Friday, March 30, 2007

Tip #164: Assigning Exercises

Maintaining a Smooth Flow

  1. Keep in mind that all of the information pertains to what the participants need to know and do. Reinforce the relevance of the information whenever possible.

  2. Use transitional statements that move the group from the previous content to the content now under discussion.

  3. Refer back to earlier statements made by the participants or other trainers, to build on their comments or tie their information to the current content.

Assigning an Exercise

  1. Remember to model an exercise before having the group do one, in order to set them up for success.

  2. When assigning either an individual or a group exercise, indicate how long they have to complete the assignment.

Modeling the Assignment

  1. The participants should not be asked to do something before they have been given an example or a model of the exercise or the process they should follow. They can then refer to this example as they do their own small group work.

  2. For example, if the small groups will be brainstorming, the trainer should start off the exercise by asking the entire group for one or two examples and writing what they say on the flipchart. Or, if the groups will be working with different case studies, the trainer should walk the group through the analytical process they should use with a brief model case study.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Tip #163: Creating a Sense of Community

  1. It really helps to be there early to meet as many people as possible. This tends to lessen anxiety on all sides and creates a nice rapport between the trainer and the participants. Besides introducing yourself and asking the person's name, ask also what they do and why they have come to the training. You will then have some familiar faces in the audience and may be able to refer to individuals by name.

  2. It is always a good device to ask common ground questions: "How many of youÉ?" in order to help people feel they have something in common. Make sure that you keep asking topic-relevant questions until everyone has been able to raise their hands.

  3. Avoid making assumptions and expressing them, such as "We all know x." If we all don't know x, this will make us feel excluded from the group. Instead, ask "How many of you are familiar with x?"This gives you the option to have someone from the group explain x, so that everyone now knows what it means. If everyone raises their hands, then you can proceed more comfortably with the belief that everyone already does know x!

  4. Ask people at the breaks how the workshop is going. Our experience shows us that this contact, for some reason, encourages individuals who were silent prior to this time to have the confidence to participate openly in class discussions. Perhaps it is the one-one-one contact which gives the individual the sense that you really care about their satisfaction and success in the program.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Tip #162: Group Facilitation Techniques #1

Over the past weeks, we have focused on the information that a facilitator needs to have in order to effectively deliver training. The answers to the eight questions involved in designing a facilitator guide will be different, depending upon the nature of the training and the specific needs of the facilitator.

However, I have found that it is almost always useful to include at the very beginning of any facilitator guide some general information about group facilitation techniques. This is prompted by the fact that most of the facilitator guides that I have developed have been for technical experts who were more familiar with lecture than with the participatory interaction built into the training.

Prior to getting into the group facilitation techniques themselves, I like to begin with an overview of the training philosophy.

Training Philosophy

The exercises have been structured to treat the participants with respect, set them up for successful learning, and to use the training time as effectively and efficiently as possible. To this end, care is taken not to insult the participants and waste time by teaching them what they already know.

In order to increase the probability that the participants will be motivated to learn the information, the technical information is given in small doses and buy-in is accomplished by building upon what they already know from their personal experiences.

The workshop atmosphere should be comfortable and informal. Physical activities, such as throwing a koosh ball or soft bean bag, are strongly encouraged. Ten minute breaks should also be taken every hour, to keep the participants fresh and energized.

Since there is a good possibility that the participants already have some or most of the information, the focus of the exercises is to draw the information from them, with additional enhancements made by the instructor as needed. This may include prompting them with questions that will help them discover the correct or complete answer. Or, it may involve having them review reference pages to try to discover the answers themselves.

Small group discussion, augmented by instructor lecture, is used where it is likely that some, but not all, of the participants may know some of the answers- but may also need clarification and/or validation by the instructor.

Lecture should only be used when it is likely that none of the participants will know the answers.

In the lesson plan that follows, the times are approximate- within each section. This does not mean that you will be able to run over into the time period allotted to the next section. You will get into your own flow on this. You may also have to make some decisions regarding unanticipated issues that come up. However, make sure that all participant activities are completed by the participants.

