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University of Phoenix
Facilitation Skills Manual
Section 1

Learning Theories and Techniques
Facilitator

Facilitator – manages the learning
process

Not called an instructor
Active Learning


Learner (i.e. student) is involved in
learning process
Student Participation
• Discussion
• Debate
• Reflection
• Application
Facilitation

Requires
•
•
•
Plan learning objectives
• Design activities
• Assess student learning
• Adapt instruction
Interpersonal skills
• Create positive and productive relationships
• Motivate students to work independently
Ability
• Give good presentations
• Start good discussions
Learning Experience
1. What is to be learned (both in general
and specific terms)?
2. How is the learning to be used?
3. How is the learning to be accomplished?
Learning Experience
4. How is the learning to be consolidated, demonstrated, or
shared?
5. How and by whom is the learning to be assessed?
Which criteria are used to determine that students
learned?
6. How, if at all, is the learning to be documented?
7. What is the time limit, or schedule, for the effort?
Incorporate into Classroom
1. Gain and control attention
2. Inform the learners of the expected outcome
3. Stimulate recall of relevant prerequisites
4. Present new material
5. Offer guidance for learning
Incorporate into Classroom
6. Provide feedback
7. Appraise the students’ performance
before moving to next task
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Model
Test
Examination
Real-life try-out, etc
Incorporate into Classroom
8. Make transferability possible –
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Students apply new knowledge in the
classroom
Role-playing
Laboratory practice
Simulated events
Incorporate into Classroom
9. Ensure retention
10. Once learning has taken place, it
should be incorporated into further
study
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Repeated questions
Practice
Other methods
Section 2

Getting Acquainted Activities

Let the instructor settle in
Get a feel of the group
Breaks up class monotony


Getting Acquainted

Simple naming exercise

Avoid asking name, why they are in
course, background, etc.
• Ask students to say their name
• Makes students nervous
• Puts them on edge
• Students may focus on their answers and not
focus what other students are saying
Getting Acquainted

People learn better if they enjoy learning

“people will learn if the knowledge
acquired can be put to immediate use.”
• Malcolm Knowles
First Class


You can put yourself in the hot seat
Let the class break into groups
• 3 to 5 people per group
• Allow them to discuss which questions to ask
you
• Your qualifications
• Your background
• Grades, tests, homework, etc.
First Class

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Sharing power and equity between the
facilitator and students
Students obtain information they want
Students become familiar with each
other
Purpose of Groups

Activity is to allow students to break into
small groups

Students work in groups on team
assignments
Similar to work environment at
corporations

Purpose of Groups

Students are passive during lectures and
other instructor-centered activities
• Small group activities require and encourage
activity

People have less chance to “hide” in small
groups
• Hiding could cause anxiety or to be “forgotten”

Students tend to speak up more freely in small
groups than in front of a whole class.
Purpose of Groups

Groups compete with other groups for same
tasks
•
•
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In a large class a person may feel little
responsibility for the success of the course.
•

Keeps the groups “on task”
Increases productivity
A student has a greater incentive to contribute in small
group
Individuals tend to work harder in small groups
than in large ones
Purpose of Groups

More than 6
• Large groups break into smaller sub-groups
• Coordination problems
• Some students do not contribute
Student Names

Students write their names on a tentcard
• Facilitator and students can refer to each
•
•
other by name
Note – tent card – a card that stands upright
on a table, so people can read it from a
distance
Students bring tent cards to every class
“Interview” Activity

Have students interview each other
• Students become acquainted with each other
• Question examples
• Where are you from?
• Why are you taking this class?
• What do you want to do after you complete your
degree?
“Expectations Survey” Activity

Have students write down
• Which topics to cover
• How is success defined for this course
• What kind of activities do you want
• Try to incorporate students’ suggestions into
course
Section 3

Learning Activities

Vary teaching style

Breaks up class monotony
• Prevents boredom
Asking Questions
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Ask for more information
•
Ask students to give example
Restate what you heard
•
Gives a point of reference
Make critical observations
•
Get students to probe their answer more deeply
Expand a student’s statement
•
Ask other students to add more information
Learning Contracts

