Facilitative Responses in Groups

The six high facilitative responses are effective with students when you are meeting them
individually. You are the only listener and you are totally responsible for responding to the individual.

They also can be used with groups of students. In this case, you still can respond to an
individual in the context of the group or you can respond to the total group.

For instance, you may notice a group member is apparently fatigued and struggling to be
attentive. You might make a feeling-focused response such as, "Jennifer, you're tired and it's not easy
to be a part of the group right now." Or, if the group is experiencing fatigue, you might say, "As I look
around, I'm sensing there is a loss of energy in our group. It seems like we've hit a snag and it's
dragging us down."

Likewise, it is possible to clarify a group member's point of view or some of the ideas that
have been expressed by the total group could be clarified or summarized. For example, "If I followed
you, Rachel, you think the school policy should be changed." Or, "Let's see now, in this past half-hour,
our group has suggested at least four different ways of changing the policy. First, you said .... "
Questions can be directed to an individual or to the total group. Simple acknowledgments usually are
made to individuals, but could be directed to the whole group. Linking events and feelings tends to
be used in the "here and now" as a group works together.

Feedback responses can be used with individuals or the total group. To compliment the
group, an counselor might say, "I was pleased and encouraged to see we could start our group on
time today, especially knowing it's not easy for you to get here. It makes me want to make the most
of our time together today." An example for an individual might be, "Jessie, I was impressed with the
way you told us about your situation. You shared some personal information and you weren't afraid
to talk about your feelings. I'm touched by your trust in us."

When a counselor is the only one who responds after each group member has shared
something, the process tends to look like individual counseling before an audience. It chokes off
communication among group members, the very strength of the group. Group members need to talk
with one another, not just to the counselor.

Eliciting the high facilitative responses from members of the group helps them to be more
responsive to each other. It enhances the facilitative relationship in the group and builds greater
cohesiveness. For instance, you might elicit a feeling-focused response by saying something like this,
"Jessie's been telling us about some things that are important to her. Let me ask the rest of you in
the group, are you hearing pleasant or unpleasant feelings as she talks?" Then, using a "go around"
procedure, each member tells the feelings that were heard.

The same might be done with a clarifying or summarizing response. "What basic ideas have
we discussed so far in our group?" Or, "Who can summarize what you heard Jessie say to this
group?"

Likewise, questions can be elicited. "Who can ask Jessie a question that will help us think
more about what she's been telling us?" "What's a question that needs to be asked at this point?"

You also can elicit a linking response by asking the group to take note of similarities among
membei;s. For example, "Who in our group has some things in common when it comes to the type of
jobs they want to have someday?" Or, "It seems some of you have had some similar experiences or
feelings when interviewing for a job. Who remembers the feelings some of our group members
shared in common?"

Thus, you can respond to individuals within a group or to the group as a whole. You can make
the facilitative responses or you can elicit them from group members. Consequently, the original six
facilitative responses can be doubled when practiced in groups, considering they are coming from
the counselor and participants.

Increase the frequency of the facilitative responses. They are not representative of a
particular theory. They can be incorporated into whatever theory you find useful or whatever role
you want to play.

They are not a panacea by themselves. Taken out of context, they may even appear
contrived or phony to you. However, in the context of guidance and counseling sessions and at the
appropriate times, they can make a difference. They provide a focus and help build close working
relationships. And, within those relationships, they also help create the facilitative processes of self-
disclosure, feedback, and decision making. They help you accomplish the goals of guidance and
counseling.

The Facilitative Activities

The facilitative responses are powerful tools and alone may be adequate to facilitate your
students. In one group counseling session, for instance, participants might be invited to share what is
on their minds, followed by an open discussion of matters. You hope there will be a spontaneous
flow of ideas and feelings, as you and your students move toward some guidance and counseling
objectives. The movement and direction of the group, in this instance, might depend entirely on the
dialogue that happens between you and your students.

Nevertheless, facilitative activities also can be used to build relationships and expedite the
facilitative processes. These activities are structured learning experiences that may be used with
individuals or groups. Some activities, for example, are designed to elicit self disclosure and increase
self-awareness. Others encourage self-assessment and feedback. Still others focus on decision
making and problemsolving.

The term activity is used to generally describe a planned and structured experience. Each
activity has a set of procedures that outline the steps to be followed. Counselors pay particular
attention to procedures since they structure the flow of the session. In addition, participants in an
activity are given tasks that call for their responses. Some counselors use these terms
interchangeably, but it can be useful if they are viewed more precisely.

