Regular Workshops
• In-Class Support Sessions

What do Requested Workshops Cover?

Regular Requested Workshops

Most Requested Workshops follow the same content specified within our STS Workshop Training Materials (possibly trimming material for time), while a few may require more extensive preparation from the trainer.

If a requestor is looking for something specific that is not already covered in an existing STS manual, the trainer’s job may include creating a lesson or training plan for the requested content. This includes thinking through how to explain or introduce it to the students and how to provide hands-on practice where needed. This can be challenging at first, but many trainers find it a fun opportunity to exercise creativity as well.

In-Class Support Sessions

Additionally, some Requested Workshops don’t require any formal teaching at all! Instead, some course instructors may request an In-Class Support Session, where STS trainers act as onsite helpers as students complete individual or group projects. Examples of these include Journalism 202, who have a series of group projects involving Adobe InDesign, Audition, Premiere Pro, and WordPress each semester. The number of questions during these sessions can vary widely – some have many while others will have practically none.

Where and When are Requested Workshops?

Many Requested Workshops take place in our usual training room (2257 College Library), but it is not uncommon for them to take place in an instructors’ normal class rooms or another computer lab on campus.

Requested Workshops usually last between 50 minutes and 2 hours, and are often tied to the start/end of academic class periods. We occasionally get requests for evening sessions, but most requests take place during the academic day, roughly 7:45am to 5:30pm.

Teaching vs. Assisting

Most workshops will have two trainers at them: a teaching trainer and an assisting trainer. This section will explain the differences between the two and give some tips for what the responsibilities of each role are.

Teaching Trainer

The teaching trainer leads the session and will generally be doing most of the talking/demonstrating of different tools and techniques.

The main responsibilities of the teaching trainer include:

• Know the material you are teaching. This sounds obvious, but it is essential. If the trainer is not prepared, it shows, and it makes the experience unpleasant for both the trainer and the students hoping to learn.
• Arrive at least 15 minutes before scheduled workshop and at the right location. This is also obvious, but it is also very important. If you are teaching in a new building, make sure you know which one it is, and maybe do a little scouting ahead of time so you know the right room. If you are taking a bus, leave a little extra time to account for the unexpected.
• Open the correct STS Zoom Room. For Evening Workshops, teaching trainers are expected to open the correct STS Zoom room and share their screen with attendees.
• Stay aware of what is happening in the classroom and adjust your teaching as needed. As a trainer, a big part of your job is being able to read the room and communicate with people with a wide variety of experience levels. If everyone is already pretty experienced, you may not need to explain things as in-depth. If most people are totally new to the material, you may want to give a little more context and background for the information you are teaching. Your job is to get through the material at the right pace, and that pace varies with each session. Don’t try to get through the material as fast as possible, but also don’t over-explain every detail if the learners all seem to be following along without issue.

Other things you are expected to do when you are the teaching trainer:

• Follow the guidelines set out in the STS Teaching Checklist and Rubric
• Give the learners time to explore and try things out on their own. With software and technology, learning happens more by doing than by listening.
• Be sure to stop periodically and check in to see if there are any questions.

Assisting Trainer

The assisting trainer’s main job is to make sure the teaching trainer is able to focus on teaching. Things that this might entail include helping students who get stuck during the workshop, helping students who come in late catch up to the rest of class, troubleshooting technical issues like logins or software errors, and more.

Each workshop is different and may require different levels of assistance. Some sessions, the assisting trainer will be running around helping people the whole time. Other sessions may be quieter, and their job will be to stay alert to anyone who might end up needing help. The main things the assisting trainer should be doing during a workshop:

• Moderate the STS Zoom chat. This is specifically for evening workshops since they are hybrid attendance. Once the teaching trainer opens the room and shares their screen, it is up to the assisting trainer to make sure chat questions get considered and answered.
• Move throughout the room during the session. It’s remarkable how often students who say nothing when the instructor asks if anyone has questions, suddenly have lots of things they’re curious about once the trainer assisting is close enough to whisper questions to.
• Stay alert for learners who appear to be struggling and move closer to them in the classroom, possibly discreetly asking if there is anything they might need help with.
• Be aware of what the trainer teaching the workshop is doing so you can answer questions that may come up.

Things the assisting trainer should avoid doing during workshops:

• Spend time distracted on their phone at the back of the room
• Do homework or other things on your computer unrelated to the workshop
• Show disinterest in being at the workshop

Important Considerations:

• For Evening Workshops, trainers can choose which sessions they’d like to assist by signing up via the Evening Workshop Assist Sign-Up Sheet in the STS Google Drive folder. If your Outlook calendar is open and no one has signed up to assist a workshop, you may still be scheduled as that assist shift if you have the workshop topic listed in your trainer qualifications.
• For Requested Workshops specifically requesting In-Class Support, there will typically only be an assisting training present given that no formal teaching is required. During an In-Class Support session (also referred to as Help Sessions), the assisting trainer will move around the classroom throughout the session as students work on individual or group projects to answer any questions that may come up relating to the software they are using to complete their project.

