Concept planning for Open Research events

Sarah von Grebmer zu Wolfsthurn

21/08/2026

Licence

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 SA

This current work by Sarah von Grebmer zu Wolfsthurn, Sara Lil Middleton and Malika Ihle is licensed under a CC-BY-SA 4.0 Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International SA License. It permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

Presenter Notes: The Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 license, or CC BY-SA 4.0, allows others to copy, share, and adapt a work in any medium, including for commercial purposes. These permissions are broad and cannot be withdrawn as long as the license terms are followed. The main requirement is attribution: users must give appropriate credit to the original creator, provide a link to the license, and clearly indicate whether any changes were made, without implying endorsement by the original author. In addition, the ShareAlike condition means that if someone modifies or builds upon the work, the resulting material must be distributed under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 license, or a compatible one. Finally, users are not allowed to apply legal or technical restrictions, such as DRM, that would prevent others from exercising these same rights.

Contribution statement

Creator: Von Grebmer zu Wolfsthurn, Sarah ( orcid logo 0000-0002-6413-3895)

Reviewer: Middleton, Sara ( orcid logo 0000-0001-5307-8029)

Consultant: Ihle, Malika ( orcid logo 0000-0002-3242-5981)

Prerequisites - EDIT

Important

Before completing this submodule, please carefully read about the prerequisites.

Prerequisite	Description	Link/Where to find it
Basic familiarity with Open Science practices	Examples: R, Quarto, Git, GitHub, preregistration, Open Access etc.	Click here to get familiar with Open Science first
Core didactic principles	A firm grasp on important didactic tools and elements	Download Link

Questions from previous submodule

What are your questions from the previous session?

Key terms and definitions

ARIPE+ scheme:
Positive error framing:
Error patterns in the learning process:
Constructive feedback:

Key terms and definitions

ARIPE+ scheme: A didactic framework for planning competency-based instruction that structures learning in five phases.
Positive error framing: A didactic approach that views mistakes as learning opportunities and encourages learners to analzye their errors to boost understanding, skills and confidence.
Error patterns in the learning process: Systematic mistakes rather than random failure, critical indicators for how learners think and where the misconceptions lie
Constructive feedback: Information given to help someone improve their performance, skills, or behavior in a supportive and actionable way through describing observable behavior and offering next steps in a respectful way

Presenter Notes: First, the ARIPE+ scheme by Städeli (2013) is a didactic framework that helps educators systematically plan learning experiences. It structures instruction into five phases, guiding learners from initial engagement and exploration through to application, feedback processes and reflection.

Second, positive error framing refers to an educational mindset that treats mistakes as valuable learning opportunities. Instead of viewing errors as signs of failure, learners are encouraged to examine and understand them. This process helps deepen conceptual understanding, develop skills, and build confidence by creating a learning environment where experimentation and reflection are welcomed.

Next, error patterns are recurring and systematic mistakes that occur during learning. Unlike random errors, these patterns provide important insights into learners’ thinking processes. By identifying and analyzing error patterns, educators can uncover underlying misconceptions and adapt instruction to address specific learning needs more effectively.

Finally, constructive feedback is information given to help someone improve their performance, skills, or behavior in a supportive and actionable way through describing observable behavior and offering next steps in a respectful way.

Instructor Notes: If you do the think-pair-share exercice the slide before, skip this slide, this is for learners to come back to these concepts in their own time.

Covered in this session

Practical and logistical considerations when organizing an Open Research (OR) event
ARIPE+ scheme to structure an OR event
- Fostering motivation
- Assessing prior/existing knowledge in your learners
- Providing useful feedback

Presenter Notes: This session focuses on both the practical and pedagogical aspects of organizing and delivering an Open Research event.

We will begin by looking at the practical and logistical considerations involved in planning and running an event.

Next, we will explore how the ARIPE+ scheme can be used to structure an individual lesson or event. This framework provides a clear sequence for designing learning activities and provides structure for your learners.

A key element of successful instruction is understanding your audience. Therefore, we will discuss strategies for assessing learners’ prior knowledge and existing competencies, enabling you to tailor activities and support to their needs.

We will also examine ways of boosting motivation, considering how to create an engaging learning environment that encourages active participation, curiosity, and sustained involvement throughout the event.

Finally, we will address the role of feedback in the learning process. We will focus on how to provide feedback that is timely, constructive, and actionable, helping learners reflect on their progress and continue developing their skills.

Learning objectives

At the end of this session, you will be able to:

Consider practical and logistical challenges of organizing an Open Research event
Design an Open Research event according to the five phases of the ARIPE+ scheme (Städeli et al., 2013) to facilitate the learning process
Apply techniques to enhance motivation in your learners
Understand key elements of constructive feedback

Before we start: Survey time!

