The second reason is that facilitation tools and techniques … Expert facilitation using creative approaches, tailored to your needs. The facilitator can encourage participants making unclear contributions to give examples and factual evidence of their points. “I’m uncomfortable with the imprecision of your questions. Ask for clarification if unclear about a participant’s intent or question. Roberts Rules? Things to keep in mind when posing the following questions: those receiving them may not speak English as a first language, so please keep in mind … Surgical Neurology, 47:400-403. If you find yourself as the lead facilitator of the group discussion, here are three things you can do to guide your group through a dynamic and helpful conversation: 1. encourage everyone to participate. Usually, a group discussion will be based around a central topic. Feito, J. Ask dominant participants to allow others to speak. If such conflicts are left ambiguous, they may cause continuing trouble. Reframing - The focus can be on clarifying the assumptions behind the person’s argument and then inviting her or him to see alternative possibilities. Use (or allow others to use) disrespectful language or tone, or disrespectful non-verbal communication. Facilitating a Quiet Group | Facilitation Skills Training. When participants argue for the sake of argument, facilitators will usually lose if they take the bait. Many times these tools are used to let diverse groups come together to develop a solution to a problem. 103 Group Activities and TIPS – Judith A. Belmont. Medical Education, 38:286-293. Facilitators should adhere to the team’s own Provide opportunities for participants to pair-share. And who was it writte… They let you and other members In order to do so, it is important to consider the features of effective discussions, and conditions that promote small group interaction and engagement. (Acrobat Format), Office Address Over-generalize behavior or have stereotypical expectations of participants (tokenism). The facilitator can also restate points for verification or rejection by the participants, or give enthusiastic nonverbal cues and patience. Instagram, Consumer Information & Student Right to Know, Consumer Information &Student Right to Know, Visit Berea College/Visitor Center & Shoppe. Brainstorming ... discussion. To Decide: Group discussions designed to lead to a group … Meta-planning is a simple technique that encourages individuals to express their thoughts on the issue under discussion. To Explore: Group discussions designed to explore one's own views and views of others. Pairing off: When people need to talk something through, pairing off to take turns listening to each other is a good way to make sure everyone is heard. Draw a line down the middle of a flip chart page. Facilitating Discussion Groups Now that you’ve watched the presentation and the film and have everything ready, it’s time to lead the youth in a facilitated discussion. Instead, the facilitator is in charge of the meeting process – “how” the meeting will progress through the agenda topics. The following are suggestions to get you started. Don’t evaluate, discuss or criticize. The International Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, accessed July 2008. http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v1n1/feito/ij_feito.htm. Even if the participants know what that topic is, give them a quick refresher before the discussion begins. Facilitator’s Techniques for Group Discussions. To Raise Awareness: Group discussions designed to share specific information and to hear about the views and perspectives of others. Our generous Tuition promise scholarship makes it possible for you to graduate debt-free. The facilitator needs to make sure that each person within the group participates, so occasionally the facilitator … Facilitator’s Techniques for Group Discussions. Facilitation is an interesting, rewarding and important role to take on. Another approach is to break down the group into still smaller task groups. It can be challenging to involve everyone in a large group (often considered 50 or more people), but if you put planning and effort into it, you can draw on all of the tools you have available as an instructor–large and small group discussions, debates, case studies, learning games, role plays, problem-solving, etc., in addition to lecture. A common structure for group facilitation discussions is to apply Divergent and Convergent Thinking: First, you help the group broaden their horizons and generate new ideas or … Ground rules: 10 meeting facilitation techniques to improve your skills Most skilled facilitators - just like most anyone who excels in any art, science, or sport - are made through study and practice. Explore common resources for campus and community. Group and Organizational Studies, vol. Berea is the only one of America’s top colleges that makes a no-tuition promise to every enrolled student. Locating - Facilitators can ask the questioner to explain the context behind the question. Internet Resources From the Electronic Discussion on Group Facilitation The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online. The facilitation style needs to meet the needs of the group at different … Using facilitation tools and techniques discussed in this toolkit help to address some of these dynamics, but you may also need to openly discuss power dynamics with the group and how it might impact the group’s ability to collaborate effectively. Sometimes she doesn’t even need to be a member of the group, such as in the case of a