Training: Role of the Facilitator
Facilitator: Helping / support is often the flip side of control. More sinisterly, control has not infrequently been camouflaged under the guise of 'helping' individuals who have societally designated labels; such as developmental or cognitive disability. The decision, by the families who founded STEPS Forward, to describe staff as facilitators, instead of supports or educational assistants, is very deliberate and the result of research and endless discussions around the kitchen table, coffee houses, and Board rooms.
The best way to provide insight into the work of how to facilitate valued roles and reciprocal contributions with a group, or a student, or to create an inclusive moment, experience, or community, is by providing examples. Below are some common examples. If staff are doing their job well, they frequently find themselves in situations and experiencing outcomes that are unexpected or unusual. The common thread that you should notice is that everything is done in a very intentional way. It has frequently been said that natural inclusion requires a lot of "unnatural' background work to achieve. Also to note, there are no cookie cutter prescriptions for how to facilitate any given type of moment. Staff constantly negotiate and renegotiate their understanding of the group, the individual, their own role, and the context, in order to work towards crafting a community where inclusion can happen more naturally abd sustainably the next time. These examples illustrate the facilitation of:
Facilitation Priorities When schedules are chaotic and deadlines are imminent, it can be hard to remember what the important parts of our jobs are. The following diagram provides a helpful way of thinking about in ‘chunks’ the experience of a truly included students life that we are facilitating all the time. Click to enlarge image
Safe environment
Because we support students of a college or university, which already provides a safe environment for all students, facilitating a safe environment should be the easiest part of this job, On every campus there exists departments of Student Affairs and Student Services dedicated to student safety and success. But work is still needed to facilitate positive relationships between our staff and campus staff, and campus staff and the students we support if they are to seamlessly be able to access regular campus services and opportunities. The nature of this support is in the building of relationships through awareness, support, and finding ways to seek reciprocal ways of contributing to the work of college and university staff. Fostering strong relationships contributes towards building campuses which are safe and supportive environments. Families are an important part of the conversations about safety and student engagement. It is important for facilitators to support students to become confident in the attainability of the decisions they make for themselves and to understand the concerns of families .
Psychological and emotional safety It is a sad reality that the overwhelming majority of 1st year students we support were segregated in high school. This means that the 1st year can be both scary and an opportunity to let loose. Fostering opportunities for both positive experiences and learning from taking risks and making mistakes supports students to become confident and engaged. For students who do not feel safe immediately, or whose experimenting may lead to some unique responses from the community, there may be a short term requirement for extra support. The nature of that support should be as minimal as possible, but not more so; and as invisible as possible. Apparent invisibility is key as it provides the opportunities for the community to problem solve, to sort out their mutual relationships, as well as understand their own roles and responsibilities in creating an inclusive space. Invisibility done well requires significant more work and creatively than a hands on appoach but leads to valued and self sustainable communities in the future. Program space & furniture Program space and furniture is provided by the post secondary institution through the shared use of common areas (coffee shops, printers etc) that are available for any other student. On occasion accommodations or supports may need to be thought through to make sure these are accessible e.g. if a student who is blind needs special software to access school computers or a desk may need to be elevated to accommodate a wheelchair. Emergency Procedures Sometimes professors may need extra information about emergency procedures to know how to include the student. For example, if the student is in a wheel chair and the classroom is not on the ground floor, the Professors need to be aware of emergency evacuation procedures and know where the nearest refuge area is so that student can be safely reached by campus emergency response personnel. Supportive environment This section is as much about the supportive environment that staff provide to students as it is about working with all members of the student’s post-secondary community to make sure they feel confident providing a supportive environment (in the classroom, club or workplace). Note: we would never approach someone and say “As the leader in this space in order to include the student you must provide… [the list below]! But, we would reflect on each situation to make sure that we think the leaders involved have whatever tools they need to provide each thing to the individual student. For example, if a particular student to feel welcome by the Professor to feel like they were welcomed in the classroom we would make sure to communicate that to the Professor before the first class. If another student has a particular way that they learn best we might support the student to share that as well during the meeting. Encouragement We often find ourselves in the role of “cheerleaders” inspiring students when they are afraid to take a leap and try something new. Proactively building inclusive places and finding valued roles for the students is the best way to move away from our central role and empowering the student and members of the club, class, community to feel that they belong to a group with a common identify and having a sense of mutual support in reaching common goals. Reframing conflict Conflict might not just mean direct conflict, but could also include conflict between expectations (either their own or expectations by others). It may also have deeper roots then what a superficial observation might provide. I.e. A student who is disruptive or confrontational is often one who feels disempowered and does not feel included and valued. Finding ways to reinforce