what to expect being a challenge course facilitator

Challenge course facilitators are responsible for pre-trip preparations, facilitation of programming, supervision of assistant facilitators and participants, and post group information processing. It is required that all WVU Challenge course employees stay current with facilitation.

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What does it take to be a good facilitator?

Good facilitators understand their group and adopt a customized approach while working in the group. They plan, manage and guide a group event effectively ensuring that objectives are met. A good facilitator keeps away from the real content and maintains a neutral stance. The question is what does it take to be an effective facilitator?

What should a facilitator do in a session?

A facilitator should not go into a session with any foregone conclusions. If you are leading a discursive training session, you may take a different approach that does have more clear conclusions and a more rigid agenda. The key is to know what the purpose of a session is, and what your role in that session is.

What does Effective facilitation look like?

Effective facilitation means warming everyone up so they can be more productive once you get into the meat of your session. Interaction mix: There are different types of interaction, ranging from one-to-many forms of presentations to individual work, small group and large group discussions.

How can I be an effective workshop facilitator?

A facilitator without empathy is unlikely to be an effective workshop facilitator. Make sure that people are not left behind or left out of the flow of the discussions. By definition, group facilitation means helping everyone in the group contribute in a healthy, productive way.

What is the role of a course facilitator?

Training Facilitator responsibilities include designing team and individual courses, maintaining records of curriculum and materials and gathering feedback on the quality of trainings from trainees, instructors and managers.

What is the purpose of a challenge course?

A Challenge Course is a combination of mental and physical challenges requiring groups to work as a team to accomplish goals. Through a series of fun and unusual activities, participants learn valuable information about themselves, each other, and the group as a unit.

What requirements are needed to be a facilitator?

Entry Requirements Candidate-facilitators need to be competent in the learning area in which training will be provided. No previous assessment experience is necessary, although, candidate-assessors should have evaluative expertise within the area of learning in which they intend to assess.

What is high rope?

A high ropes course is built in the trees or made of utility poles and involves crawling, abseiling and climbing around obstacles up to 50 feet in the air. Participants wear harnesses and are attached to a safety line before tackling ladders, bridges, tunnels and zip lines.

What are low ropes?

Low ropes courses involve activities that “generally focus on group problem solving and team building and range in height from literally sitting on the ground to a height of 12 to 13 feet,” says researchers H. Lee Gillis, a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Georgia College & State University, and Elizabeth ...

What is expected from a facilitator?

Facilitators are expected to paraphrase back individual ideas for purposes of getting better clarity and/or to validate the speaker's intention. Being able to summarize and communicate back key themes, trends and/or decisions that the group has proposed helps the group to effectively create closure.

What are the most important qualities of a facilitator?

The 7 key traits of an excellent facilitatorAn active listener.Ask questions.Is Authentic.Aims to be impartial.Enthusiastic.Patient.Keeps the goal insight.

What are the skills of a facilitator?

A good facilitator possesses the following skills:Advanced preparation.Clear communication.Active listening.Asking questions.Timekeeping.Establishing a psychologically safe environment for sharing.Creating focus amongst the group.Unbiased objectivity.More items...•

What is the difference between facilitation and training?

Having a discussion for discussion sake does not make any sense. Facilitation is about getting people to participate in the information gathering process, and training is about imparting information to people. These are related but different.

How long does it take to prepare for a yoga class?

Over the years I have learned that anything that takes you out of your schedule for a day (8 hours) usually takes 40 to 60 hours to prepare. That is why it is so important to have good preparation time and be prepared at least a week before the session starts.

Why is debriefing important?

As hard as this might be, I believe it is of paramount importance. Having a debrief session or discussion is the only way you can make improvements or correct any errors you have made or that took place during the session. It is great to do debriefing sessions when everything is wonderful, but when you have missed the mark, that is when debriefing is hard.

Can you recover from meeting facilitation mistakes?

We all make meeting facilitation mistakes. I know I have made a few. Sometimes you can recover and other times you cannot .

Is facilitation good?

I think facilitation is like those words. As a facilitator, it is great when everything goes right, but it’s tough when things go wrong. But you need to be the first to admit it, even if you are the last one to know.

How do I become a Facilitator?

In an ever-changing world, it’s crucial for organisations and individuals alike to evolve with the times. Not only does staying the same stagnate growth, but it also renders one irrelevant where relevance counts most.

How do facilitators help in the learning process?

Facilitators interactively participate in the learning process by acting as the medium through which learning takes place . They guide and lead their participants towards the end goal through interaction, engagement, support, coaching and mentoring . They act as a valuable source of information, understanding and learning.

