WORKSHOP: Facilitating classrooms: Enhancing skills and expanding toolkits through simulations (40 mins)

Authors

  • Suzanne de Janasz George Mason University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13021/itlcp.2020.2836

Abstract

Many professors use the skill of professing to translate concepts and encourage learning. Hours are spent preparing for class, organizing a lecture and producing notes, and the ensuing class session follows in a comfortable and predicable mode. But what about professors who release control of class content and process? Can they be equally effective? Can you teach without a prepared lecture? Do you have the courage to teach without a safety net? In this workshop, we discuss the art of classroom facilitation and of having the courage to relinquish control and allow class sessions to evolve naturally. These are skills that are rarely taught in doctoral programs. New and early-career faculty may possess limited awareness of the value of such skills in effective classroom teaching. New faculty often have difficulty in putting these skills into practice, even if they have a desire to do so. Among other benefits, this session will seek to shorten the learning curve, so that faculty will not have to look back in later years and say “I wish I could have mastered facilitation skills early in my teaching experience.” Having an opportunity to practice these skills in a “safe” environment will also help develop the courage to apply them in the classroom. According to Webster, to facilitate means to make easier. In a team setting, facilitators or process consultants are charged with enhancing team processes such as communication, problem solving, decision making and conflict resolution, while simultaneously educating the team on the use of these skills. Given the collective diversity of skills, backgrounds, and experiences that characterize most teams, the application of facilitation skills can mean the difference between a team achieving and not achieving desired outcomes. Is a classroom not a team or a collection of teams? Are teaching and learning not processes? How can we apply to facilitation skills to the classroom to make the process of teaching and learning easier and more effective? To do this, we look at facilitation skills in three broad categories, those that can be used before, during and after class (individual sessions or an entire semester). For example, when a professor takes the time to jointly develop ground rules or behavioral norms, some ineffective classroom behaviors--such as laughing at other students or bringing cellphones to class--may be prevented and reduce the burden of dealing with such behaviors in the future. Facilitative interventions during class, such as using leading questions and the parking lot, can be used to keep discussions on track, or if need be, can be combined with checking for agreement should the class decide to move in a new direction. When allowing the learning process to unfold naturally, it becomes helpful to engage the class in reflecting on the process as well as the key learning points or take-aways.

Author Biography

Suzanne de Janasz, George Mason University

Suzanne C. de Janasz is currently a Visiting Professor of Professor of Management and Conflict Analysis and Resolution (a joint appointment) at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Previously, Suzanne served as the Thomas Gleed Distinguished Chair of Business Administration at Seattle University where she taught undergrad and MBA students, mentored junior faculty, and directed the Seattle branch of HERA (Her Equality Rights and Autonomy), a UK-based charity that empowers formerly trafficked or exploited women with career and entrepreneurship development and mentoring. Prior to coming to Seattle, Suzanne was Professor of Leadership and Organization Development at IMB in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she designed and delivered programs for mid-level and senior executives in global companies, specializing in leadership, negotiations, mentoring, and careers, organizational development and change, creativity/innovation, work-life balance, entrepreneurship, and interpersonal/managerial skills. The recipient of multiple teaching awards, including the 2017 Mid-Career Distinguished Educator Award from the OBTS Teaching Society for Management Educators and a Fulbright Fellowship (Warsaw University in Poland), Suzanne continues to teach executives around the world (on five continents!) for ESMT (Berlin, Germany) and other schools (e.g., IEDC in Slovenia, QUT in Australia). Suzanne's research on mentoring, careers, authenticity, work-family conflict, and leadership appears in such journals as Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Executive, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Management Education, and others, and feat

Published

2020-07-31

Issue

Section

MONDAY 10:00am-10:40am