What's the key to engaging adults in learning?
What makes a good facilitator of adult learning?
As pedagogical leaders, our role is to inspire and guide meaningful adult learning experiences. To facilitate means "to make easy," and our goal is to create conditions where learning becomes accessible, engaging, and rewarding.
A skilled facilitator fosters participation, ownership, and creativity, drawing out the best in everyone. Much like a conductor leading an orchestra, a facilitator’s core responsibility is to enable collaborative learning, harmonizing individual contributions into a collective symphony of growth and discovery.
A facilitator works with three fields of knowledge: what we know individually and as a group + the knowledge from theory, research and practice + the new knowledge that we can co-create together through collaborative work.
This reflection draws attention to the lived experiences that shape how individuals show up in learning environments. It reminds us that, as facilitators, we need to actively recognise and respond to the diversity in the room.
“My identity is a mix of different worlds. I am British-White Caribbean, from Leeds, shaped by years in London, and a Computer Science teacher who came to teaching later in life, working across the UK, Asia, and Europe.
There are parts of my identity that lead people to make wrong assumptions. I am often assumed to be a PE teacher or on the admin team, and people are surprised that I am in Computer Science. My Northern accent can also make me feel ‘different’.
I grew up and work in spaces where very few people look like me, and I am usually one of only one or two staff members with Black heritage.
I operate best when I have time to think. I am naturally quiet and have trained myself to be more vocal, even though my instinct is to listen.
Because I have often felt on the outside, I am sensitive to others who might feel the same. I try to create a safe space for everyone to be heard, or simply to listen.
‘Diversity’ can be a loaded term. It can suggest a norm and a divergence. I have often been positioned as the ‘diverse’ person in the room, which can feel alienating and reinforces difference rather than accepting people as they are.
As facilitators, we must challenge the idea of a ‘default’ learner, recognise every perspective as part of the whole, and avoid creating hierarchies of voice.
Every participant’s experience is a resource, and inclusion means creating space for all ways of contributing, not just the loudest voices.”
(Brian Matthews, a Computer Science teacher in Vienna)
Core skills of a facilitator
- Creating a positive learning environment of mutual respect where people can do their best thinking: facilitating discussions, shaping group norms, providing feedback, reflecting questions back to group for consideration, guide problem-solving, reflect, expand and summarize participant comments.
- Being the architect of deep learning experiences / activities which engage people. This could be an organizing concept, a specific technique, tool or method (see the Resources link). Use a rich variety of well-chosen techniques, tools and methods to develop deep collaborative learning.
- Clearly articulating the purpose and expected outcomes.
- Acknowledging participants as resources to the learning process.
- Listening well and enabling group members to listen to each other. Being able to employ three levels of listening: listening to self (own thoughts), listening for meaning (content), and listening for depth (intent, emotion, intuition)[1]
- Keeping the group focused and encouraging participation by everyone.
- Using real life examples as part of the material: case studies that participants can relate to.
- Processing observations in order to heighten awareness of the learning that is taking place. This could be as simple as asking, ‘how has this protocol/tool developed your learning?’; ‘how could you use this tool in your professional work?’.
- Remaining neutral to the issues.
- Helping participants transfer their learning back to their jobs and lives. It is for the facilitator to create a place for participants to make the connections if we expect transfer of learning to take place.
- Allowing silence to happen – allowing time for silent reading and reflection on the learning taking place. Providing opportunities for people to internalize the learning, maybe using a journal approach.
"A highly skilled facilitator is much like an accomplished dancer. One notices the dance but not the dancer, She directs process yet is supremely flexible. She follows principles, not rules. She improvises. She knows her own cognitive styles and stretches beyond them when it serves the group. She is comfortable with who she is and sets aside judgements about others. She is clear in the moment about her intentions. She thinks beyond activities to outcomes. She is reflective and learning from experience. She can direct or request, be firm or soft, serious or light, focus on task or on relationships. She has abundant knowledge about processes and groups. She is effortlessly competent with many facilitation moves." (The Adaptive School: A sourcebook for developing collaborative groups, Garmston.R.J., & Wellman B.M, 2013:95)
(Image source: 1,000+ Free Dancers & Ballet Photos)
Activity 1: What are the key characteristics of a good facilitator?
- Use the above text as a stimulus.
- Brainstorm the attributes of good facilitator (e.g.enabler, encourager....)
- Collate your ideas using a Padlet or Word clouds
Facilitation challenges
- Meeting the needs of the learners. It is important to establish ‘buy in’ of adults into their own learning. They need to see the point of doing something and how the learning can be applied to their lives. Therefore, establish Essential Agreement about how you are going to work together and what their expectations are from the outset. Ensure that the learning is clearly related to the problems the group faces.
- Continually focusing on and attending to the learning of others. This means constantly testing the content for its worth to participants.
- Being comfortable with ambiguity.
- Processing misperceptions and emotional reactions.
- Focusing on the process of the learning, as opposed to the content of the learning.
- Helping people develop so that they become independent learners who have the tools to further their own work and not rely on the facilitator.
Challenge: one or two colleagues dominate conversations
Strategies you could use:
- Establish ground rules early: Set expectations at the start, emphasizing that everyone’s input is valued and the facilitator will ensure balanced participation. This blog provides helpful insights and links: All you need to know about ground rules for workshops | SessionLab
- Use structured activities: Incorporate methods like Round Robin Sharing, Think-Pair-Share, or Post-It contributions that the facilitator can read aloud, ensuring everyone has a chance to contribute.
