Facilitation Notes

Introduction

TPD@Scale courses do not need a ‘teacher’ or a ‘leader’, but there can be a facilitator.

Facilitation is not ‘teaching’. The definition of ‘facilitation’ is to ‘make things easy’. It is moving a group of people through a process, in this case, the TPD@Scale courses.

You can share the role of facilitator, where people in the group take turns to do it. This gives everyone the experience of facilitation.

The facilitator

• guides and supports a group to work through the courses and achieve the badges
• encourages everyone to contribute and participate in discussions
• keeps the group focused and moving forward

Getting started

Course 1 is set at three hours, but if you are working as a group the discussion activities are likely to take more time. This will depend on the size of the group, how often the group meets, and whether meetings are online or face to face. It will also depend on how well everyone knows each other.

Before the first meeting, or in the first meeting, agree together on how and when to work through the courses: face-to-face, online, or a mixture of online and face-to-face. What would be the best way for everyone to participate? How often will the group meet or communicate? For instance, you could alternate in-person meetings with online meetings.

Shorter meetings may be more manageable and effective than longer ones.

Decide together how the group will work, for instance:

• individuals could read through the course (or part of the course) and do the activities before the meeting, and then use the meeting time to discussion
• the group could use the meeting time to read the course (or a section of the course) and do the activities together

Before the first meeting, encourage people to look at the Course Collection page and the Course 1 Introduction.

If you need to print out the course pages, or any of the readings, do this in good time so everyone can access the materials.

Course 1

Well before the first group meeting, look through Course 1, so that you are familiar with it. See how long each section takes. Build-in extra time for discussions, depending on the size and the needs of the group.

You will see that there are two sections to Course 1:

1. TPD@Scale principles (1.5 hours)

2. Global challenges and TPD@Scale (1.5 hours)

These can be completed in separate meetings.

For planning, note the readings and activities that suggest group discussions. Some discussions will take more time than others. Keep this in mind when you are planning the meeting time. The introductions to each reading will suggest key ideas to notice. Keep track of these key ideas, and make sure they are discussed in the group. Some study text includes diagrams which will require time to look at and interpret.

In Course 1 the discussion points are:

• 1.3 Your experiences of TPD@Scale principles
• 1.4 Balancing equity, quality and efficiency
• 1.7 Reading: Effective TPD in the Global South
• 1.9 Reading: Designing Teacher Professional Development @ Scale For Equity in Education
• 1.10 TPD@Scale core components

In addition to the activities, there are readings. The introductions to each reading will point out key ideas to notice. Keep track of these, and make sure these ideas are discussed in the group.

The readings can be done in different ways, for instance:

• Individuals do the readings and note-making before the meeting.
• The group divides the readings into sections, and members report back to the group on the key ideas.
• Individuals do the readings, note-making and discussions in the meeting time.

You can start an online discussion forum to talk about the course with other students, for instance, on WhatsApp, Facebook, or any digital platform that is readily accessible to your study group.