Understand key concepts and current perspectives
Explain the main ideas, opportunities and limitations connected to facilitation, group dialogue and participatory learning.
Erasmus+ teacher training course
Facilitation Skills for Meaningful Learning and Dialogue
How do you guide a group without doing all the thinking for them?
Facilitate active, focused and inclusive learning conversations.
Target group: Teachers, adult educators, trainers, facilitators, school staff and other education professionals from all educational levels.
- Activity type
- Physical mobility
- Duration
- 1 week
- Language
- English
- Equipment
- No special equipment required
Inclusive Facilitation for Meaningful Learning and Dialogue
Facilitation is more than presenting information or asking people to work in groups. A facilitator helps participants understand the purpose, take responsibility and move through a process together. This requires clear structure, careful listening and the ability to respond when energy, focus or trust begins to fall.
Through simulations, participants practise opening and closing sessions, explaining tasks, forming groups, managing time and handling transitions. They explore how to involve quieter participants, respond to dominant voices and work with uncertainty or disagreement without forcing everyone to agree. Peer feedback helps each participant notice their habits and develop a facilitation style that feels natural and responsible.
Before the course ends, each participant plans and tests a facilitated session and prepares a personal set of strategies for supporting inclusive dialogue and meaningful group outcomes.
Learning outcomes
What You Will Learn
Analyse professional practice
Identify strengths, barriers and development priorities in relation to facilitation, group dialogue and participatory learning in a real educational context.
Use practical tools and methods
Apply question design, group processes and inclusive participation through guided activities, collaborative tasks and structured reflection.
Design an adaptable learning response
Create a classroom, team or organisational activity that can be adapted to participants’ own learners and setting.
Plan responsible next steps
Set realistic actions for implementation, including ways to gather feedback and refine practice.
Six-day programme
Course Schedule
Day 1Starting points and shared language
Welcome, needs mapping and course compass
Participants introduce their contexts, identify their goals and map current experiences connected to facilitation, group dialogue and participatory learning.
Shared vocabulary and key questions
Participants build a common language through short inputs, pair dialogue and a visual question wall.
Practice snapshot
Participants analyse a short case or example and identify what they would keep, question or change.
Day 2Methods, models and examples
Method gallery
Participants rotate through concise examples, models and tools connected to facilitation, group dialogue and participatory learning, recording practical possibilities.
Guided skill lab
Participants practise question design, group processes and inclusive participation in small groups with trainer guidance and structured prompts.
Reflection and transfer notes
Participants capture what feels relevant, challenging or adaptable for their own learners and setting.
Day 3Practice and collaborative experimentation
Collaborative challenge
Small international groups work on an authentic challenge and apply selected tools in a purposeful task.
Create, test and revise
Participants develop a short activity, resource or approach, then improve it through testing and feedback.
Learning dialogue
Participants discuss different educational contexts and identify adaptations that make the work more realistic.
Day 4Inclusion, challenge and real-world cases
Case clinic
Participants examine a complex scenario, identify assumptions and consider inclusive, responsible responses.
Perspective exchange
Participants use structured dialogue to explore different learner, colleague and community perspectives.
Practical safeguards
Participants identify boundaries, risks and support strategies relevant to facilitation, group dialogue and participatory learning.
Day 5Design studio and peer feedback
Design your own application
Participants create a classroom, team or organisational plan using question design, group processes and inclusive participation.
Peer feedback studio
Participants share work-in-progress, ask focused questions and receive practical feedback from colleagues.
Improve for implementation
Participants revise their design for feasibility, inclusion and clear evidence of learning.
Day 6Course Closure & Cultural Activities
- Reflecting on learning outcomes and key takeaways
- Awarding of Certificates of Attendance
- Cultural excursion and local heritage experience
- Informal networking and exchange of best practices
Course foundations
Recommended Reading and Theoretical Influences
- Schwarz, R. (2017). The Skilled Facilitator.
- Brookfield, S. & Preskill, S. (2016). The Discussion Book.
- Kaner, S. (2014). Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making.
- Council of Europe (2018). Competences for Democratic Culture.
Completing the course
Evaluation, Recognition and Practical Information
Learning is supported throughout the week through participation, reflection, practical activities and constructive feedback.
Evaluation of Learning Outcomes
- Format
- Continuous assessment based on class participation, practical work and self-assessment.
- Criteria
- Active participation in discussions, reflection, collaborative activities and practical course tasks.
- Procedures
- Trainer observation, participant reflection, feedback and attendance.
Recognition of Learning Outcomes
- Conditions
- Attendance at a minimum of 80% of the course and active participation in the learning activities.
- Recognition
- Learning outcomes are recognised through participant reflection, trainer feedback and completion of the course activities.
- Documentation
- A Certificate of Attendance documenting the course title, dates, venue and learning outcomes.
Learning approach
Practical, Collaborative and Learner-Centred
The course combines hands-on workshops, real-world examples, simulations, guided reflection and collaborative activities. Participants exchange good practices, work in international groups and develop ideas that can be adapted to their own professional context.
Optional cultural, social and networking activities support local engagement, intercultural learning and professional collaboration.
Before you travel
Practical Details
Duration
One week, normally comprising 25 academic hours.
Weekly Schedule
Classes take place from Monday to Friday, in the morning or afternoon. Saturday is reserved for cultural activities.
Final Timetable
The detailed timetable will be sent at least two weeks before the beginning of the course.
Preparation
No special preparation is required unless stated in the course programme. Any required materials or equipment will be communicated before the course.
Certification
Participants who meet the attendance requirements receive a Certificate of Attendance.
Course Fee
The standard fee is €480. See what the course fee includes.
Alternative arrangements: Other course durations and schedules may be arranged on request.
Erasmus+ funding: Course fees and mobility costs may be supported through an eligible sending organisation's Erasmus+ grant. Eligibility and final funding decisions remain with the beneficiary organisation and its National Agency. Read our Erasmus+ KA1 funding guide.
Administrative support: Understanding Academy provides course programmes, learning outcomes, registration documentation and certificates. Participants and sending organisations remain responsible for transport, accommodation and grant management.
Plan your Erasmus+ mobility
Ready to Join This Course?
Check the upcoming confirmed dates or register your interest. We will contact you with information about availability and the next steps.
Need funding information? Read our Erasmus+ KA1 funding guide.