Scan the QR code and select the item Intro-Survey from the list.

What is your level of experience with organizing Open Research events (e.g., a workshop, a seminar, lecture, lecture series..)?

I have never organized an Open Research event
I have organised 1-2 Open Research events
I have organized 3-10 Open Research events
I regularly organize Open Research events
Organizing Open Research events is all I do because it is my (literal) job

What is your level of familiarity with the ARIPE+ scheme?

I have never heard of it before.
I have heard of it but have never worked with it.
I have basic understanding and experience with it.
I am very familiar and have worked with it extensively.

Which of the following pedagogical elements do you feel most confident about in your teaching? (Select all that apply)

Probing and boosting motivation in your learners
Formulating and communicating learning objectives for your event
Conceptualizing and communicating the bigger vision of the event
Reactivating prior knowledge in your learners
Providing constructive feedback
None of the above

Discussion of survey results

What do we see in the results?

General framework of an Open Research event

What do you think are some initial points to consider when you plan an Open Research event? (3 minutes)
(event = workshop, course, lecture, seminar, talk etc.)

Logistics: Practical considerations

image with the title organizing an academic event with a person standing in the middle and looking at an idyllic piece of nature with the subtitle what people think, underneath a blackboard covered in postits depicting what organizing an event is like in reality

Logistics: Practical considerations

Things to consider when organizing an event:

Who could the target audience be?
What are suitable dates and times?
What does my audience need? (accessibility)
What modality is suitable? (in-person, online, hybrid)
What equipment/materials/software do I need?
How can I book rooms/equipment?
What are the administrative procedures (catering, room booking..)?
How can I advertise my event?
Check your working conditions: What is expected from me? How much time do I have?

Presenter Notes: Before focusing on the learning design itself, it is important to consider the practical aspects of organizing an Open Research event. Good planning helps create an environment in which learners can fully engage with the learning activities.

The first question is who the target audience is. Are you designing the event for undergraduate students, doctoral researchers, professional staff, or a mixed audience?

You should also think carefully about dates and times. Consider learners’ schedules, competing commitments, and time zones if the event includes online attendees. Choosing an appropriate time can have a significant impact on attendance and engagement. For example, if learners have to travel for your course, you might consider avoiding periods where there are large festivities in town happening at the same time.

Another important consideration is accessibility and learners needs. Think about whether learners may require accessible rooms, captioning, alternative formats for materials, or flexible participation options. This ties in with creating an inclusive learning environment.

Next, consider the most suitable modality. Depending on the goals and audience, an event may work best in person, online, or in a hybrid format. Each option offers different opportunities and challenges in terms of interaction, logistics, and resource requirements.

You will also need to identify any equipment, materials, or software required. This could include presentation equipment, laptops, workshop materials, collaboration tools, or specialized research software.

Related to this is understanding how to book rooms and equipment. Institutional procedures often require advance planning, and popular spaces or resources may need to be reserved well ahead of time.

In addition, familiarize yourself with any administrative procedures that may apply, such as room bookings, catering requests, registration systems, or approval processes. These practical details can have a significant impact on the smooth running of the event.

Then, consider how you will advertise the event. Effective communication helps ensure that the intended audience is aware of the opportunity and understands its value. This might include email lists, institutional websites, newsletters, social media channels, or personal networks.

Finally, check your own working conditions: how much time do you have? What is expected of you from your department? What do you need to achieve with your learners? Being clear about these constraints helps ensure that your plans are realistic and focused.

Structuring your lesson: The ARIPE+ scheme (Städeli et al., 2013)

figure visualizing the five stages of the ARIPE+ scheme by Städeli et al. (2013), arrive and adjust, reactivate, inform, process and evaluate

Presenter Notes: One useful framework for structuring an event or individual lesson on Open Research is the ARIPE+ scheme, developed by Städeli and colleagues (2013). The model organizes learning into a sequence of phases that guide learners from initial engagement with a topic through exploration, practice, application, and reflection. ARIPE+ helps educators design learning experiences that are active and learner-centered. Rather than focusing only on content delivery, the framework emphasizes what learners do, experience, and demonstrate throughout the learning process. The “+” generally stands for elements connected to the learning environment, e.g., creating a supportive, accessible and safe environment, inclusivity, (body) language …

In the following slides, we will explore each phase of the ARIPE+ scheme and consider how it can be applied when designing an Open Research event.

