Table of Contents

About the Training Basics Series vii

Preface ix

1 It's Not About You-It's About Them! 1

How Facilitation Basics Can Help You 2

Some Assumptions 2

Types of Online Training 3

Myths and Realities of Online Training 6

Before You Begin: Design Considerations 8

Making Do With a Suboptimal or Incomplete Design 10

Ready, Set, Go! 10

Getting It Done 10

2 Learning Facilitation 19

Facilitator or Presenter: What's the Difference? 20

Principles of Adult Learning 23

Getting It Done 32

3 Learner and Facilitator 35

Learning Preferences: How People Take in Information 36

Learning Preferences and the Facilitator 40

Learning Styles: How Adults Process Information 42

Identifying Learning Styles 46

Roles of a Facilitator 49

Facilitator Competencies 54

Facilitator Selection 56

Principles Underlying Facilitation of Learning 59

Getting It Done 60

4 Getting Started 67

Know Your Audience 68

Creating the Climate for Learning 69

Preparing Yourself 82

Opening Activities 86

Personalizing Your Facilitation 90

Getting It Done 93

5 Facilitating Learning Activities 95

Types of Learning Activities 96

Planning Considerations for Learning Activities 104

Special Case: Closing Activities 107

Getting It Done 108

6 Facilitation Techniques 113

How Much Do the Learners Already Know? 114

Critical Facilitation Factors 114

Monitoring Activities 121

Adjusting on the Fly 127

Facilitation Tips 131

Getting It Done 132

7 Managing Difficult Participants 135

It Takes All Kinds of Learners 136

A Clash of Agendas 136

A Closer Look 137

A Better Way 138

Making a Judgment Call 141

Anticipate and Prepare 151

Managing Difficult Participants in an Online or Virtual Environment 152

Getting It Done 155

8 Using Media to Support Learning 159

Factors That Affect the Use of Media in Supporting Learning 160

Using Copyrighted Material 168

Where to Begin? 168

Getting It Done 172

9 Assessing Facilitation Quality 175

Asking for Feedback 176

Observation 178

Level 1 Evaluation 179

Level 2 Evaluation 181

Getting It Done 182

10 A Final Note 187

Getting It Done 189

References 191

Additional Resourced 193

About the Author 199