C3 COLLEGE ONLINE FACILITATOR’S TOOLKIT
COPYRIGHT AND USE OF MATERIAL...2
THE LEARNING MODULES AND SESSIONS...3
PREPARING TO FACILITATE THE SESSIONS...6
FACILITATING ENGAGING AND VALUABLE GROUP LEARNING...7
COPYRIGHT AND USE OF MATERIAL
© Copyright C3 Church and C3 College.
Unless otherwise advised, all Scripture references are from the New King James version of the Bible. In most Scripture references italics and bold have been added by the course writer for emphasis.
No portion of this book and the accompanying flash video or DVD resources may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means electronic, photocopy, recoding, or any other means except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of C3 Church and C3 College.
Self-Paced Individual Participants
Participants completing this module in the individual self-paced study option are entitled to one printed copy only of this manual and are not permitted to print or duplicate addition copies for people who have not enrolled and paid for this course themselves. Exceptions to this require prior written permission of C3 Church and C3 College.
Group Leaders
As a group leader, you are entitled to print off no more copies of this module than the number of enrolled and paid students in your group. Each student that receives a copy of this participant manual must be enrolled on the C3 College Online web site. Exceptions to this require prior written permission of C3 Church and C3 College.
THE LEARNING MODULES AND SESSIONS
Following is background information on the design of the modules and sessions. It contains information on:
Terminology – the terms we use throughout the facilitator notes
Session times – why its important to monitor the time during activities and discussions
Facilitator notes – a learning path you can use to save yourself time in preparation and to achieve better outcomes from the sessions
Creating your own facilitator notes – if you would like to take a different approach to the modules we have designed (or the sessions and activities within the modules), some guidelines are provided for designing your own learning path for participants.
Terminology
The following terms are used throughout the facilitator and participant guides.
Term Description
Module A module is the subject or course name of a C3 College Online course e.g. The Phil Pringle School of Leadership (1)
Modules contain approximately 7 – 9 sessions
Session A session contains approximately 2 hours of facilitated learning (not including a tea/coffee break)
Each session has approximately 5 – 7 activities.
Activity Activities include DVD screening, whole group discussions, small group
discussions and presentations, discussions with a partner, individual reflection or action planning
An activity typically has a duration of 10 – 35 minutes.
Activity Step An activity step is a guide for facilitators (with accompanying in depth facilitator notes) on how to set up, run and debrief various activities.
Session Times
Except for the first session (which is 2 hours 10 minutes long), the sessions have been designed to be completed in 2 hours (not including a tea and coffee break). They will allow you and your participants to cover fewer topics in more detail. There is discussion time (small group and whole group) built into each session. This allows for interactive dialogue, the sharing of varying ideas and perspectives, discussing questions and challenges, and contextualising the content to local culture, situations and people.
We recommend you watch the timing of each session (using the suggested timings provided) as discussions typically go over their allotted time. Whilst the discussion may be valuable, participants may miss out on later activities which focus heavily on personal reflection and planning and are aimed at helping them apply what they’ve learnt in real life and ministry situations.
For this reason, it may be worthwhile reviewing the session’s timings prior to delivering each module.
THE LEARNING MODULES AND SESSIONS (CONTINUED)
Facilitator Notes
The facilitator notes have been provided as the recommended approach to take participants in a group setting through the sessions. The notes represent one approach only and can be used in full, in part or not at all. You may substitute activities or activity steps if you wish.
The benefit of using the facilitator notes (when used well) is that they will create an engaging learning environment by using adult learning principles and a range of group and individual learning activities. This will assist participants to explore the content within their group and build greater understanding and capability.
The other benefit is the facilitator notes have been created for busy pastors and leaders who may not have lots of time for preparation. Should they be pressed for time, absent for a night or simply want to delegate the sessions to someone else to run, the facilitator notes are detailed enough for someone to pick up and run without a huge amount of experience.
Creating Your Own Facilitator Notes/Group Learning Path
If you chose not to use the facilitator notes provided, you will need to create a learning path for each session and think through the learning or performance outcomes you want from each session. If you do create your own learning path, the following principles will help you create and facilitate effective group learning:
Learning Principle How Engage All Learning
Styles
Use a variety of learning activities that will engage and assist visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners to learn more effectively
Use flip chart paper and whiteboards, group discussions, movement, personal reflection time, action planning, etc.
Active Learning When participants are actively involved in their learning there is greater engagement, insight and application
Don’t just preach or teach – get them involved in questions, discussions, presentations, group activities, etc.
