Facilitation is actually ...
Taken from: http://student-survival-guide.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/after-much-discussion1.jpg
When you have facilitated a learning experience, what was that all about?
Facilitation is … talking, information dissemination, telling, transferring, creating metaphors … or just simply a meaningful conversation
In this page, it is all about facilitation, a.k.a. debriefs. This term is commonly use in training settings regardless of the genre of training or the type of organizations. Before there was facilitation, someone must have had a revelation of creating meaningful conversations. It was probably repeated, learned and duplicates over the years. Through years, academics and practitioners must have discovered certain ways work well in getting people to talk about things that were relevant and useful. Needless to say, some practitioners have documented "the ways" which we termed them as methods and processes of today. The legacy goes on ...
This is part one, an introduction to facilitation. It is essence and meaning. Do scroll down for other parts from time to time.
Part One - Facilitation; the long & short of it
What is it to you? Care to write a few words about it?
To facilitate is likened to make easier. As like there are various means to skin a cat, there are a range of definitions or even assumptions tagged to the term facilitator. Let’s uncover some myths before we get trapped by some of these unwarranted paradigms that may limit our growth.
In any facilitated experiential learning settings, the facilitator plays the role of a catalyst to learning, internalization, self-examination, overcoming self-imposed limits, inspiring a sense of futurism, etc in the learners. He would set up scenarios a.k.a. structuring multiple experiences for the learners (participants) to go through, thereafter making deliberate attempts to elicit their responses of the experiences.
Generally the responses are raw feedback or observations from the learners. However, in achieving any positive learning transfer from the seemingly unrelated activities experiences to useful insights and ideas to be applied to the learners’ context (workplace) lies in the facilitation process executed by the facilitator. In most situations, the facilitation process is a meaningful conversational exchange among the learners, usually guided by the facilitator.
Are facilitators content experts? A common jargon you might have heard of is “the know it all”. If you think that facilitators are supposed to be equipped with wide range and great depth of knowledge, you might not become one anytime soon, right? Categorically, academics are content experts whereas facilitators are process wizards. Facilitators may not need to be the guru in many topics but they should be fluent in administering various facilitation processes to augment the participants’ learning.
While it does make sense for facilitators to be conversant in facilitation processes, invariably it does nothing to augment credibility if facilitators know little or nothing of other areas. Facilitators are expected to possess sufficient knowledge in related fields like, behavioral science, management models, communication skills, human resources, adult learning theory, etc. to sustain meaningful conversations during facilitation.
Perhaps we could also discuss what facilitation is NOT. This might help you to get a better appreciation of some common but inaccurate paradigms that may limit growth for both the facilitators and learners. Therefore facilitation is NOT,
- a one-way conversation
- the sole responsible of the facilitator to ensure success
- the usual presentation
- a showcase of the facilitator’s life story
- a brainwashing session
- a mean to appraise peers
- to flex authority muscles
Strange but true, a well facilitated session is generally felt instead of vividly described. While the facilitation session is underway, lots of sensing and perceiving are happening. This is where the Jungnian’s (http://www.religiousworlds.com/fondarosa/jung03.html) notion of perceiving and judging comes into play. When a facilitator facilitates, he or she listens intensely. The immense amount of information is being processes in the mind hence resulted in an outcome. There are numerous inferences made on-the-fly whilst observing, listening and interacting with the participants. A discerning facilitator would be able to account for the actions he or she has taken during facilitation. In a nutshell, he would know what to do, why do it, how to do it and when to do it.
Extracted from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/facilitate shows a regular definition of the word.
facilitate
–verb (used with object), -tat⋅ed, -tat⋅ing.
1. to make easier or less difficult; help forward (an action, a process, etc.): Careful planning facilitates any kind of work.
2. to assist the progress of (a person)
So what is your take on facilitation? Freely contribute your comments.
So what is your take on facilitation? Freely contribute your comments.
