What Do Facilitators Do?

辅导师都做些什么？

Dr. Roger Greenaway Dr. Roger Greenaway trains facilitators, educators, trainers and consultants to bring out the full benefits of active and experiential learning. He works with training organisations, training departments and educational institutions - worldwide. His Train-the-Trainer workshop was widely successful in Shenzhen in 2011 and he will be presenting another TTT in Shanghai in May of 2013.

Copyright © Sino Associates & Roger Greenaway 2012-2022. All Rights Reserved.

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“How do you do facilitation?” is a bit of a conversation stopper. Ask this to a facilitator and I guarantee that you will get hesitation and evasiveness.

I (too) have spent many years being evasive on this point – and for a very good reason: which is that I like to be ‘learner-centred’ and pay attention to what the learner is doing (rather than being facilitator-centred).

In the Tao of Leadership, John Heider admires the kind of group leadership, which might result in the group saying ‘We did it ourselves’. Such a leader is working in such subtle ways that the group does not notice what the leader is doing (if anything).

So how can you model yourself on a style of leadership in which the leader is almost entirely invisible?

I hope the article below brings some useful clarity to what facilitators do without destroying the spontaneity, flexibility, and ever-changing nature of what it is like to facilitate learning in groups.

REVIEWING THE SITUATION

What it is best to do as a facilitator

“你怎样做辅导？”这个问题可能会让对话戛然而止。向辅导师提出这个问题，我保证你得到的是犹豫和含糊其辞。

很多年来，我也对这个话题含糊其辞——但我有一个很好的理由：我想以学员为中心，并注意着这个学员所做的事情（而非以辅导师为中心）。

在《领导之道》中，约翰·海德推崇那种能让团队说“这是我们主动做的” 的团队领导者。这样的领导者用的是近乎不被察觉的行为进行来工作和领导（如果有做的话），组员们甚至都意识不到这些领导行为。

那么，在这种领导者近乎无形的领导风格中，你该怎么塑造自己呢？

我希望下面的文章能对大家有用，其内容是关于辅导者可以如何在辅导时不破坏团队学习中的自主性、灵活性和多变的本质。

“So how can you model yourself on a style of leadership in which the leader is almost entirely invisible?在这种领导者近乎无形的领导风格中，你该怎么塑造自己呢”

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depends very much on the situation. Being tuned in to the ‘situation’ will help you make good choices about what to do. And the more you review in ways that encourage people to express themselves, the more you will be in tune with the ‘situation’. So it is very useful (and rewarding) if you can get this virtuous cycle going in which everyone, including yourself, gets tuned in to what people are experiencing.

7 SITUATIONS YOU CAN ANTICIPATE (You can plan for these)

Some situations are quite predictable and can be anticipated. For example:

1. You can anticipate the priorities for what you need to do at the beginning, middle and end of a programme - which is why I advocate designing reviews into a programme before you put the activities in place

2. You can anticipate how certain activities will generate particular kinds of incidents, experiences and issues

3. You can anticipate how you might need to facilitate a different kind of review following an experience of success or failure

回顾情景

作为辅导员，最该做的事很大程度上取决于具体情况。投入“情景”当中将会帮助你更好地选择该做什么。在回顾过程中，你越多地使用鼓励人们去表达他们想法的方法，你越能与“情景”保持协调一致。所以如果你创造一个让每一个人，包括你自己与所发生经历的保持协调一致的良性循环，这将是非常有用（和有回馈的）。

7 种你能提前准备的情况

（你可对此作出计划）

一些情境是可预料和提前准备的 . 比如说 :

1、你能预测项目在开始、中间和结束阶段，需要做的事情的优先次序。这是为什么我主张在项目设计前要先设计回顾反思这部份的原因。

2、你能预料某些活动将如何生成特定类型的事件、经历和问题。

3、在成功或失败的经验的基础上，你能预料你需要怎样引导不同类型的回顾

4、你能预测你怎样能最好地促进一个活跃的团队，一个沉默的团队或一

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4. You can anticipate how you can best facilitate a loud group, a quiet group, a group with a mix of loud and quiet people

5. You can anticipate how you can best facilitate a review when time is short and when there is more time available

6. And the group size will determine which kinds of facilitation strategy will work best

7. The current situation may lend itself to working with particular learning objectives - whether from the general programme objectives or arising from individual needs or goals

