Teaching and mentorship

The curriculum rests on four principles that keep the learning environment effective and empowering:

• Learner-centered and problem-focused

  Every new skill is framed as the solution to a real research problem (e.g., "how do I run my analysis on a machine with more power?") rather than an abstract feature tour.

• Command-line first, GUI as a complement

  The command line is the most powerful, universal, and scriptable way to work with HPC, so it comes first. The web-based Open OnDemand portal is introduced later as an accessible complement, not a replacement.

• Verbalize, don’t just visualize

  Concepts usually shown visually — directory trees, cluster diagrams, data plots — are re-expressed in clear, structured language so nothing depends on a single visual modality.

• Build a community of practice

  Sessions are designed as a space where participants learn from the instructor and each other, trading tips and building a durable support network.

Participants also receive a pre-workshop checklist a week ahead \u2014 screen reader and terminal setup, SSH client, and ACCESS/NCSA account activation \u2014 so everyone can start hands-on from the first session.

The series is scaffolded from foundational skills to goal-oriented research tasks, so each session builds on the last.

The design is grounded in three complementary learning theories, which keep it rigorous rather than ad hoc:

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

  The three UDL principles are built in from the outset rather than bolted on. Multiple means of representation show up as verbal analogies and multi-format materials ("verbalize, don’t just visualize"). Multiple means of action and expression appear as the command-line and Open OnDemand options plus hands-on exercises across assistive technologies. Multiple means of engagement come from the problem-focused framing, the community of practice, and the scaffolded three-part structure.

• Constructivism

  Participants build a mental model of an HPC system through experience rather than memorizing a command list. The hands-on exercises — making directories, navigating, writing and submitting a real Slurm script — are the experiences through which that understanding is constructed, and the try-listen-decide loop is constructivism in action.

• Andragogy (adult learning theory)

  The design answers Knowles’ conditions for adult learners: the problem-focused approach explains the "why," support for different tools respects self-direction, the exercises are experiential, and the whole curriculum is of immediate value to researchers who need to use Delta.

A few teaching habits do most of the accessibility work in a live, non-visual session:

• Pace slower than feels necessary, leaving ample time to type commands and listen to output.
• Narrate every command explicitly ("I am typing L S space dash L") instead of "I’ll list the files."
• Avoid ambiguous language like "over here" or "like you see"; use concrete references such as "in your home directory" or "the first column of the ls -l output."
• Provide an accessible plain-text cheat sheet of key commands with a short description for each session.