Module 2.1a - What is facilitation in intergenerational practice programs?
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1. What is facilitation in intergenerational practice programs?
Teaching vs Facilitation. Source: The Institute For Arts Integration and STEAM
Facilitation techniques (click on the video below to see examples of facilitation techniques)
Benefits beyond participants:
Perceived benefits of intergenerational programs are not limited to older adults and younger children. Intergenerational practice programs are all-encompassing activities and have shown benefits to facilitators as well, such as:
- Improving skills to identify experiences that encourage interactions between young children and older adults;
- Building relationships with older adults and children to support one's sense of comfort during intergenerational activities;
- Observing language and social development in children;
- Reflect on changes in older adults’ sense of well-being; and
- Developing the use of supportive strategies to promote interactions.
The importance of theory in facilitation
Facilitators in intergenerational activities create experiences and environments which facilitate positive relationships; however, it is crucial that these experiences are informed by theoretical information. The Neurosequential Model of Education (NME) which was visited in JOY1, Module 1 is an example of how to develop your programs based on theory. The NME developed by Dr Bruce Perry describes the brain as developing from “ the bottom up and inside out” and outlines the four major layers of the brain and the role they play in behaviours, thoughts and emotions. See Figure 4.
4 - Figure 4. Bruce Perry’s Hierarchy of Brain Function. Source: Perry (2002)
Whilst the model was initially developed to understand the way children process trauma it can be seen to have value in understanding elements of early learning and building relationships and attachments across age groups.
2. Facilitation Fundamentals
Two fundamental aspects of facilitation include pre-planning and diverse and receptive communication skills.
Pre-planning:
Pre-planning is a crucial step in facilitation. Pre-planning allows the facilitator to feel prepared, allows room for troubleshooting and deeper exploration and most importantly avoids feeling overwhelmed during the session.
Pre-planning is a crucial step in any facilitation and contributes to the success of intergenerational programs (De Vore (2021) . Pre-planning allows the facilitator to feel prepared, troubleshoot, explore alternatives and importantly avoid feeling overwhelmed during the session.
One-way facilitators reported improved planning and preparation skills, was through the use of written documents to describe individual learning experiences in detail, Written plans allow facilitators to reflect on activity results, identify possibilities to improve, expand successful learning experiences and problem-solve to make needed adjustments.
Written documents may included the:
• location, date, length of session;
• pedagogical elements such as goals and objectives of the learning experience for each age group and the activity focus; and
• facilitation details such as materials used or needed, spatial arrangements and procedural factors.
Another pre -planning tool for facilitators is to thoughtfully match activities with participants' backgrounds. Then using ongoing communication to ensure all participants could comfortably share and provide feedback on how they felt during sessions.
The physical space of the intergenerational program is another area for facilitators to pre-plan. Participants have varying ages and capacities and come from diverse backgrounds and the physical space is as important as the actual content. For example, special seating arrangements may be particularly important to ensure the child participant feels supported and the older adult participant is both comfortable and able to engage with learning materials. Seating arrangements such as adult-child, and child-adult configurations are thought to work well in programs due to the child participant having the support of both a peer and an adult. See example in figure 5.
Figure 5. Suggested intergenerational seating arrangement. Source: Adapted from Shutterstock.com
Communication skills
Have you ever noticed how you change the way you talk, based on who you are talking with? This isn’t just random; this is embedded in the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) developed by Howard Giles. The theory explains how we adjust our speech, our tone and even our body language to either match or differ from those who we are talking to. We do this to try an influence how others see us. The theory suggests that individuals may converge or diverge. Convergence occurs whenever you adapt your communication style to more like the person or group your conversing with to reduce social distance and foster acceptance. Divergence is when you accentuate the differences in how you communicate to others, to create power or to differentiate your individuality or disagreement. Understanding CAT van allow you to inform everyday interactions and build better relationships.
In intergenerational practice, as facilitators we can at times, over-accommodate or under accommodate. Over-accommodation is, “going too far” or "patronising” in accommodating a person’s communication needs (e.g. baby talk or over-exaggerated pitch), while under-accommodation (not listening or interrupting). This often is related to age or disability stereotypes, that is, how we perceive the needs of others. Some examples of patronising features which should be avoided when communicating with older adults can be seen in Figure 6. Such over or under accommodation in communication can lead to negative outcomes and reinforcing the stereotypes we are trying to reduce.
Therefore, it is important to reflect on your behaviour as a facilitator and recognise and adjust communication to ensure respect and avoid patronising participants. So as facilitators we need to recognise that stereotypes and identities influence how we communicate and that communication can lead to negative attitudes and poor outcomes for our participants.
Figure 6. Examples of patronising communication features (Ryan et al., 2005).
Martin Joos (1972) found that in every language in the world there are five levels or registers of formality: frozen, formal, consultative, casual and intimate. These different linguistic patterns and registers will emerge based on different age groups and contexts, thus as facilitators it is important to be receptive and flexible when communicating. Here is a link for a quick breakdown of language registers.
Verbal communication
Verbal communication skills include the language you use but also extends to listening skills and asking questions. It is important to practice active listening which involves:
• listening without interrupting;
• listening to understand rather than evaluating or challenging what is being said; and
• asking what issues people are concerned with rather than making assumptions.
Questioning skills in intergenerational practice activities can either halt or facilitate group satisfaction and overall program success. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of a few ways in which you can improve the way you ask questions, for example:
• Use open ended questions, such as “can you tell what the picture means so far?” rather than using closed questions which require yes or no answers. Questions like “Do you understand?” may make people feel put on the spot or uncomfortable;
• Use suggestions like “please let me know if you would like me to repeat or clarify myself”;
• Pose ‘what if’ questions, such as “what if you mixed the blue paint with red”. This promotes sharing of ideas between participant groups; and finally,
• Instead of making evaluating comments like “that's great”, invite reflection on what has been attempted or done. For example, asking about the content – “can you tell me what you have done here?”; or about form or medium used – “how would this look if you added water?”; and other technical choices – “what or why have you chosen this colour, scale or shape?”.
Non-verbal communication
Non-verbal communication is equally important as verbal communication when communicating in intergenerational practice programs. As a facilitator and as a role model in intergenerational practice, it is crucial to be aware first and foremost of your own non-verbal communication – such as your facial expressions or body language – and how that may affect your connection with participants.
Secondly, as you will be working with people who may not have developed sophisticated language skills just yet or may have lost them, it is crucial to recognise other non-verbal communication cues. Both participant groups may rely on gestures such as pointing, tilting their head up and down or making vocalisations. Whilst other forms of communication may be more subtle or overt such as wetting pants or screaming. As a facilitator it is important to be receptive whilst also understanding how to manage different situations and needs. For example, the use of eye contact is important to demonstrate attention and register however depending on the participant too much eye contact may be overstimulating. Your posture and getting to the participants level when transmitting a message encourages a closer connection and calmness. However, it may be necessary to "read the room" to ensure you do not invade personal space. Some little ones, older generations and different cultures may have a sensitivity to physical touch. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to the kinds of approval and warmth the participant and the context call for.
Finally, as discussed previously in this module, pre-planning makes sessions run smoothly. If you are aware that some of your older adult participants have dementia or may express themselves and communicate differently, it may be beneficial to explain this to younger participants before they interact.
Delve Deeper:
Have a look at
- this article by Bouchard Ryan et al.,(1995) which reviews the literature on patronising communication directed to older adults in both institutional and community settings.
- a scoping review by Jarrott et., (2021) looking at the implementation of evidence-based practices in intergeneration programming.
