Documentation:CTLT Institute/Facilitator Community/2019 Spring

Overview

Please note that this workshop is developed with the Spring Institute Facilitators in mind; however, it is open to those who may have an interest in further developing their facilitation skills in general.

As educational leaders, we are often advised to use “facilitation” skills when we share our teaching ideas and deepen learning of our colleagues. The focus of this workshop will be on facilitation skills that are used when developing others’ capacity in teaching and learning.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• define facilitation and briefly describe its role in educational leadership
• differentiate facilitation in educational development contexts vs in meetings
• discuss facilitation techniques, approaches, and skills for professional and capacity development

Logistics

Location: Rm 2.22
Time: Thursday, April 25, 2018, 2:30 PM - 4 PM

Lesson Plan

As Participants Arrives...

While they arrive, ask: Venn Diagram: How are facilitation and educational leadership different from and similar with each other

Territorial Acknowledgement, Welcome, Introductions & Housekeeping

(Time: 5 min; 5:00)

• Name, Role, Department
• Describe your educational leadership styles and/or approaches
• Your learning goals

Learning Objectives

(Time: 1 min; 6:00)

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• discuss facilitation techniques, approaches, and skills for professional and capacity development
• define facilitation and briefly describe its role in educational leadership
• differentiate facilitation in educational development contexts vs in meetings

What is Educational Leadership?

(Time: 15 min; 21:00)

Show on slide:

• UBC’s EL Map: https://ctlt2013.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2017/02/community_map_v5.5-June-15-copy.pdf

• Jacqueline Fields, Natasha Ann Kenny & Robin Alison Mueller (2019): Conceptualizing educational leadership in an academic development program, International Journal

for Academic Development, DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2019.1570211

And discuss.

What is Facilitation?

(Time: 60 min; 81:00)

Show a few definitions (5 min):

Group Facilitation

“Group facilitation is what a leader says or does to create an experiential and relational environment in which diverse individuals develop as a group” (Brooks-Harris & Brooks Harris, 2005, p. 1)

Facilitative Teaching

Facilitative teaching seeks to help [learners] “construct” meaning and come to an understanding of important ideas and processes. Teachers in this role guide [learner] inquiries into complex problems, texts, cases, projects, or situations. Their principal methods are questioning, probing, and process-related commentary, with little or no direct instruction.

(Wiggins & McTighe, 2007).

Reflection

(5 min) On your own, identify facilitation challenges you have experienced or witnessed. One idea per sticky note.

(20 min) As a group, delve deeper into each challenge. How and when did it arise? Categorize them according to the situational factors:

• Facilitative teaching
• Facilitation in Educational Leadership (capacity building)
• Facilitation in Meeting (action oriented)

Large Group Debrief

(20 min) In small groups with colleagues with similar interests, discuss possible approaches to respond to the challenges.

Summary

What can you adopt in your next facilitation?

Feedback

Complete the following sentences:

• I like/do not like __________ because __________.
• I would also like to say ______________________.

Our Shared Experience

Our self-identified educational leadership style and facilitation skills:

Facilitation Skills:

• Consider and make connections in materials and subject
• Supporting and helping
• Guiding conversation and discussion (x2)
• Leveraging the collective knowledge of the group

Educational Leadership Style:

• Leading
• Sharing innovative ideas
• Lecturing

Common Skills/Styles for Both Facilitation and Educational Leadership:

• Collaborative
• Public speaking
• Methods of delivery
• Planning learning process for students and staff
• Stakeholder engagement

Facilitation challenges we experienced or witnessed:

Facilitative Teaching:

• Facilitation takes longer and audience needs to be primed for discussion
• Sustained attention
• Lack of contribution from individuals
• You need to be attentive to your audience to engage them; whereas in lecturing you can talk at your audience
• Not enough tools in the facilitation toolkit to unpack topics, and lost learning opportunities

Educational Leadership, Facilitation to Build Capacity:

• Combining delivery of required info with reflective ideas
• Participant goal and/or understanding of workshop is radically different from the facilitator's
• Individuals' ideas or levels of ability and understanding are too diverse

Facilitating Meetings:

• Time: Meetings are often packed with agenda items and allow minmal time for group input

Common Challenges Among Facilitative Teaching and Ed Leadership:

• Linking comments and ideas into cohesive thread of discussion
• Responding to comments
• Being a facilitator that does not need to add my 2 cents to everything

Common Challenges Among Facilitation in Meetings and Ed Leadership in Capacity Building:

• Productive diagressions
• Losing track of big picture goals due to diving down rabbit holes

Common Challenges Among Facilitation in Meetings and Facilitative Teaching:

• Managing conflict/context

Common Challenges in All Facilitation Situations:

• Not everyone is comfortable sharing their opinion or thoughts publicly
• Setting the tone; holding the space
• Balance: voice of the individuals and voice of the group
• Clarity: outcomes are not clear, whether they are achieved

Sharing Permission

This lesson plan was modified from Dr. Isabeau Iqbal and Lucas Wright's Facilitating Teaching Workshop.