Debrief pointers

One particular area which was lacking in the first workshop(16th May) was the structure of the debrief. It was not comprehensive enough and we did not manage to engage the participants well. It is partly due to time constraint, we had only 40 minutes to wrap up the game with the debrief.

The role-playing of the families is part of an elaborate simulation to expose the students to the financial difficulties of the lower income group. The simulation serves as a common experience for everyone to discuss their viewpoints. This jumpstart the discussion, avoiding the inertia and reluctance to share during discussions.

The simulation would have provided them a wealth of experience to talk about. By engaging everyone, we allow them to share their thoughts and experiences with other participants. With this in mind, I now have a clearer picture on how we can conduct the discussion.

Improvements

• The facilitators should place more emphasis on engaging the participants.
• Less one way communication. Instead the facilitator should talk as little as possible but provide provocative questions/pointers to guide the discussion.

Rationale

• Facilitators are not much older than the participants. They are more suited to guiding the participants and getting them to voice their thoughts.
• The simulation is meant to create an experience for them to share about with the rest. So by talking about it, it enforces the lessons learnt.
• The participants derive their own lessons from the simulation. We do not dictate what they learn. On the other hand, we must be able to guide them in the direction we want through directed questions.
• Such a format is less demanding on the facilitator as well, he is no longer expected to deliver an hour long 'lecture' on empathy. Instead of focusing on content, we now focus on developing the facilitation skills of our trainers. It is also easier for high turnover rate, i.e. with such a format, new trainers can easily fit into our programme.

Facilitation Tools

Since we are running such workshops, it is important that we develop a toolbag of facilitation skills. The first tool I would like to introduce is Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC). ELC provides the framework for our discussion. A simple ELC has 4 stages.

1. Experience: First we get the participants to share their experiences during the simulation.
2. Reflection: Get them to share their feelings.
3. Rationalisation: Get them to explain what caused them to feel in this particular manner.
4. Action: What does it mean for them in real life? What can they do about it?

Another good tool to use is ACTS

1. A: Acknowledge what the participants said
2. C: Clarify any doubts with what was said
3. T: Taichi the points to the rest
4. S: Summarise what was being say.

This is especially useful for engaging the participants. Try it and you will know.