Expanding your skill set to include learning facilitation can be a transformative step in your journey as a Learning Experience Designer. Whether you’re an instructional designer, educator, or corporate trainer, mastering the art of facilitation empowers you to create more dynamic, participatory, and impactful learning experiences. In today’s instructional design job market, learning facilitation is not just a valuable skill—it’s a highly sought-after expertise that can set you apart.
This article delves into the essential aspects of becoming a learning facilitator, drawing insights from the SessionLab State of Facilitation 2024 report and complementing it with our research eye. We’ll explore the attributes, strategies, and tools that can help you excel in this role.
What Is a Learning Facilitator?
A learning facilitator goes beyond traditional teaching methods by guiding learners through an experiential learning process. Unlike traditional instructors who often focus on delivering content, facilitators create environments where learners can explore, collaborate, and apply knowledge. The goal is to empower learners to take ownership of their learning journey, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity.
What do learning facilitators do?
Learning Facilitators are crucial in creating environments where learners actively engage in their educational journey. Their role extends far beyond traditional teaching, focusing on guiding the learning process in a way that is both interactive and learner-centered.
- Here’s a deeper look into what learning facilitators do:
- Leverage digital tools for design and delivery: In today’s learning landscape, facilitators increasingly rely on a variety of digital tools to design and deliver sessions. They use platforms that enable collaborative session planning, interactive presentations, and real-time feedback, ensuring that the learning experience is dynamic and adaptable to different environments, whether in-person, remote, or hybrid.
- Facilitate hybrid and remote learning environments: As learning moves beyond the physical classroom, facilitators must effectively manage sessions that combine in-person and remote participants. This requires a skillful balance of technology and facilitation techniques to ensure that all learners are equally engaged and that the learning objectives are met, regardless of the participants’ location.
- Promote diversity and inclusion: A significant part of a facilitator’s role is to ensure that the learning environment is inclusive and accessible. This involves designing activities that cater to diverse learning needs, using materials that are accessible to all participants, and being mindful of cultural sensitivities. Facilitators often collaborate with colleagues from various backgrounds to enrich the learning experience and ensure that multiple perspectives are represented.
- Adapt to technological advances: The rapid pace of technological change means that facilitators must continually update their skills and adapt to new tools that can enhance the learning experience. Whether integrating AI for content creation or using advanced digital platforms for session delivery, facilitators need to stay ahead of the curve to remain effective in their role.
- Deliver short, impactful sessions: Modern learners often prefer shorter, more focused learning sessions. Facilitators are tasked with delivering high-impact content within limited timeframes, which requires precise planning and the ability to quickly engage learners. This shift towards brevity necessitates a strong command of facilitation techniques that can convey complex concepts efficiently.
- Engage in continuous professional development: To stay effective, facilitators regularly engage in continuous learning. They participate in professional communities, attend workshops, and seek out new resources to refine their skills and stay updated on emerging trends in learning and facilitation. This commitment to ongoing development is key to maintaining their ability to provide high-quality learning experiences.
- Manage increasing demands and expectations: As the value of facilitation becomes more widely recognized, facilitators often face increased workloads and higher expectations from clients and participants. They must manage multiple projects, deliver consistent quality, and adapt to diverse client needs, all while maintaining flexibility to handle unexpected challenges.
- Encourage reflective learning and feedback: Facilitators play a crucial role in helping learners reflect on their experiences and providing opportunities for feedback. This reflection is vital for deep learning and allows facilitators to continuously improve their sessions based on participant input, ensuring that future learning experiences are even more tailored and effective.
The Learning Facilitator Toolkit
To be an effective learning facilitator, you need a well-equipped toolkit. This includes both digital and offline tools that facilitate every stage of the session—from design to delivery and evaluation.
- Here are some key components:
- Digital tools: The rise of digital facilitation tools has transformed how facilitators work. Popular tools like SessionLab and Miro are essential for designing interactive sessions, gathering real-time feedback, and ensuring that all participants are engaged, whether in-person, remote, or hybrid settings. Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Docs are also widely used to create and organize session content, while Canva and Padlet help create visually engaging materials that support the learning process.