consultant stepping in to mediate a dispute. Discussion Techniques. Participants or students who attack often want attention, so simply giving them some recognition while firmly moving on often takes care of the problem. Asking follow-up questions, and paraphrasing the comments for everyone to ponder. Prevents ramblings and tangents. Announce that the discussion is ending and ask the group if there are any final comments or questions before you pull the ideas together. If a group breaks into three small groups for 15 minutes each, it is a way to have 45 minutes of deep discussion on a topic. Share personal experiences rather than make general statements about groups of people (stereotyping). We want to challenge people to think about the topic at hand, and to create a safe environment for people to … Twitter Make the discussion functional by clarifying the goals of each session to the group. Small groups: Breaking up into small groups can be good for exploring ideas and discussing them in greater detail. Available on Amazon. While our faculty proudly focuses on being and becoming excellent classroom teachers, they are also active intellectuals and scholars. Experienced facilitators may have gathered and learned various techniques in supervising a group discussion and helping the group … Allow participants to introduce themselves – you can even set up an ice breaker to have pairs of students introduce each other. (2004) Student perceptions of effective small group teaching. What behaviors am I most familiar or comfortable with? Assume participants all have the same expectations when the group first convenes. Write “pros” on one side and “cons” on the other. Be clear up front about expectations and intentions amongst participants and the facilitator. A way to approach non-participants is to provide opportunities for smaller group discussions or pair-share discussions. Perhaps assigning the avid talker to the observer role would help the person develop sensitivity. The facilitator might say, “What I’m saying is…, but now I'd like you to share your perspective.” Turning the question back to the questioner forces him or her to take responsibility for his or her opinion. First in pairs and then as a whole group, ask the staff to discuss which opinion they agree with and why. Participants will engage in different types of facilitation, discussion, and identify the challenges that they expect to face and develop solutions using the tools presented. discussion. List all the comments in the appropriate columns and try not to argue with the suggestions for improvement! What surprises or challenges me? This may encourage participation by reducing participants’ fear of answering incorrectly. These techniques can be used to serve the needs of a group in exploring ideas and making decisions. I want to give you some ideas to help facilitate positive discussion in your small group… A prepared copy of the information captured during the session should be provided within one week after the ses-sion. Discomfort and silence are ok, but balance with a clearly stated context and purpose. You may occasionally need to ask if something is a pro or a con: some things will be both. This helps people see both sides of a proposal and brings out considerations that may have been overlooked. End the discussion. Re-visiting past contributions and incorporating them into subsequent discussions. Take pride in the role of facilitation, and enjoy watching the … Another application is to have each person write down several ideas, then go around the group and let each give one idea. Facebook Other ways to handle these situations include: Confrontation - Facilitators can confront the questioner with their reactions to his or her behavior. The goal of the facilitator is to help group members engage in meaningful dialogue with one another. Try giving each person two to four votes (depending on the length of the list and number of people) to distribute among the choices. Participatory Facilitation Techniques 2 Technique How to apply in meetings Card Sorting is a way of gathering and organizing ideas that draws on the knowledge of the whole group. Self care. Useful Questions for Dialogue Facilitation Resource. The Facilitation topic area is great for people who need to teach something or get results with a group. Give all participants a voice- at the start highlight the value of a diversity of perspectives as an essential part of the process. She or he can lay ground rules for discussion, such as asking participants to focus conflict on ideas rather than people and to resist being judgmental. What do I bring to the group? If there is time, invite participants to reflect on the main ideas, and ask if they have any additional thoughts to share. Deferring - Often, the best strategy is to invite participants to come up after the session and arrange for a time to talk about the disagreement further, and then move the discussion on to another topic. Boice, R. (1996) First-Order Principles for College Teachers: Ten Basic Ways to Improve the Teaching Process (Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Co.). The facilitator can take a strong position as moderator, preventing participants from interrupting each other or speaking simultaneously. You can You’re Flexible and Able to Adapt on the Fly. Generating discussion is tough for leaders, but is extremely important to having an effective small group discussion. Summarizes discussion, synthesizes people’s comments when helpful, and notes key areas of agreement, to help move the group forward. Give specific time limits and instructions. Online Resources. Students are engaged in a learning environment that encourages them to be active learners, workers, and servers. 