What is a Facilitator?

A facilitator is someone who creates a conducive environment and opportunity for learning and development to take place. Where groups are concerned, a facilitator will engage participants in ways that encourage learning which is experienced through different perspectives, open expression and a culture of mutual responsibility, respect and diversity. All this is achieved through innovative and creative methods of engagement in learning, which are tailored to suit the needs and objectives of a group of people or an individual. Facilitators interactively participate in the learning process by acting as the medium through which learning takes place. They guide and lead their participants towards the end goal through interaction, engagement, support, coaching and mentoring. They act as a valuable source of information, understanding and learning.

What is the role of facilitator in learning?

Their role is to act as proponents and catalysts of participation through learning in group or individual settings. They have to identify and solve potential learning challenges and provide solutions to ensure that learning takes place effectively, meeting or exceeding the objective or goal of the group or individual. A facilitator should also consistently probe participants to think outside the box, apply creative and independent thinking, while still facilitating learning within a set framework or objective. This means they will:

What is a learning facilitator?

Learning Facilitators act as the Masters who share knowledge, behaviours, attitudes, skills, information and expertise in a learnful way. They develop people further by making them realise their potential, leading them to better themselves within their jobs, careers, goals and independence.

What is lifelong learning?

Any individual experiences learning throughout their lives and careers. Lifelong learning forms an integral part of all life and work. This being said, is that any individual who is willing to and have the drive and passion for sharing what they have learnt in their own life experience, field or career, now has the opportunity to take it to the next level by becoming a qualified and professionally recognised Facilitator. In doing this, they will no longer act, but be the true Masters of Learning, creating real opportunities for change in people, changing the world.

What is assessment college?

Assessment College train and equip Facilitators with the critical skills to help them help other individuals and organisations stand out head and shoulders above in their respective fields, professions and industries. If you’ve always wanted to become a facilitator and get involved in skills development, you’ll need to start with training. Here’s what you will learn during the Facilitator Course and how it can help you excel at your role of improving and changing the work industry and lives of others:

What makes a good facilitator?

Apart from the above mentioned skills, a good facilitator should be receptive and should be able to develop new skills as and when required depending on the participating group and should be open to ideas.

What is the role of facilitator in a discussion?

Structuring and recording facts and feelings. A facilitator should be able to record precisely the information gathered during the course of the discussion. He can do it himself or assign a note gatherer for it. He could do it using a flip chart for this purpose. Noting key words and accuracy is extremely important.

How do facilitators help a group?

Facilitators achieve this by helping the group to analyze what they wish to accomplish. Good facilitators understand their group and adopt a customized approach while working in the group. They plan, manage and guide a group event effectively ensuring that objectives are met. A good facilitator keeps away from the real content and maintains a neutral stance.

Why is teamwork important in a workshop?

Teamwork is an essential in any workshop or session. A skilled facilitator knows how to bring the participants together based on shared interests and goals. The facilitators should facilitate synergy in the group by removing distractions, by making them sit face to face, in arena type arrangement for open discussions.

Why do facilitators use probing?

Facilitators should possess good probing skills through open ended and closed ended questions.

What is the role of facilitator?

A facilitator’s responsibility is to make a process easier or facilitate a process through adequate planning. A facilitator acts like a guide to help people move through a process. They guide the participants towards an exploratory journey of learning by helping them to delve into their inner self to realize their strengths and weaknesses, ...

What is the purpose of questioning?

The purpose of questioning is to seek clarification and to check for comprehension. Facilitators ask questions primarily to probe the understanding of the participants and to help them in critical thinking and for evaluating information. Socratic questioning method is a very effective questioning method whereby one just does not raise questions but finds out the answers himself. It helps in developing critical thinking skills. Facilitators often use this technique to unravel the basic issues, identify the problem areas, and develop accuracy, increase creativity and logical thinking. Facilitators should possess good probing skills through open ended and closed ended questions. The manner of questioning in terms of timing and accurate delivery is extremely important. The APPLE technique is often applied. The acronym for APPLE is the following:

How can I improve my facilitation skills?

It’s probably needless to say, the best way to get better at facilitation is to practice, practice, practice! Over hundreds of hours of meeting facilitation, you will encounter a myriad of different situations in group dynamics: heated debates, opinionated participants, power dynamics between people, etc. The broader your facilitation toolbox is, the more skilled you will be in applying the right processes to guide each unique group in its thinking.

What is the most important skill in facilitation?