defiance against anonymity and being devalued thorugh the creating of meaning roles and by working with the community members to build authentic mutually valued relationships is key. Skill building Historically people with developmental disabilities are trapped in an endless life long process of having to learn skills before they can engage in life. Our role is to ignore skill development as it will happen naturally as students learn from their peers and personal experience. Our role is to think creatively about how to support the student to get the most out of their classroom and campus experience. Part of that role is to discover the best ways to modify course materials for students so that the student can learn and contribute in the same ways as other students through group projects, engaging in the discussions, asking questions. Fundamentally the critical the role of facilitators is to find ways that those learning moments above can become opportunities for relationship building and the exploration of new ideas and communities for the student. Academic and Term Coherency The student should be supported to have an academic, campus and employment experience which is coherent with that of any other student. That is, during the day during the academic term they are engaged academically, socially, recreationally, and in the local culture of the campus. During the summer term they are supported to find and retain summer employment coherent with what other students are doing this term. Seeking opportunities for them to enrol in practicums related to their studies or internships is another way to support their identify as authentic students. Active engagement The role of the Facilitators is to find ways for professors, teaching staff, student related campus staff and others to work together in identifying opportunities for the student to become an engaged student with a sense of belonging to their community.. Often this means thinking about how a student can have a meaningful role in a group, project or activity rather than being a passive participant or observer. Examples of this are discussed in the “interaction” section. Welcoming atmosphere This seems like a given for any campus classroom or group activity, but unfortunately it is not uncommon for others to need mentoring in overcoming their feeling of confusion about how to interact with someone who at first contact seems different. Sometimes others just need a bit of a nudge to remind them that acting in natural ways, as one would with anyone else, is OK . This factor is one of the reasons facilitators give an overview of inclusive post secondary education to classes at the start of the semester. Interaction It is the goal of facilitators to seek opportunities for the students to interact in authentic ways with other members of campus communities. Lead and mentor When students have opportunities to be leaders and mentors of others it has huge power to change stereotypes. These opportunities can be few and far between and need to be carefully nurtured and sought by facilitators. Be in small groups Small groups are the places where life-long connections are forged on post-secondary campuses. These come in the form of group projects, study groups, campus clubs and campus parties. Recognizing and Reinforcing Adulthood Students we work for are adults and are peers with the other adult students. While this seems obvious, way too frequently adults with developmental disabilities are perceived and treated like children. Seeking ways to reinforce their own image as an adult, as well as promoting the recognition by close family, friends and advocates that their children are now adults is important to the identity and independence of the student as they transition from their teenage years to adulthood. Experience belonging This is the most powerful of all opportunities and one we must protect all the time. For students who have experienced exclusion they often do not have an expectation of belonging, Life experience through opportunities for interaction & involvement in campus life will create a feeling of belonging and an expectation by others of the student belonging. I.e. if they are part of a group and they do not show up for an event are they missed, does someone from the group text or phone to see what happened? Invite them to the next event?. Engagement In many ways this sometimes is a precursor for interaction to be even possible because of the barriers that exist for most students. That being said, the more confidence students gain by having positive, inclusive interactions the more they feel empowered to be engaged, and the less they feel like engagement is being imposed upon them. Plan It is important for facilitators to talk through upcoming events with students and that they learn to anticipate and support things that may disrupt plans. Reflect Helping students to reflect on what is working and not working, and thus become aware and comfortable with of their own strengths and how to work around their weaknesses is a powerful tool for students to begin to advocate for themselves. Make choices Often students come to university or college when they are newly adult, and the idea that they have the ability to make their own choices is new. Allowing students the space to make choices and support them through the consequences is the mark of a well-facilitated situation. It is important to note that this diagram does not reflect how much time staff should be spending on each thing in their day; staff should focus their time on setting up opportunities for students to have interactions with others in the University community. A small part of any interaction with students will be spent ensuring that they are able to be engaged in those interactions by supporting them to plan, reflect and, of course, make choices. A good facilitator tries to…
