Sample Activity

Study Circle Facilitators

8. Addressing Facilitation Challenges (60 minutes)

• Explain to participants that the purpose of this activity is to explore ways to address some of the challenges they listed in the previous activity. Note that while the study circle guides are quite specific, they cannot address all of the possible responses from participants. The participants will play various roles—facilitator, participant, and observer—in a short activity, then discuss their experiences.
• Randomly distribute one strip to each participant from the handout Role Assignments. Ask the participants to silently read what is on their strip, not sharing the information.
  Ask the Process Observers to identify themselves and give them a copy of the handout Observer’s Checklist.
  Then ask the participants to break into small groups according to the number on their strips, e.g. all the “3’s” in the same group. Tell them that the group is to take 10 minutes to carry out the activities presented by the Facilitators. Remind the Process Observers to take notes.
• Reconvene the whole group. Invite the Facilitators to share how they felt during the activity. Then invite the participants to share. Lastly, invite the Process Observers to report on what they saw. Ask the participants what they learned from the experience.
• Refer participants to the last section of the study circle guide. The Tips for Facilitating Study Circles, pp. 247-263 in NCSALL Study Circle Guide: Research-based Adult Reading Instruction, provides useful tips and suggestions.