Contract between facilitator and student

Student and facilitator sign and date
contract
• Student is responsible for his actions
• Not likely
• However, it is in the book
Contract Contains:
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The learner’s specific goals
Agreed upon steps that must be completed to
reach the goals
Amount of reading and out-of-class preparation
Method of grading
Attendance requirements
Topic and format of individual projects, papers,
presentations, etc.
Lecture Activity


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Do not present too many points.
•
Six major points are probably enough for a 20-minute presentation.
Present summaries both at the beginning and at the end of the
lecture.
Pause occasionally to give listeners a chance to catch up and
summarize for themselves.
Make it clear when and how questions will be dealt
•
Examples
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•
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“Keep your questions until the end of the first 20 minutes.”
“Just let me finish this diagram and then we will take a few moments to
deal with your questions.”
“I would prefer to present my lecture in its entirety and then deal with
questions.”
Lecture Activity

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If you say you will deal with questions, make
time for them!
Use visual aids to support your points.
Your rate of speaking and choice of
vocabulary should be appropriate to the level
of comprehension of your group
Even with the use of visual aids, a lecture
essentially remains a one-way
communication method.
Lecture Activity

Encourage silent members to comment if you think
they might have the answer but are reluctant to
speak up:
•
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Example - “This is probably something you know quite a bit
about, John...”
Ask the same questions of several students.
•
Do not stop after the first response, which often comes from
the same core group of participants.
Formulate questions that cause people to give long
answers. This can be done by:
•
•
a) referring to areas of knowledge, rather than simple facts
b) making it difficult to answer with a simple YES or NO.
Lecture Activity

Piggyback your new questions on top of the
responses you got for your previous questions:
•
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Example - “OK, let’s take that approach and take it one step
further...”
Pick out certain aspects of the response and refocus the group’s attention to these areas.
Try not to answer your own questions too often.
•
After a while you become a “one-person show.”
Lecture Activity

Avoid questions to which the answer is obvious.
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Example, “Don’t you agree that...?” does nothing but
encourage the student to support you.
Use “Do you believe that...,” which will invite reaction.
Taking the last suggestion one step further, if you ask
a question, be prepared to LISTEN and HEAR other
answers even if they don’t coincide with your own
beliefs.
•
BE FLEXIBLE!
Lecture Activity

Ask students before moving until a new
topic
• “Before I go on, does this make any sense to
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•
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you?”
“How are we doing?”
“Where did I lose you?”
“Do my examples make sense to you?”
“What additional information do you want from
me?”
Lecture Activity

Mix your activities
•
Students alternate between
• Passive (sit, hear, see)
• Active (problem-solve, write, construct, discuss, move,
walk, speak, operate equipment).
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Introduce your topic
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Specifying what will be presented
How long it will take
How you are going to proceed with it.
Students can anticipate events, prepare for change in
pace/technique and assign their energy accordingly
Lecture Activity

Present new material
• Logical sequence, step-by-step, relating it to
familiar and known material
• Reading, previous discussions, student’s own
experience, etc.
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Allow extra time for complex material and
repeat key points.
Consider giving handouts either before or
after the presentation.
Lecture Activity

Use special cues to keep your students
interested. Try to:
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Change place—move around, speak from the back,
the front, the left, or the right of the room.
Use gestures—hand, head, and body movements can
serve as supporters (and distracters!) of verbal output.
Concentrate attention—“Now listen carefully!” “Look at
this graph.”
Vary style of interaction—use questions, student-tostudent interactions, demonstrations, problem-solving,
tasks, discussions.
Lecture Activity

Use special cues to keep your students interested. Try to:
• Use silence—for reflection, question formulation,
concentration.
• Change tone of voice—loud/mellow, fast/slow, happy/sad,
technical/personal, etc.
• Begin each course and class by gaining the students’
interests, expressing positive expectations, and sharing the
objectives you have for them.
• Fit the material you present to the time you have available.
• End each lecture with a conclusion
Lecture Activity
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You are concerned mainly with giving
information and the information is not readily
available in another form
The material is needed only for short-term
retention
You are introducing a subject or giving oral
directions that will lead to other techniques
that actively involve the learner
Lecture Activity
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Lectures are not recommended when:
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The material is complex, abstract or very detailed
You are dealing with learning that involves attitudes
and feelings of the students
The information must be available in its fullest form
for long-term retention
The learner is required to integrate the material with
previous learning or back-home experience
Lecture Activity

