Facilitation reflects my dynamic, learner-centered approach to instruction that fosters engagement, critical thinking, and meaningful learning through inclusive and interactive practices.
Facilitation
Facilitation reflects my dynamic, learner-centered approach to instruction that fosters engagement, critical thinking, and meaningful learning through inclusive and interactive practices.
Philosophical Alignment
My facilitation style has been most commonly described as interactive, welcoming, and collaborative. I use strategies that echo these sentiments by fostering a learning space that is open for new ideas built on mutual trust in both teacher and learner. These strategies require a lot of reflection as I work diligently to modify my practice so that it meets the needs of individual learners across multiple mediums. Although many of the examples that I have provided across the realm of “practice” could be construed as forms of facilitation, I wanted to create one space for me to articulate my larger vision as I continue to refine my approach to facilitation.
The examples provided below provide opportunities for me to reflect and prioritize active learning sequences that promote collaboration in my teaching.
Examples of Practice
Active Learning - Group Work & Strategic Planning
Description
Group work can be challenging if an instructor doesn’t take the time to co-construct the identity formation process of groups. I developed a series of “warm-up” strategies in my teaching to prepare students for group work. These strategies are commonly linked to key principles of gamification which prioritize visibility, systems of meritocracy, and universal goals. In this example, I would use a random selection process to assign groups and provide each group with a list of initial tasks that would not be vocationally driven. Instead, these tasks were to create opportunities to generate group identity such as the creation of a group mascot, tagline, or icon.
Introducing a simple goal enabled me to promote the visibility of group identity, implement a system of merit where groups would be recognized for their contributions, and unite members with a shared goal.
What worked?
The warm-up opportunities enabled personalities to emerge and enabled low risk open discussion. My classrooms were filled with laughter within the first few minutes as the activity expedited the camaraderie amongst participants as they were given a simple task within an open learning environment. I have used this strategy in larger classrooms, small tutorial sessions, and with both domestic/international students.
While it may seem simplistic at first, this enabled the group to engage in more complex group tasks following the warm-up. In one particular session, I used newly formed groups to showcase the complexity of strategic planning by providing all groups with materials to build a tower. The interesting part was that each team had distinct instructions in building the structure and were told halfway through their session to modify their task as I switched the “missions” to demonstrate the fluctuations in labour market trends on strategic planning. Linking emotions such as laughter and joy to learning enabled the student to remember some key components of the curriculum.
What didn’t work?
Timing was always a challenge as some groups wanted to explore more activities in their groups. I would later introduce extension to this practice by providing participants with opportunities to engage in non-curricular group activities throughout the semester. These would later be tied thematically to key concept without their knowledge which created a unique recall activity. This was well received and provided a break that lowered the risk of cognitive overload.
How would I continue to use this practice?
Gamification elements remain a focus of my practice as an educator, academic developer, and leader. These strategies can be used or various purposes in acknowledging the complexities of group dynamics while also solidifying group identity to create an engaging learning culture.
CEP Playlist - Using Music to Connect with Learners
Description
Participants were asked to document their favourite songs in an anonymous survey at the start of the semester. This list would later be used by me at the start of each session as I played one song prior to the start of the session. This was followed by an open discussion where we explored the origins of the song and tried our best as a group to identify the participant that submitted it to the playlist.
What worked?
The use of music as a form of storytelling was always met with great success as learners were “excited” to hear the next song. This enabled me to begin each session with good energy and gave participants some confidence in sharing stories with colleagues. The notion of choice was always provided as individuals were not required to share a story but in every instance they did as they felt connected to the space.
What didn’t work?
One particular failure in this strategy was also my greatest learning experience. I once had a deaf student participate in the activity which I initially thought would be challenging for them. Aamzingly, the learner particpanted by sharing a song that had tremendous base. They invited us to listen to the music differently by holding our hands towards our chest to feel the vibrations with our eyes closed and hearts open. This beautiful moment brought tears to many in the classroom and enabled me to rethink how I could approach this type of activity in the future by diversifying the medium in which we choose to share.
How would I continue to use this practice?
I have used this practice in both educational and leadership settings (with some small tweaks) but it remains one of my favourite practices. I also use the custom playlists in my personal life when doing exercise or cleaning the house so that I can strengthen my connection with each learner. Music has a beautiful power that is sometimes overlooked in teaching – this is a good reminder to always listen with our hearts.
