facilitation

Desired meeting results (sample)

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Desired Meeting Results Framework

Why are we having this meeting (the purpose)
DMR (specific, measurable, nouns instead of verbs)
How (agenda – links every item to a DMR)

Here is my stab at applying the above framework to a meeting I am having on Tuesday.

Why: To advance the work of the BMLSc program review and renewal initiative

DMR:

By the end of this meeting, we will have
1. Program-level learning outcomes that we are ready to send out to graduates, course leads, and section leads for their feedback

2.
a) Feedback to CH on the draft surveys so that she can prepare a revised version
b) A date selected by when the revised surveys will be ready

3.
a) Decision about who will craft a draft of the text that will accompany the surveys
b) A date selected by when the draft text will be ready

4. A meeting date to discuss a plan for the next 6-12 months (we may or may not get to this)

Agenda:
1. As a group, review the PLOs on the Google doc and make further edits.
2. Amanda and Isabeau to provide feedback to CH on the 2 draft surveys. If helpful, we can all spend time revising the surveys using the survey tool. Decide by when CH can have next version to share.
3. Discuss who should craft the email that will accompany the surveys and make a decision. Agree on when that survey will be sent out.
4. Determine a meeting time during which we (who?) will create a long-term (6-12 months) plan that can be presented to Andrea H before the end of July.

Liberating structures

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LiberatingStructures-jewels

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a Liberating Structures workshop in Vancouver. Liberating structures can be defined as “microstructures that make it quick and simple for groups of people of any size to radically improve how they interact and work together” (Lipmanowicz & McCandless, 2013, p. 21). At the core of Liberating Structures’ philosophy is the idea that small and simple shifts in our routine interactions can make it possible for everyone to be included and engaged.

During the 2 1/2 day workshop, I tried out a variety of approaches that I can use in my facilitation, teaching, small group interactions, and individual activities. Several of the approaches were new, while others I had encountered before –usually, in a slightly different way than they were presented at the immersion workshop (see here for full description of all the miscrostructures).

I have been thinking about what made some of the microstructures feel more purposeful at the immersion workshop as compared to in other settings where I have used and/or encountered them (or variations of).  I’ll use 1-2-4-all as an example because of it’s likeness to think-pair-share as I think about the differences and similarities:

  • The invitation: During the LS workshop, participants were encouraged to pay close attention to the invitation (one of the 5 design elements in all the microstructures). Though the invitation in think-pair-share is just as important as in 1-2-4 all, I have tended to create the wording ‘on the fly’.  I have typically used “Reflect on…”, “On your own, think about…”. Now I am paying more attention to how I choose my words for even a ‘simple’ activity and writing these out before hand.
  • Purpose: The invitation (and all other design elements) are closely linked to purpose. The importance of purpose has always been top of mind, and the point was made over and over during the workshop.
  • Sharing in foursomes: In think-pair-share, I sometimes ask pairs to join and discuss in fours before we begin to report out in the large group.  In 1-2-4-all, the foursome piece is key to the activity because the purpose of this activity is to provide a venue for expressing thoughts, gathering diversity of input and building meaning-making among the group.  When doing 1-2-all, and the foursome piece is left out, I think there is less opportunity to achieve the purposes described previously.
  •  Sharing an important/valuable/worthwhile idea to the large group: What made this step most useful for me was that our facilitator instructed (“invited”) us to consider and come to some agreement (as a foursome) on: “What is one idea that stood out in your conversation?” He also suggested that only those ideas that were important and valuable to the whole group be shared with the whole group. In doing so, he made me think carefully about what I wanted to share and why.

Thank you to Leva Lee and Tracy Kelly from BC Campus‘s Professional Learning, UBC CTLT and others who organized this worthwhile event!  See here  for two related posts on Liberating Structures by Tracy Kelly.

Instructional Skills Workshop

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Professional Growth: Instructional Skills Workshops + Narrative Skills Workshops

Workshop participation

Workshop participation

I have been an Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) facilitator since 2004.

