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The alchemy of facilitation revealed through individual stories and collective narrative
McCormack, Coralie Gilchrist, John Hancock, Eleanor Islam, Jesmin Kennelly, Robert Northcote, Maria Thomson, Kate
McCormack, Coralie
Gilchrist, John
Hancock, Eleanor
Islam, Jesmin
Kennelly, Robert
Northcote, Maria
Thomson, Kate
Abstract
Facilitation is a key ‘ingredient’ in the success and sustainability of communities of practice. Yet, little attention has been given to in situ experiences of facilitators of these communities. This paper takes up the challenge to explore these experiences using reflective stories written by seven TATAL (Talking about Teaching and Learning) facilitators (the authors) from different disciplines in five different Australian universities. The authors’ collaborative analysis of their experiences suggests reframing the role of facilitator to include the role of alchemist, a promoter of transformation. This reframing has the potential to change the way higher education community of practice facilitators think about and enact their role. The story-based reflective process used in this self-study could also be used by facilitators to investigate their own practice, as a component of facilitator education programmes or by academics and researchers in other contexts who seek a participatory, collaborative approach to evaluate their practice.
Keywords
reflective practice, professional learning, communities of practice, stories, narrative
Date
2017
Type
Journal article
Journal
Reflective Practice
Book
Volume
18
Issue
1
Page Range
42-54
Article Number
ACU Department
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled