Facilitator Training Program

Part I
Audience- College instructors with no current experience facilitating online
instruction. Participants currently have great intrapersonal communication skills,
strong leadership skills, classroom management skills in face to face settings,
Facilitators experience levels vary, most have experience facilitating general subject
matter courses in traditional classroom settings (e. i. English, Math, Science, Social
Studies etc.). Facilitators are all highly competent in subject matter content but
inexperienced in distant teaching strategies. Most of them have proficient to
advanced computer and technology skills and use the computer and internet a
minimum of 3 5 days out of the week. They currently use internet systems for
assignments, grading, and communicating with students in the traditional
classroom settings partially throughout the work week. The facilitators are already
currently using online assignment submission procedures, electronic portfolios and
journals, and the universitys school wide website (for school related
announcements, events, emailing, etc.).
Goals- The key goals for the program are to teach current facilitators how to
develop a strong presence in an online classroom environment and show them how
to communicate effectively from a distance.

Using technology tools to engage collaborative learning

Providing support and availability from a distance
Communicating effectively
o Written word
o Videos
o Chat messaging
o Accessibility

Student and program success:

Summative assessment will be used to measure the trainees success in learning
the objectives of the training program.

Final Project
o On day three of the training trainees will be given an exam that has a
variety of question types, multiple choice, fill in the blank, match items
and true or false. This type of exam will allow the trainer to include a
variety of different questions that address each of the objectives in the
course. Example question:
Fill in the blank: Facilitators should encourage students to use
various methods for collaborating with classmates such as,
discussion boards, chat messaging and ______________.

Trainee questionnaires will be used to measure the program success in addition to

the test results reflected from the end of course exams.

Part II
Distance Facilitator Skills:

Phases of development: A developmental faculty development model that focuses

on content and training needs that align with the participants position in their
developmental lifespan.
Teacher as learner:
o

Novice or /beginner facilitators. Gathering information during early

developmental stages.

Teacher as adopter:
o

Facilitators are adopting to new strategies and experimenting learned

behaviors

Teacher as co-learner:
o

Facilitators show a strong understanding of the relationship between

technology and delivery

Teacher as rejecter:
o

Facilitators have developed stronger intuition of learning outcomes and

technological influences on student learning

Teacher as leader:
o

Facilitators are well experienced and branch out as researchers and

leaders in mentoring new members

Part III Management and Technology Tools

It is recommended that you begin this section of the Facilitator Training Program in
Week 4.

Mentoring program for faculty

o
o

Identify the goals and objectives of the mentoring program. The mentoring
program is designed to help novice distant learning facilitators gain
expertise and experience from more developed peers in their field.
Identification criteria

Novice facilitators have little or no experience facilitating online

instruction, they are to work with a peer mentor over the course of
12 consecutive months at the completion of the initial training. At
the completion of the mentor program, the novice facilitator must be
able to show proof of skill development through the phased faculty
development model. In this case the facilitator will need to have
progressed through each stage and be on a path to perform in the
teacher as leader stage after more experience is gained overtime.
The performance status of the mentor: current standing as a professional
distance educator
Tenured Facilitators acting as mentors are required to have 2-3
years prior experience as distant learning facilitators. Within the
time frame he/she should have taught a minimum of five classes
successfully with good feedback provided via, surveys and
student questionnaires. The mentors prior experience does not
need to match the novice facilitators content area, he or she just
needs the experience in online facilitation to mentor.

Management and evaluation programs for facilitators

o
o
o

How might the faculty learning community approach affect management?

Identify the specific challenges and strategies used to manage adjunct faculty
from a distance. Webinars and virtual group meetings can be used to
direct adjunct faculty from a distance.
What evaluation strategies will you use for facilitators? Student feedback
can be used to determine effectiveness in facilitator strategies. To
prevent personal biases from impacting the evaluation feedback,
management can also assess facilitator behaviors by going through
the online discussion forums and student conversation to track and
evaluate certain behaviors.
How will the evaluation and management strategies align with the
identification of effective faculty skills and behaviors in Part I?
As lead faculty members will assess the online activity and look for
signs to show evidence of the desired distant facilitator skills.
Specific criteria will be looked at:
Are the facilitators responding in a timely manner?
Are facilitators providing positive feedback?
Are facilitators clear in their communication efforts?
What tools are facilitators using and emphasizing in the
classroom?

