ALA 324: Facilitation in Community Settings

3 CREDITS  |  NEXT OFFERED WINTER 2025
CROSSLISTED AS: EDUC 325

This course prepares students to be facilitative leaders in campus and community organizations throughout their undergraduate years at U-M and beyond. Specifically, this course will focus on self-care and community-care as necessities for effective facilitation. By connecting facilitation to traditions of social justice education and activism, we’ll illuminate methods of care that past and present facilitators employ[ed] to create group cohesion, guide groups through challenging processes, and maintain and support their own wellness, as well as that of the community.  

Specifically, the skills students will gain from this course include an understanding of:

  • Facilitation as a part of the lineage of social justice education; 
  • The impact of social identities on  managing group dynamics that occur within a diverse group;
  • Individual and group value-setting as foundational to effective facilitation;
  • The unique interpersonal skills necessary for effective facilitation, including active & generative listening, asking questions, and receiving and giving feedback;
  • The roles of conflict exploration and empathy in facilitative leadership;
  • Accountability as a resource for individuals and groups seeking to create social change;
  • Boundary setting and the creation of short and long term wellness planning;
  • The link between facilitation, group effectiveness, and learning.

This course meets credit requirements for the Campus Communities and Research track of the Minor in Intergroup Relations Education. 
 

Modality

In person
 

Class format

This is a highly participatory setting where students will practice facilitation both in and out of class, as well as engage in exercises to develop their facilitation knowledge and skills. Students in all majors and all types of leadership roles will benefit from this course. 
 

Questions?

Please email any questions about the course or the application process to [email protected]

 


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