We offered a 2-day introductory training on facilitation. The training drew upon popular education methodology, one of the core approaches to facilitation and training at UCI Community Resilience Projects. A popular education approach to facilitation acknowledges and taps the knowledge, wisdom, and experience that is already present in any given group. These elements are often key for groups seeking to generate lasting and relevant solutions to the social and environmental challenges they face. This training aimed to bring together a stronger community of practice in the use of such approaches here at UC Irvine and among our collaborators from the wider community.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the distinction between traditional teaching and popular education methodologies
• Understand principles of facilitating groups
• Identify foundational elements, skills, and roles of effective facilitation
• Understand key concepts and tools for assessing and addressing race, power, and privilege
• Develop skills to facilitate generative dialog and meaning making
• Learn how to design a participatory workshop agenda
• Practice the development and co-facilitation of an arts-based tool to generate analysis and action for social and environmental challenges a community is facing

Target Participants

This training was by invitation only for up to 25 participants. We aimed to support the work of faculty, staff, students, and community collaborators who are active or becoming involved in activities such as the:

• Anti-Lead in the Soil Project;
• Community Resilience Co-lab;
• CooperAccion Curriculum Project;
• Costa Rica Program;
• EarthReps;
• Embodying Resilience pilot;
• Food and Climate Fellows cohort;
• Garden Project;
• Housing Sustainability Program;
• Law and Social Movements seminar;
• Student Leadership Institute for Climate Resilience;
• UHills Community, Safety, and Diversity workgroup; and
• Words of Wild Survival cohort.

 

Logistics

The training took place on Thursday, August 1, and Friday, August 2, 2019, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm both days. The UCI Sustainability Resource Center and UCI Community Resilience Projects offered this training free of charge to participants. Full attendance at both days of the training was required for participation. The training included breakfast and lunch and was not residential. Participants were asked to cover and provide their own transportation and accommodation as needed. The training was conducted in English. At the same time, we aimed for this training to be fully accessible.

About the Team

Aryeh Shell facilitated the training. Aryeh is a Lead Training Partner with UCI Community Resilience Projects. She is a professional facilitator, instructional designer, and coach with more than 15 years of experience in experiential education, team-building, and transformative facilitation. Read more. The support team for the training included Abby Reyes and Rachel Harvey.