Learning platform (LMS/CMS) used by the distance learning faculty for facilitating
their classes
The learning management system is the institutions actual learning
platform that consist of the various elements needed to conduct
online learning including but not limited to>
the website itself,

the Ebooks,
the library and resource tools,
the discussion rooms/forums/boards
the assignment submission tool
the grading tabs etc.
Identify processes facilitators will use to do the following:

Include at least three different technology or media tools that engage and
enhance student learning, such as the following:
o
o
o
o

Present information, such as lectures or videos Facilitators should

provide these information like this attached to the objectives of
relevance. The links should be easily accessible and should be
checked for errors prior to posted and after.
Conduct class discussions Class discussion should be presented in
the proper place according to the setup of the learning
management platform. It should be relevant to the objectives
with it and presented in a timely and well organized fashion.
Conduct private discussions Facilitators will address private matters
with students privately in his or her private discussion forum.
Discussion here should not be shared with other class members
and is confidential between the student and the facilitator.
Receive assignments Assignment will be submitting to the
instructor via the assignment submission tab on each students
individual profile.
Provide assignment feedback and grades Facilitators will display
assignment grades and feedback privately in each students
individual grading tab.

Audio
Video
Visuals and infographics
Games and simulations

Include a clear description of how each technology or media tool will engage and
enhance student learning.

Part IV Issues and Classroom Management

It is recommended that you begin this section of the Facilitator Training Program in
Week 5.

A minimum of three different technology tools for student collaboration, such as

the following:
o
o
o
o
o

A description of the different distance learners

o
o
o

Wikis
Blogs
The classroom learning platform to be used
Skype, Apple FaceTime, or other teleconferencing tools
Mobile computing

Cultural- Distant learners are collaborating from all over the world and
various cultural difference are likely among a group of learners in one online
course.
Experiential- Learners range in age and experience levels. Some may have
long lines of professional experience and others may have little or no
experience at all.
Prior learning experiences: nontraditional learners- have a broad range of
prior knowledge and perspective to bring to the classroom. They are often
self-directed learners and they are usually intrinsically motivated to learn.
They feel their prior experience is highly relevant to each new learning
engagement and have a strong desire to make that connection.

A description of the differences between synchronous and asynchronous

facilitation skills
A minimum of three technology management issues and resolutions
Materials and resources
Familiarity with certain systems and technology
Internet Connectivity

Classroom management issues and resolutions

o

Learner feedback

Messages (Facilitators are expected to show strong presence in the online

classroom. They must respond to messages in a timely manner and
provide feedback continuously in the classroom.)
Comments
Audio

Challenging behaviors

Cyber-bullying
Inappropriate posts (Facilitators are expected to address negative
behaviors online immediately as they are presented. There is a zero
tolerance for cyber-bulling. The students will have acknowledged a code of
conduct document that outlines the universities expectations of online
course etiquette and representation. When students are in violation of the
university code of conduct guidelines, students can be charged for
violations and handled according to the specifications of the code of
conduct handout. All inappropriate messages must be removed from the
learning management system immediately upon discovery.)
Lack of participation or engagement (Satisfactory participation
expectations will be outlined at the start of each course along with the
grading system for class participation. If students are not participating in
class the instructor should encourage student participation privately as
feedback is given. If student continues to be uninvolved in class
discussion, facilitator should continue to encourage behaviors in the same
way.)

ADA learners and associated strategies (If a students has special ADA
requirements the facilitator is expected to consider the specifications
presented by the students ADA representative. Facilitators are expected to
partner with student and ADA representative to see what is needed in each
circumstance. Special accommodations must be made in this instance.)