Facilitating


One of my duties is facilitating a 2 part values class and 3 part reflection groups. Both facilitations are scripted and are supposed to be co-facilitated by either both of my program assistants (PAs) or myself and a PA. One of my reflection groups I am facilitating by myself however because my PA had a schedule conflict. Both facilitations have a box that contains the script and all the worksheets, homework assignments, handouts, assessments and anything else needed for the class/reflection group.

I trained on this by observing both parts of the values classes and the second and third sessions of a reflection group. I read through the script on my own multiple times as well. I talk with the other staff members in the office about the scripts and the goals of the programs to think of ways to improve my facilitations.

My first facilitation was the first session of a reflection group. I had not observed the first session before so was a bit nervous about it. What made matters worse was a schedule mishap that caused my PA and I to be 20 minutes late to the reflection group. The next two sessions both my PA and myself were on time but no one else was. There were so many scheduling conflicts and people not showing up, that we often did not have enough students to make it work. Also, the students were not the most engaging.

The first time I facilitated a values class things went much smoother. I had to facilitate by myself for the first 30 minutes because my co-facilitator had a scheduling conflict. I was a bit nervous and went too fast and forgot to ask some questions in the script, however it went much better than my first reflection group. I am going to start another round of values classes soon with another cofacilitator and I am interested to see how that goes.

I am 2/3 of the way done with my reflection group that I am facilitating by myself. I was so nervous about it. I think it's going pretty well. I am so thankful most people in this group participate because it makes things so much easier and more interesting. It is a weird group because a lot of the script does not apply to half the group so I have to constantly readjust to make the reflection worth their time too. I like facilitating it by myself though because I set the pace and can be more flexible. There have been some technology issues, but nothing too serious. I've had to do some one on one make up reflection sessions and all but one of those went really well. I like working with students one on one best.

One of the key things I learned in Leadership & Facilitation last year was that the facilitator is neutral; their purpose is to help the learners/participants reach their goals. This is true with my facilitations at work. We have to remain neutral throughout the class/reflection group, which can be difficult when the students (who are there because they were sanctioned by Judicial Affairs) say things that I disagree with and cause me to question their judgement.

I try to maintain appropriate body language and facial expressions when facilitating. It can be difficult when students say stupid things or if I can tell they don't see anything wrong with what they did. I'm trying to "plant seeds,"  to get them thinking about what they did and how they can learn from it. I try not to judge any of my students and just get them to reflect on what happened and it's impact on their lives and the JMU community.