The role of a facilitator

This is a really interesting term to discuss. When I think of facilitator I also now think of the terms 'mentor' and 'coach'. In trying to define the difference between these three a quick literature research revealed that the was confusion:

"there appears to be confusion between the terms ‘mentoring’ and ‘coaching’, with some authors suggesting there is little difference (Brockbank & McGill, 2006; Pask & Joy, 2007), while others see them as quite distinct activities (Fletcher, 2012)". (Thornton, Murphy, & Thornton, 2015, p. 2)

Here's an image that illustrates the difference between mentor and coach (adpated from Starcevich, 2009):

So what then of a facilitator? A dictionary definition would suggest that it is someone who makes a process or actions easier for others. So how is this different that a coach? Or a mentor?

In a reading where this difference started making a bit more sense was Putnam & Borko, (2000). They talk of the "agenda setting dilemma' which is when "the staff developer wants to see teachers' practice change in particular directions while empowering the teachers themselves to be meaningfully involve in determining the changes" p9. So this idea of staff developer is now how I view facilitation. It is both empowering teachers to be more agentic in their development and educational change but also 'having a hand on the tiller' in terms of determining the direction.

So it is not providing a recipe for the teacher to follow, but more helping them figure it out for themselves within the context of a particular direction. The agenda setting dilemma indeed...

References:

Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (2000). What Do New Views of Knowledge and Thinking Have To Say about Research on Teacher Learning? Educational Researcher, 29(1), 4–15.

Thornton, K., Murphy, C., & Thornton, K. K. (2015). The impact of mentoring on leadership capacity and professional learning. Mentoring in Early Childhood Education: A Compilation of Thinking, Pedagogy and Practice, 1–13.

Starcevich, M. M. (2009). Coach, mentor: is there a difference. CEO Center for Coaching and Mentoring, Inc.