I used to be an IT trainer and I was very good(so I thought) at telling people what to do and how to do it (in the IT arena that is). Whilst I was training with IBM, I was sent on a number of training courses and one of them was a week long facilitation skills course in a very lovely location in Hampshire. To say I was unhappy about the choice of course, was an understatement. I was fuming! As far as I was concerned, facilitation was for soft skills trainers, who liked to draw things out of their delegates. It was not for techies like me who had some serious knowledge to impart. Asking questions was only going to slow the process down!
So on the course, I took a very mature approach and sulked most of the week. On the Thursday afternoon we were given topics to either present or facilitate for the final session on Friday. That meant some evening work. I would be "happy" as long as I did not have to do any facilitation on the final day. But guess what? I was given the task of facilitating a discussion on "Power bases for trainers". Not a subject I knew very much about, which firstly freaked me out a little. How would I stand up in front of a group of trainers and facilitate on a subject I knew very little (if anything) about? Panic!!
My second response was, okay so now that I have been landed with this, let me throw it back at them (they were not going to make a fool out of me!) and I will just ask loads of questions of the group and record their answers. In the 15 minutes it took me to prepare, I realised that I had the least amount of work to do in comparison to my other colleagues, but I was still not won over - it was about retaliation!
Starting the facilitated discussion, I was nervous (although I hid it well) but the more responses I got, the less nervous I got. The session, sort of ran itself really; a few questions, some nods and grunts in the right places, from me and a bit of flipchart recording. I was quite pleased with myself - I had really shown them! I was not defeated - I ran a facilitated discussion and did the minimum preparation I could get away with and spent the rest of the evening gloating with a gin and tonic while the others furiously prepared for their sessions.
By nature I am a pragmatist and hence the struggle - I could not see how this was ever going to apply to what I do as an IT trainer. Reflection was not a normal occupation for me. But as I did reflect on the experience I did take away something quite valuable:
- I could stand up in front of people and help them learn, without being an expert
- When you "tell" in a training session, even if the learners look like they are engaged, they could be dreaming about anything - dinner, holidays or the weekend
- When you ask a learner a question, even if it is rhetorical, the brain tries search for an answer
The last one has had the biggest impact on me, because I understand now that learner engagement can be boosted by asking (relevant) questions. It is as simple as that.
So the blog is called "Facilitator or Trainer?" and those people in knowledge heavy training areas such as IT, Financial Services, process, H&S etc may be answering "trainer" - because you have to do a certain amount of telling in these subjects. True, but consider Tim Gallwey's model below:
During any learning/training the facilitator slips between these three roles:
- They have to be the trainer when they are setting out the objectives, instructing and getting the learners to follow the agenda
- They can be a facilitator by being neutral and asking questions to draw the learners to the conclusions they need to make and to engage them
- They should, themselves be a learner to observe what is going on in the room to adapt accordingly
So do we need to choose between the two? Or can we seamlessly glide between Tim Gallwey's 3 roles? I will leave you to answer that for yourselves........
Comments
Thanks for the comments Cliff and Mike. Agree with both of you. I was reminded the other day that Kevin has done a great blog on the DPG website on facilitation:
http://www.dpgplc.co.uk/blog/2013/3/10/getting-the-most-from-the-'f'-word.aspx
Your quote by Benjamin Franklin is my favourite, but I always thought Confuious said it:
http://www.searchquotes.com/quotes/author/Chinese_Proverb/2/
Whoever said it - it is now my mantra!
Picking up on your reference to Ebbinghaus Mike, I too like you have been quoting this - it is worth listening to this guy with his take on the subject ....
http://www.searchquotes.com/quotes/author/Chinese_Proverb/2/
Great post Krys and equally thought provoking reply from Cliff.
I believe that the role of Learning Professional has many facets indeed and I'll be controversial (or not) and say that you train a dog not people. The term 'Trainer' for me puts a barrier between us and the very people we are looking to help and develop. It reminds me of 'chalk and talk', spoon feeding and the 'trainer' positioning themselves as a point of power and the 'expert'. I understand that there does need to be an element of tell in some cases but does it need to be tell in a classroom environment, the flipped classroom model tells us otherwise. it doesn't help of course that people's expectations in a lot of cases are that learning only takes place in the classroom and they expect to be 'trained'
The role of facilitator is one of enabler and the focus should be on creating conditions and environments where people feel empowered to learn themselves and shouldn't feel that they are being taught. Yes there is a skill in facilitating but this doesn't start and stop in the classroom which is why I think the model from 1994 above is flawed for the 21st century and doesn't reflect the changes we've seen in the world over the last 10 years. I appreciate this is specific to the classroom so its unfair to take this out of context but if Tom was going to do another model for 2013 do you think it would be different now?
I 100% agree that we are all life long learners but the notion that learning is confined to or focused around the classroom (in the traditional sense) is one that is holding our profession back in my opinion. We need to focus on developing skills that help people become better learners themselves and be flexible, adapting our approaches and developing (and role modelling) these skills ourselves. If you walk around with a hammer you will see everything as a nail and this means widening our thinking around what, how and when learning takes place and how we support this. The video on 70/20/10 Charles Jennings that you added only serves to remind us of the role of the classroom in supporting learning and the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve re-inforces the fact that you can be the best facilitator in the world but without putting something in to practice quickly any transfer of learning will be lost quickly.
I like this image I came across recently that shows the changing role and evolution of the 'trainer'
Nice blog Krystyna. I have seen so many Trainers working too hard 'to earn their money', with many feeling guilty if they are not espousing words of wisdom into the empty vessels. Sometimes the resistance to let go of the control of the session can lean inexperienced Trainers towards the tell and push rather than the ask and pull in the learning intervention. At other times it is about personality and ego - being wanted and needing to be valued.
The most powerful and effective learning I have ever experienced (as a learner or a facilitator) have been managed in a facilitative way within a framework that settles those who need firm structure.
I also hear resistance in the form of 'this is an expert/H+S/Induction/technical subject so I MUST teach it'. I disagree.
I recall the best Induction process I have ever seen where the Induction Trainer had 3 days to indoctrinate the new employees. She chose to set a challenge on day one with a sweep up of the formal bits on day 3 and let the individuals loose to learn about the company/people/manager/procedures/policies in triads - like a treasure hunt. She stayed at 'base-camp' for support and to 'facilitate' access to senior staff. Awesome facilitation to what is normally a dry 'trained' event.
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. (B Franklin)
Carry on facilitating - teach people as if you teach them not. ;-)