Facilitation theory in point form

Carl Rogers and others developed the theory of facilitative learning. The basic premise is that learning will occur by the educator acting as a facilitator, that is by establishing an atmosphere in which learners feel comfortable to consider new ideas and are not threatened by external factors.

Other characteristics of this theory include:

• a belief that human beings have a natural eagerness to learn,


• there is some resistance to, and unpleasant consequences of, giving up what is currently held to be true,


• the most significant learning involves changing one's concept of oneself.
  

Facilitative teachers are:

• less protective of their constructs and beliefs than other teachers,


• more able to listen to learners, especially to their feelings,


• inclined to pay as much attention to their relationship with learners as to the content of the course,


• apt to accept feedback, both positive and negative and to use it as constructive insight into themselves and their behaviour.
  

Learners:

• are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning,


• provide much of the input for the learning which occurs through their insights and experiences,


• are encouraged to consider that the most valuable evaluation is self-evaluation and that learning needs to focus on factors that contribute to solving significant problems or achieving significant results.

Teaching about Safety?

I just found this great lesson plan on identifying workplace hazards that would be a helpful addition to any class where you need to ensure participants take a proactive approach to safety in the workplace. It is put out by the Government of Saskatchewan and can be found at:

www.readyforwork.sk.ca/movingonline/Learning%20Activities/Classroom%20Hazard%

I would use this in Entrepreneurial Skills training, training new supervisors or junior staff orientations.

Remember, if you are looking for a subject specific activity for your group, send me an email and I will see what we can find from our own databases or I will see what else I can find in the industry.

Tips for Supervisors: Five Ways to Follow Up on Training

Would you like it if your employees only gave 50% effort or completed half of their tasks?

Well, if you are only scheduling and implementing training sessions for your employees, you are merely doing half the job. Equally as important as these two steps is the task of following up your training sessions.

Following up involves measuring and evaluating a session’s effectiveness. Doing so will provide you with a benchmark for future sessions as well as give your employees the opportunity to tell you how they would like to change the training subject or format.

Here are five easy steps to follow up your training sessions.

1. At the end of the training session, ask each participant to commit to trying 1-3 new skills. Get the participants to write down the actions and then schedule a follow up meeting to discuss whether theses actions stuck, and why. If you do want to lead this meeting yourself just bring back the original trainer.

2. Shortly after the training, ask each participant to give you a brief summary of the two or three most important points they took away from the training. Consolidate the responses and post them in a popular location for a couple weeks.

If time passes and you see your employees reverting to their old habits, email them their responses along with any more feedback you have received.

3. If appropriate, post facts or statistics related to the training after a session. For example, if your training was on customer service, post the number of sales made per week to show employees how they are improving.

4. A week or two after the training, ask participants how they have changed. If appropriate, post the responses. If participants are saying they haven’t changed, ask why and how the training can be improved next time.

5. Several weeks after a training session, send the participants a quiz related to the training’s content. Post all the responses (but separate the right and wrong answers) and award a prize to the person who does the best.

Follow these steps and see the results for yourself. After all, going halfway when it comes to managing your organization’s training only cheats the very employees whose performance you are looking to improve.