The ARIPE+ scheme

A - Arrive and adjust: Provide orientation, outline journey and bigger picture, communicate learning objectives, create and foster motivation
R - Reactivate: Reactivate and assess prior knowledge, link new content to existing content (constructivism)
I - Inform: Introduce new content
P - Process: Activities, tasks, discussions, questions, collaborative learning
E - Evaluate: Check progress on learning objectives, feedback and assessment

Presenter Notes: Talking about how to structure the learning process and the learning environment for your learners, the ARIPE model is highly relevant. There are different phases, which have been backed up by empirical evidence.

A: Arrive and adjust. This is where learners get oriented. Explain why the session matters, what they’ll learn, how the workshop is structured, how it connects to the bigger picture and what the intended learning objectives are. This phase also helps establish motivation and creates a positive learning environment.
R: Reactivate. Before introducing new ideas, help learners connect with what they already know. This could involve asking questions, discussing previous experiences, or using a quick activity to surface prior knowledge. Within the framework of constructivism, learning is much more effective when new information can be linked to existing mental models.
I: Inform. This is the instructional phase where you introduce new concepts, methods, or skills. Rather than trying to cover everything, focus on the key ideas that learners need in order to achieve the learning objectives that you introduced in the first phase.
P: Process. Learning happens through active engagement. Give participants opportunities to apply what they’ve learned in the previous phase through exercises, discussions, problem-solving, or collaborative activities. This is often the longest phase of a workshop because practice is essential for learning.
E: Evaluate. Finally, check whether learners have achieved the intended outcomes. Evaluation doesn’t have to mean a formal test or exam, it can be reflection, instructor or peer feedback, a short quiz, or a practical task. It also gives you valuable information about what learners have understood and what may need further clarification. The modality and practicalities around this should also already be clearly explained during the first phase to manage expections of your learners.

Instructor Notes: While the model is presented as a linear framework, in practice you may move back and forth between phases depending on your learners and context.

ARIPE: Arrive and adjust

Orientation

Provide orientation at the start and the end
- Accessibility and equipment needed (laptop, software installed, internet access …)
- Explain what materials will be needed (slides, cheatsheets, Moodle, GitHub) and where to find them)
- Highlight the modality (hybrid/in-person/online)
- Let your learners find common goals and shared interests
- Communicate milestones and important dates (deadlines, homework assignments, intermediate and final assessments)
- Clarify your expectations to the learners (attendance, homework, criteria for obtaining a certificate, assessments, general conduct…)

Presenter Notes: The Arrive and Adjust phase starts before you teach any content. Your goal is to help learners feel prepared and know what to expect.

Begin by checking that everyone has what they need. For example, do they have a laptop, the required software installed, a stable internet connection, or access to the online platform? Solving technical issues early saves time later.

Next, explain what materials you’ll be using and where learners can find them. This might include the slides, cheat sheets, Moodle, GitHub, or any other resources. Make it easy for learners to know where to look during and after the session.

Be clear about how the course will run. Is it in person, online, or hybrid? If some learners are joining remotely, explain how they can ask questions, join discussions, or take part in activities.

If possible, help learners get to know each other. A short introduction or discussion can help participants discover shared interests or common goals of why they are together in this session. This creates a more welcoming learning environment and makes collaboration easier.

Clearly communicate the learning objectives. Explain what learners should be able to do by the end of the session or course. Knowing the destination helps learners understand why each activity is included.

Point out important milestones such as homework, deadlines, assessments, or major activities. This helps learners plan their time and reduces uncertainty.

Finally, be clear about your expectations. Explain practical matters such as attendance, participation, homework, assessment methods, requirements for a certificate, and expectations for respectful behavior. Setting these expectations from the beginning helps create a positive and productive learning environment.

ARIPE: Arrive and adjust

Journey and bigger picture

Clearly communicate where learners are headed and the vision or bigger picture
- e.g., “Today’s workshop helps you move from using open research practices yourself to learning how to teach these practices to the next generation of researchers using evidence-based methods.”

icon depiciting a starting point and end point connected by a line

Presenter Notes: People are more motivated when they understand not just what they are learning, but why it matters.

At the beginning of a session, explain the bigger picture. Help learners see how today’s topic fits into the overall course, their professional development, or the wider impact of their work. Consider how the event fits within the wider context, such as an existing program, curriculum, or institutional strategy. Alignment with the broader learning environment helps create a more coherent and meaningful experience for participants.

For example, instead of simply saying, “Today we’ll learn about teaching methods,” you could say: “Today’s workshop helps you move from using open research practices yourself to learning how to teach these practices to the next generation of researchers using evidence-based methods.”

This gives learners a sense of purpose. It shows that the workshop is not just about learning a new skill, but about increasing their impact by helping others adopt good research practices.

Next, develop a broader vision for the event. Think about the learning journey you want participants to experience and the overall goals you hope to achieve.

