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Promoting student-centeredness through principled facilitation approaches: A facilitator’s perspective. 

Presenter

Lynne is an experienced facilitator and trainer. After teaching high school English for nearly a decade, Lynne has worked with corporate clients such as The Foschini Group and Clickatell to develop their employees’ interpersonal communications skills, business writing confidence, customer service, and leadership skills, for nearly 10 years. She has also worked with UNISA students since 2010 in her capacity as a facilitator in the Department of English Studies, and more recently joined the Academic Literacies team at the Cape Town campus. Lynne started editing academic theses and dissertations in 2015 and is an associate member of the Professional Editors’ Guild (PEG). She is known for her clear presentation style and ability to engage at all organisational levels. She graduated with a PG Diploma in Intercultural Communication (cum laude) from Stellenbosch University.

Abstract

“The real test of how much and how well you know comes when you enter university. Here the rules are different. It will not help you in a good university to memorise and repeat facts. What will be tested is your ability to think critically, independently and thoughtfully. The smart scholars among you will, for the first time, experience difficulty in one or more university subjects.” (Jonathan Jansen, 2017)

At universities, learners are often immerse into new discourses, knowledge and content. However, a good facilitation style keeps the learner central to what is happening in classrooms. 

In recent years, classroom dynamics have changed; so have the age and academic maturity of learners, the length and intensity of programmes, expressed goals associated with programmes and the readiness of groups to master course content. Facilitation styles, when engaging learners into new knowledge - can either be direct (through lecturing or telling) or indirect (through coaching learners in classrooms). 

The aim of this presentation is to look at various variables that can shape conducive settings for learning. These include the use of various methods to keep students at university level interested, either through direct lectures or through informal and meaningful learning e.g. social café’s, reflective learning, and intuitive practice.     

Presentation & Resources