As part of my involvement with the ISW network, I have participated in various ISW-specific professional development activities. These include:

  • Flexible ISW ProD session (January 13, 2015. 2 hours).
  • ISW Institute and 35 Year Celebration (September 26-28, 2014)
  • Narrative Skills Workshop (July 10, 2013) Glynis Boultbee. See here for a summary document of the NSW by Glynis.
  • ISW Joint Professional Development Day (October 22, 2012; December 3, 2008; February 25, 2008; May 17, 2007; December 6, 2006; December, 2005; May 18, 2005)
  • Workplace Fairy Tales: An exploration (May 2, 2007) Glynis Boultbee
  • ISW Fall Institute (Bowen Island, November 24-25, 2006)
  • Bowen Island Retreat for new facilitators (Fall, 2005)
  • Facilitator Development Workshop (5 days, June 2004)
  • Instructional Skills Workshop (3 days, April, 2004)

 

Creative Commons Licensed Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ideaconstructor/9293826708/

Facilitation

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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
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  • 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/

 

 

Workshops Facilitated

ISW, ISW Facilitated, Workshops facilitated, ,

Dec 2023: Eeeks, I haven’t updated this page in about 10 years! I’ll get around to that eventually!!

 

This section of my portfolio lists some of my facilitation activities; I have divided these into Facilitative Teaching and Facilitation.

Facilitative Teaching

In my educational developer role, I have the pleasure of facilitating a variety of workshops. As a workshop facilitator, I generally take on the role of facilitative teaching. In facilitative teaching, the “teacher” has the content knowledge that she wants  learners to know (or the behaviours she wishes to help the learners change). She recognizes this but assumes she is not the only expert in the room; therefore, she uses the learners ideas and experience in her teaching. In facilitative teaching, the teacher guides the learning by presenting complex problems, cases, projects, or situations in order to help learners construct meaning and come to an understanding of important ideas and processes (Wiggins & McTighe, 2007; Nelson, 2009).

Workshops I have facilitated include (in alphabetical order):

  • Classroom Assessment Techniques: This 1-2 hour session focuses on helping instructors learn about, and design, formative assessment methods.
  • Course Design Intensive (CDI): In this 3-day workshop, participants work individually and collaboratively to design or re-design a course that they  teach or are planning to teach. Feedback from participants indicates that the CDI is extremely helpful for learning about alignment, learner-centered approaches, and backward design:

    “Thanks a lot for the excellent workshop you and your colleagues facilitated last week. It was truly amazing!” – Participant (December 2016)

  • Developing Your Skills as Peer Reviewer of Teaching: a four-hour experiential workshop to help individual gain skills and knowledge applicable in peer review of teaching situations. Participants are instructors and teaching assistants who come from different Faculties across UBC; we have also been invited to offer the workshop at the University of Northern BC and Douglas College. Co-facilitated with CTLT colleagues many times since 2009.
  • Educational Developers Portfolio: In 2016, Judy Chan and I co-facilitated a webinar titled “The Educational Developers Portfolio: Possibilities, Purposes and Preparation” for the Educational Developers’ Caucus. In 2017, I collaborated with Drs. Dawson, McDonald, and Chan to co-design and co-facilitate the first EDC Institute on the Educational Developers portfolio (see here, in “Past Institute” section)
  • Effective Team Presentations: a 1.5 hour workshop for graduate students who are working, in teams, to create and make a team presentation.
  • Feedback-related Workshops: I have facilitated a number of workshops on giving and receiving feedback. Some of these were short workshops for graduate students. Others included:
    • Feedback workshop for PharmD students: This workshop is geared at enhancing feedback communication between PharmD students and their preceptors. The workshop activities engage the students in role-playing, brainstorming, discussion and script writing. Co-facilitated with Gary Poole since 2010. For photos and lesson plan, see here.
    • Feedback workshop for preceptors (of PharmD students and Residents): Workshop aimed at enhancing preceptors’ abilities to give and respond to feedback from students in the PharmD program or Residents. Offered November 22, 2013 (co-facilitated with Gary Poole, 3 hours).
  • For New Educational Developers: Full-day workshop offered at the Festival of Learning in 2016. Co-facilitated with: Jennifer Jasper (Justice Institute of BC) and Eric Kristensen (Retired educational developer).
  • Instructional Skills Workshops (see here).
  • Learning Outcomes: a 1-3 hour session designed to teach learning outcomes basics.
  • Learner-Centered Syllabus: 1-3 hour session designed to help instructors develop a learner-centered syllabus.
  • Peer Coaching for Graduate Students: a half day workshop for graduate students interested in building their skills as peer coaches.
  • Presentation Skills Workshop for Graduate Students: a 2-day workshop geared at enhancing presentation skills. 
  • Reflecting on Feedback on your Teaching: a 3-hour workshop on the use of reflection and feedback to improve teaching.
  • Teaching Portfolio Workshops: Topics have ranged from “how-to” seminars to help people use technology to build their own portfolios to the use of reflection in portfolios.  Most recently (December 2016), I co-facilitated a session titled “Using Your Teaching Portfolio to Showcase Your Educational Leadership” with Simon Albon and Simon Bates.  Sample feedback:
    “Thanks for facilitating such a helpful workshop!” – Faculty member, Faculty of Applied Science