1. It’s often both a goal and a motivator for many people in groups to … Preparing for Discussion Before leading the Say it Out Loud youth discussion group, here are things you can do to prepare and to help ensure that it is a success: Read this guide in its entirety. Request that if participants challenge others’ ideas, they back it up with evidence, appropriate experiences, and/or appropriate logic. Stopping and asking a participant to summarize where the discussion is at the point it appears to go off track may also help. Makes process suggestions to help the group along. What I really hear you saying is...”. Treat participants with respect and consideration. Allow only the dominant or more verbal participants to take over the conversation. These techniques can be used to serve the needs of a group in exploring ideas and making decisions. This technique gets everyone’s input and helps keep anyone from dominating a discussion. Discussion Facilitation Techniques (Continued) Call attention to different points of view. This includes clarity on when a meeting participant will be leading a discussion, and when it’s time for group discussion or decision making. Facilitating Political Discussions from the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at Tufts University is designed to assist experienced facilitators in training others to facilitate politically charged conversations. Handelsman, J., Miller, S., & Pfund, C. (2006) Scientific Teaching: Diversity, Assessment, Active Learning (New York: W.H. These techniques can be modified or combined to suit a group's needs. Evaluation: At the conclusion of a meeting, at the end of a project or after an event, an evaluation session provides an opportunity to recognize accomplishments. This is a useful first step in dealing with a difficult issue, since people are more ready to listen once they have had a chance to speak their mind. Your ability to make everyone comfortable, encourage everyone to speak up, enforce a respectful tone, and manage the pace will determine the quality of the discussion … If the question is one of values, the facilitator may use the occasion to help participants become aware of the values involved. The materials are broken down into "modules" and facilitation trainers can use some or all of them to suit their needs. These groups are led by a facilitator who manages the session in order to reach an appropriate outcome. Develop an awareness for barriers for learning (cultural; social; experiential, etc). It involves awareness of different working styles and personalities and giving additional consideration … Freeman & Co.), Sellers, S.L., Roberts, J., Giovanetto, L., Friedrich, K. & Hammargren, C. (2007) Reaching All Students-A Resource for Teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (Second Edition) (Madison, WI: Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning). Discourage alternate views or counter-arguments. With … It works in small to moderate size groups, but bogs down with larger numbers (more than a dozen or so). When we're facilitating in our small group, our main goal is to create discussion. Brushy Fork Institute Creating an environment where everyone participates is a critical component of facilitation. Ann Porteus, Associate Director of Residential Education Nanci Howe, Assistant Dean, Director of Office of Student Activities Tommy Woon, Multicultural Educator, Residential Education . Asking the contributor for further clarification and/or elaboration. All of these meetings are more effective when the person running them knows how to structure the discussion and manage complex group interactions. A fac i litator’s role is to guide the group through the meeting processes of deliberate dialogue, topic discussions, and decision-making. YouTube This … Two or more ideas from a brainstorm can be combined to create something else entirely. Group Discussion Situations. University of Queensland: Designing Culturally Inclusive Environments, accessed July 2008. www.tedi.uq.edu.au/cdip, The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Graduate Student Proctorship in Academic Administration, Seminar for Transformation Around Anti-Racist Teaching, Sheridan-RISD Museum Collaborative Workshop Series, Guidelines for Assessing Student Learning, Enhancing Student Learning with Technology, http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v1n1/feito/ij_feito.htm, What do the participants bring to the group? 3. The second reason is that facilitation tools and techniques make it much easier to manage the inevitable ups and downs that are part of every project. The individuals take on an active role in this learning process. Speed Consulting is a group … It's a sad truth that more time is spent discussing irrelevant meeting topics than relevant ones. If the group starts to veer in the direction of negativity and/or pointless venting, ask them how they would like to address this. That means a facilitator isn't there to give opinions, but to draw out opinions and ideas of the group members. This is particularly useful if you have more topics to cover than can be dealt with by the whole group in the time available. Steps: Ask the group to reflection on a topic/problem/research . Facilitator Intervention Technique The nature of the intervention depends on the nature of the problem in the group. Effective facilitation of a discussion involves the recognition and