So, before deciding what you are going to do as a facilitator you may want to consider the above 7 points. Here they are again presented as questions:

1. What stage of the programme is it?2. What reviewing opportunities will the activity provide?3. What is the mood of the group?4. How can I engage all participants (quiet or loud)?5. How much time is available?6. What works best with this size of group?7. What opportunities are there for

个积极者和沉默者并存的团队。

5、你能预测当时间很短或者有多余的时候，你能怎样进行最好的回顾。

6、同时，团队的规模将决定何种类型的辅导策略将会最可行。

7、无论是一般的目标，或者由个人的需求或目标，特定的学习目标会有助于当前的学习。

所以，作为一个辅导者，在决定你要做什么前，你可能需要考虑上面7 个点。这里以问题的形式展示：

1. 课程处于哪个阶段？

2. 这个活动将会提供何种回顾与引导机会？

3. 团队处于何种气氛？

4. 我怎样吸引所有参与者（活跃或沉默的人）

5．共有多长时间？

6. 什么最适合这样的团队规模？

7. 有什么样的机会能实现关键目标？

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working on key objectives?

And when you have thought this through and have come up with ‘Plan A’ you will be well advised to have a ‘Plan B’ (because things change and facilitation is mostly a responsive role). And a ‘Plan Z’ will be handy too: an emergency plan that will work in almost any situation.

3 SITUATIONS THAT ARE DIFFICULT TO ANTICIPATE

(You can even plan for these too!)

1. YOU ARE IN THE DARK

You know very little about the event you are about to review. You are reviewing an event at which you were not present. (You may have less information than usual, but you can still prepare a review for these situations.)

2. THE UNEXPECTED

Un ex p ected events o f ten captu re people’s interest and can become a more significant source of learning than the events you had planned or predicted. (You need to judge whether the surprise is a distraction or a welcome opportunity for learning.)

当你已经详细考虑上面的问题，并想出了一个 A 计划，你最好还要有一个 B 计划，因为事情会变化，而且辅导一般是反映式的。而 Z 计划也可能会派上用途：找一个能在大多数情况下都可以用的办法。

3 种难以预料的情况

（你也可以对此作出计划！）

1. 你在信息不明处

你对你将要回顾的事件所知甚少。你进行回顾反思的活动是一个你没有在现场的活动。（你可能拥有比平时更少的信息，但你仍然能为这些状况准备一些回顾）。

“Unexpected events often capture people's interest and can become a more significant source of learning than the events you had planned or predicted意外事项经常能捕捉人们的兴趣，而且有可能成为一个比你准备或预测的材料更有意义的资源”

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3. YOU ARE STUCK

All your options seem to run out. Or none of your options feel right. Or it feels like a brand new situation that you have never encountered before. You want to dial the facilitation hot line (or try strategy 5 described below).

6 WAYS OF FACILITATING ACTIVE LEARNING

1. BE A ROLE MODEL

Remember that groups will tend to copy how you behave. So think about what you want learners to do and set a good example of what it is like to be an active learner. Some examples:

• If you are asking participants to set learning goals, you can declare your own learning goals.

• You can join in active reviewing exercises as a part ic ipant ( tast ing your own medicine may not always be a good move, but it often is).

• Try to use demonstration rather than a pure verbal briefing. For example, with Action Replay you can demonstrate how to use the remote control and conduct

2. 意外事项

意外事项经常能捕捉人们的兴趣，而且有可能成为一个比你准备或预测的材料更有意义的资源。（你需要判断这个惊奇是让人在学习中分散注意力还是让人受益的机会。）

3. 你感觉思路堵塞时

你没有什么选择了。或者没一个选择让你感觉是对的。或者它看起来似乎是一个你以前没遇到的局面。你甚至都希望能有个“辅导技能热线”了，（也许，你不妨尝试下面第 5 种策略）。

6 种促进积极学习的方法

1. 成为一个行为模范

记得，团队会倾向于模仿你的行为。所以考虑下你希望学员做什么，和建立一个积极学习的榜样。以下是一些例子：

• 如果你计划让学员建立自己的学习目标，你可以表明你自己的学习目标。

• 你能作为一个参与者，加入回顾练习（“尝尝自己那套”未必总是一个好的举动，但它很多时候是真的）。

• 尝试使用示范而不是一个纯粹的口头总结。比如说，通过“行为复现”

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interviews before handing over the remote and the microphone.

