Time: 1st June 2021 – November 2022

Location: Online, Zoom & offline tba

Language: English

Are you interested in facilitating learning and co-creation? Do you not yet have experience in facilitation? Or you have not joined a training of trainers yet, and would like to ground your practice with theoretical knowledge and learning supervision?

Then join this 1 ½ year basic qualification course to get fully equipped as a facilitator knowing how to create democratic learning spaces, to design and facilitate learning processes of groups and to enable co-creation.

What will you learn?

Facilitation – the practice:

• You know theoretical foundations of pedagogy and adult learning and have psychological and methodological preparation to design learning processes and to work with groups
• You know different tools for planning and structuring educational events and you can plan an event
• You are able to work in a facilitators’ team in a constructive way, and you develop a feedback culture
• You know what “group dynamics” is and can adjust methods to the respective atmosphere in the group or react to changes adequately
• You know a variety of methods that match values and goals of the educational event and can choose properly
• You can design educational events with methods that address different needs and resources of participants
• You are capable to prepare and conduct evaluation and reflection sessions in the team and among participants and take them into account
• You can identify causes and symptoms of conflict in facilitators’ team and and among participants and address it constructively
• You acknowledge participants’ social, cultural, ethnic, religious, economic, educational, gender etc. backgrounds and you are able to work with diversity in practice

Online – the new normal:

• You know the specifics of learning online and know how to design online learning events
• You now how to facilitate online in a participatory and engaging way
• You know a set of online tools that work best for your context
• You practiced your online facilitation
• You know how to adapt online facilitation to different target groups

Learning and democracy – the thematic focus:

• You are able to create democratic learning spaces: the decision-making processes are transparent, participation is fostered, participants experience democracy in teamwork and by fostering inclusion
• You are familiar with main principles of non-formal education and diversity and can address it through different methods in a group
• You can facilitate processes that lead to empowerment by taking self-responsible initiative. You can help learners to develop their own vision, identify their inner motivation and turn into specific civic engagement to contribute to societal change

Self-directed learning – the path:

• You know how to organize your own learning process effectively using analogue and digital approaches such as feedback, self-assessment tools, peer-learning and learning supervision
• You are aware that a facilitator is in a constant development process and requires being open to the new, learning new trends and joining professional communities
• You are conscious about the challenges and potentials of the world full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity and find strategies to deal with such a reality as a facilitator 

Target Groups and professional proposals – the client:

• You know how to work with different target groups, clients, organisational cultures and how to design and communicate  professional offers
• You are able to consciously plan your career as a facilitator, including peer support, joining a community of facilitators, positioning yourself, creation of own portfolio
• You know how to make professional documentations according to the client’s and participants’ needs
• You know market prices for facilitation, the value of your own services and can adapt them to circumstances (e.g. business and non-profit clients, pro-bono work); you know how to invoice your services

Hosting and sustainability – the frame:

• You are familiar with the principles of hosting yourself (well-being) and others as a facilitator
• You know how to create an inviting and sustainable learning space
• You are aware of the three dimensions of sustainability (ecologic, social, economic) and and can prepare the learning environment according to sustainability aspects

How it will work

Basic facilitation training (1-13 June 2021, blended learning)

In this 2-week blended learning training you will explore the role and position of a facilitator, become familiar with the foundations of educational theory and adult learning and learn how to design facilitation sessions and educational events with methods that address the different needs and resources of your participants.

Online facilitation training (February, June, October, blended learning)

In this 10-day blended learning training, combining four live online sessions with asynchronous group work and readings, you will learn about facilitating group processes of co-creation, learning and creativity in a digital space, by creating an enjoyable, inclusive and interactive setting. Through peer-to-peer learning you will connect and exchange with other facilitators and education practitioners on an international level. This training is offered 3 times/year. You can choose which time slot fits you best.

Facilitation practice

Learning by doing! You will practice your facilitation during the facilitator qualification course, self-organized and at your own pace. We recommend 15 days of practice both in online and offline settings (3-4 hours online are equivalent to one day offline).

Learning supervision

You will be matched with an individual learning supervisor after your first training module supporting you in at least two meetings (in total 6 hours), monitoring your learning goals and your self-assessment. The learning supervisor helps you to reflect on your facilitation practice and discuss practice cases that are open or unclear.

Peer-to-peer learning

You will experience the power of peer learning based on trust in the knowledge, experience and perspectives of your peers. Peer-to-peer learning is a voluntary and self-organized reflection format. In groups of 3-4 people matched in the first module of your course, we will provide you with basic tools for intervision and full freedom to organize your knowledge exchange and reflections.

Mid-term reflection (April 2022, online)

8-10 months after the first module we will design a moderated space in an online format for intermediate reflection on your facilitation learning. The mid-term reflection will be organized in smaller groups and you will be able to choose the most suitable time and option.

Reflective Lab (November 2022, in-person, tba)

With this 5-day training you will complete your facilitator qualification course. It is designed as a case study lab, where the agenda is mostly based on your cases from facilitation and collective reflection on it. In addition, the training will provide space for deeper reflection of facilitation as a framework as well as of facilitation as a role. Among other things, you will explore facilitation and psychology; facilitation and politics; and congruence and resilience of a facilitator.

You will experience:

• a good balance between theory and practice delivered in 4 training modules combined with self-directed learning through readings and small group work
• interactive and enjoyable trainings in online, blended and offline learning formats implemented by experienced facilitators
• purpose-driven and process-oriented training designs
• an individual learning supervision throughout the 1 ½ years of 6 hours
• optional peer-to-peer learning groups
• getting connected in a learning community of future facilitators and practitioners of positive social change

This course fits you if:

• you like to learn and practice facilitation of group processes
• you do not yet have any facilitation experience or if you look for grounding your facilitation practice with theoretical knowledge, further practice and reflect on it
• you are a teacher or trainer in formal education and would like to become a facilitator using non-formal methods and relevant approaches
• you would like to work as a facilitator in the future
• and if you look forward to connecting with peers in a learning community

Does this seem like a big decision and you’re not sure if this option best suits your needs?

Contact us and we will be happy to help you evaluate and choose the most suitable option.

Registration is open till 25 May 12 am CET.