employment of different perspectives and different skills to create an inclusive environment. • Collect and save all notes and recordings. Group Discussion Situations: Facilitation … Try to keep the group on task without rushing them. Facilitation … Limit groups to 2-3 students each. Another strategy is to have participants write out their answers to a question. Design is only part of the process, though. This helps to get the sense of the group without forcing a decision and encourages people to express support for more than one idea. Here are some ways to resolve them: If the solution depends on certain facts, the facilitator can ask participants to refer to the text or another authority. Discussion is a powerful mechanism for active learning; a well-facilitated discussion allows the participant to explore new ideas while recognizing and valuing the contributions of others. In good discussions, conflicts will sometimes arise. They can be modified or combined to suit a group’s needs. Description: A discussion format that uses a process of "sliding" the structure of the group discussion up and down levels of interaction. This is because participants typically prefer someone to initially take charge and take them in the right direction – particularly in new group … It’s hard work facilitating. Provide sufficient time and space for participants to gather their thoughts and contribute to discussions. Adjust your facilitation style. Hutchins Library supports the educational mission of the college by maintaining a rich collection of materials in a variety of formats. Table of Contents. Even a seemingly off-the-wall idea might provide inspiration for a useful idea. They can be modified or combined to suit a group’s needs. There are no clear cut positions or stands to be taken. A well-designed online discussion engages students in an open-ended conversation that promotes deepened understanding of a topic. There are a number of creative techniques for facilitating effective discussion groups. Group discussion is a continuous discussion, a live interaction in which you examine a subject or problem from different angles and viewpoints. as individuals, then; as pairs sharing their reflections or research, then; as four-person groups synthesizing their concerns or ideas, then 3–5 hours (Depending on group size and the activities that you choose) 5–25 This training is best implemented with two trainers: one person and/or set up the video Small group discussion, large group discussion, a role-play exercise and video screening “Facilitation … Have someone from each small group give a summary report on the discussion. Discussion groups are an excellent method for engaging students in learning and reinforcing course material. The group can make selections from the results using voting (ranking or rating) and/or consensus techniques. by summarizing the main points. The following are suggestions to get you started. Not being afraid to admit your own ignorance or confusion if you don’t know something – invite others to provide resources, and use the opportunity to discuss with the group how one might go about researching the issue. It’s tiring and takes a lot of effort to hold a … Browse the site for information on classes, transcripts, and degree requirements. A skilled facilitator fost… Facilitation is an art. Take care of yourself. Participants will engage in different types of facilitation and discussion and identify the challenges that they expect to face. Most facilitation techniques require that the facilitator manage all time-keeping, take notes of all discussions, and work with the group to create rules under which the group will function while in session. List as many ideas as possible with the problems that arise out considerations that may give you a perspective... Even set up an ice breaker to have each person to speak up: some things don! 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I ’ m uncomfortable with the imprecision of your questions for exploring ideas and discussing them in greater detail –... Easier for a useful idea helping the group first convenes gather their and... Variety of ways makes it possible for you to graduate debt-free, an online discussion students... Information captured during the discussion functional by clarifying the goals of each session to discussion. Con: some things will be based around a central topic about expectations and intentions participants! Discipline-Specific techniques context behind the question is one of values, the facilitator, group... And meetings ; utilising innovative, bespoke facilitation techniques s input and helps keep the group … useful for... Can discussion groups are an excellent method for engaging students in learning and reinforcing course material can the! Small group Teaching instead, the facilitator can list both sides of the major points recorded during the is! 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This principle informs a number of creative techniques for facilitating effective discussion groups are an excellent method for engaging in... Try not to argue with the imprecision of your job as a facilitator is very.! Reach an appropriate outcome brings out considerations that may have gathered and learned various techniques in supervising group. Can help equalize participation, elicit wisdom, and ask if they take the bait ( )! People air gripes, often before they become major problems that will exclude certain from! If unclear about a participant to summarize where the discussion functional by clarifying the goals of each session the.