Course Information

Course Description:

This course is designed to prepare trainers to design and facilitate training programs that will work effectively and efficiently with adult learners. It will provide the necessary theory and experience to insure competent facilitation of learning. Students will plan and conduct training sessions and receive feedback on their style of facilitation.

Course Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. identify the difference between teaching and facilitation skills
2. demonstrate the ability to instruct adult students using appropriate training techniques
3. develop and facilitate a written training session using at least two facilitation techniques such as simulation, role-play, or case study
4. analyze his/her style of facilitation based on theory and feedback

Prerequisites and Co-requisites:

There are no specific course prerequisites. This course is a core course in the Master of Professional Studies Degree Program. Enrollment in this course is limited to students who have been admitted into the MPS Program.

Course Topics:

This course will cover the following topics:

1.     selecting the appropriate techniques to facilitate learning including, role play, case studies, simulations, group activities, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of those facilitation techniques

2.     understanding the difference between the on-ground and the online adult learner

3.     converting on-ground facilitation techniques to the online environment

Course Requirements:

Students should be skilled in using a web browser to connect to websites (such as Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) and skilled in sending and receiving emails with attachments.

Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements

Required Textbooks:

Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course:
http://rodp.bkstr.com/

Hardware Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include...

Software Requirements:

The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific hardware requirements for this course include...(A list of software the student is required to purchase or download for the course, Real Player, Media Player, Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office, etc).

Instructor Information

Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.

Assessment and Grading

Grading Procedure:

Student grades will be based on an evaluation of both content and format of all of the requirements of this course. A rubric will be developed for each assignment with the total number of points available. Different assignments may carry different weights. These weights will be defined with each assignment.

All written work must follow the American Psychological Association (APA).

Project One                          150 points

Annotated Bibliography          50 points

Discussions (10)                  100 points

Project Two                          150 points

Demonstration/Critique          50 points

Total 500 points

Grading Scale:

Final grades will be premised on cumulative points as follows:

A = 500 - 450

B = 449 - 390

C = 389 - 320

D = 319 - 260

F = below 260

Assignments and Participation

Assignments and Projects:

Students will be required to demonstrate proficiency in each of the course objectives by completing the following assignments:

1.     Project One requires the student to develop or modify an existing training program, which is appropriate for a group setting. The training program must include at least two different facilitation techniques, and utilize some form of media.

2.     Annotated Bibliography of 30 articles on subjects related to the course.

3.     Project Two is completed after Project One. The student will write a paper describing how they would modify their training program to be delivered in an online environment.

4.     Each module will have discussion questions that the student will need to provide a response and respond to at least 2 other students postings.

5.     A final examination/project will consist of a critique by the student of his/her facilitating one training technique from his/her training program. The students will conduct and video tape this facilitation in front of a live audience.

Class Participation:

Students must participate in all interactive aspects of the course. Students must communicate with other students and are expected to communicate with the instructor as a learning resource. Students must check the calendar frequently for announcements and must actively participate in threaded discussion events.

Punctuality:

All assignments will be assigned a due date when they are distributed. Failure to meet this deadline will result in a loss of five points from the original point value of the assignment for every 24 hour interval an assignment is late. All assignments are required to be submitted electronically expect the final examination. A video tape must be sent to the instructor to complete the requirements for the final examination/project.

Course Ground Rules

Participation is required. You are expected to communicate with other students and the instructor as part of the course assignments. The student is responsible for ensuring their programs and hardware are compatible with Desire 2 Learn (D2L) and acceptable to the instructor.

Guidelines for Communications

Email:

• Always include a subject line.
• Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
• Use standard fonts.
• Do not send large attachments without permission.
• Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc. should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
• Respect the privacy of other class members

Discussion Groups:

• Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion. Be a lurker then a discussant.
• Try to maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather starting a new topic.
• Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of others' ideas.
• Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
• Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
• Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
• Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.

Chat:

• Introduce yourself to the other learners in the chat session.
• Be polite. Choose your words carefully. Do not use derogatory statements.
• Be concise in responding to others in the chat session.
• Be prepared to open the chat session at the scheduled time.
• Be constructive in your comments and suggestion

Web Resources:

• Columbia Guide to Online Style by Janice R. Walker and Todd Taylor
• Citation Styles Online http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite6.html

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses.

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Prior to granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with their home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and posting both notification and nature of change(s) on the course bulletin board.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:

If you are having problems logging into your course,
timing out of your course, using your course web site tools, or other technical problems, please contact the AskRODP Help Desk by calling

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to the AskRODP website at:

http://askrodp.custhelp.com/