Learning how to facilitate discussions
Suggested Learning Activity
Form a group of 4 -5 people and each prepare an individual 2 minute presentation. You might
choose a topic such as “What is the key issue for university students?” Each take a turn to present
your 2 minute presentation and then facilitate a group discussion using the techniques suggested
on the handout Pointers for facilitating group discussions. Each time you should appoint a different
observer from your group who will not take part in the discussion but will observe and record how
the presenter and other group members interact. The prompt questions below might help you to
effectively record and feedback your observations to the group.
Prompt Questions for the Observer
Is the speaker conveying their ideas clearly, in a way that the group appears to understand? What
techniques do they use to do this? Are they effective?
Does the speaker encourage all members of the group to speak, including the quieter members?
What technique do they use to do this? Is it effective?
Does the speaker make links between the group members’ contributions that helps the group to
progress with their discussion?
What do you observe about the body language of the speaker and the group members?
List any particular strengths below:
List any particular weaknesses below:
Any other comments:
This resource was created by Kate Ippolito from the LearnHigher CETL at Brunel University and is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/