Breaking up large lectures
• A “lecturette” is a short lecture lasting not
•
•
more than 10 minutes
A “lecture-forum” involves interrupting a long
lecture with a brief question-and-answer
period
“Fill in the blanks” is a useful way to assist
students in note-taking and ensure they
focus on your main points
“Buzz Group” Activity
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Instructor assigns problem
Students form group
•
Groups determine how to approach or solve problem
Instructor moves from group to group
After 6 minutes, a spokesman from each group
presents one answer
•
Prevents the first group from presenting all answers
“Spend a Penny” Activity

Give each student 3 pennies (or tokens)
• Every time student speaks, he gives the
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•
penny.
After pennies run out, student can no longer
speak until next disbursement of pennies
Encourage quiet or shy students to speak
“Circle Response” Activity
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Arrange all seats in a circle
All students can see and hear each other
• Works well for group size of 20 or less
Facilitator presents a problem
Each person has 30 seconds to answer
or offer suggestions
• Great to know if students understand problem
“Brainstorming” Activity
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Elicits a group’s creative ideas and thoughts
Facilitator presents a problem
Class breaks into groups
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Group has 5 to 15 minutes to write down as many
ideas as possible
No criticism allowed
After activity, group determines three best
answers
“Structured Role-Play” Activity
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Facilitator presents a problem or activity
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What is purpose of simulated role play
Groups form and could perform the following
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Problem solving
Counseling
Interviewing
• One student is applicant and the other is interviewer
Great method to prepare people for interviews
or develop negotiation skills
“Learning Journals” Activity
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Students keep track of which topics they
learned
Helps students relate learning activities to their
lives and work
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•
Professors give students several minutes each class
to write in their journals
Students write
• Impressions
• Experiences
• Discoveries
• Questions
Section 4

Visual Aids

Excellent teaching tool if used properly
Visual Aids
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Handouts
• Outline lecture
• Lists
• Definitions
• Formulas
• Diagrams

If handouts are too detailed, then
students may not pay attention
• False sense of security
Whiteboards
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Similar to chalk boards
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Chalk board is considered “old”
Whiteboards are white
Facilitator uses colored markers to write on board
Most students write down what the professor writes on
the board
Students focus on board
If material is not important, do not write it down!
Computer Presentations
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Most common is Microsoft PowerPoint
• Offer templates to improve image
• Easy to use
• Many educators are using it now
Overhead Projectors
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Professor writes on a transparency that
is projected onto a screen
• Professor is in front of room
• Professor can read transparency on projector
• Transparencies can be re-used
• Special transparencies for computer printers
Overhead Projectors
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Problems

How to use
• Professors may over rely on transparencies
• Professor could hide behind machine
• Overlap transparencies to provide a student
•
with progression
Turn off projector to have audience re-focus
on facilitator
Overhead Projectors
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How to use
• Do not place too much information onto a
•
transparency
Use cardboard to block part of the
transparency
• Reveal transparency one sentence at a time
• Use pointers to point to specific material in
transparency
Videos
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Videos provide an “upfront” view of events and
experiences
Problems
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Consume large amount of time
Videos become outdated quickly
Tips of using videos
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Frame questions – have a class discussion
Identify learning – ask students to identify two
important points of the video
Videos
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Tips for using videos
• Critique video – pass out another article that
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critiques the video
Use brainstorming to compile a list of ideas
about the video
Can invite a guest speaker
Section 5

Planning

Has 10 steps
Planning
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Your skills

The students’ skills
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The System
• Identify your strengths and weaknesses
• Ask colleagues for information and help
• What is atmosphere of university?
• What are administrative constraints?
Planning
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Your educational objectives
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Select teaching and learning strategies
Review your resources

• What should students know?
• What are course objectives?
• What is the final product?
• Handouts, lecture notes, videos, etc.
Planning
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How do you know learning is taking
place
• Well formulated objectives help
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Make a tentative schedule
Do it!
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Evaluate the course

• Always risk
• Could course be improved?
References

University of Phoenix. 2002. Facilitation
Skills Manual. Electronic Book.