Watch out. While joining in as a learner can be an influential facilitation strategy, it can be too influential if there are not also times when you let go, step back and leave space for others.

2. DESCRIBE YOUR CHANGING ROLE

The more different kinds of facilitation roles you take on (joining in, standing back, helping, not helping) the more confusing it can be for learners. The answer is not to cramp your style and limit yourself to one role. Quite the opposite: whenever it seems necessary, explain what your preferred role will be in the next learning process - and why. (This point is expanded later in ‘The Role of the Facilitator’ where I summarize John Heron’s model)

The more successful you are in helping groups grow and develop, the more you will want to adjust your role and relationship to best serve the group and their learning objectives. Spell out how your role can change at different stages of group development and at different stages of learning new skills.

方法，你可以在把遥控器麦克风递给学员时示范怎样使用麦克风进行访问。

注意，当你以一个学习者的身份加入，是一个有影响力的辅导策略。但如果不懂得什么时候放手、退一步，并给予学员学习的空间，那这些影响力就可能过犹不及了。

2. 描述你改变的角色

你担任不同的辅导角色的种类越多（加入，在后观望，帮助和不帮助），学习者就越容易感到困惑。解决办法并不是束缚你的风格和限制你只能扮

Joining in as a learner can be an influential facilitation strategy, (but) it can be too influential if there are not also times when you let go…当你以一个学习者的身份加入，是一个有影响力的辅导策略。但如果不懂得什么时候放手、退一步，并给予学员学习的空间，那这些影响力就可能过犹不及了。

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3. LEAVE SPACE FOR LEARNING : Don’t be a space invader!)

What is NOT facilitative:

• Stepping into a problem-solving exercise with the solution.

• Being the main source of wisdom rather than letting participants look to their own source of wisdom – their experiences.

• Filling in the silence while people are thinking about the question you have just asked.

• Asking all the questions and not drawing out questions from learners.

• Telling participants what they should have done and should have learned.

• Generally being too busy, too helpful and too interfering.

Tell the teacher inside you to take a rest when you want participants to learn by reflecting on their experiences.

4. SHARE OUT OPPORTUNITIES AND INVOLVE EVERYONE

Although a discussion circle looks very democratic, a closer look usually finds that the discussion is being dominated by

演一种角色。相反，无论什么时候，一旦觉得有必要，解释在下一个学习阶段你将要扮演的角色以及原因。（这点在我总结了 John Heron 模式的《辅导者角色》中将被扩展）

你越能成功地帮助团体成长和发展，你就会越想调整你的角色和关系，从而能最好地帮助团队实现他们的学习目标。直接告诉大家你的角色将会在不同的团队发展时期和学习新技能的不同阶段进行转变。

3、留下学习的空间：不要成为一个空间侵略者

什么并不属于辅导的范围：

带着解决方案介入一个问题解决能力的练习

• 成为智慧的主要来源，而不是让参与者参考他们自己的智慧来源——他们的经验。

• 当人们考虑你刚刚提问的问题时，不给予让他们思考的时间

• 把所有的问题都问了，而没有让学习者提出问题。

• 告诉参加者他们应该做什么和应该学到了什么

• 过于繁忙，过于助人和过于干涉。

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a few: it is effectively becomes ‘theatre in the round’ with a few people performing while the rest spectate. Of course you can try making it more participative by persuading ‘spectators’ to get up ‘on

stage’, but it is smarter (and more effective) to f ind ‘stages’ on which everyone is happy to perform. See ‘Turn taking in Group Reviews’ for better ways of sharing out opportunities and involving everyone.

5. USE TRANSPARENT FACILITATION

If you face a facilitation problem and you feel a bit stuck and are wondering what will be the best course of action ... you are not alone. For a start there are probably different voices in your head - and you can choose to tell the group about (some of) these voices.