It is also important for facilitators to be able to communicate clearly and confidently with families that students are safe on campus because they are included and that planning and resources are in place to keep students safe. In fact, segregated and partially segregated options have been linked to increased vulnerability, marginalization, isolation and violence. Psychological and emotional safety For people who may have experienced trauma from exclusion feeling safe in a group environment can sometimes be challenging. We know that it is only by being supported to having good experiences that will change this. For students who do not feel safe immediately there may be a requirement for extra support until this is possible. Program space & furniture Program space and furniture is by definition provided by the school through the use of common areas (coffee shops, printers etc) that are available for any other student. On occasion accommodations or supports may need to be thought through to make sure these are accessible e.g. if a student who is blind needs special software to access school computers. Emergency Procedures Sometimes professors may need extra information about emergency procedures to know how to include the student. For example, if they are in a wheel chair and the classroom is not on the ground floor, Professors need to know how that student can be safe during an emergency. Healthy food & drinks Students have access to the same food and drink establishments as any other student, but may need assistance to do things like reading menus, budgeting or making healthy choices. A facilitator can often help the student to build relationships with the staff at campus cafeterias to help them with these steps, rather than having direct paid supports. Physically safe environment Again, this should be a standard set by the school for all students unless there is some kind of special circumstances. For example, if someone needed support to cross the street safely. Supportive environment This section is as much about the supportive environment that staff provide to students as it is about working with all members of the student’s post-secondary community to make sure they feel confident providing a supportive environment (in the classroom, club or workplace) that the student is in. Note: we would never approach someone and say “As the leader in this space in order to include the student you must provide… [the list below]! But, we would reflect on each situation to make sure that we think the leaders involved have whatever tools they need to provide each thing to the individual student. For example, if one particular student needed a little bit of interaction with the professor to feel like they were welcomed in the classroom we would make sure to communicate that to the Professor before the first class. If another student has a particular way that they learn best we might share that as well. Encouragement We often find ourselves in the role of “cheerleaders” for students when they are afraid to take a leap and try something new. However, we notice that the more they become connected to their communities and the more this encouragement is coming from others in natural ways the less cheerleading is required from staff. Reframing conflict Sometimes students may need support in talking through road bloacks. Conflict might not just mean direct conflict, but things like conflict between expectations (either their own or expectations that others have of them), goals or desires. Skill building It is the role of facilitators to discover the best ways to modify course materials for students so that they have the opportunity to learn as much as possible from their Professors and coursework. Note the difference between this and the role of facilitators being to teach the material to the student directly. Session flow This can be thought of in the kind of support that students need to organize their day in a way that works for then. Students may have different challenges or supports required to plan a day, get to or from classes and find spaces they feel comfortable hanging out on campus. Active engagement This is one where facilitators and professors/campus organizers need to work together. Often this means thinking of how a student can have a meaningful role in a group, project or activity rather than being a passive participant or observer. Examples of this are discussed in the “interaction” section. Welcoming atmosphere Again, this seems like a given for a campus classroom, but sometimes other students need a bit of a nudge to remind them that this isn’t always easy. This is part of the purpose of our presentations to classes at the start of the semester. Interaction It is the goal of facilitators to seek opportunities for students to interact in authentic ways with other members of campus communities. Lead and mentor When students have opportunities to be leaders and mentors of others it has huge power to change stereotypes. These opportunities can be few and far between, so need to be carefully nurtured and sought by facilitators. Be in small groups Small groups are the places where life-long connections are forged on post-secondary campuses. These come in the form of group projects, study groups, campus clubs and campus parties. Partner with “adults” This probably comes from the fact this model comes from a framework that is designed for youth under 19. However we can see it in two ways: the reminder that the students we work for are adults and are peers with the other students in their classes, and that there are opportunities when students interact and learn from their professors and bosses who can be valuable mentors in visioning their futures. Experience belonging This is the most powerful of all opportunities, and one we must protect all the time. For students that have experienced exclusion they often do not have an expectation of belonging, and so it must be demonstrated through opportunities for interaction & involvement in campus life. Engagement In many ways this sometimes is a precursor for interaction to be even possible because of the barriers that exist for most students. That being said, the more confidence students gain by having positive, inclusive interactions the more they feel empowered to be engaged, and the less they feel like engagement is being imposed upon them. Plan It is important for facilitators to talk through upcoming events with students and that they learn to anticipate and support things that may disrupt plans. Reflect Helping students to reflect on what is working and not working, and thus become aware and comfortable with of their own strengths and how to work around their weaknesses is a powerful tool for students to begin to advocate for themselves. Make choices Often students come to university or college when they are newly adult, and the idea that they have the ability to make their own choices is new. Allowing students the space to make choices and support them through the consequences is the mark of a well-facilitated situation. It is important to note that this diagram does not reflect how much time staff should be spending on each thing in their day; staff should focus their time on setting up opportunities for students to have interactions with others in the University community. A small part of any interaction with students will be spent ensuring that they are able to be engaged in those interactions by supporting them to plan, reflect and, of course, make choices. A good facilitator tries to…
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