Train, prepare, and manage facilitators.
One of the most important - and biggest - jobs of the logistics team involves
planning and carrying out facilitator training and facilitator logistical support.
We cannot stress enough the importance of effective facilitation. It is absolutely
critical that you arm your facilitators with the skills and information necessary
for them to perform their role well. Please refer to our facilitator training
materials for more specific information about the training sessions,
including sample agendas and other essential elements.
These things will help you manage your focus group facilitators:
- Develop a written facilitator guide that all facilitators will follow when
conducting the focus group sessions. You don't have to start from scratch.
In the back pocket of this Toolkit you will find the facilitators' guide for
the 1998 Jessamine County middle and high school groups, as well as a booklet
outlining tips for facilitators. You may reproduce and use any part of the
guide or booklet, with attribution to the Partnership for Kentucky Schools
and RKI as authors. Your guide should include points to cover in the facilitators'
introductory remarks, as well as the questions and probes to be asked in each
group.
Call the Partnership at 859-455-9595 if you would like skilled assistance with the facilitator training.
- Designate a facilitator coordinator within each school. The facilitator coordinator assists with these key steps:
> recruiting facilitators
> obtaining facilitators' parent permission forms both for training and
for conducting focus groups
> working out the logistics and bureaucracy to make sure facilitators
get excused from class
> arranging and overseeing transportation to and from training and focus
groups
> working out the inevitable wrinkles that arise
Refer to the facilitator coordinator checklist.
- Include the site managers who are managing the focus groups at each location
in all communications about facilitation. Develop a way for the site managers
to know in detail what to expect with regard to facilitation.
- Use teams of two facilitators for each session. Pair less experienced and
more experienced students together when possible. You may also match co-facilitators
strategically according to strengths and weaknesses, race/ethnic background,
social status, or any other factors that may make a difference to the participants
in the room. Encourage the facilitator teams to practice together before the
focus groups take place, and ask them to decide who will facilitate which
parts of the focus groups.
- Designate alternate facilitators for every focus group. Include the alternates
in any rewards facilitators receive (food, T-shirts, time out of class, thank-you
letters, etc.).
- Work hard to make sure facilitator training is excellent and thorough. Create
a climate of comfort for trainees by providing refreshments. Give them plenty
of time to practice facilitating under your watchful eyes (and ears), and
offer them helpful feedback. If possible, hold at least one more practice
session for facilitators before the focus groups. Give the facilitators additional
experience by conducting pilot groups.
- Consult with facilitators after each group to find out what worked well or
what approaches they might use in the future.
Facilitator support is a big job in the overall scheme of conducting focus
groups. Your logistics team can experiment with ways to coordinate and streamline
the work.
Once you have the names and contact information for the facilitators (and alternates),
send a letter of explanation and a permission form to the parents of each student.
In Jessamine County, the work team used one permission form to cover both the
training and the facilitation. Be sure to collect these permission forms at
least a day before the training or focus group takes place. We have prepared samples of a letter to facilitators, an
agreement form for facilitators, a letter to facilitators' parents, and a permission
form.
Immediately after the facilitator training, the facilitator coordinator should
give the designated students confirmation sheets stating this information:
- date of the focus group
- time of the focus group
- time the facilitator must arrive (usually at least 30 minutes in advance)
- place for the focus group
- name and contact information for their co-facilitator and alternate
- when and where the bus will pick them up to take them to their focus group
site (if appropriate)
- contact information for the site manager at their focus group site
- contact information for the facilitator coordinator at their own school, or
for the adult who is coordinating the facilitator logistics
Note: Some of this information may not be necessary if you are using "in-house" student facilitators or if you are using the same pairs of facilitators for all groups.
See a sample facilitator confirmation form and a sample alternate confirmation form.
Next: Run your pilot group(s).