For All Workshops

• Update the Teach/Assist and 1-on-1 Topics you can help with within your Trainer Profile regularly (at least once very semester). This is how STS Managers know who to assign STS workshops and 1-on-1s to!
• Accept the workshop calendar invite within 48 hours of receiving the notification. If you cannot commit to the workshop, let STS managers right away!
• Sign-Up via the Evening Workshop Assist Sign-Up Sheet to help your fellow trainers!
• Practice, practice, practice!
  • Regardless of whether you are teaching or assisting (but especially if you are teaching), you should rehearse the workshop in its ENTIRETY a day or two before your workshop
  • Lack of preparation could result in poor delivery, which could ultimately influence future attendance by student or a group’s decision to request our services again in the future 🙁

• Attend the workshop AT LEAST 15 minutes before the scheduled start time (the earlier the better). Arriving early gives you time to set up, identify and troubleshoot any connection/projection/technical issues, and get ready for your session. However, for In-Class Support Sessions, you can usually arrive right at the listed start time for the session, or just a few minutes before.

For Evening Workshops

• Don’t Forget! Open the STS Zoom Room
  • Ensure you are first logged in properly
    • Go to zoom.com
    • Sign-In with SSO
    • For Company Domain, enter uwmadison
    • Complete sign-in with your NetID and Password
      • Go to go.wisc.edu/stszoom
        • Share your screen
        • Ensure you are unmuted
      • Trainers assisting will help monitor the chat
• Projector Guide for Room 2538 in Morgridge Hall
  • Setting up the projector in 2538 has a few steps! Review this Projector Guide to learn how to use the projector!

For Requested Workshops

• Email the requestor about 1 week before the scheduled workshop to ensure (a requestor’s email is listed in a Workshop even within the Upcoming Workshops section):
  • The requestor knows you are aware of the workshop
  • You can confirm workshop location, time, date, and contents of the workshop
  • They can confirm their expectations for the workshop

• Double-check the location, length, type, and time/date of the workshop!
  • Visit the workshop location a day or two before the scheduled workshop to make sure you don’t get lost the day of
  •  Workshop time might be limited to 50 or 75 minutes or even extended to 2 hours – make sure you know how long you have to cover material!
  • Confirm whether the workshop is a regular session or an In-Class Support session

What happens if I can no longer teach/assist a workshop I initially accepted?

Teaching workshops is a primary role of a trainer. When you are scheduled for a workshop, it is your responsibility to either teach the session yourself or find a replacement trainer if you are not able to due to illness, family emergency, etc. Though not ideal, if a replacement is not feasible, we will reschedule the workshop. Our last resort is to cancel a workshop altogether – something we try to avoid as much as possible.

If you are not able to teach a workshop or support session that you are responsible for, let the managers know as soon as possible that you will not be able to cover your session. This can happen for a variety of reasons (e.g. a midterm being scheduled during an evening workshop, injury/illness, etc) but whatever the reason, the trainer needs to let Naty and Pete know as soon as possible so they can take appropriate action.

Requesting to Teach Additional Workshops

Trainers who would like to teach additional workshops during the semester beyond those already on the schedule for the semester are encouraged to ask the STS managers to add some sessions that work with their schedules. Trainers can also request to be scheduled for specific topics!

Missing a workshop or in-class support sessions is one of the worst errors a trainer can make.

We ask trainers to do everything they can to avoid missing workshops or in-class support sessions they have been scheduled for.

In this case “missing a workshop” means a trainer fails to show up for a workshop they have been scheduled for with no notice to the managers. If you are able to get another trainer fill in for you or even just let the managers know ahead of time that you will not be able to attend, that does not count as missing a workshop.

When we day “missing a workshop”, we essentially mean there is a room full of people who are expecting someone from STS to arrive, but they don’t.

When it comes to missing workshops and in-class sessions, there is a 3 strike policy:

• Strike 1: Mistakes happen, but please don’t let them happen more than once. The trainer should identify what caused them to miss the workshop and take steps to prevent it from happening again.
• Strike 2: This Is Bad. Trainer is no longer eligible to request pay rate increases for the duration of the semester, and managers will be  regularly checking in to ensure the trainer is on top of their STS duties.
• Strike 3: Unless there are extreme extenuating circumstances, missing 3 workshops will result in the trainer’s employment being terminated.

Exceptions

There may be situations where a trainer misses a workshop due to circumstances beyond their control.

These can include things like:

• A personal, family, or medical emergency
• Car, bike, or scooter accident
• A break-in at a trainer’s apartment
• Someone steals a trainer’s laptop and phone
• Unexpected travel issues

The managers will consider situations on a case-by-case basis.

Evening Workshops

Is there a specific flow that workshops should have?

