Facilitating a group learning experience

What have we got here?

Facilitating a group learning experience is a self-paced, online course that you can start, finish or just dip into at any time. It's one of a growing catalogue of Skills Journey courses for learning professionals. You can buy this course on its own or subscribe to the whole catalogue.

Is this course right for me?

The course is aimed at anyone with a responsibility for facilitating a group learning experience, whether in the classroom or online. The course is also suitable for those whose responsibilities are primarily for presenting content or for instructing a group, who are looking to incorporate facilitated elements within their sessions.

What will I learn?

This course will enable you to:

• distinguish between facilitation, presentation and instruction;
• recognise opportunities for using a facilitative approach;
• clarify the goals for a facilitated session;
• determine appropriate group and sub-group sizes;
• structure a facilitated session;
• set the scene at the opening of a session;
• establish a climate of trust;
• set up, manage and review group activities;
• encourage participants to act upon the insights they have gained.

How long will it take?

Well, it all depends.

• If you’re curious about something or you need to know urgently how to carry out a task, you could get in, get what you want and get out again in less than 10 minutes.
• If what you need is a quick appreciation of the subject matter covered by the course, you could watch all the lesson videos in an hour, give or take. You’d be better off spreading this over a few days, but if an hour is all you’ve got, then go ahead and binge.
• Our courses are roughly equivalent in scope to a one or two day classroom event. If you were to spend a whole day on one of our courses, perhaps spread over a week or two, you’d be able to complete all the activities and begin applying your new skills to your work.

How does it all work?

The course is comprised of nine lessons, each of which includes a short video, in many cases incorporating dramatised demonstrations of facilitation in action. Many of the lessons also incorporate optional activities to help you build your skills and confidence. We'll also provide you with resources that you can use for on-going reference, including a short handbook and an infographic.

Optionally, you can complete an assignment to help you put what you have learned into practice and demonstrate your skills to others.

Download the course info sheet.