Facilitator Guide

Purpose

This guide supports a hands-on Git/GitHub onboarding session for analysts and statisticians.

The primary goal is confidence through repetition, not comprehensive Git knowledge.

Recommended session structure

Session 1 — Orientation and first commit

Time: 45–60 minutes

1. Explain Git vs GitHub using the local/remote model.
2. Confirm everyone has Git installed.
3. Confirm everyone can access GitHub.
4. Clone a practice repository.
5. Make one small README change.
6. Stage and commit the change.
7. Push the change.

Session 2 — Branches and pull requests

Time: 45–60 minutes

1. Start from an updated main branch.
2. Create a new branch.
3. Make a small change.
4. Commit and push the branch.
5. Open a pull request.
6. Review one another’s PRs.
7. Merge the PR.
8. Pull the updated main branch.

Session 3 — Repetition and troubleshooting

Time: 45–60 minutes

1. Repeat the full workflow with a new small change.
2. Practice reading git status together.
3. Practice identifying the current branch.
4. Practice updating a PR after feedback.
5. Discuss safe commands and commands to ask about first.

Facilitation tips

• Have learners type the commands themselves.
• Use very small file changes.
• Pause after every command and ask: “What did Git say?”
• Normalize mistakes. Most Git learning comes from recovering calmly.
• Encourage learners to run git status whenever they feel uncertain.
• Avoid introducing advanced topics too early.

Common beginner sticking points

Authentication problems

Symptoms:

• Git asks for a password.
• Push fails.
• GitHub says permission denied.

Response:

• Confirm the learner is logged in to GitHub.
• Confirm they have access to the repository.
• Use GitHub’s recommended authentication method for the environment.

Wrong folder

Symptom:

fatal: not a git repository

Response:

• The learner is probably not inside the repository folder.
• Have them locate the cloned folder and cd into it.

Wrong branch

Symptom:

• The learner made changes on main instead of a branch.

Response:

• Do not panic.
• Check git status.
• If changes are uncommitted, create a branch before committing:

git checkout -b branch-name

Nothing to commit

Symptom:

nothing to commit, working tree clean

Response:

• Git does not currently see any unsaved changes.
• Confirm the file was saved in the editor.
• Confirm the learner is in the expected repository.

What not to teach on day one

Avoid these until learners are comfortable with the basic workflow:

• Rebase
• Cherry-pick
• Reset hard
• Force push
• Merge conflict internals
• Complex branching strategies

Success criteria

A learner is ready for normal beginner use when they can complete this without prompting:

pull main → create branch → edit file → status → add → commit → push → open PR