Meaningful Content The content you use needs to relate to previous knowledge and experience
Create a ‘clear line of sight’ between what they already know and how to apply the new information
Participants learn best when the material is relevant and can be practically applied in real life contexts
Holistic Learning The content needs to fit in to part of a whole
Providing learners with a big picture context and then specific detail provides a logical framework for thinking.
THE LEARNING MODULES AND SESSIONS (CONTINUED)
Creating Your Own Facilitator Notes/Group Learning Path (cont)
Learning Principle How
Primacy and Recency Learners tend to remember more of the first and last parts of any session
An introduction and a summary are vitally important for learning
Use lots of mini sections to aid memory.
Feedback Participants need feedback on their progress
Facilitators should solicit feedback from participants on whether they are meeting their learning needs and how the session is progressing
Nonverbal cues such as body language, attention span, etc are also a good source of feedback for a facilitator.
Reward Participants will respond positively with increased engagement when their efforts are rewarded
Training must include tangible results for participants to feel positive and satisfied
At its simplest, a “Well done!”, “Thanks!” or “Great work!” will encourage participants to continue on the learning path.
Practice and Repetition
Use lots of practice, revision and reinforcement
Allow time for participants to reflect and recall what they’ve learnt and how it applies to their everyday life and leadership situations.
(Source: Adapted from Rural Health Education Foundation, Adult Learning Principles for Facilitators).
PREPARING TO FACILITATE THE SESSIONS
Facilitator Preparation – “To-do’s”
Being well prepared as the group leader/facilitator will greatly assist the participants get greater value and learning from the sessions. Following are some recommendations about your preparation before the session:
Complete the session preparation work (typically the corresponding chapter in “You The Leader”
and any scriptures for that class)
Watch the DVD and write down the key points and questions you can highlight for the participants
Read through the facilitator notes and familiarise yourself with the ‘flow’ of the class including the activities and timings
Ensure you have the following resources
A suitable room available for the class
The DVD for the class
Laptop and data projector (and external laptop speakers) or DVD player and TV
Flip chart paper, coloured markers and blue tack
A participant manual for each participant attending (including one for yourself)
A facilitator manual (this document) for yourself.
Improving Your Knowledge of Facilitation
The following are some brief online tutorials worth watching prior to facilitating the modules. Even if you have knowledge or experience in group facilitation, the tutorials may be a useful review and provide some great suggestions for further developing your skills. They are from a university lecture context, but contain some valuable information and tips for delivering adult education.
Subject Lecturer Link Duration
Lecturing for learning:
Effective teachers
http://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=Q960JXjCScc
1 minute
Lecturing for learning:
Deep Learning
http://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=Rja4nrmIhDg&featur e=related
6 ½ minutes
Lecturing for learning:
What lectures are good for
Prof Tom Angelo (given at the University of Sydney)
http://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=Z0y9-aDVHwY
7 ½ minutes
FACILITATING ENGAGING AND VALUABLE GROUP LEARNING
The following facilitation tips and suggestions will help you run engaging and fun training; manage group and individual participant behaviour; conduct effective learning activities that deliver great value; and draw out the experience, knowledge and wisdom of your participants. Specifically, these notes cover:
Setting ground rules – why it is important and how do it
Getting contribution from everyone – getting everyone engaged to maximise their experience
Building group responsiveness – techniques to keep engagement and energy levels high
Asking questions – what questions to ask and how to mine the knowledge and experience of your participants
Facilitating group learning activities – how to effectively set up, monitor and debrief group activities to create insight, learning and behaviour change
Learning Styles – understanding the way people prefer to learn and how to run sessions that accelerate people’s learning.
Setting Ground Rules
Managing the behaviour of participants can sometimes be challenging. Setting ground rules at the commencement of a module or session can greatly help with the way the participants interact with you (the facilitator) and each other. The following approach can be used to establish boundaries within the class to ensure the time together is productive, enjoyable and meets the learning goals for each session.
Step Facilitator Approach 1 Establishing Ground Rules
During Activity 1 (which is the session introduction) tell participants, “Just before we get started, I’d like to discuss how we best work together during the course of this module. I am thinking of some ground rules or guidelines we can put in place to ensure the sessions run smoothly and are a valuable experience for everyone.”