Instructor Notes: You can return to this vision at the end of the session. Briefly remind learners what they have achieved today and how it moves them one step closer to that larger goal. This helps connect individual activities to the overall learning journey and reinforces motivation.

ARIPE: Arrive and adjust

Communicate learning objectives

Clearly communicate the learning objectives
- State the learning objectives for the course/event series and provide an outlook on how you are planning to achieve them with your audience

icon depiciting learning objectives with an open book and a target with an arrow poking out in the center

Examples:
- “Learners will compare traditional publishing models with open-access publishing models
- “Learners will create a reproducible research document using Quarto and publish it on GitHub”

Presenter Notes: From the broader picture, define specific learning objectives for individual sessions, workshops, or activities. These should contribute to the broader objectives of the event and provide a clear sense of purpose for your learners

Clearly communicate the learning objectives Explain what learners should be able to do by the end of the session or course. Knowing the destination helps learners understand why each activity is included.

In the first example, “Learners will compare traditional publishing models with open-access publishing models.” The key action is compare. This tells us that learners are expected to analyse similarities and differences, not just remember definitions.

In the second example, “Learners will create a reproducible research document using Quarto and publish it on GitHub.” Here, the actions are create and publish. These are practical skills that learners can demonstrate by producing a real output.

Instructor Notes: Remember: A useful question to ask when writing a learning goal is: “How will I know that learners have achieved this?” If you can clearly observe or assess the action, your learning goal is probably well written.

Your turn! 5 minutes

Thought experiment: Imagine that you give a half-day workshop on R to a group of ten learners. In groups, write down concrete examples on how you could provide orientation at the start of the R workshop.

Activity on finding common goals:
Milestones to achieve during the workshop:
Expectations:

Presenter Notes: Now it’s your turn to put all of this into practice. Imagine that you are teaching a half-day workshop on R to a group of ten learners. Your task isn’t to plan the technical content yet. Instead, focus only on the Arrive and Adjust phase.

Working in small groups, think about how you would help learners feel prepared, motivated, and ready to learn before introducing R itself.

For each of the prompts on the slide, write down one or two concrete examples. For example, what equipment or materials would participants need? How would you explain the workshop format? What activity could help learners discover shared interests or goals? What milestones would you communicate? What learning objectives would you share? And what expectations would you set from the beginning?

You have 10 minutes to discuss and write down your ideas. Afterwards, we’ll come back together and compare approaches to see the range of possibilities.

We will use this example for a workshop later on this session.

ARIPE: Arrive and adjust

Motivation

Why does motivation (and demotivation!) matter when teaching and learning?

Applying didactic tools can be unsuccessful if learners are demotivated
Motivation (and demotivation) are contagious
Motivation can be positively influenced by the instructor

Presenter Notes: Motivation is a critical element in the learning process. It matters because even the best-designed learning activities are less effective if learners do not see the value in participating or do not feel engaged. You can have excellent content and well-planned exercises on open research topics, but if learners are disengaged, learning becomes much harder. Motivation is especially important in the context of open research, because some of its practices are difficult to implement in different contexts, learners may face obstacles or challenges within their research groups etc.

When learners are curious, engaged, and willing to participate, that positive energy often encourages others to join in. The opposite is also true, if frustration or disengagement spreads, it can affect the whole learning environment. This can come from both the other learners, or the instructor.

The good news is that instructors can influence motivation. You can’t control every learner’s level of interest, but you can create conditions that support motivation and make it a key element of the design process. Explaining why the topic matters, connecting it to learners’ goals, providing achievable challenges, creating opportunities for success, and fostering a respectful and inclusive atmosphere can all make a real difference.

Probing and enhancing motivation in your learners

Activity:
Think back to open research courses, workshops or seminars you attended in the past. Consider things that a teacher or trainer has said or done that you found either motivating or demotivating.

Try to think of at least two examples for each, and then share them with your neighbor. You have 5 minutes.

https://zenodo.org/records/18905547
https://carpentries.github.io/instructor-training/08-motivation.html#brainstorming-motivational-impacts

Presenter Notes: How would you know if your learners are motivated? And what could you do to motivate them in the first place?

Think back to an open research course, workshop, or seminar that you’ve attended. Focus on the instructor rather than the content. What did the teacher or trainer say or do that made you feel more motivated to learn more about this open research topic? And what did they say or do that had the opposite effect and reduced your motivation?

Try to come up with at least two examples of motivating behaviors and two examples of demotivating behaviors.

Once you’ve had a minute or two to think individually, turn to the person next to you and share your examples. As you listen to each other, see if you notice any common themes.

We’ll then bring some of these ideas back to the whole group and discuss what they tell us about creating a motivating learning environment.

