Facilitation skills & Group based learning Online health information access and use: Intensive national-level, health sector capacity development and training Workshop 2 Facilitation skills & Group based learning Elements of these slides are based on content from: 2000 Tips for Trainers and Staff Developers, Phil Race (2001), in particular chapter 3 (p 142-191). Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Online health information access and use: Intensive national-level, health sector capacity development and training Workshop 2 Learning objectives Explain what facilitation is and when it is required With particular reference to group learning activities Explain the difference between teaching, training and facilitation Review examples of how not to facilitate group learning Review key characteristics of successful facilitation Identify appropriate facilitation techniques to be applied in common circumstance By the end of this unit, participants should be able to do or have done all of the above: Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Teaching, training and facilitating What is the difference? A good trainer = a learning facilitator Trainees learn by doing Trainees can learn a great deal from each other AND the trainer Particularly important depending on what it is that is being learnt and how it is being approached KSA: knowledge, skills, attitudes Teachers tend to “deliver” information, experience and wisdom Adult learning teachers should also be good trainers We should all aim to be good facilitators and trainers

What do we mean by facilitation? Successful facilitation is about enabling learning A facilitator enables learning to take place by setting up the environment, structure and prompts for effective learning They enable and facilitate the learning process

When is facilitation required? Online health information access and use: Intensive national-level, health sector capacity development and training Workshop 2 When is facilitation required? When learning from others is required When sharing experiences and ideas When there is no simple “right” answer When working in groups Learning from groups, learning by doing = natural learning process Learning appropriate solutions to challenges and problems Ownership of solutions and answers = more likely to be retained outside of the training activity Facilitation is required in many aspects of effective trainers, especially when working with non-student groups (although that does not mean that it is not a useful skill to have when working with students). Facilitation is important because of adult learning principles. Working in groups can be an effective and powerful way of learning and should be considered as an important tool in the trainer’s toolkit. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Video How to successfully facilitate group discussions…? Questions to be considered as you watch: What is being done well? What is being done badly?

Group work… Break into small groups as directed Read through the exercise hand out Discuss the element of the case study allocated Agree your recommendations for the appropriate facilitation characteristics required Identify someone to feedback for your group

Successful facilitation Key characteristics of successful facilitation Reference of key points More details included in: 2000 Tips for Trainers and Staff Developers, Phil Race (2001)

Group work: preparing participants Help participants understand the benefits of working in groups Think about the different ways of forming groups Optimum group size and group dynamics Structure initial group work carefully Explain how groups can go wrong Ensure suitable group work space

Forming groups Dependent on the task, consider what makes the best group? Provide clear instructions on forming groups Random, skills based, geographical, like minded, balanced, considerations outside the task in hand Be prepared for “herding cats”!

Group size Different sizes for different tasks Need to consider: Pairs, couples, threes, fours+ Need to consider: Time available Desired outcomes “Passenger” behaviour

Getting groups started Ensure ownership of the task Keep the beginning of the task short and simple Don’t rely on oral briefing only, use printed briefing Visit the groups in turn and check “correct” start Clarify the task when asked Break tasks into manageable elements Try to control the amount of time groups spend on successive stages of each task

Group learning = learning by doing Think of something that you know you do well How did you get to be good at it? Design learning by doing into group activities Reading is not necessarily doing Listening to experts is little to do with doing Listening to each other has a lot to do with group learning Allow time for sufficient practice Make it okay to get things wrong

Poor facilitation – interaction 1 Ignoring non-participants Allowing domineering people Lack of preparation Being too didactic or controlling Poor interpersonal skills Lack of cultural sensitivity

Poor facilitation – interaction 2 Favouritism Talking too much Intimidating participants Being intimidated by participants Putting participants down Failing to invite equal contributions

Thank you Any questions?