Ask participants to take a piece of paper and write down 1 or 2 suggestions for maximising the productivity of the sessions. Some examples might include:
Arriving on time
Having one conversation going on in the room
Respecting other people’s opinions and perspectives
Respect whomever is talking by listening to them
Mobile phones off or on silent (if you need to be contacted)
Taking phone calls outside the classroom
Making a commitment to contribute to the discussions
Undertaking to do the pre-work and follow up work
Note: it’s important the participants ‘own’ the ground rules or guidelines. That is, they feel like it’s their list, not yours. This will ensure greater commitment to abiding by them
Finally, ask participants, “Are we all happy to abide by these guidelines to ensure our time together is fun and productive?”
FACILITATING ENGAGING AND VALUABLE GROUP LEARNING (CONTINUED)
Setting Ground Rules (cont)
Step Facilitator Approach 2 Recording Ground Rules
Document the agreed ground rules and either post them in the classroom where everyone can see, or type them up and give each participant a copy.
3 Group Management Using Ground Rules
Once the ground rules have been discussed and agreed, it is much easier to work with challenging group or individual participant behaviour by referring back to the ground rules the whole group agreed on
Simply say (as an example), “As a group, we have agreed to have one conversation going in the class at once. Let’s give [participant name] his/her chance to speak without interruption. Thanks.”
Getting Contribution from Everyone
Participants will get more out of the sessions the more they are engaged. Typically in group learning extroverted and outgoing people are quick to offer comments and answer questions whilst quieter introverted people usually shrink into the background. The sessions have been designed using different adult learning principles to maximise the involvement of all participants. In addition to this, you may consider:
Asking people by name for contributions – not just defaulting to the first or most prominent participant
Ask a question and have people write down their responses. Then go around each participant asking for their verbal responses to the whole group
For each module, having a different person lead the group in an opening prayer.
FACILITATING ENGAGING AND VALUABLE GROUP LEARNING (CONTINUED)
Building Group Responsiveness
Energy in group learning is vital. Following are some techniques you can use to engage and interact with participants to keep momentum and energy in the room.
Group Technique How Asking Non-
Threatening Questions
Announce questions to entire group
Pause after asking the question
Write the question for all to see – some people prefer to read the question rather than listen. And, can they re-read the question during the activity
Acknowledge contributions
Encourage responses
During silence look for non-verbal cues indicating ideas
Rephrase the question
Avoid "yes" or "no" questions
Avoid creating defensive responses
Ask only one question at a time Paraphrasing “It sounds like you’re saying...”
“I hear you saying...,”
“Let me see if I understand you…”
Explore Further “I understand so far, now tell me more.”
“I hear you saying…, now can you tell me more?”
“What do you mean by…?”
“How so?”
Stacking “Bill you are first, Nancy second, Tom you’re third…”
Encouraging Responses
“Who else has an idea?”
“[Participants name], do you have a perspective on this topic?”
“The women (or men) have been quiet. Do you have any comments?”
“What was said at table 2?”
“Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t spoken for a while.”
Surfacing Different Perspectives and Viewpoints
“Who has a different perspective to the one we just heard?”
“Are there other positions?”
“What does someone else think?”
“Is there another way to look at this?”
Making Space “Would you like to speak to this?”
“What are your ideas?”
“Did you want to add anything?”
“Sally, you looked like you wanted to say something.”
FACILITATING ENGAGING AND VALUABLE GROUP LEARNING (CONTINUED)
Asking Questions
Asking questions is a very important skill for a facilitator. Because you are trying to draw out the collective experience, wisdom, thoughts, creativity and ideas of your group, you may wish to spend more time asking questions and listening than speaking. The questions you use are your most powerful tool as you lead the group toward insight, learning and application.
The following are different types of questions you can use in the modules to help create an engaging and rich learning experience for each individual and the group as a whole. The types of questions are
mentioned in the order they should be typically asked in.
Type of Question Key Points Examples
1. Remembering Recalling information
Recognising, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding
What are the key points on vision Ps Phil spoke about?
What leadership qualities did you identify in Moses?
2. Understanding Explaining ideas or concepts
Interpreting, summarising,
paraphrasing, classifying, explaining
Why is vision so vital for a leader?
What are the phases of vision inception and development?
3. Applying Using information in another familiar situation
Implementing, carrying out, using, executing
Where have you seen these principles of vision in other biblical leaders?
4. Analysing Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships
Comparing, organising, deconstructing, interrogating, finding
Compare how vision came to 2 different biblical leaders
How did vision impact the leader and followers involved?
What did they have in common?
What was different?
