Functions of the Learning Facilitator
Introduction
NCCP training emphasizes the use of learning activities. To present learning activities well, the LF must be more than a subject-matter expert. While knowledge of content is always of value, LF must be equally skillful at guiding coaches through learning activities that require critical thinking and developing a group that is supportive of critical thinking.
To do this, the LF must perform three distinct, but related functions:
- Instructor
- Learning guide
- Moderator
The LF as Instructor
Every NCCP workshop is led by a trained Learning Facilitator (LF) who has undergone a standardized training process. LFs are crucial to the development of skilled, knowledgeable coaches who are then able to develop safer, happier athletes/participants.
The goal of an LF is to effectively facilitate sessions that result in the development of coaches who are able to demonstrate their abilities and meet the standards established for certification. An LF should have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and attitudes to facilitate workshops using the competency-based approach. In addition, they serve as contributing members of the community and ambassadors for the NCCP.
How to Become a Learning Facilitator
All Learning Facilitators complete the following steps:
Core Training
Modules:
- Overview of the workshop and the NCCP
- Functions of a Learning Facilitator
- Elements of an effective learning activity
- Stages of group development
- Nature of the group
Content-specific Training
Guidelines/Modules:
- Micro-facilitation of module content
- Administration of the module
- Locker training
- Review and sign NCCP Coach Developer Code of Conduct
- Review LF evaluation standards and the evaluation process
To access Core Training, and/or to become a multi-sport Learning Facilitator, please select your province/territory from the list on this page and contact your Provincial or Territorial Coaching Representative.
For a calendar of upcoming Core Training opportunities, please CLICK HERE.
To access Sport-specific Training for Learning Facilitators, please select your sport from the list below, and contact them by phone or email for more information.
The LF must provide up-to-date and valid information. Without this injection of new ideas, concepts, or thoughts, any attempt to stimulate critical thinking among coaches may lead to a rehashing of old ideas, reinforce incorrect concepts, and inhibit the process of critical thinking.
To be precise and concise in the presentation of information, an LF must be creative. Being creative may include using:
- Introductions to learning activities
- Mini-lectures
- Reference materials
- Coach workbooks
- Video
- Summaries at the end of activities
- Debriefs
While disseminating information may no longer be the dominant function of the LF, it is still a critical function if coaches are to think critically and develop the appropriate competencies.
The LF as Learning Guide
LFs must implement learning activities that allow coaches to learn through a process of guided discovery. These learning activities must engage coaches in a process of critical thinking (assessing the value of the material and relating it appropriately to their coaching context) and link directly to desired outcomes and the development of specified competencies. The LF guides the learning process by:
- Altering the sequence of learning activities to match the readiness of the group
- Providing detailed instructions for learning activities
- Intervening when the group misunderstands instruction
- Correcting coaches when they misunderstand information
- Resolving conflict within the group
- Fully debriefing the learning activity
Guided discovery allows LFs to engage coaches in the process of critical thinking and to help coaches develop the skills needed to take even more responsibility for their own learning. As coaches learn through the process of guided discovery, they become more confident in their ability to learn, and they develop skills they can use to guide their own and the group’s learning.
The LF as Moderator
The LF must assign coaches to groups where coaches support one another and the process of critical thinking. The learning activities the LF uses should do more than engage coaches in critical thinking and help coaches develop specified competencies. Rather, learning activities should lead to the development of desired behaviors — inquiry, collaboration, sharing, and collegiality — within the group.
The LF develops these desired behaviors by:
- Providing tasks that match the group’s readiness
- Providing tasks that support the development of desired behaviors
- Providing tasks that are appropriate for the group’s stage of development
- Providing specific and positive feedback related to the group’s behaviors
- Sanctioning behaviors that are not supportive of the goals of critical thinking
- Altering the make-up of learning groups for specific tasks
Conclusion
For the most part, the functions of the LF in the NCCP are like those of a coach. Like the coach, the LF must provide instruction and activities that help people develop their skills (outcomes, competencies). Also like the coach, the LF must bring individuals together to form a cohesive unit whose members support one another.
NCCP workshop LF materials and forms
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| Introduction to Community Coaching (ICC) |
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| Community Coaching (CC) |
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CCI – L2T
(dryland) |
|
CCI – L2T
(on snow) |
|
| CCI-advanced – T2T
(dryland) |
|
| CCI-advanced – T2T
(on snow) |
|
CCD – L2C
(dryland)
|
|
CCD – L2C
(on snow) |
|