- Leverage digital tools: Introduce collaborative platforms like Menti, Padlet, or Google Docs to shift the focus away from oral dialogue, preventing dominant voices from overshadowing others.
- Incorporate reflection time: Build in quiet moments for individual reflection before group discussions, giving participants time to organize their thoughts and contribute more thoughtfully.
- Use a timer for activities: Limit speaking time to ensure balanced contributions. This article suggests various practical approaches.
- Introduce talking bbjects: Use a "talking stick" or similar object to regulate turns in speaking. This protocol, rooted in many Indigenous cultures, fosters respectful communication. Read more about it here.
Activity 2: Top Tips
- Use the above text as stimulus.
- Design a list of top tips for a facilitator.
Activity 3 : What is the difference between training and facilitation?
As a leadership team use the following template to reflect on your practice.
- Highlight statements which best describe your current work with staff.
- How is adult facilitation different from teaching children?
- What do you think are the main challenges in moving from a training approach to facilitating adult learning?
- When is training appropriate, and when is facilitation appropriate?
- How would you describe your style in relation to working with adults? Are you naturally a trainer, teacher or facilitator? What do you consider to be your default style and why?
- Highlight elements which develop collaborative practice.
Questions to ask yourself
What do you need to consider before facilitating adult learning in a workshop or professional development setting? The IB has identified a number of concepts which are linked to successful workshop delivery. These concepts are described in Developing leaders in international education: A constructivist approach to adult learning in the IB (2013). Below I have named the concept and provided some guiding questions for you to reflect on as you construct workshops / work-sessions.
Is the learning authentic and reflective?
- Are you clear about the overall goal of the training / workshop? Do you communicate this clearly?
- Are you clear about the expectations of participants, i.e. what they want to get out of the training / workshop?
- Do you start with what colleagues / participants bring to the workshop: school context, experiences and knowledge? Do you find out from them what their expectations are and build on these throughout the workshop?
- Do you create regular space and time for participants to reflect during the workshop, so they can consider how new learning builds on their experience and context and how it can be applied back in the school / classroom context?
- As a workshop leader / facilitator do you meta-cognitively analyse the learning process as you facilitate it, and do you, where necessary and appropriate, modify it to meet the specific needs of the participants?
- Do you use a pre-workshop activity to engage the participants (i.e. a form of flipped classroom)? Do you use a pre-workshop activity to find about the expectations of participants? Do you use post-training / workshop activities to capture the learning as it is applied? If so how do you do this – do you use online tools such as padlets or wikis or blogs?
Is the learning collaborative and inquiry-based?
- Do you plan the training along lines of inquiry? Have you clearly articulated the conceptual understandings you wish to develop?
- To what extent do you structure the workshop to ensure that it is inquiry-based? For example, do you use short inquiry tasks as activators to the session? Do you use provocative questions and stimulus to create curiosity and to start an inquiry?
- What strategies and protocols do you use to encourage active collaboration between the adult learners? Do you establish an essential agreement amongst the participants? Do you review the norms of collaboration so that all are on the same page and can work productively together?
- How do you use the environment of the workshop to do this (e.g. groupings)? What tasks and activities do you use to encourage collaborative work and learning?
- Do you use problem solving techniques to develop collaborative inquiry (i.e. where groups have to work on a task to solve an issue or apply the learning into new context)?
- How can you use E-platforms for participants to use before, during and after the workshop / training? For example, posting resources on a padlet for all to share.
- Have you considered using the Appreciative Inquiry protocol to structure action-research?
Is the learning differentiated?
- How do plan the workshop to meet the differentiated needs of all participants? How do you know / find out their needs? Do you carry out a pre-workshop survey / questionnaire? How can you use on-line tools to find out their needs?
- If you are working in a culturally diverse staffroom how do you ensure that you know and meet the different cultural expectations of the participants?
- To what extent are you flexible in the delivery of the workshop? Do you have a large bank of materials you can draw on over and above the workshop PPT, for example?
- Do you provide opportunities for participants to reflect on their creativity within the workshop so that they can apply the learning back into their classrooms in such a way as to meet the differentiated student needs?
Do you model your facilitation on the same practices as found in IB classrooms?
- Are the activities you do with participants ones they can use back in their classrooms?
- Do you include a rich variety of activities?
- Do you model ‘learning how to learn’ – i.e. meta-cognition as you progress through the workshop?
- Do you provide opportunities for participants to explore global issues?
- Do you provide adequate opportunities for participants to reflect and build on their learning?
Is the learning focused on assessment?
- Do you encourage on-going feedback to assess their learning?
- Do you encourage participants to analyse assessment tools for their efficacy?
Resources:
Facilitation Skills Workbook from the Tearfund International Learning Zone
30 things we know for sure about adult learning, NISOD
Comprehensive guide for facilitator training, CMOE: a helpful quick read and introduction.
A fantastic toolkit from McGill University on how to facilitate. Click HERE.
Footnotes
1. Whitworth,L., Kinsey-House,K., Kimsey=House,H., & Sandahl,P., (2007), Co-active coaching: new skills for coaching people toward success in work and life. Mountain View, CA: Davies Black Publishing.