Take 5 minutes for this activity.

Instructor Notes: Some examples: how the instructor responded to questions, how they introduced the topic, how they gave feedback, or how they interacted with the group.

Motivation: Lessons

What can you do to enhance motivation in your learners?

Lesson 1: Explore why the topic matters

Learning is most successful when we care about the topic and when learners believe they can acquire a skills with reasonable time and effort.

What you can do:

Start by exploring what brought learners to this lesson and what motivates and interests them about the topic, e.g., through short questions or an interactive poll.

Presenter Notes: Learning works best when two things come together: first, when learners actually care about the topic, and second, when they feel that they can realistically learn it with the time and effort available. If either of these is missing, engagement drops quickly.

As instructors, we often start with content. But here, the focus is on starting with the learners instead.

At the beginning of a lesson, take time to understand what brought learners here. Ask yourself: Why did they join this session? What are they hoping to get out of it? What problems are they trying to solve, or what interests do they already have in the topic? When learners see that the topic relates to their goals or challenges, they are more likely to stay engaged and persist when things become difficult. Here, you also need to keep in mind that learners may not attend by choice, but because your lesson is part of a compulsory curriculum.

A simple way to do this is to ask short questions, run a quick poll, or have a short pair discussion at the start of the session.

Lesson 2: Establish an early feeling of success

Kick-start the learning process by focusing on something useful and relevant that requires comparatively low effort and connects the materials to their own interests/goals.

What you can do:

Begin the lesson with something that is quick to learn and useful to your learners. Use examples and task from real-life scenarios, e.g., things you encountered before.

Presenter Notes: When people start learning something new, confidence matters a lot. If the first task feels too difficult or too abstract, learners can quickly feel overwhelmed. But if they achieve something useful early on, it builds confidence and momentum. The idea here is to begin with something that is simple to understand, quick to complete, and clearly relevant to the learners’ own goals or work.

This does not mean simplifying the whole topic. It means choosing a first step that gives learners a positive experience and shows them that progress is possible.

One effective approach is to use real-life examples or scenarios that learners can relate to. For instance, you might use a small task based on a situation you have encountered in your own work, or something that learners are likely to face in their context and that they can immediately succeed at.

The key is that learners should quickly see: “I can do this,” or “this is useful for me.”

Lesson 3: Invite participation from learners

Encourage and foster an interactive environment for learners to ask questions, discuss difficulties and demonstrate prior knowledge.

Actively engage learners early on in the lesson

What you can do:

Introduce an interactive activity early on in the lesson, e.g., “What brings you here today?” and then discuss in the big group.

Presenter Notes: Learning is not something that happens by just listening. People learn more effectively when they are actively engaged—when they ask questions, share ideas, and connect the content to what they already know.

As instructors, we can support this by creating an interactive environment early in the lesson. This means making it clear from the start that questions are welcome, discussion is encouraged, and learners’ own experiences are valuable.

It is especially important to involve learners early on. If a session starts with a long period of passive listening, it can be harder to get participation later. But if learners are engaged from the beginning, they are more likely to stay active throughout.

A simple way to do this is to start with a short interactive activity. For example, you might ask: “What brings you here today?” Then give learners a moment to think, discuss with a neighbour, or share in the group.

Instructor Notes: Get learners to think back about their own experiences when starting this session.

Lesson 4: Encourage learners to learn from each other

Encourage learners to talk through the learning process with peers to maximize learning.

Helps to (partially) level out potential differences in prior knowledge or experience

What you can do:

Integrate activities in pairs to foster the exchange.

Presenter Notes: Learning is often more effective when learners talk to each other, not just to the instructor. When they explain ideas in their own words, ask questions, or compare approaches, they deepen their understanding.

Peer learning also helps manage differences in prior knowledge. In any group, some learners will already have experience with the topic, while others are completely new. When learners work together, they can support each other and help close these gaps in understanding.

As instructors, we can support this by deliberately building in opportunities for interaction between learners.

A simple and effective approach is to use pair activities. Instead of only addressing the whole group, ask learners to discuss a question with a partner, explain a concept to each other, or compare their solutions to a task.

Instructor Notes: Working in pairs can help learners who are less confident to engange in whole group discussions.

Lesson 5: Acknowledge and integrate confusion

Make confusion an integral part of your teaching.

Explore confusion with kindness
Reward learners for sharing vulnerable information

icon depiciting a person in the center with a question mark hovering over their heads

What to do:

Integrate formative assessments or quizzes to pinpoint misunderstandings. Validate the thinking process and ask for collaboration from other learners on resolving any confusion.

