Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | Introductory and developmental lectures on days 1 & 2 (16 hours) |
| Seminars / Tutorials | Seminar held on the morning of day 4 to review and summarise knowledge of the principles of facilitation and the development of facilitation skills (3 hours) |
| Practical | Formatively assessed practical sessions on days 3 and 4 where participants will participate in and design facilitated sessions and facilitate purposive discussions on a range of relevant leadership and management issues with their fellow learners (5 hours) Summatively assessed facilitation activity on Day 5. (8 hours) |
| Other | Action Learning Sets on day 3 enabling participants to develop ideas and resolve issues related to their facilitation skills, experiences and competence (8 hours) |
| Workload Breakdown | 40 contact hours in total with a further 160 hours dedicated to background research and reading, researching and completing written assignments and the designing and preparation of sessions for facilitation as part of the practical assessment. |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | 3000 word essay | 60% |
| Semester Assessment | Design, with written rationale, and Facilitate two 20 minute sessions | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 3000 word essay | 60% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Design, with written rationale, and Facilitate two 20 minute sessions | 40% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Critically evaluate the academic basis to models and processes of facilitation as a means to progress and enhance leadership for organizational change
Critically evaluate the role of facilitation as a tool of effective leadership and management
Demonstrate a conceptual and practical appreciation of a range formal and informal facilitation techniques
Demonstrate the ability to design, facilitate and evaluate an appropriate and progressive learning discussion on leadership and management issues to achieve intended objectives.
Acquire an appropriate level of skills to enable a group to develop ideas and identify feasible options for progressing a management project
Content
Week 1
Days 1 & 2: Introduction to academic and practical development of facilitation as a skill and development of the range of facilitation approaches and techniques;
2 week break
Week 4
Day 3: Practical experiential learning on participation in and facilitation of Action Learning Sets to develop ideas and formulate strategies for the resolution of particular leadership and management issues; introduction to a formal facilitation process;
Day 4: Review, development and evaluation of formal sessions facilitated by the learners; including the formative practical module assessment component.
Week 5
Day 5: Summative assessment of facilitation skills where learners will design, plan and facilitate a twenty minute session with their fellow learners on a relevant leadership and management topic. This will include individual reflection and group feedback on strengths and development areas for each facilitated session.
Brief description
Students will develop a critical appreciation of the rationale for the use of facilitation as a pedagogic tool, an evaluation of the range of models and techniques proposed and used, and be provided with an opportunity to acquire effective individual facilitation skills, and the knowledge, self-reflection and experience to use facilitation effectively and appropriately. As part of the module assessment, learners will be required to design and facilitate sessions and to submit written assessed work in order to demonstrate an appropriate depth of understanding of the theory and application of facilitation.
Aims
- Developing a critical appreciation of the academic development of facilitation and action learning as a leadership tool;
- Evaluate the range of models and techniques for the facilitation process;
- Acquire skills to plan and structure leadership and management activities which require facilitation;
- Acquire a critical appreciation of, and practical experience in the range of techniques commonly used in facilitation techniques;
- Gain knowledge and understanding of group dynamics and challenging behaviours within groups, and an appreciate of the skills required to handle these;
- Gain knowledge of and experience in the use of appropriate management feedback in a facilitated learning context;
- Plan, organise and facilitate leadership and management group learning activities.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | |
| Communication | Verbal communication skills will be covered as a fundamental element of facilitation and the ability to write academically at an advanced level will be assessed through the written assignment |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | It is envisaged that this module will be primarily accessed by learners who are also working and who will therefore be able to apply their learning to the workplace and their work to the learning experience |
| Information Technology | |
| Personal Development and Career planning | This module will support the development and support of current and future leaders and managers within their organisations, through the acquisition of a range of skills including: communication, supporting teams, developing solutions. |
| Problem solving | The ability to select and develop appropriate facilitation techniques for particular leadership and management scenarios and to utilise them to identify feasible solutions |
| Research skills | Identification and assimilation of background research, particularly in support of the written assignment |
| Subject Specific Skills | |
| Team work | The conduct of Action Learning Sets inherently entail team working and team development. The overall ethos of delivery will be for learners to support and challenge each other. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 7