- Offline tools: Despite the digital age, traditional tools such as paper, whiteboards, and sticky notes remain invaluable for brainstorming and organizing ideas in a tangible way. These tools are particularly useful in face-to-face settings where physical interaction enhances the learning experience.
- Facilitation techniques: Mastering various facilitation techniques, such as brainstorming, world café, and open space technology, can enhance the effectiveness of your sessions. These techniques encourage participation, foster collaboration, and help learners connect with the content on a deeper level.
- Visual tools: Incorporating visuals into your sessions can significantly enhance learning. Tools like Canva and Google Jamboard are excellent for creating visually appealing materials and interactive activities.
Facilitation Strategies for Learning Experience Design
Learning experience design (LXD) focuses on creating learning environments that are not only educational but also engaging and impactful.
- As a learning facilitator, you can employ several strategies to align your facilitation with LXD principles:
- Learner-centered approach: Place learners at the center of the learning experience. Facilitate activities that allow them to explore concepts, ask questions, and share insights. This approach encourages active participation and deeper learning.
- Storytelling: Use storytelling to make content relatable and memorable. Stories can help bridge the gap between theory and practice, making abstract concepts more tangible.
- Scaffolded learning: Gradually increase the complexity of activities, providing support as needed. This approach helps learners build confidence and competence as they progress through the learning experience.
- Reflection and feedback: Incorporate regular opportunities for reflection and feedback. This not only reinforces learning but also allows you to adjust your facilitation approach in real-time to meet the needs of your learners.
Facilitating in a Digital World
The State of Facilitation report emphasizes the growing role of digital tools in facilitation.
- The advent of AI and other digital technologies has introduced new possibilities for facilitators:
- AI-powered facilitation: AI tools like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly integrated into the facilitation process. Facilitators use AI for tasks ranging from ideation and session design to real-time feedback and post-session analysis. However, the report notes that while AI can be a powerful tool, facilitators should remain cautious and ensure that the human element of facilitation is not lost. Here is also a resource selection you can explore if you are just getting started with AI for learning.
- Hybrid and remote facilitation: The shift towards remote and hybrid work environments has led to a rise in hybrid facilitation. Facilitators now need to be adept at managing sessions that combine in-person and remote participants, requiring investments in technology and a deep understanding of how to engage all participants effectively.
Key Frameworks for Digital Facilitation
As digital facilitation becomes more prevalent, certain frameworks have proven particularly effective in this environment:
Design thinking: This iterative process focuses on understanding the user, challenging assumptions, and redefining problems to identify alternative strategies and solutions. It’s particularly useful in workshops aimed at innovation or problem-solving.
Liberating structures: These are easy-to-learn microstructures that enhance relational coordination and trust. They can be used to include everyone in shaping next steps, ensuring that all voices are heard.
Appreciative inquiry: This approach focuses on identifying what works well in a system and envisioning how these strengths can be leveraged to overcome challenges. It’s ideal for workshops focused on organizational development or strategic planning.
Agile methodologies: While originally developed for software development, agile principles can be applied to any process that benefits from iterative progress and adaptability. It’s particularly effective in environments where rapid changes and continuous improvement are needed.
Top Tools for Session Design
Designing a session is a critical step in the facilitation process, and the tools you choose can significantly impact the effectiveness of your session planning.
- Facilitators frequently use a mix of digital and offline tools for session design:
- Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Docs are commonly used to create presentations and collaborative documents that structure and support session content.
- Miro and Mural serve as online collaborative whiteboard platforms that facilitate brainstorming, mapping, and visual collaboration.
- Canva is popular for creating visually appealing materials like session handouts, posters, and slides.
- Google Jamboard and Apple Keynote are also used for visual collaboration and presentation design.
- SessionLab helps facilitators plan and organize their sessions with ease, providing a library of methods and templates that can be customized to suit any workshop.
Top Tools for Session Delivery
Delivering a session effectively requires tools that facilitate communication, interaction, and engagement.
- The report lists the following as the most popular tools for session delivery:
- Zoom remains the leading tool for conducting remote sessions, offering video conferencing, screen sharing, and breakout rooms.
- Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides are frequently used during delivery to present structured content visually.
- Microsoft Teams combines chat, video conferencing, and collaboration features, making it ideal for remote and hybrid sessions.
- Mentimeter and Kahoot! are interactive presentation tools that enable real-time polls, quizzes, and word clouds to engage participants.
- Questiory, a newer, highly innovative tool for learning facilitators that combine a variety of audience engagement options paired with real-time creative visualizations, with a focus on asynchronous learning.
- Miro and Mural are used for live collaboration during sessions, allowing participants to work together on a digital whiteboard.
- Padlet and Google Forms are tools that support participant interaction and feedback collection during sessions.
Top Tools for Evaluation
Effective evaluation is essential for learning facilitators, as it provides insights into the effectiveness of the session and areas for improvement.
- The most commonly used tools for evaluation include:
- Google Forms and SurveyMonkey are versatile tools for creating surveys and collecting feedback, easily integrated with other tools.
- Mentimeter is also used for gathering instant feedback and evaluating participant engagement.
- Microsoft Forms is a preferred option within the Microsoft ecosystem for collecting and analyzing participant feedback.
- Typeform is known for its user-friendly interface and engaging survey designs.
- Offline tools such as paper surveys and in-person feedback methods are still widely used for their directness and simplicity.
Method Libraries
Facilitators often rely on method libraries to find inspiration and structure for their sessions.
- Some of the most popular method libraries mentioned in the report include:
- Liberating Structures: A collection of 33 microstructures that make it possible to include and unleash everyone in the work at hand. The liberating structures website offers detailed descriptions and examples of each structure.
- Miroverse: A community-driven library of templates and methodologies that can be used within the Miro platform. It’s particularly useful for facilitators who want to incorporate visual collaboration tools into their sessions.
- IAF Methods Library: Created by the International Association of Facilitators, this library provides access to a range of facilitation techniques and resources, categorized by theme, purpose, and context.
- IDEO Design Kit: A resource developed by IDEO, a global design company, which includes methods, mindsets, and case studies for applying design thinking in facilitation.
- SessionLab Library: This comprehensive library offers a wide range of facilitation techniques that can be used in various contexts. It’s a go-to resource for facilitators looking for new ideas and proven methods.
The Importance of diversity and inclusion in facilitation
Diversity and inclusion are crucial aspects of modern facilitation, as highlighted in the report, some of the the things learning facilitators do really well include:
- Designing inclusive sessions: Facilitators are increasingly designing sessions to be more inclusive, considering participants from diverse backgrounds and with varying abilities. This involves using accessible materials, accommodating different learning styles, and ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard.
- Collaborating with diverse teams: The report underscores the importance of co-facilitating with colleagues from diverse backgrounds to bring different perspectives to the table. This collaboration can enrich the facilitation process and lead to more innovative and effective outcomes.
- Addressing social justice issues: Many facilitators are now working on projects that address social justice and equality issues. This involves not only facilitating discussions on these topics but also ensuring that the facilitation process itself is equitable and inclusive.
Continuous learning and professional development
The report highlights that facilitators continuously seek new learning opportunities to stay ahead. Here’s how you can stay sharp and shine as a learning facilitator.
Engage with professional communities: Join facilitation-focused communities like the International Association of Facilitators (IAF), the International Facilitators Community, Toastmasters International, The Facilitators Network and SessionLab Community. Professional communities offer valuable opportunities to exchange ideas, learn from peers, and stay updated on the latest trends in facilitation.
Pursue certifications: While many facilitators learn on the job, certifications like those offered by the IAF can add credibility and provide a structured learning path.
Explore new resources: Regularly consult facilitation books, podcasts, and newsletters. Some top recommendations from the report include The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker and the Workshops Work podcast by Myriam Hadnes.
Broadening your skillset to become a learning facilitator is a valuable step in enhancing your impact as an educator or trainer. By incorporating the tools, strategies, and insights shared in this article, you can create more engaging, effective, and meaningful learning experiences. As the world of facilitation continues to evolve, staying adaptable and committed to continuous learning will be key to your success in this dynamic field.