Presenter Notes: A key aspect of boosting motivation is confusion, which at first maybe feels counterintuitive. Confusion is not something to eliminate as quickly as possible. In fact, a certain amount of confusion is often a sign that learning is taking place. When learners encounter information that challenges their existing understanding, they have an opportunity to build stronger mental models, provided they feel safe enough to explore that uncertainty.

The first point is to make confusion an integral part of your teaching. Rather than presenting a workshop as a smooth transfer of knowledge, normalize that moments of uncertainty are expected. You might even tell participants at the beginning that feeling confused is a natural part of learning something new, especially when discussing topics like Open Research, where practices and terminology may be unfamiliar or evolving.

When someone expresses uncertainty or gives an incomplete answer, avoid immediately correcting them or moving on. Instead, become curious about their thinking. Ask questions like, “Can you tell us what led you to that conclusion?” or “What part feels unclear?” This helps uncover misconceptions while demonstrating that the learning process is valued just as much as the correct answer.

It is equally important to reward learners for sharing vulnerable information. Admitting “I don’t understand” or “I thought it worked differently” requires some form safe space. Thank learners for raising these questions, because chances are others are wondering the same thing. A simple response such as, “Good that you asked, that’s an important question,” reinforces that speaking up contributes to everyone’s learning. One practical strategy is to integrate formative assessments throughout the workshop. These can be quick polls, multiple-choice questions, short reflective prompts, or think–pair–share activities. Their purpose is not to evaluate learners but to give both you and the learners insight into current understanding and identify misconceptions before they become entrenched.

Lesson 6: Praise effort and improvement

Leverage the power of “yet”.

Evidence suggests that learner perseverance is best supported in the long term by praising effort or improvement rather than ability or performance.

What you can do:

Transform quests for help or support by learners by adding the word yet : “I cannot submit a preregistration yet”, “I do not understand yet how to create a GitHub repository”.

Presenter Notes: Another lesson is about how the way we give feedback can influence motivation and learning. Evidence suggests that learners are more likely to persevere when we praise their effort and improvement rather than their ability or performance. This reinforces that learning happens through practice and persistence.

A simple but powerful way to support this mindset is to use the word yet. Encourage learners to reframe statements such as “I can’t do this” or “I don’t understand” as “I can’t do this yet” or “I don’t understand yet.” This emphasizes that learning is an ongoing process and that understanding can develop over time.

When learners ask for help or support, model this language yourself and encourage them to adopt it. This small change can help learners approach challenges with greater confidence and persistence.

Lesson 7: You can be learning too!

Present yourself (the instructor) as a learner.

Let your learners relate to you
Make useful mistakes!
Leverage your own mistakes or knowledge gaps for positive error framing

What you can do:

When discussing an activity involving coding, use the opportunity when you make mistakes to embrace them with enthusiasm and present them as a learning opportunity rather than an index for failure or incompetence.

Presenter Notes: Remember that instructors are learners too. By presenting yourself as someone who is still learning, you help create a more open and supportive learning environment. Let learners relate to you by being honest about your own learning experiences, challenges, or knowledge gaps. This shows that learning is a continuous process, even for experienced instructors.

Don’t be afraid to make useful mistakes. For example, when live coding, a mistake can become a valuable teaching moment. Instead of apologizing or hiding it, show learners how you identify the problem, think through possible solutions, and correct it.

This is an example of positive error framing. By responding to mistakes with curiosity rather than frustration, you model that errors are a normal and useful part of learning. This can help learners feel more confident to experiment, ask questions, and learn from their own mistakes.

Your turn! 5 minutes

Activity: Let us get back to our planned R workshop for a group of learners.

What are two concrete activities where you could actively boost motivation in your learners?
What could be two R-specific factors be that could demotivate your learners at the workshop?

ARIPE+ scheme

ARIPE: Reactivate

Important

Remember: Learners bring prior knowledge into the learning environment, can help or hinder learning.

Activity: How could you explore and activate prior knowledge on Open Research in your learners?

Presenter Notes: Moving onto the second phase of the ARIPE scheme, we are now in the reactivate phase. Before introducing new concepts, it is important to remember that learners already bring knowledge, experiences, and ideas into the learning environment.

This prior knowledge can support learning if it is accurate, but it can also make learning more difficult if learners have misconceptions or different understandings of key concepts. Taking time to explore what learners already know helps you build on their existing knowledge and identify areas that may need clarification.

For this activity, think about how you as the instructor could explore and activate prior knowledge in an Open Research workshop.

Instructor Notes: Encourage using examples from this session, or examples such as asking learners what Open Research means to them, using a short poll or quiz, or having learners discuss their previous experiences in pairs before introducing new content, see also the next slide for an overview.