Most workshops have the following flow:

1. The teaching trainer connects their laptop to the projector and brings up the prepared slideshow for the workshop.
2. The teaching trainer opens the STS Zoom Room (according to location), shares screen, and makes sure mic is on.
3. The teaching trainer starts the session by introducing themselves, explaining what STS is, and presenting the land acknowledgement in the slideshow.
4. The teaching trainer guides learners to the “Today at STS” page so they can sign in for attendance and find the manual and class files as needed. If there is an assisting trainer, this is a common place they will help out.
5. The teaching trainer teaches the session, guiding hands-on activities and answering any questions that come up. If there is an assisting trainer, they can help out students who get stuck and/or move about the room to make sure students aren’t having trouble following along.
6. At the end of the workshop, the teaching trainer guides students to the Evaluations page, and shows them how to contact STS if they want to request 1-on-1 help or have other questions.
7. After delivering the workshop, the teaching trainer fills out a Workshop Follow-Up Form (found under the links section within their Trainer Dashboard on the wordpress site). Failure to complete this form will impact the potential pay raise you see on the Trainer Dashboard!

What should I NOT include during a workshop?

Funny images/videos and memes are great, and we encourage using them to keep a training fun and lively. That being said, it’s important to remember that not everybody will share the same sense of humor, and some people may be bothered by things that do not bother you.

Use good judgment in choosing what you show in class, and be responsive to students who appear uncomfortable with anything you may be showing or talking about. Just because someone doesn’t get up and leave doesn’t mean they are OK with what they are seeing or hearing, and part of your job is to be aware of how the learners in your sessions are doing.

If you’re unsure whether something is acceptable or not, a handy guideline is to consider STS workshops and consultations a PG-13 space in terms of language and content. Gratuitous profanity, sexual content, and gore/violence should be avoided.

What if No One Shows Up to my Workshop?

• Trainers are free to leave after 20 minutes if no student shows up to a workshop
• Time spent setting up and waiting for students count as paid time
• Fill out Workshop Follow-Up Form regardless if students showed up or not!

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Requested Workshops (Regular)

• Consider: Regular Requested Workshops often differ from Evening Workshops in a few ways:
  • Students are required to attend by their instructor or student org leader (students did not sign themselves up)
  • Some students in attendance may already know the topic being taught very well
  • The timing of the workshop might be during their regular class time, MEANING
    • Higher chance of students coming late
    • Stricter cut-off time (students might have another class they have to get to)
    • Workshop time might be limited to 50 or 75 minutes or even extended to 2 hours

• Be real with the students and manage expectations:
  • Thank the students for even showing up!
  • Start off the workshop by saying, “Today we will be covering the basics of _____, if you already know this, feel free to do other work during this workshop – I won’t be offended! However, if you DON’T know this, please pay attention!”
  • Acknowledge any discomforts right away. Such as how early the workshop is, how long the set-up might be as students trickle into the session, the new location being further out than their regular meetups, etc.

• Do a vibe check at the beginning of a workshop:

• • Do the students seem comfortable with one another as they come in? Are they whispering or are they speaking at normal volume? Are these classmates or members of a student org? All of these observations may give you some hints as to how communicative this group might be during a session!

• • Ask for a raise of hands of who is already familiar with the topic – based on this, you may want to adjust the contents or pace of the workshop
    • If the class is smaller, and you are very comfortable with the topic, feel free to ask the group directly what specific things they are hoping to learn from the session

• Expect students aren’t comfortable asking questions (especially for instructor-requested sessions)
  • Instead of asking “Does anyone have any questions”, consider saying:
  • “Quick show of hands, does anyone need me to repeat what I just explained/showed?”
  • “I know that part might be a bit confusing for some, so let me do it again for anyone who might need it…”
  • After a session, remind students of Office Hours and 1-on-1 appointments they can schedule for more advanced help after the session!

• Dealing with late or disengaged students

• • Sometimes some students will come to a session SUPER late (15-30 minutes late). They might have gotten lost, didn’t realize the session was not in their regular classroom, work up late, or a bunch of other reasons. Even with an assisting trainer present, sometimes trying to catch up these students that late becomes a bit disruptive for the other students. Instead, you can say the following:
    • “For those of you who just arrived, everything I am teaching today is available to you on our STS website. I’ll put the link up at the end of class. For now, just follow along as best you can.”
    • “For anyone who feels they will need a lot more help after class, remember we have Office Hours and College library and Morgridge Hall. I’ll put those hours up at the end of class. You can also request a 1-on-1 appointment if those hours don’t work with your schedule.
  • Sometimes, even students who don’t know the topic, will not be as engaged as we hope. Life happens, and we don’t know what they may be navigating outside of the workshop session we are teaching. Ultimately, while it is your job as an STS trainer to deliver an engaging workshop, it is not your job to request that all students reciprocate that engagement back. Consider this:
    • If you fully prepared and are delivering a workshop well → try to not take student disengagement personally. We only have control over our own behaviors and actions.
    • HOWEVER, if you didn’t fully prepare and aren’t delivering a workshop the best → learn from this mistake and accept that students may be in their right to not be fully engaged with you during this session