Professional Growth: Facilitation

As an educational developer, I use facilitation in various ways: I regularly use facilitative teaching in workshops, and also engage in process design and facilitation when I consult with instructors and when I work with my colleagues on teaching and learning initiatives for the UBC community.

I am especially attracted to creative facilitation approaches, such as those that use storytelling, music, and movement. I am often keen to try out new things as long as the purpose for using them is clear — and then to be more courageous about this when co-facilitating.

In order to grow as a facilitator, I participate in ongoing professional development. Some of the workshops I have participated in are below*:

Facilitation and Process Consulting Workshops

• The Covid pandemic prompted me to grow my skills in online facilitation. I have done so in various ways, including by participating in the Vancouver LS User Group sessions and those offered by the Virtual Facilitation group.
• Effective Group Facilitation. This course offered a comprehensive framework for group facilitation with many opportunities to practice. To read a blog post I wrote about the course, see here. To read my daily notes, see:  Day 1 notes. Day 2 notes. Day 3 notes. (Facilitator: Julian Griggs. February 22-24, 2017; Offered by SFU Continuing Studies).
• Facilitating Effective Meetings. As a follow up to this session, I wrote two blog posts: one on using Desired Meeting Results and the other on Ground Rules. Facilitator: Charles Holmes, CE Holmes Consulting (May 2016, offered by UBC AAPS).
• Design Tips for Virtual Facilitators. This 1-hour webinar demonstrated and engaged the learners in a number of engagement strategies I had never experienced online. Facilitator: Cynthia Clay, Netspeed Learning Solutions. (March 31, 2016)
• Liberating Structures Immersion Workshop. A workshop that explored approaches and techniques to facilitated group processes. Facilitators (various). (February 17-19, 2016). See here for blog post post-session.
• Leadership Team Coaching to Develop Capacity. Facilitators: David Rubeli and Barbara Berry. (STLHE Conference Session, 2015).
• An Integrated Approach to Educational Development. Facilitators: Jessica Earle-Meadows, Janet Dhanani and Erin Yun. This session explored the use of process consultation approaches in educational development (January 2015).
• Inclusive Leadership. In this session, participants built a shared understanding of leadership and identified expectations and values around what it means to be a leader. Facilitated: PeerNet BC (November 13, 2014).
• Conflict Theatre Summer Series. This series allowed participants to explore how to use Conflict Theatre to work with/through conflict in the workplace. This session was based on the work of David Diamond and Theatre for the Living. Facilitated and organized by: Julia McLaughlin and UBC HR. (Summer 2014, 8 weeks)
• Introduction to Process Design and Facilitation. (Part 1: February 5, 2014; Part 2: March 5, 2014) Facilitators: Joseph Topornycky and Jessica Earle-Meadows. Workshop notes and reflections
• Advanced Facilitation Skills. Facilitation skills for senior educational developers. (October 28-30, 2013. Educational Developers Caucus Institute, UBC). Facilitator: Ruth Rodgers
• GroupWorks: Using the Group Works deck to facilitate (June 29, 2013). Facilitators: Various
• Process Consulting: Designing the Activities and Facilitating the Process (June 25, 2013). Facilitator: Janice Johnson
• Facilitation and Facilitators: We Focus on the Journey, Rather than the Destination! (November 8, 2012). Facilitator: Janice Johnson
• Facilitation Opportunities and Challenges (November 29, 2012). Facilitators: Janice Johnson and Cindy Underhill.

*Unless otherwise noted, the event was offered through the UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology.

Instructional Skills Workshops (ISW)

For a list of workshops I have taken through the ISW Network, see here.

Creative commons licensed photo by girlray. http://www.flickr.com/photos/girlray/8908825980/

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