ARIPE: Reactivate

Methods to explore and activate prior knowledge

icon depiciting multiple persons in the center with a large lightbulb floating over them representing the act of brainstorming

Exchange with other teaching colleagues about the content of preceding workshops
Pre-session surveys and quizzes to identify existing knowledge
Brainstorm with learners
Check for error patterns in the homework assignment
Explicitly link new materials to elements from previous sessions
Use analogies and examples that connect to existing knowledge
…

Reactivating prior knowledge: analogies

figure showing an AI generated image for the car dealer analogy

Break! 5 minutes

ARIPE+ scheme

ARIPE: Inform

Communication model by Lasswell (1948):

figure visualizing cimmunication model by Lasswell (1948)

ARIPE: Inform

Designing slides………………..is a process:

Presenter Notes: The Lasswell model is particularly important when using slides to inform your learners about content, concepts, models, explanations, skills etc. It is a useful framework to think about the purpose and message of your slides, not just the content and to design slides with intent.

Designing slides is a process. While it is beyond the scope of this session to go into detail, keeping the Lasswell model in mind can help you move through the basic stages of designing slides. First, you braindump your ideas. Next, you sort your brain dump and formulate the core message. Next, you generate the flow of the story you are trying to tell. Next, you sketch out the slides in an analog format. Finally, you create them digitally.

Instructor Notes: Emphasize that this could be a session in itself and is merely intended as a brief overview. Welcome questions about this at the end.

ARIPE+ scheme

ARIPE: Process

Practice and consolidate learning:

Incorporate activities, discussions and collaborative learning
- Examples: Exercises, quiz, group work, summaries, homework assignments..
- Use activation methods for maximizing learning outcomes (next session!)

ARIPE+ scheme

ARIPE: Evaluate

Providing feedback

figure showing a person obtaining overwhelmingly positive feedback and some negative feedback, and then them filtering out only the one negative feedback making them unable to sleep

Providing feedback to learners to enhance learning

Actively initiate feedback exchanges
Provide targeted feedback early on in the process so that learners can adapt
Be constructive in your feedback: What is a next step from here?
Connect it to the learning objectives
Balance positive and negative feedback
Integrate peer feedback elements

Feedback considerations

Your words matter
Giving and receiving feedback can be hard
Lead the feedback conversation with empathy
Consider the cultural context

ARIPE: Evaluate

Wrapping up

Summarize and recap covered content
Reiterate the learning objectives
Highlight important take-home messages
Small check-in assessment to see where your learners are at
Clearly communicate expectations and timeframe for homework
Provide an outlook on the following sessions
Open the floor for questions
- “What are your questions?” instead of “Do you have any questions?”

Don’ts during an Open Research event

Do not:

Overwhelm learners with Open Research facts early on
Dive into complex or detailed technical discussions
Talk with scorn about an Open Research tool or practice
Pretend to know more than you do
Do not use the word “just” or other demotivating words/phrases
Express surprise at unawareness (“Funny, you have never heard about Git!?”)
Take over the learner’s keyboard to complete the task yourself (e.g., when doing an R demonstration)
…

Presenter Notes: When learning a skill, we develop more than expert awareness gaps – we also develop opinions about tools and methods, and sometimes base a professional identity around displaying technical expertise. Technical boasts, insults, and other showy moves can score points in conversation with fellow experts, but these present serious hazards in the classroom! Here are a few things you should not do in your workshop:

Talk contemptuously or with scorn about any tool or practice, or the people who use them. Regardless of its shortcomings, many of your learners may be using that tool, and may have invested many years in learning to do so. Convincing someone to change their practices is much harder when they think you disdain them.
Dive into complex or detailed technical discussion with the one or two people in the audience who clearly don’t actually need to be there. Reserve those conversations for breaks or follow-up emails.
Pretend to know more than you do. People will actually trust you more if you are frank about the limitations of your knowledge, and will be more likely to ask questions and seek help. (Also see “Presenting the instructor as a learner,” above)
Use the word “just” or other demotivating words we talked about in a previous episode. These signal to the learner that the instructor thinks their problem is trivial and by extension that they therefore must be deficient if they are not able to figure it out.
Take over the learner’s keyboard. It is rarely a good idea to type anything for your learners. Doing so can be demotivating for the learner (as it implies you don’t think they can do it themselves or that you don’t want to wait for them). It also wastes a valuable opportunity for your learner to develop muscle memory and other skills that are essential for independent work.
Express surprise at unawareness. Saying things like “I can’t believe you don’t know X” or “You’ve never heard of Y?” signals to the learner that they do not have some required pre-knowledge of the material you are teaching, that they don’t belong at the workshop, and it may prevent them from asking questions in the future.

