The Skills of the Facilitator

DOE-HDBK-1086-95

the tasks they perform in "simplified" ways since they have been

performing them for years. The facilitator can compensate for

this tendency by reminding the SMEs to assume the perspective

of a new-hire--keeping in mind that what is "simple" to the SMEs

because of many hours of repeating the procedure will most

likely seem very difficult to a new-hire who has never performed

the specific task. For this reason, a question like the following

can be helpful:

Look at the procedure from the perspective of a new-hire.

Have you included all the content you believe they would

need to be taught in order to adequately perform the task?

What else would you include?

The Skills of the Facilitator. The skills of the facilitator will also

affect the validity of the final content. A good facilitator will keep

in mind the above factors about the quality of the procedure and

the expertise of the SMEs. A good facilitator also knows the end

product he or she wants the group to achieve, can communicate

that end product to the team in a way that is understandable,

and can draw out appropriate information (using questioning

skills, etc.) in order to lead the team in obtaining that end

product. A good facilitator observes the group dynamics taking

place and varies the analysis methods and approaches as

needed. For instance: Are all members participating? Are a

select few dominating the discussion? Is constructive dialogue

taking place that leads to valid content? Is information being

thrown out haphazardly and assumed to be correct? Is group

consensus taking place? Is there dissension regarding final

decisions? The facilitator must help the group to understand

and achieve the group dynamics that will assure the quality of

the end product.

b. Brainstorming. Simple brainstorming (or brainstorming using NGT) is

another method to determine the content of a training program, course, or

lesson. Brainstorming should be used when the SMEs are very familiar

with the task, the procedure is inadequate, or there is not a procedure

written.

Most of the questions, processes, and guidelines that applied to

document analysis apply to brainstorming as well. However, when

brainstorming, procedures will not provide a great amount of the

content (as in document analysis), so much more detailed content

information should be obtained from the SMEs about the task or

task-group. Simply take the task or task groupings one at a time in

the order that they have been prioritized. Place them before the

SMEs and ask them many of the same questions that were asked for

document analysis such as: