the Facilitator Handbook - IDEA - U.S. Department of Education

DIALOGUE GUIDEFACILITATOR HANDBOOKteams would benefit and made a plan to talkto the administration about designating time forsuch dialogues. The teachers also felt that familieswould benefit from the dialogue. They beganplanning how they might bring families into thedialogue. One suggestion was to talk with severalcommunity leaders about how to support participation.…A professional organization decides to conducta dialogue on an emerging topic of interest toits membership as part of its state convention.Attendees generate several actions that the groupmight take—report to local chapters; hold localdialogues on the topic; survey the membershipfor input on the topic. Participants sign up fortasks. The facilitator agrees to coordinate followupactivities by posting all communications onthe organization website and creating an electronicbulletin board that will allow participantsto keep in touch.A distinguishing feature of the Dialogue Guides isthe focus on action. Further dialogue depends onthe participants. Participants are expected to takesome type of action that is based on what they havelearned from the dialogue.Action can take many forms. For example, the dialoguecould lead to:• Increased perspective taking. Facilitators canhelp by providing participants with opportunitiesto reflect on their experience (membersthink about how their perspective comparesto the perceptions of others). Formalizing reflectiondemonstrates its importance and providesan impetus for participants to learn fromthe reflection of others.• Development of new venues for more indepthand collaborative work. Discuss howthe dialogue might be built into other ongoingactivities (e.g., in service, professional development,or community capacity buildingopportunities). In some cases, participantsmay identify specific tasks to accomplish(e.g., collect information from their respectiveconstituents; organize a new group meeting).Suggest a follow-up activity (e.g., conferencecall, face-to-face meeting) in four tosix weeks. Invite participants to help you planit.• Recruitment of new audiences to the dialogue.Encourage a discussion about who elseshould have dialogue. Ask, “Who else needsto have this dialogue/who else should webring in?” Encourage participants to suggesthow to make it more likely that these newpeople participate.Redirecting the Process asNeededComprehensive planning—making sure that all logisticshave been taken care of, that activities havebeen developed to support participation and thatpeople feel safe in sharing—can go a long way inensuring success. Through planning, facilitators areable to anticipate typical challenges and prepare appropriately.However, no matter how well you have planned,there is always the possibility that the group willget off track at some time. In many cases, the derailmentis only minor and the group recovers onits own. But, there may be other times when groupmembers look to you as the facilitator to help getthem back on course.When the process veers off course, you may find itnecessary to redirect the group. Following are severalsuggestions to consider:• Repeat directions. Keep in mind that dialoguewill be new to most people. In somecases, there may be misunderstandings ormiscommunication regarding the purpose ofdialogue. Sometimes it is necessary to repeatdirections periodically throughout the courseof the dialogue. You may even want to checkparticipant understandings to ensure that everyoneis clear.IDEA Partnership .........................................................................................................................21