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Questionnaire
on Facilitation Skills Training for New Instructional Staff (Phase
1)
TO
BE FILLED OUT BY PROGRAM DIRECTORS, DIRECTOR OF TRAINING or EQUIVALENT
(feel free to consult with others in the school in order to prepare
answers which are representative of the school)
Once completed please send this survey and attached forms to Cathy
Barnett, Research Coordinator of the Global Facilitation Task
Force and Rebecca Bear,
Program Consultant, Outward Bound International. Addresses on Completion
Checklist.
NOTE: We recognize that some schools will need to
translate information requested here. Please send as much information
as you can, even if it is in your native language.
General Information
OB School: ____________________________
Your Name: ____________________________
Position/Job Title: _____________________________
Length of Time Working for OB: ______ years ______ months
Email address and fax #: _____________________________________________
Date: / /
Working
Definition of Facilitation
The Global Facilitation Task Force would like to develop a definition
of FACILIATION as it applies to Outward Bound. Below we have presented
the first draft of a WORKING DEFINITION of FACILITATION. Could you
please comment on the extent to which this definition fits with
your school's understanding of facilitation? What would you add,
delete, or change? Please try to be as specific as possible because
we will genuinely try to incorporate all suggestions into the next
draft. If your school has a different working definition of FACILITATION,
please include it here.
DRAFT #1 of DEFINITION OF FACILITATION AT OUTWARD BOUND
When facilitating an Outward Bound course the instructor's role
is to guide participants through experiences that allow the maximum
chance for individual growth while fulfilling the program goals
and the school's mission. The Outward Bound instructor thus helps
his/her participants increase their personal effectiveness by assisting
them in developing skills such as communication, identifying and
solving problems, decision-making, and conflict management. This
facilitation involves the use of questions, suggestions, and feedback
(i.e. verbal interventions) to encourage participants to clarify
and explore their thoughts and feelings, uncover personal patterns,
and assist them in considering possible alternatives behaviors.
Facilitation also includes the subtle and overt, intentional and
unintentional actions by instructors which influence the quality
of the Outward Bound participant's experiences and, ultimately,
the extent to which personal and program goals are reached.
Resources: (Schwartz: 1995), (Hunter, Dale, Bailey: 1995) (Global
Facilitation Task Force Communications)
Your comments, additions, deletions:
A.
Staff Selection
1. Who is currently in charge of:
a. Technical Skills Training? Name & Position of person in charge:
b. Facilitation Skills Training? Name & Position of person
in charge (if anyone):
c. What are the main criteria you use/look for when hiring new OB
field staff? Please attach your standard job announcement for
entry-level field staff.
d. What are the average age and the range of career backgrounds
of newly hired staff at your school?
2. Please describe:
* The minimum skills and the skill level you require a staff to
demonstrate before they are given responsibility of instructing
a group on their own (or as lead instructor).
* Attach any assessment forms or written materials on this subject
if available (see checklist).
a. Technical skills:
b. Facilitation skills:
3. How do you assess the facilitation skills listed above and who
assesses them? Attach assessment forms
if available.
B.
Staff Training
1. Are facilitation skills included as a component in your current
training for new instructional staff?
YES / NO (please circle one)
If YES, how many hours/days in the new instructional staff-training
curriculum are devoted to facilitation skills training?
a. 2 hrs. or less
b. ½ day
c. 1 day
d. 2 days
e. 3 days
f. Other: specify __________________________________________________________________
2. Can you provide us with an outline of your new staff-training
curriculum?
YES / NO (please circle one)
If YES, Please attach an outline if available (see
checklist)
3. Has your school created any written resources for instructors
on facilitation skills (e.g., a facilitation handbook, compilation
of facilitation readings, etc.) that could be useful to other schools?
YES / NO (please circle one)
If YES, please attach resources if possible(see
checklist)
4. Does your OB school use any formal published models of facilitation
in your current training and program design methodology?
YES / NO (please circle one)
If YES, please specify which ones, for example:
a. Luckner & Nadler's Edgework model (comfort zone, groan zone,
growth zone)
b. Priest & Gass's 'funneling' model
c. Schein's Process Consultation model
d. Others:
5. Overall, how effective do you believe your school's facilitation
training program is for instructors?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(1 = Not effective at all: 10 = Extremely effective)
Comments:
C.
Monitoring & Ongoing Development of Facilitation Skills
1. Once instructors begin facilitating courses on their own, do
you have a formal method currently in place to evaluate their facilitation
skill competency?
YES / NO
If YES, can you please describe or provide us with any documentation
you
use for this evaluation process. (see
checklist)
2. When new staff finish their first several courses, does a senior
staff debrief them?
YES / NO
If YES, what areas are typically covered in the debrief:
a) course objectives met or not
b) participants (individual and group dynamics)
c) logistics
d) safety & risk management
e) program design
f) process or facilitation issues
g) other areas covered
a. If NO, how are staff evaluated post hiring and training?
3. On courses, are staff responsible to keep a log or journal of
the course events?
YES / NO
If YES, what content is required? Please attach a sample if
available (see checklist)
4. After a course finishes, are staff required to complete a formal
report about their group and/or participants?
YES / NO
If YES, could you please provide us with a sample of this/these
report(s)? See Attached Checklist
5. Are new staff at your school required to complete a professional
development plan, outlining specific goals they aim to achieve in
six-months/one year?
YES / NO
If YES, are these goals focused on: (please circle the ones that
apply)
1. Technical skills
2. Facilitation skills
3. Other areas: (please list)
a. Can you provide us with a sample of a professional development
plan? See Attached Checklist
6. Overall, how effective do you believe your staff are, at facilitating
personal development opportunities for students?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(1 = Not effective at all 10 = Extremely effective)
You may prefer to answer this question by breaking your staff
into percentages (For example, 20% of staff = 8; 50% = 4; 30% =
2) OR according to staff level (For example, junior instructors
= 2; instructors = 5; senior instructors = 9)
Comments:
D.
Help and Resources
1. What specific help do you think the GFTF can potentially provide
to your school to assist in developing or improving the facilitation
skills training? Please be as specific as you can in your reply.
2. Comments: Is there any other potentially useful information about
the particular strengths or needs of facilitation skills training
for instructors at your OB school that might be of interest to the
GFTF?
3. We are interested in compiling a list of people with considerable
expertise in Outward Bound facilitation skills. Could you please
suggest the names and contact details (preferably email addresses)
of up to 5 people who you would consider excellent facilitators.
The people you name may or may not work at your Outward Bound School.
Name Email
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Thank
you very much for taking the time to complete this survey.
We hope to see you all at the World Conference in Singapore where
we will be running two sessions. One session will be devoted to
delivering a Comprehensive Summary of this questionnaire and asking
the question: Where do we go from here?
- Cathy Bernatt, Global Facilitation Task Force
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