Facilitation Plan - Using AI as a Digital Resource Assistant for Facilitators
- Catherine McFee
- Sep 8, 2024
- 4 min read
By Catherine McFee and Marni Russell
In preparation for Team Green’s facilitation week, Catherine and Marni met to brainstorm and plan an engaging learning experience for our participants. The unit content focuses on learning to use AI as a Digital Resource Assistant to determine best facilitation practices.
Learning Objective
Learners will be able to use AI to support facilitation strategies and enhance engagement and collaborative learning within the Community of Inquiry framework.
Timeline
Date | Mode | Facilitators | Learners |
|---|---|---|---|
Sunday, October 6th 2024 | Asynchronous | Introduce the module and resources. | Watch the introduction video and explore the resources. |
Tuesday, October 8th 2024 | Asynchronous | Create a Padlet for learners to share their thoughts. | Share which tool they have chosen and why.Reference readings. |
Wednesday, October 9th 2024 | Asynchronous | Respond to Padlet | Start creating a helpful resource for facilitation using the AI tool chosen using the CoI framework. |
Thursday, October 10th 2024 | Synchronous | Facilitate discussion for sharing the resource created by taking notes and asking questions. | Share the CoI strategy resource and one tip takeaway learned from the activity. |
Friday, October 11th, 2024 | Asynchronous | To summarize the learning based on previous Zoom meetings and post on Moodle. | Look over the summary and provide any additional comments. |
Saturday, October 12th 2024 | Asynchronous | Gather feedback | Provide feedback |
Schedule for facilitation week
Learning Resources
Team Green plans to use the following resources to foster learning during the facilitation week:
Bowen, J. A., & Watson, C. E. (2024). Teaching with AI: A practical guide to a new era of human learning. Chapter 5: AI-Assisted Faculty (p 75-96). John Hopkins University Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/royalroads-ebooks/detail.action?docID=30876436
Desjardins, D., Drought, B., Fischl, B., Frampton, S., Giannios, M., Jodrey, H., Korchinski, K., MacDowell, P., Moser, S., Moskalyk, K., Neibrandt, J., Neufeld, P., Peters, A., Otegbade, T., Schindelka, A., Tide, D., Tilford, L., Tooke, K., & Washlowsky, M. (2023). AI-Enhanced Instructional Design. University of Saskatchewan.https://openpress.usask.ca/etad873aienhancedinstructionaldesign
Read Chapters 2 and 10:
McFee, C. (2024). Home: AI for K12 and beyond toolkit. AI 4 K12 and Beyond. https://www.aifork12andbeyond.ca/
The following resources will be provided as optional supplemental resources:
Celik, I., Dindar, M., Muukkonen, H., & Järvelä, S. (2022). The promises and challenges of Artificial Intelligence for teachers: A systematic review of research. TechTrends,66, 616–630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00715-y
Mollick, E. R., & Mollick, L. (2023). Using AI to implement effective teaching strategies in classrooms: Five strategies, including prompts. The Wharton School Research Paper.http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4391243
Squalli Houssaini, M., Aboutajeddine, A., Toughrai, I., & Ibrahimi, A. (2024). Development of a design course for medical curriculum: Using design thinking as an instructional design method empowered by constructive alignment and generative AI. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2024.101491
Asynchronous Activity
Before our synchronous session, we have some activities that will be done asynchronously.
Read and Watch: There are four readings on using AI tools as assistants; learners will choose two of the four they want to read. At the start of the module, learners will watch an introductory video.
Explore: Learners will explore the general education section of the AI toolkit and the tools outlined in that section. They can also explore different AI digital assistant tools they would like to use for the rest of the activities.
Discuss:Using Padlet, learners will discuss which AI tool they want to use and connect their responses to the readings. They will also respond to at least one other learner’s post.
Reflect: Using another Padlet, learners will share their initial ideas about the resource they want to create, their chosen strategy, and why.
Create: Using the AI tool they have chosen, learners will create a helpful facilitation resource based on their CoI infographic using one of their favourite strategies.
Synchronous Activity
Proposed date and time: Thursday, October 10th, 2024, 17:00 PST/ 20:00 EST
10 minutes | Introduce the session by presenting the module and using AI tools for facilitation. |
10 minutes | Discuss the asynchronous activities (exploration, readings, and creation of their resource). |
20-25 minutes | Share the resources they created using the AI tools and how they connect to the CoI framework, concluding with one tip/takeaway from the process. |
5 minutes | We will conclude the session by summarizing the discussion and providing instructions for what comes next. |
Learning Technologies
Moodle will be used as the Learning Management System (LMS) during the facilitation week. This platform allows hosting learning resources like readings and activities, such as sharing experiences using Padlet. Team Green chose this LMS and Padlet due to their ease and familiarity. The same familiarity applies to Zoom, which was selected to host the synchronous session. Team Green will continue to explore whether other learning technologies are required for the learning experience.
Learning Experience
The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has three presences that encompass the learning experience for students in online learning: Cognitive Presence, Social Presence, and Teaching Presence (Garrison et al., 1999). Team Green will facilitate these activities throughout the week using these presences as follows:
Presence | Activity | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
Cognitive Presence | Learners will use Padlet to share their thoughts and comment on each other’s posts (Boettcher, n.d.).Creating a helpful facilitation resource using one of their strategies. | Learners' comments will be meaningful and thought-provoking. Learners will share their initial ideas in another Padlet, making connections to their infographic. |
Social Presence | Learners will share the resources they created in the Zoom session (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2018). | Learners participate in the Zoom session and share their process and tip(s). |
Teaching Presence | Provide clear expectations for activities and deadlines (Lalonde, 2020).Creating an interactive activity to start our synchronous session and spark discussion (Garrison et al., 2007). | Moodle metrics confirming logins and instructional video-watchingLearners are engaged with the activity and participate in discussion. |
References
Boettcher, J. V. (n.d.). Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online. Design for Learning. http://designingforlearning.info/writing/ten-best-practices-for-teaching-online/
Dunlop, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (2018). Online educators’ recommendations for teaching online: Crowdsourcing in action. Open Praxis, 10(1), 79-89. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.10.1.721
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2), 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1096-7516(00)00016-6
Garrison, D. R., Arbough, J. B. (2007). Researching the community of inquiry framework: Review, issues, and future directions. Internet and higher education, 10(3), 157-172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2007.04.001Lalonde, C. (2020). Facilitation in a community of inquiry. . YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv1bUZv5PLs
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