    “Thanks to all of you for a very interesting and informative session…Sessions like the one you offered on Tuesday are very helpful to me as I try to orient myself to all these new developments and directions on campus.” – Faculty member, School of Music

  • TA Mentorship: a full day workshop for graduate students who are coordinating TA (teaching) mentorship programs in their departments and mentoring graduate students on teaching. Co-facilitated with Joseph Topornycky. (Workshop offered twice in August 2011 and again in September 2012).

Facilitation

“Group facilitation is a process in which a person, whose selection is acceptable to all members of the group, is substantively neutral,  and has no decision-making authority, diagnoses and intervenes to help a group improve how it identifies and solves problems and makes decisions, to increase the group’s effectiveness.” – Roger Schwarz

I distinguish facilitation from facilitative teaching because, in the latter, the facilitator has content expertise and purposefully works with learners to help them come to an understanding of specific and important ideas and processes.

Below, in reverse chronological order, are sessions I facilitated:

  • Characteristics of the Ideal Graduate. As part of an overall curriculum renewal process, Allyson Rayner and I co-facilitated a 3-hour working session with course co-ordinators and section leads from the Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Sciences, to help them articulate about characteristics of the ideal graduate. March 4, 2016.
  • Communication Skills for Health Science Professionals. On October 20, 2014, I was part of a facilitation team for a wonderful event for Audiology and Speech Language Pathology students.  This event involved professional actors who were acting out complex scenarios in which communication played a central piece. Students interacted with the actors in these situations.  My role was to facilitate the process, including the debrief.
  • Strategic Planning for OESD (Mission, Vision, Values). In May, 2013, I facilitated the development of a new mission statement for the OESD.  This process continued–slowly–until I left the OESD in April 2015. 
  • Cross-Professionals Collaboration. (Centre for Health Education Scholarship). In July, 2013, I facilitated an Historical Scan and Focused Conversation for seven members of a committee who had been working on a cross-professionals initiative for a number of years.  The purpose of the session was to reflect on what the group had learned so far and begin to plan for the future (this latter part was facilitated by Deborah Butler).  Deb, Glenn Regehr, Sarah Dobson and I worked closely together to plan this session.
  • Curriculum Retreat for new Entry to Practice PharmD Program. (Pharmaceutical Sciences). On June 20, 2013, Janice Johnson and I co-facilitated a curriculum retreat for the Faculty to assist members (approximately 60 participated) learn more about, and contribute their ideas to, the development of the new Entry-to-Practice PharmD program.

Photo credit: The colors of autumn by Susanne Nilsson (CC BY)