5. Evaluating Justifying a decision or course of action
Checking, hypothesising, critiquing, experimenting, judging
What worked? What didn’t?
Next time, what would you have done differently?
What are the consequences?
Alternatives? Options?
6. Creating Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things
Designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing.
What steps can you take to conceive and draft a vision for your life?
Document a leadership and ministry vision for the next 5 years.
(Source: Bloom’s Taxonomy).
FACILITATING ENGAGING AND VALUABLE GROUP LEARNING (CONTINUED)
Facilitating Group Learning Activities
Group learning activities essentially have three key parts. Understanding each part and your role will ensure your participants understand what is required of them, know how to go about the activity, and are able to reach meaningful learning outcomes from the activity.
Learning Activity Phase
What you need to do
Set Up The set-up of a learning activity involves 4 key actions:
1. Purpose
Participants should know:
Why they are doing this activity
Why this activity is important to them
What’s in it for them
How the activity relates to what they’ve been talking about.
2. Process
Provide instructions on the process they will follow verbally and in writing
Use action verbs like ‘list’, ‘develop’, ‘role play’
Make directions clear so participants understand the outcome.
3. Participation
Tell participants whether they are working in teams or individually.
4. Product
Reemphasise what participants will produce and explain or reinforce what they will need to report or present back to the whole group.
Monitor Be available for clarification
As participants begin to work, maintain a presence in the room so you are available. Try not to intrude – let them come to you.
Observe
Participants adapt to an observer’s presence provided they are unobtrusive, convey objectivity, and avoid creating the impression of critical judgment
Use this time to capture observations for the debrief at the end of the activity.
Intervene
Intervene when it appears the group does not have a reasonable chance of meeting the learning activity outcomes
Use the least invasive means to help participants make adjustments
Situations you may need to intervene in – to provide additional instructions or clarification, disruptive behaviour, refocus stalled participants, encourage participation in withdrawn participants, help generate new ideas for stagnated participants, and provide additional objectives for early finishers.
FACILITATING ENGAGING AND VALUABLE GROUP LEARNING (CONTINUED)
Facilitating Group Learning Activities (cont)
Learning Activity Phase
What you need to do
Debrief Three Golden Questions To Debrief Learning Activities
“What happened?” “What did you learn?” “What can be applied?”
Thinking Responses You Want Participants to Have (and the questions you can use) include :
Recalling actions – “What happened when…?”
Recalling thought processes – “What was the thinking that prompted that answer?”
Evaluating performance – “What worked well?” “What would you do differently next time?”
Hypothesising cause and effect – “What could have contributed to this behaviour, response, etc?”
Recalling what they learned – “What did you learn from this activity?”
Relating key learnings to their everyday, real world – “How does this relate to your life, your leadership, etc?” “How would you apply this learning?” “When will you apply this learning?”
Applying key learning to more than one context – “What other areas in your life or leadership can you apply this to?”
Why Debrief?
Generates the learning from learning activities
Facilitates the sharing of learning
Enhances learning by connecting key learning points and memorable experiences
Energises discussion
Moves learning from the mind to the heart.
(Source: Adapted from IBM Learner-Centred Training).
FACILITATING ENGAGING AND VALUABLE GROUP LEARNING (CONTINUED)
Learning Styles
Learning styles are the preferred ways people learn. Everyone has a mix of learning styles. Some people may find they have a dominant style of learning, with far less use of other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There is no right mix. Nor is a person’s styles fixed. They can develop ability in less dominant styles, as well as further develop styles that they already use well.
By recognising and understanding learning styles, you can use various techniques to accelerate individual and group learning. In other words, using different learning styles in your facilitation will improve the speed and quality of the learning your participants experience.
The following is a brief summary on learning styles and how you can facilitate for maximum impact across all the styles. More information on learning styles is available at http://www.learning-styles-
online.com/overview/ .
The Auditory Learning Style The Visual Learning Style The Kinesthetic Learning Style
Have a preference for learning by listening
Love lectures, speeches, preaching and group discussions (whole group, small group and discussions with a partner)
The typical approach of
“traditional” teaching and lecturing.
Have a preference for learning by seeing
Engage them by using PowerPoint, flip chart presentations, pictures, writing on the whiteboard, colours, DVD’s, shapes, diagrams, etc.
Have a preference for learning by experience—moving, touching, and doing
Love to engage in activities, exercises, drawings, movement
Engage them by small group activities, giving
presentations, getting them to lead prayer, moving them around the room during a session.
(Source: Adapted from Memletis.com).