And if you have no voices in your head, you can tell the group about that too. And there are the voices of the participants too. You are not throwing yourself at the mercy of the group. You are using a very deliberate strategy of presenting a problem to the group (a problem that might affect them more than it does you). And you are consulting with them about the best course of action. You are inviting

在你想引导学生通过实践学习时，就请让你心中的为师欲望休息一下吧。

4、分享机会和让每个人参加

尽管讨论的过程看起来象是非常民主，但是当你仔细地观察时，通常就会发现讨论是被少数人控制的：他有效地成为“中心式舞台”，仅有少数人表演，而其他人在一旁观看。当然，你能通过劝导“观察者”兴奋起来“走上舞台”使得活动更多人参与。但是，更聪明（或者说更有效）的方法是，发现每个人都乐意展示的舞台。“轮流进行小组回顾”这篇文章里面有更好的办法分享机会和使得每个人都能参与。

“If you face a facilitation problem and you feel a bit stuck and are wondering what will be the best course of action ...you are not alone如果你面对辅导难题，感觉思路堵塞，并疑惑于什么才是这个课程最好的行动，别担心，你并不孤独”

5、使用简单易明的辅导方法

如果你面对辅导难题，感觉思路堵塞，并疑惑于什么才是这个课程最

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them to be your facilitation advisory committee...

Mmmm - perhaps that one is a step too far, but I think you can see that such a st rategy i s very cons istent with empowering learners to take responsibility for their learning. It is a bit more facilitative than saying ‘I haven’t a clue’.

If you want to dig deeper into this approach of ‘over to you’, ‘what do you think?’ or ‘let’s work this out together’ then you may find some useful insights f rom John Heron in the Complete Facilitator’s Handbook where he describes the value of moving around between three basic facilitation modes: hierarchical, cooperative, and autonomous.

6. DELEGATE FACILITATION

Question. When you work with groups how many facilitators are there?

Answer. Everyone! All influence each other’s approach to learning through their motivation, curiosity, support, example etc.

So? Bring this to participants’ attention. Praise facilitative behaviour and give opportunities for participants to praise

好的行动，别担心，你并不孤独。开始时，很可能有不同的声音在你的脑子里，同时你能选择告诉学员这些（或部分）想法。

如果你头脑中并没有想法，你也可以告诉你的团队。参加者自然会说一些想法。你并不是将自己放在一个受团队控制的位置上，而是用一个影响他们更多于你的难题在咨询怎样能使培训更顺利地进行。你在邀请他们加入你的辅导建议委员会。

嗯，可能这步稍微超越了一点，但我觉得你能看到，这样的策略能授权予学习者，让他们自己对学习负责。这比直接说“我没有想法”更有辅导效果。

Praise facilitative behaviour and give opportunities for participants to praise each other's facilitative behaviour鼓励促进（学员的）辅导行为并给予机会让参加者能称赞其他人所表现出辅导行为

6、分配辅导任务

问题：当你跟一组人在学习时，那里有多少位辅导员？

答案：每一个都是辅导员！通过

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each other’s facilitative behaviour. Assign responsibilities for facilitating eg using learning buddies, coaching (in ‘Goal Keepers’), giving feedback or facilitating reviewing (such as in Simultaneous Survey).

Facilitating Experiential Learning

Most experiential learning theory is clear about what learners do after their ‘’experience’’: they reflect, interpret, and experiment. But experiential learning theory is less clear about what role (if any) facilitators should play in this process. The principles, strategies, and tactics of facilitation cannot be deduced from experiential learning theory alone: We also need a theory of facilitation. A facilitator who makes deliberate moves among Heron’s three modes of decision making (hierarchical, co-operative and autonomous) also frees up learners to be more mobile and responsible in how they exercise and share power. Such mobility helps to make debriefing and learning more dynamic, versatile, and effective.

积极性、好奇心、支持、举例等，所有人都影响着其他人的学习方法。

所 以？ 让 参 加 者 注 意 到 这 个 事情。鼓励促进辅导行为并给予机会让参加者能称赞其他人所表现出辅导行为。分配责任让学员互相辅导，比如说，采用学习伙伴、教练（例如“守门员活动”）的形式，互相给予反馈或促进回顾。

辅导经验学习

经验学习理论基本都很清楚学员们在“体验”之后该做些什么：他们需要反思、理解和试验。但经验学习理论却很少能把辅导师该在学习过程中所扮演的角色说清楚。辅导的原理、策略和技巧不能单从经验学习理论中推断出来：我们需要一个属于辅导的理论。辅导师可以根据 Heron 的3 种决策模式（阶级、合作和自治）做出有意识的行动，从而让学员在练习和分权当中更加有能动性和更负责任。这样的能动性有助于学员做汇报和更灵活、多元、有效地学习。

More details of Heron’s model点击了解 Heron 模型的内容

To read the full Sino Forum点击阅读完整版的赛诺论坛

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