Foundational Theory and Practice in Small Group Facilitation

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to dialogue facilitation practices in a small group context with a focus on U.S. and international cultural and social issues. In this course, you will learn to recognize the foundational sociological forces that shape human interaction on the family, community, societal, and global levels, and you will understand the essential role of facilitators in rebalancing these forces. You will discover what it means to "think together across borders," and you will have opportunities to think together with "participators" from a multiplicity of social positions, examining and exploring the cultural and structural forces that shape your own and others' perspectives. In this course you will begin to examine your assumptions about US cultures, values, and traditions in relation to global communities around the world. The course includes an embedded practicum, during which you will develop a unique set of communication practices that allow you to effectively lead a small group, cross-cultural dialogue. So you will attend class 4 hours per week and then co-facilitate at least two (and sometimes three) 90-minute dialogues weekly with other students who are enrolled in the class. The participators of these dialogues will be other Penn State students who register for World in Conversation dialogues as well as students who are enrolled at universities around the world (using VTC technology). You will be provided with live coaching and direct feedback to support your development. Some of the specific skills you will learn during the in-class component of the course will be how to create a conversational environment for "thinking together", engaged Socratic inquiry, asking open-ended questions, active reflective listening, techniques for disrupting communication patterns, and working with a partner facilitator. In this course you will learn to see and think as a facilitator. You will develop the ability to "seek truth" in relationship to complex social issues by inviting a multiplicity of perspectives to be explored and how to work with and navigate both debate and dialogue. You will understand the elements that make a dialogue more than just an exchange of ideas, and you will learn to excavate the complex mindsets and worldviews of "participators" that bring nuance and thoughtful inquiry into topics that are often divisive (and thus, examined too simplistically). By the end of this course, you will be proficient in all of the key mindsets and communication practices of a dialogue facilitator.