Facilitated learning

What is facilitated learning?

Facilitated learning is where the students are encouraged to take more control of their learning process. The trainer's role becomes that of a facilitator and organiser providing resources and support to learners. In turn the participants learn with and from each other as they identify and implement solutions to challenges, problems or other developmental issues. They might also set their own objectives and be responsible for learning assessment.

The technique is used most frequently in university education and more formal study. It is probably not a methodology that trainers in the archive field will be able to use exclusively, but it offers some techniques and approaches that can be incorporated into training courses that run over several days. For example having participants work independently to develop an action plan, related to the course content but tailored to their needs.

In contrast to individual learning where the trainer becomes very involved and responsive to each participant's individual needs, with facilitated learning the trainer supports and facilitates the participants who develop and shape their own learning goals and achievements.

Advantages and disadvantages of facilitated learning

Facilitated learning is based on the premise that the more responsibility a student takes for his/her own learning, the more effective the training or education will be. The advantages are:

• Learners use skills like synthesis and analysis
• The learner is actively involved
• Learners interact with and learn from each other
• There is no need for large amounts of learning materials
• Learners can work in an environment similar to that of the real world
• A variety of learning methods are used

There are some disadvantages:

• Facilitated learning can be — or be seen to be — more expensive
• The pace of instruction is based on the group rather than the individual learner
• The teacher’s role is not clearly defined
• There is a need for extra facilities to allow for group work etc
• The learning is relatively time consuming in proportion to the amount of material covered
• Facilitated learning is not appropriate in some cultural contexts

Delivery of facilitated learning

As already noted, the teacher’s role in facilitated learning is to create and manage collaborative learning experiences, or group learning in which exchanges between instructors and learners and among learners occur over a period of time.

Facilitated courses and learning experiences usually take place over a series of weeks and may include:

• On-demand tutorials, presentations, and keynote addresses
• Online or face-to-face group discussions and exchanges
• Handouts, readings, and links to relevant Websites
• File and link sharing
• Surveys and polls
• Virtual real-time or physical classroom sessions, lectures, seminars
• Brainstorming sessions (virtual or face-to-face)
• Group activities such as role play and games
• Field trips
• Projects and case studies

Facilitated learning in its purist form is likely to occur in a well-resourced environment with participants who are highly motivated and pro-active. Most training environments are unlikely to be able to offer the necessary conditions. However, elements of facilitated learning can be combined effectively with other styles of training to provide many of the benefits inherent in the methodology.

Last updated: 20 December 2005