Facilitating the Learning Process

General Information
Target audience:
Basic Skills Teachers / Tutors / Adult Literacy Instructors / Adult Educators
Course date:
10 April 2023 – 04 June 2023
Course status:
Certificate of Completion:
Participants completing the course will be awarded in the following ways:
1) Digital Certificate on Completing the Course: Approaching Digital Teaching & Learning
Criterion 1: accessed each of the content pages in the MOOC.
Those who meet this criterion will receive a digital certificate automatically at the end of the course. The certificate will certify that the participant has completed the course and engaged with all elements of the course thematics / content.
2) EBSN Badge on Professional Development Series: Approaching Digital Teaching & Learning
(Only for those completed criterion 1 and received Certificate of Completion)
Criterion 2: completed knowledge checks (quizzes) and submission of at least 1 meaningful and relevant post in the forum discussions every week (corresponding to the thematic questions of the week, altogether minimum 4 entries within the course course).
This will prove that the participant reflected on the course content from the perspective of their own practice and were able to apply newly gained knowledge and insights in their own context.

The Professional Development Series is an initiative of the European Basic Skills Network to support adult educators, teachers, and other personnel in basic skills education and training to develop their skills and methods to help people progress on their upskilling pathways effectively. Within the project supported by the ERASMUS+ Program, a series of OERs and MOOCs are being developed. It is also an ambition of the partnership to establish Micro-credentials awarded to those completing MOOCs. It will also be recognised by different educational institutions and national or regional authorities taking an active role in further education and professionalisation of adult basic skills teachers.
“Facilitating the Learning Process” is one of the courses implemented and tested with adult education professionals as participants from different European countries in 8 weeks by the European Basic Skills Network.
Course objectives
This course has specifically been designed to assist you in facilitating your adult learners and to enhance your teaching practices when working with adults with basic skills. It will support you in professionally developing your ability to facilitate, design and evaluate the learning process of basic skills students. You will explore how the learner progresses and how learner monitoring takes place for adults with basic skills. You will also be given an insight into learner support services, tools and systems. This MOOC has been developed as part of the EBSN project in tandem with the University of Pécs and South East Technological University.
Course results
When you complete this course, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the facilitation of adult learning;
- Assess the use of basic methods in the facilitation of adult learning;
- Identify and apply strategies for facilitating adult learning for better performance in learning;
- Implement basic elements of facilitating adult learning.
Course format
The MOOC will be implemented as an 8-week long 4-unit online course (2 weeks for each unit, with a workload of app. 6-7 hours/unit; a total of 25 hours equivalent to around 1 ECTS), self-instructed study with self-checks as well as moderated thematic forum discussions and three live webinars via Zoom with a tutor. The webinars will take place at the beginning, middle, and end of the course.
The MOOC on Facilitating the Learning Process will include an ample variety of learning resources brought together from an international setting, presenting the best teaching strategies and practices. The presentations, videos, and other resources become available every two weeks.
Key themes of the course
Unit 1: Understanding Facilitation in Adult Learning
Unit 2: Strategies of Effective Facilitation in Adult Learning
Unit 3: Analysing Approaches of Effective Facilitation in Adult Learning
Unit 4: International Policy Context for Effective Facilitation.
Assignments & Assessment
During this course, you will encounter several Knowledge Checks in the form of short quiz questions to check your understanding of various topics. Please try your best to answer these and revise the relevant section if you encounter difficulties. In addition to this, you will be asked to reflect on your teaching practices using the newly gained knowledge.
Each unit will have a workload of between 6-7 hours.
Detailed course objectives
Unit 1: Understanding Facilitation in Adult Learning
Unit’s objectives:
- to provide a better understanding of the basic concepts of facilitation.
- to draw an introduction to the role of the facilitator
- to deepen understanding of who the facilitator is and how they engage their learners.
- to offer an opportunity to apply these concepts in own context.
Unit 2: Strategies of Effective Facilitation in Adult Learning
Unit’s objectives:
- to help develop skills especially needed in planning and developing comprehensive facilitation for adult learners to design and achieve purposeful learning by collecting and sharing good knowledge.
- promoting a good sense of discovering and guiding adult learners with respect, care and mutuality to reach the necessary motivation and engagement.
Unit 3: Analysing Approaches of Effective Facilitation in Adult Learning
Unit’s objectives:
- this Unit will help understand and apply useful facilitation techniques in adult learning through active learning and real-life projects.
- it will enable learning about the principles of learner empowerment, which is a key facet of promoting active learning in the classroom. These tools support learners’ motivations and participation in specific forms of knowledge transfer.
- this process will also highlight the roles and responsibilities of adult educators by underlining the necessary actions of preparation, commitment and understanding to promote learning with adults.
Unit 4: International Policy Context for Effective Facilitation.
Unit’s objectives:
- we are providing insight into the international aspects of adult and lifelong learning in the scope of quality, sustainability and accessibility/inclusion referring to policies promoting participation and performance in adult learning.
- based on current texts and examples of practice, it supports the understanding of connections between the facilitation of adult learning and raising participation and performance as principles of Adult Learning Education policies (ALE). It draws upon recent narratives and focuses on such policies in ALE from the UN and UNESCO, together with some practices we have identified as applicable to sustainable development.
- this Unit highlights some trends and issues in the field of Adult Learning Education relevant to facilitation in ALE as well as common concerns for facilitators.