This Training Philosophy is intended to establish a new mind set for the facilitators. The interactive nature of the training will be reinforced by the other sections included in the Group Facilitation Techniques portion of the facilitator guide.

In the weeks that follow, we will add information regarding how to:

  • Create a Sense of Community

  • Maintain a Smooth Flow

  • Assign an Exercise

  • Model the Assignment

  • Check for Comprehension

  • Debrief Exercises

  • Respond to Participant Questions

  • Wait for Participant Responses

  • Dignify Incorrect Answers

  • Refocus a Discussion Monopolizer

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Tip #161: Designing Facilitator Guides #5

We have already discussed an annotated Table of Contents, which can be one quick and relatively easy reference guide for a facilitator.

Another option is an annotated print out of PowerPoint slides.

As a long-time user of overheads, I was used to being able to leaf through my prepared overheads (as many of you know, these were primarily cartoons!). When I went to PowerPoint, I was suddenly at a loss as to what visuals were in store. So I started to print them off in black and white, 9 slides to a page.

I can then annotate them with times, methods, handout materials, and participant manual page numbers. I have found it is the fastest way for me to scan upcoming content and visuals, as well as to make sure that I show the appropriate visual at the right time.

If the program is relatively new to me, I am also able to write down key points and transitional statements where they should occur with the visuals.

This may be more useful for me than it is for other facilitators, because of the way I use cartoons to make or summarize key content points in a visual and humorous manner.

So, that's it for discussing how to create facilitator guides! After some of the longer examples over the past few weeks, I thought you might appreciate a short Tip!

Friday, March 2, 2007

Tip #160: Designing Facilitator Guides #4

We have a number of choices to answer the seventh question: 7. What format will be most useful for the facilitator? There are three different formats I have typically used: an annotated table of contents (which we described in Tip #158), an annotated lesson plan (which we described in Tip #159), and a scripted facilitator guide, which is our focus in this Tip.

A scripted facilitator guide provides more information and guidance to a facilitator than is possible on an annotated lesson plan. While the annotated lesson plan provides a brief narrative of the activities, their purpose, and what is required (in terms of materials and directions) to facilitate the activities, the scripted facilitator guide comments on each page of the participant materials and offers lecturettes and other scripts.

The key information that the facilitator will need is:

  • the over all focus of the session

  • the learning objectives

  • the key content points (in many cases, these are the section titles or agenda items)

  • the duration of the focus on this key content

  • the type of learning activities

  • when they occur

  • how long they should last

  • specific materials for the activity

  • the goal of the activity

  • how to introduce, facilitate and debrief the activities

  • specific notes regarding how to facilitate the activity

  • the specific handout pages and/or PowerPoint slides to which the activities relate

  • break times and durations

  • specific points to make and where to make them

  • how long to spend on each item in the participant materials

  • what to say to introduce, facilitate, and debrief the activities

A scripted facilitator guide actually mirrors the participant manual page by page. The best way to format the guide is to place the participant manual pages in a three hole binder with the binder holes on the left side of each page- and then place the facilitator guide pages opposite their respective participant pages by having the binder holes on the right side of each page.

The following example is from the first day of an eight-day program for Wisconsin Energy Star Homes Consultant Training. The page number of the facilitator guide relates to the page number of the participant manual. The script is in italics. Note that the total time for the activity is given, as well as the amount of time for each activity. This enables the facilitator to pace him/herself. These instructions are printed in a font size of at least 14 and often larger, so that it is easy for the facilitator to read. Sections may also be color coded (time frames or activities or specific resources) whatever will assist the facilitator best.

The reference to overheads tells you that this program was earlier than 2004. For purposes of space conservation, the script is single spaced in most instances. In actual fact, it is double or triple spaced for ease of reading for the facilitator.

Note also that even the audiovisuals are annotated (in the case of the CD) so that the facilitator knows immediately what should be on the screen and the key points the CD makes.

Wisconsin Energy Star® Homes Consultant Training