Heading into Facilitator Training

For our final class meeting, we set about fleshing out the schedule for Facilitator Training, going through each planned "section" & activity on day two so we could have a realistic sense of what remained to prepare. This seemed very helpful, as it forced us to move from the general notion of "content" in the training, to "experiences" that help the facilitators learn the content. Throughout our sessions, we've returned to the fact that we want training to make better use of experiential learning practices; scrutinizing the daily schedule allowed us to see if/how we are going to do this. 

Many of us had sketched plans for activities, and plans for "talk." Our review focused on how to best make this content into experiences to engage the Facilitators. We discussed a variety of activities to do this. Almost all of them make use of the changing "rhythm" of "integration and differentiation" (Lakey)--that is, discussing & working with material as a larger group; then working individually or in pairs. This encourages students to engage with the material by thinking about it on their own, then representing their reflections to the larger group, helping them articulate what they learned. 

In general we pointed out that it's a good idea to pattern your "lessons" in 5-10 minute "chunks": introduce new material; have them reflect on it in some way, usually individually or in small groups; have them share their reflections, acknowledging difference throughout a larger group; have them "apply" this material in some way--defining, categorizing, role playing, planning, writing, etc.--that allows them to USE what they've learned. This way, we know they are learning. 

You guys have made some thoughtful, productive revisions to last year's Training, and it has been fun and exciting to work with you. Really. I hope I get a chance to do it again in the future.

Please email me if you need any help as you plan your activities for training; I'll be happy to help you develop lessons and exercises.  As I said, overplanning is best, that way you're never at a loss for what to do.