Trainer-Led Materials That Help Facilitate Discussion

A further vote for everything HunterBlake​ said.

In terms of tools that can be useful in facilitation, we use mentimeter a lot.

Hi Elaine,

Great question, and it's a common problem. Here are some things that I have found helpful:

• Use your virtual platform's interactive features to get people participating right away. Have them unmute or use the chat to introduce themselves. Create a poll (or include a poll-type question that people can respond to via chat), show an image and ask for reactions (likes, hearts, etc.), ask a simple yes/no question and have people raise their hands to respond, etc. This acclimates both the attendees and the instructor with the idea that the session will be participatory and lets them "push the buttons" in a low-stakes way. If the instructor knows that they will get responses from the audience, they're less likely to treat it as a lecture.
• If you have a producer or a "friendly" in the class, prepare them in advance to jump in early and use the chat to respond to some early questions. This shows people that it's OK to actively participate when no one wants to go first.
• Put your questions on-screen (not just in the facilitator notes) with a built-in pause (like a click-to-reveal). This forces the instructor to stop, and they are more likely to allow time for responses.
• If you need to take a firmer hand, update your questions to include the way participants should respond. If you're asking: "What is a SMART goal?" add on "Unmute or type your answer in the chat." Put that on the screen, too (at least for the first few questions). That sets the expectation for everyone about how the class will proceed, and makes it awkward to skip straight to the answer.
• If you have the chance to prep your instructor, walk them through the interactivity in the class ahead of time. Sometimes I create an interactivity guide instead of a facilitator guide so the instructor knows what they really need to pay attention to, and why the class is set up that way ("this way you don't have to talk the whole time" is usually pretty well-received). Covering the 8-second rule (and how hard it can be!) never hurts either.

I hope this helps, and best of luck!

I am someone who both facilitates a class and does instructional design. To me, this is not a design problem, it is a scared trainer. When we ask the class a question, we hand them control. "They could say anything!" and that scares someone who is not prepared, does not know the content well enough to led a discussion, is new to facilitating a proper engaged class, or perhaps is just plain lazy.

Notice when I use the word 'facilitator' vs. 'trainer.' Those are two different things in my book. A trainer walk them through steps and teaches a process. A facilitator facilitates learning. The word facilitate breaks down to Greek roots of "to make easy." We break down concepts and lead the learners through their own journey of discovery.

So, I have questions...

1. How many times do they teach the same content for them to get familiar with it and get their own flow going? It takes time to find your stride with new content. The first time we teach, we will lean heavily on the facilitation guide to make sure we hit all the points or don't miss anything. After 3 - 5 times teaching it in a short time frame (can't be months between sessions or we will forget stuff in between), we will find our own rhythm and step away from the facilitation guide. I personally have my own transitions between slides and have it all memorized after several repetitions. If your trainers are teaching it once than it is shelved, they will never find that stride and will only follow the guide.
   
   
2. Are they trained professional facilitators? or Have they been taught how to properly ask questions and hold discussions with the learners? I ask because so many of us stumble into L&D. On my team, I have two ladies that came directly from the Customer Service desk in to our team. They had no previous classes or instruction on how to actually be a facilitator. They may simply not know a better way to do it. I was doing 'training' in other positions before I got a change to be on an actual L&D team. For my interview, they gave me a subject and I was to prepare a 45 minute class. I lectured for 45 minutes. Didn't get the job. (go figure) I asked my contact what I could improve on and was told I needed to facilitate the class and I did not. I had to scratch my head for a while to try to decipher that code. Most of us are not born with the skills to effectively facilitate a course. We need to be shown and taught before we can do.
   
   
3. Do you have Train the Trainer sessions for them to practice the content before they are in front of a class of learners? These are vital if you have time. If you don't have time, then make time anyhow. :) T3s, as they are called, give the facilitator a safe space with their peers and the designer to try things out, see what works, what falls flat, where is the boring section of content that we HAVE to cover so I know I need to pump energy into it or have activities that will teach the point, and so on. T3s are an important part of the process.

So for me, I would blame nerves or lack of knowledge for them to just skip a discussion.

You could try a scenario in which all three answers could be correct or wrong. Have the participants defend their answers. The instructors should be instructed that these answers that are ambiguous and. then the instructors could ask the participants to explain if they see the situation from a different viewpoint to initiate more discussion. In reality there is no right answer. 

I created a facilitator guide that included for each section

• screenshot of the section
• navigation notes
• talking points
• prompts
• safety notes
• knowledge check answers

The prompts is where I put suggested questions.