Proper planning is one of your most important facilitation skills – do not rush or skip this stage. Your facilitation practice will benefit from nailing this stage and learning from it for future workshops and meetings.

Why is a facilitator important?

There are several reasons why the presence of a facilitator can be important for a meeting:

What does a facilitator do?

A facilitator is a person who essentially sets all the right coordinates for a meeting or workshop to take place and produce results. The process may vary depending on the situation, but most often, a facilitator has the following responsibilities when engaging in workshop or meeting facilitation:

What is the difference between a trainer and a facilitator?

This definition allows for quite a wide application: you can facilitate a meeting to help your group achieve goals, but you can also facilitate a training session to help a group learn new skills.

What is the difference between facilitation and training?

Since training is about teaching new skills and concepts, and facilitation is about helping the group in thinking, trainers and facilitators need to have different, if overlapping, skill sets.

What is the ability to handle and diffuse tension?

The ability to handle and diffuse tension is a skill that sets expert facilitators apart from the others. Group facilitation is often exciting and productive, though differences of opinion can form in workshops or meetings you might be facilitating.

What are the qualities of a good facilitator?

What are the qualities of a good facilitator? Participants often point to facilitators who are patient, supportive, encouraging, and who do not threaten or alienate anyone in the group. So, how can you win others’ trust in this role? It’s simple: learn how to satisfy people’s basic needs.

What Makes a Good Facilitator Guide?

When you are preparing to facilitate a unit, the best practice is to write out the step-by-step process of what you are going to do, along with realistic time limits for each step. You can also give yourself italicized reminders, such as common answers to discussion questions.

What are the two types of facilitation?

Facilitation can be broken down into two broad categories of activity: Preparation: Improving learning outcomes by understanding what good facilitators actually do, planning effective discussion questions, scheduling time for activities, brainstorming how to meet learners’ needs, and so on.

What is a facilitator guide?

This facilitator guide is for training yourself to lead a group through a learning session, even if you’re not an expert on the subject or an experienced teacher. Table of Contents. Part 1: What a Facilitator Is. Part 2: Big Ideas of Facilitation. Part 3: Techniques of Facilitation.

What are the roles of facilitators?

There are three broad categories of roles that a facilitator plays: Guide a group toward well-defined outcomes. Plan, sustain, and evaluate an efficient and cooperative learning process. Find ways to get everyone to participate—and appreciate them when they do.

Why won't the classroom techniques used for children work for adult learners?

The classroom techniques used for children won’t work for adult learners because their needs are different. Plan your facilitation session around what adults really want out of learning: Solutions to problems they have at work. Learning experiences, not lectures.

Why are participants comfortable?

They understand why they’re there and how it’s going to help them. Your participants are comfortable because they understand the purpose and outcomes of the event. The group quickly becomes a small community, using adult-learning methods to cooperate on gaining new skills and knowledge.

How to learn facilitation?

Learn what facilitation is, and what facilitation isn’t. Know your role. Do something else first. Engage with the community. Be Curious. Get to know who you’re working with. Speak to all the key stakeholders…. …but don’t forget about the rest of the group. Use technology….

What is a great facilitator?

Being a great facilitator is all about listening, learning and growing so that you can guide others towards achieving their goals. But how can you get started as a facilitator, and what resources are there to help you improve your facilitation techniques?

How to learn new techniques?

One of the best ways to learn new methods, tools and techniques is in connecting with the community of facilitators and professionals, whether that’s through the IAF and its global or local forums or other groups. This might be at a meetup or online or could include investigating the community built SessionLab library of facilitation techniques. There is a large community of experts whose expertise, knowledge and repository of techniques you can draw on in order to improve your own process. Get involved!

Why is factoring in the needs of participants important?

Factoring in the needs of your participants is an important part of facilitation planning. Every session you lead should take into account the needs of the participants on a basic level of design. For example, if you are leading a group training session for 20 people using a new tool, you will need to ensure people have access to that tool and that you design the session with twenty people in mind. But is this broad approach enough?

What is facilitation in leadership?

As Martin Gilbraith notes, facilitation can be defined in many ways, though broadly, it centers around the core pillars of leadership processes, group participation, and helping teams invest and participate in their own growth.

What is facilitator in freelance?

Facilitation, particularly when working as a freelancer can be isolating or have it’s lonely periods. When not in a room leading a session, facilitators are often designing and planning sessions, learning new methods and techniques, or looking towards landing the next client.

What is the art of leading people through processes towards agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation,?

From our post on essential skills for facilitators, we define facilitation thusly: “Facilitation is the art of leading people through processes towards agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership and creativity by all those involved.”