Good Facilitation is Vital for Effective Learning
By Dr. Axel Meierhoefer
It has been a realization that being a facilitator requires efficiency and innovation which are amongst the factors that lead to effective learning. Businesses and different organizations usually conduct trainings and seminars for their members and employers so that their knowledge about their jobs can be refreshed, enhanced, and improved for the benefit of the business’ growth. To achieve their goals during the trainings and seminars, business organizations often hire the services of experienced facilitators.
The good thing about hiring facilitators is that the workshops and the trainings conducted will become more organized and focused. This can be very advantageous to the participants as they will be able to learn new things and discover additional natural talents that they were not able to nurture when they were in school or college.
Professional facilitators usually encourage the participants of the workshops to participate in activities. Learning to participate in the activities and discussions in the workshop or training gives the participants the chance to express their ideas, their thoughts, and even their feelings allowing them to develop a sense of self confidence to show what they can do and share their skills and talents. Participating in the workshop’s activities and discussions is the first step in achieving effective learning.
I agree with what Joan Noyes suggests: “The idea is to engage the learners and stimulate them to participate in their own learning. Provide opportunities for every type of learner; visual,auditory and kinesthetic. Provide for everyone things to see, hear and do. You'll stimulate your learners, whether in the classroom or meeting room. They'll enjoy it more,learn more and retain it longer
It is also one of the tasks of the facilitator to conduct games and energizers that will bring out the enthusiasm of the participants and to break the monotony of the topic discussions. These games are not plain games. These are actually games that will promote critical thinking amongst the participants.
Good and effective communication within the business organization is the key to achieving the business’ goals and fulfilling its visions. This is why learning how to communicate well is vital to the employees during the workshop and trainings conducted by the professional facilitator(s). As a matter of fact, some form of business communication is often one of the topics that is being tackled and discussed in facilitated workshops and seminars, even though it maybe disguised as teamwork topics, collaboration improvement, and other descriptions revolving around the need to work and communicate better with each other.
A good facilitator can orchestrate a workshop that is beneficial for all the participants and to the business organization as a whole. Hiring a good facilitator can be the first step in achieving business success which every business organization is aiming for. Most of the facilitators today have a wide repertoire of knowledge as far as professional facilitation is concerned. Facilitation is growing in popularity as a profession,trending around the globe right now.
Having many individuals who call themselves facilitators does not mean it is easy to find a good facilitator for workshops and trainings for business organizations. Finding a good professional facilitator is hard work and should involve a detailed evaluation of experiences that demonstrate success in settings and topics similar to the need of the organization. With a good facilitator, an organization can vastly increase success in the delivery of new knowledge and most importantly, increase the retention of the content to levels not achievable with traditional classroom training, lectures, or teaching methods. Good professional facilitators are one of the many tools for effective learning.
Source: http://www.lupinworks.com/roche/workshops/2-techniques.php
