Mychal Davis

The purpose of this project is to design a staff development tool for the organization Higher Ground, USA (Higher Ground). This project is a curriculum intended for post-graduate level staff to learn about communication and facilitation techniques based on the theories and concepts described in Chapter 2. This project is the next step in a staff development process implemented in January 2017. The staff of Higher Ground, USA are contracted employees that have full- or part-time jobs elsewhere, families and/or community responsibilities in varying locations across Northwest Georgia or Northeast Alabama.

This project includes three main sections. Section A provides explanation and exploration of communication theories: The Functional Perspective and Groupthink in a way that is accessible for Higher Ground facilitators. This section includes web and print references for facilitators to find out more about each theory and pertinent research. Therefore, this section answers the following questions: What are the communication-based constraints and/or influences that negatively affect a group’s decision-making effectiveness? What are the signs and symptoms of these constraints and/or influences? The purpose of Section A is educating facilitators in communication theory and synthesizing current research pertaining to communication patterns linked with effective and ineffective group decision-making.

Section B provides tools and techniques for facilitators to use what they have learned about communication theory and research to facilitate effective communication within small decision-making and problem-solving groups. This section also includes answers to the following questions: What is my role as the facilitator? How do I facilitate more effective communication in relation to the constraints and influences defined in Section A? The purpose of Section B is providing facilitation techniques and tools for facilitators in order to instigate effective group decision-making based on the communication patterns they find.

There are people and considerations that could be included in this project, but because of time and relevancy they are not included here. This project is not for facilitators outside of the organization Higher Ground, USA. Although it could benefit other organizations, this project focuses on the staff development of solely Higher Ground facilitators at this time. Similarly, this project is not intended for students studying group decision-making and/or experiential education. This project does not include theory or research about demographic-based influences on communication effectiveness within small groups. There is room for expansion of this curriculum to include demographic-based influences, but it is not relevant for the current purposes. 

 

This project is presented in the form of a website. The website incorporates each section defined above using mixed media. There are instructional videos, scholarly articles for reference, synthesized theory and research, real-life application questions and techniques and tools. There are links to further reading and research to broaden knowledge as desired. There is a mix of original content and existing resources made available. Facilitators that complete this curriculum begin and end simultaneously. The experience will be front-loaded and debriefed, although the curriculum itself will be self-guided. Below are the steps of project creation.

Project creation began with the necessary reading and research, completed in Chapter 2. Steps 1 through 6 are the development phase of the project. Step 1: drafting an outline for the website. Step 2: obtaining a website domain. Step 3: creating a website design. This project utilizes the website host: www.Weebly.com. Step 4: gathering and creating additional mixed media content for the website. Step 5: incorporating the material from the website outline, into the existing website design. Step 6: troubleshooting movement through the curriculum within the website.

Once the website has been developed, Step 7 is distribution: On December 15, 2017, Higher Ground facilitators receive an email from the Program Director providing access to the website and frontloading the upcoming experience. At this point, facilitators peruse the website, become familiar with the curriculum purpose and ask questions. All facilitators begin their studies no later than January 1, 2018. Between January 1, 2018 and February 28, 2018 facilitators meet one-on-one with the Program Director to assess progress in the curriculum and create strategies for implementing their learnings in the 2018 program season. These meetings are also a time for curriculum feedback, question-asking and encouragement to complete the curriculum by March 1, 2018. Step 8: reflection. On March 15, 2018 Higher Ground facilitators receive an email from the Program Director providing access to an online survey about their use of the website, curriculum and debriefing prompts to process their experience.

This methodology is fitting for the intended audience of Higher Ground facilitators because they: are geographically spread out, have full- or part-time jobs outside of Higher Ground, are members of a technologically-driven generation, desire to gain effective facilitation techniques, are motivated by employer-led trainings and appreciate one-on-one development-based conversations.

This project adequately answers the design question: How do you teach facilitators to A) identify communication patterns and constraints of small groups and B) facilitate effective decision-making? The ways it answers the question are by: presenting facilitators with opportunities for understanding of communication-based influences within small decision-making groups, followed by techniques and tools for facilitation; providing facilitators a chance to have conversation with the Program Director about their experience in a one-on-one setting; and supplying facilitators with ways to access more information about pertinent communication theory and research. 

 

Since this project is designed for a specific intended audience, rather than the general public, an ethical consideration that emerges is who is included in the audience and who is not. The website (project) will be distributed to currently active Higher Ground facilitators: those who have worked at least 2 program days in the past 2 calendar years. Another ethical consideration is proper citation of all material throughout the website (within the project) so that authors are given credit for their ideas and facilitators can look deeper into theory and research cited throughout.