It can be difficult to avoid these demotivators entirely. Some people are so used to complaining about certain tools that they initially fail to realise they’re doing it while teaching. If you catch yourself doing this, you might find a way to walk it back, or consider how you might repair or improve your motivational efforts on your next interaction. Teaching yourself (and your helpers!) to avoid these types of comments takes practice, but is well worth the effort.

Take-home messages

Start from the beginning: logistics and practical considerations
Structure your open research lesson so that it includes orientation, reactivation of prior knowledge, transfer and processing of content and wrapping up elements
Actively foster motivation early on and throughout
Assess and activate prior/existing knowledge about open research to boost the learning process
Use feedback procedures as a foundational element of the learning process

Learning objectives - Recap

At the end of this session, you are now able to:

Consider practical and logistical challenges of organizing an Open Research event ✅
Design an Open Research event according to the five phases of the ARIPE+ scheme (Städeli et al., 2013) to facilitate the learning process ✅
Apply techniques to enhance motivation in your learners ✅
Understand key elements of constructive feedback ✅

To conclude: Survey time!

Scan the QR code and select the item End-Survey from the list.

To conclude: Survey time!

Question 1
Question 2
Question 3

Which of the following pedagogical elements do you now feel most confident about in your teaching? (Select all that apply)

Probing and boosting motivation in your learners
Formulating and communicating learning objectives for your event
Conceptualizing and communicating the bigger vision of the event
Reactivating prior knowledge in your learners
Providing constructive feedback
None of the above

Which of the following elements or skills do you feel most curious about to implement in your future teaching?

Planning for the logistics of the workshop
Designing orientation activities
Boosting motivation through specific activities
Balancing positive and negative feedback
Other

On a scale of 1 to 5, how comfortable are you with using the ARIPE+ scheme to structure your future Open Research workshop? (1 = Not comfortable at all, 5 = Very comfortable)

Discussion of survey results

What do we see in the results?

References

Bühler, P., Schlaich, P., & Sinner, D. (2017). Visuelle Kommunikation: Wahrnehmung - Perspektive - Gestaltung. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-53770-1

O’Brien, K. M., Cumming, M. M., Binkert, G. D., & Oré, D. R. (2022). Providing positive and constructive feedback. In High Leverage Practices for Inclusive Classrooms (2nd ed., pp. 343–356). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003148609-28

Sapienza, Z. S., Iyer, N., & Veenstra, A. S. (2015). Reading Lasswell’s model of communication backward: Three scholarly misconceptions. Mass Communication and Society, 18(5), 599–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2015.1063666

Städeli, C., Maurer, M., Caduff, C., & Pfiffner, M. (2013). Das AVIVA-modell. Kompetenzorientiert Unterrichten Und Prüfen. Bern.

Wu, Y., & Schunn, C. D. (2023). Passive, active, and constructive engagement with peer feedback: A revised model of learning from peer feedback. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 73, 102160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102160

Your own stereotypes and biases about learners

Tip

Want to know more about your own stereotypes and biases about learners? https://carpentries.github.io/instructor-training/09-eia.html#what-are-stereotypes.

LMU: Want to know more about designing slides?

For LMU students, researchers and staff:
Check out PROFiL and their courses on slide design!

Thanks!

For instructors

Additional considerations when teaching Open Research

Some learners may prioritize immediate task-related knowledge over fundamental concepts, e.g., they have to submit a paper and want to learn about licencing
Recognize diverse motivations: not all novices share the same starting interests or passion for open research practices, e.g., some are frustrated about code not being available, some have to “do open research” because the funders want it

Additional resources

Providing feedback:

Additional content slides

Useful principles for designing slides

Learning effect largest when visual and auditory channels are activated
Arrangement of elements matters: place the most important elements in the top left, arrange the rest according to importance
Play with contrast: Contrast two elements by changing the size, the shape, color, proximity or direction
Less is sometimes more: Consciously incorporate empty spaces into your slides to direct attention to the important elements

Presenter Notes: When designing slides, here are some useful guiding principles.

Learning is often more effective when information is presented through both visual and auditory channels, so combining spoken explanation with clear visuals can support understanding.

The arrangement of elements on a slide matters. Viewers tend to focus first on the top left, so placing the most important information there and organizing other elements by importance can help guide attention.

Contrast can be used to highlight differences or key points. This can be done through changes in size, shape, color, proximity, or direction to make important elements stand out.

Finally, less content can improve clarity. Leaving empty space on a slide helps reduce visual overload and directs attention to what matters most.

Instructor Notes: Have examples ready to show if your learners ask for them.

TODO

Sort out all alt text fir figures
Sort out QR codes for surveys