FAQ's about the Small Group Facilitation Project

Here is a re-post from my blog on April 14th. These are FAQ's about the Group Facilitation Project. Email me if you have additional questions, and I will post more FAQ's as they come in.




Hello Wonderful Students! I have come up with a frequently asked questions list to answer some questions that have come up over the last week or so about the Small Group Facilitation Project. Here they are:

1). Do I have to gather 5-7 people at the same time?
Yes - this is THE culminating project in this class and will cover concepts from both texts. Because it is a small group project, you will need to gather 5-7 people to make that happen. You can gather family, friends, folks from church, etc... to help you with this project. Promising people food is always a motivator.

2). Am I a part of the project?
Yes and No - You act as the facilitator of the project (see assignment sheet), but you will not be a part of the small group itself. You will ask probing questions to find patterns of small group communication, critical thinking, reasoning, arguments, etc.... but you will not be a part of that process. Rather, you will facilitate the process. Then you will write about what concepts emerged in the required essay.

3). What is the due date of the project?
The due date is no later than May 14th @ 11:59pm. Any submissions after 11:59pm (even one minute) will result in a 50% deduction. Since this project is a full 20% of your grade, make sure to turn it in early to avoid a FULL LETTER GRADE deduction.

4). I can't upload more than 10 minutes to youtube, what do I do?
You can do a number of things. You can split up your video into multiple parts and upload it that way. You can find another free video hosting website and upload it there. You can copy the facilitation onto a DVD and turn it into the Communication Studies Office. As long as I can verify that they facilitation took place with the minimum number of folks required, I will accept it.

5). I can't find 5-7 people. All of my friends are busy. What do I do?
You are more than welcome to work with a partner from the class to facilitate your projects. By this, I mean that you can work together on the facilitation ONLY. Your papers will be completely separate entities.

6). If I submit an audio tape will I get it back?
No. I cannot return the audio tapes.

7). What type of probing questions should I ask my group when I'm facilitating the discussion?
Whatever types of questions you would like. You might want to think it through ahead of time to possibly be prepared with some questions before your group arrives to your facilitation activity.

8). Since this is a small group project, will I be working with the same group from class?
No - this is an individual project that encompasses a small group component. You will gather 5-7 family members, friends, acquaintances and facilitate the group project. If you are having a hard time finding 5-7 people to join you for the group portion of the project, you can work with a classmate and facilitate the project together.

9). How are you going to grade the essay?
There is a grading sheet attached to the assignment sheet. Please review the grading sheet in its entirety before beginning the project, and refer to it often while writing your paper. There should be NO ambiguity when it comes to how I will grade this project.

10). I don't have a tape recorder and I don't know how to post a video to youtube.
Well, to be honest, you're just going to have to figure this one out. You are required to turn in an audio tape, video tape, or youtube video so I can verify that your facilitation took place. You wouldn't believe how many people will try to fake a project like this.