Facilitative activities are structured learning experiences that tend to elicit the facilitative
processes of self disclosure, feedback, increased awareness and decision making, and responsible
action. Some counselors and teachers think of them as exercises. An activity also might be viewed as
a composite strategy with procedures and tasks.

Facilitative procedures are the sequence of steps to be followed. They describe a course of
action or a way of doing something. They are the general guidelines that outline a manner of
proceeding in a structured experience.
 Facilitative tasks are more specific assignments. They request specific action from
participants. They may call for certain behaviors or responses and are usually posed as a question or
some type of directive.

For example, during group counseling, it is common to begin with introductions (an activity).
You might first put group members in pairs (procedure) where they then interview each other
(procedure) before introducing one another to the rest of the group.

One direction that might be given to each pair is: "During your interview, find out the name
of a famous person your partner admires and would like to visit" (task). The task, in this case, focuses
on a specific area for self-disclosure, making it easier for group members to reveal something of
themselves. This introductory activity, with its procedures and tasks, aids the facilitative process.

In an individual counseling session, a counselor used an activity to help a student begin

talking about future plans. A piece of paper that contained some unfinished sentences (e.g., What I
want most is .... ; Happiness is .... ; When I am under pressure, I.. .. ; One thing I want out of life
is .... ) was given to the student, who quickly penciled in responses that came immediately to mind.
Then, the student and counselor talked about the list and some of the responses. In this case, the
activity consisted of using some unfinished sentences. The procedures described the stages and
steps within the activity (e.g.,Give the student a paper with unfinished sentences and some
directions; talk about the experience) and the task was to complete the unfinished sentences
themselves.

Facilitative tasks are specific assignments that direct a person to do something. They may be
given alone or aspart of some group procedures. One task might request a person to "Tell one thing
you do well." Another might be "Tell one thing about yourself you would like to improve." These
tasks focus on self disclosure.

Group members also might be directed to "Tell something positive you have noticed about
someone in our group." Another task might be "Tell one thing you have noticed about how we work
together." Both tasks focus on feedback.

As you might imagine, tasks also can be directed toward decision making or problem solving.
For example, "Listten things you want to accomplish this year and then rank order the top three." Or,
"List three things you can do to resolve the problem. Then we'll discuss the consequences of each
one."

Many of the activities and tasks used in guidance and counseling grew out of human
relations training and the group movement of the 60s and 70s. Sensitivity groups, encounter groups,
growth groups, and other kinds of groups evolved around certain exercises or procedures. These
interpersonal groups increased opportunities for self-understanding and human awareness.

Some of these human relations groups and their related procedures were integrated into
academic and guidance programs. A few teachers quickly adapted some for use in their classrooms.
However, most teachers and counselors found them to be controversial or were unsure how to
"process" them. Some activities were more facilitative than others and some were entirely
inappropriate for the schools. But, we have learned a lot since those soulsearching days and now we
borrow the best ideas to make our work easier.
 Activities and tasks can be organized in a sequence as part of a guidance or counseling
session or unit. Activities can be arranged so they are likely to lead students sequentially through the
facilitative processes. Self-disclosure is usually the first step, followed by feedback. After a few
activities along tpese lines, it is assumed the counselees are more open to exploring and making
decisions with the help of additional activities.

Activities and tasks can elicit behaviors and responses from people. They can help focus a
discussion, keeping individuals on task. They expedite matters; however, they are not an end to
themselves. They do not do the work of the counselor.

You must be selective of activities and make decisions about the best procedures to follow.
After giving counselees a task, you must still be the facilitator to move them toward their goals. The
activities you choose will fail or have only marginal success without your selected use of high
facilitative responses to "process" the experiences that result from, and during, the activity.

Facilitative Counseling and Teaching

The Facilitative Model, then, consists of building interpersonal relationships in which

students experience the facilitative conditions of trust, understanding, acceptance, caring, respect,
and friendliness. These conditions develop as you and students self-disclose to each other, reducing
some of the hidden areas that block communication.

These conditions also are fostered through the process of feedback, where an honest
exchange of perceptions can help students know more about their impact on others. Interestingly
enough, as the these two facilitative processes happen, the helping relationship is further enhanced;
students become more open to exploring ideas, feelings, and behaviors; and responsible decision
making and problem solving can happen.

The model applies to working with individuals, small groups, and large groups. It is useful not
only for problem focused situations, but for developmental and preventative ones as well. Moreover,
when used in the classroom, the model can facilitate academic as well as guidance curricula.