Table of Contents

Facilitation Guide, Facilitator Notes, Best Practice Guide

Jason Carroll Updated by Jason Carroll

Quick link to the Facilitation Guide Template - NOTE: MAKE A COPY OF THIS TEMPLATE, DO NOT EDIT
Quick link to the "Best Practices" Guide template - NOTE: MAKE A COPY OF THIS TEMPLATE, DO NOT EDIT

Overview

eCornell offers multiple types of resources for the facilitation team to ensure they have the background information needed to navigate courses. This article outlines the various methods to create and maintain facilitator resources for both technical and non-technical courses. You'll learn how to create and manage facilitation guides for eCornell certificate non-credit courses, gain insight to the differences between facilitation guides, AA Facilitator/Instructor Notes, and "Best Practices" documents. You'll also discover a few helpful examples and options to create facilitator notes for STEM courses.

Types of Facilitation Resources:

  • Facilitator Guides
  • AA Facilitator Notes page
  • Best Practices document.
Note: It is not necessary to provide all three types of documentation for every course. Confer with your IDD to determine whether Facilitator Notes is sufficient or if a Facilitator Guide or Best Practices document are also needed

The Three Guides At-A-Glance

Facilitator Guide

"Best Practices" Guide

AA Facilitator Notes

  • A comprehensive document providing course and certificate level information in context for facilitators.
  • Used for complex courses requiring a deeper dive into technical subject matter and/or unique grading information, alpha testing, and involvement from faculty partners.
  • A concise set of info relating to key items at the individual course level.
  • A collective knowledge base of items broadly applicable to the entire certificate, with specific course-by-course information
  • A living document for collaboration, a space for faculty, IDs, Alpha testers, and facilitators to share information.
  • Primarily managed by the ID team in Canvas, but can contain input from facilitation team.
  • organized to include documentation broadly relevant for the entire certificate
  • More granular for individual course information when compared to the Facilitator Guide.

  • A google document stored in the Facilitation Guides shared drive.

  • A google document stored in the Facilitation Guides shared drive.
  • The Notes page is an unpublished page, stored in the "Pages" section of a Canvas Course.
  • Can be applied to all courses and coexist with the other facilitator resources.
  • Can be applied to all courses and coexist with the other facilitator resources.
  • Can be applied to all courses and coexist with the other facilitator resources.

Facilitator Guide Overview

Facilitation Guides are comprehensive documents curated by the design team in collaboration with course faculty, providing course- and certificate-level information in context for facilitators; a living document that records supplemental instructions from the instructional designer and course faculty who created the content. The Guides detail any specific information that will help in reviewing and grading student submissions; unique technical implementations that need elaboration; and a running list of particular challenges, bugs, or error points that students may encounter as they work through the course content. The Facilitation Guides serve as a collective knowledge base of items broadly applicable to the entire certificate, with specific course-by-course information. Guides assume basic knowledge of Canvas, and refer to HelpDocs articles for tools and platforms that exist across multiple programs.

The purpose of a non-credit certificate Facilitation Guide is to:

  • Provide a holistic overview of a certificate and its courses for facilitators
  • Improve the quality of facilitation with supplemental course materials, notes, and insights from the course author
  • Serve as a living knowledge base for technical and operational matters such as grading guidelines, Codio usage, and changes made to course content.
  • Improve consistency of facilitation among a team of facilitators by sharing additional notes and suggestions in a formal, centralized manner
Later in this article you'll learn the process of creating and maintaining a Facilitator Guide. Please see Table of Contents to skip to the section "Facilitation Guide Process"

Example facilitator guide page: Leading Remote Teams LSM611 – LSM615

AA Facilitator Notes Overview

It may be helpful to learn how to differentiate course facilitator guides from the AA Facilitator Notes pages embedded in each course. Facilitation guides are more rigorous documents than the AA Facilitator Notes page, but share similar goals.

The purpose of a course AA Facilitator Notes page is to provide a concise set of info relating to key items at the individual course level:

  • a checklist to set up the course (recommendations for assignment deadlines, additional announcements, office hour scheduling, supplemental discussion topics, etc.)
  • a breakdown of the grading, assignment solutions, grading rubrics
  • notes detailing any points in the course that students may struggle with or are otherwise problematic
  • recommended topics for office hours
  • Supplemental materials specific to that course, such as chapters or pages in a textbook, articles, videos, etc.

Example of Facilitator Notes in a non-credit certificate course

Example of Facilitator Notes in a STEM for-credit course

Facilitator Notes Process

  1. In the Non-Video Assets phase, IDs create a new google doc for tracking facilitator notes during course development. IDs maintain a running list of important faculty notes that apply to course facilitation. IDs should make notes of info to include throughout the asset development process.
  2. In the Review phase of course development (1. Prep Course for Reviews step in Wrike),
    1. The ID updates the facilitator notes (best practice, while giving the course a final once over before submitting to IDD review)
      1. The AA Facilitator Notes page is unpublished. In a Canvas course, visit 'Pages' > 'All Pages' to locate the page.
    2. IDA adds the facilitator notes google doc link to the course review sheets (IDD, SE, and faculty).
  3. After the SE/IDD reviews, the ID updates facilitator notes in the google doc as needed (so the faculty sees a clean copy and any outstanding questions in the comments)
  4. When sending the course to faculty review, the ID informs the faculty that they should review the facilitator notes in conjunction with the course and make notes in the google dox
  5. When implementing faculty revision notes, ID finalizes the facilitator notes in the google doc and then adds “Add facilitator notes into Canvas” as a “task/check box item” in the Prep for QA task.
  6. The IDA transfers the finalized facilitator notes to the AA Facilitator Notes page in Canvas. *Do not publish the page.

Facilitator Notes Summary

The Facilitator Notes page remains a resource to provide granular detail within a canvas course on a specific individual course level (i.e. describing assignments, grading philosophy for those assignments, etc.) for both non-tech and tech courses.

Note: There may be significant crossover between the purpose of these documents in the current process. Despite the overlap, if you are directed to create both a Facilitator Guide and a Facilitator Notes , it is because the information they both provide is critical. Therefore, take care to develop and then maintain them with most relevant information as possible.

Best Practices Guides

A third type of document that exists to assist course facilitation is the Best Practice guide. A living document, best practice guides are especially helpful in tech courses because of the complex nature of the subject, Codio activities, and unique grading structure. It is very similar to (and can coexist with, a facilitation guide) but in a streamlined format for quick access to info. Best practice guides are a great option for collecting shared experiences and helping to maintain a high level of quality in a complex course. Best Practice gyudes are more granular than Facilitator Guides at the individual course level.

Best Practice guides may also be used for non-technical courses that require more granularity.

The purpose of the Best Practices document is: 

  • Ensure facilitators have easy access to all documentation in one place; a central resource.
  • To inform facilitation team on what content to grade, software navigation tips, information about new tasks and new software.
  • To provide faculty a space to record helpful insight. This type of guide is a helpful tool for very involved faculty members.

Best practice guides include (but not limited to):

  • Set up and facilitation of courses.
  • Notes to orient the facilitator to the course before its start date.
  • Advice for scheduling assignment due dates.
  • Grade book structure: Notable characteristics of how various assignments are weighted in the grade book.
  • Specific facilitator responsibilities
  • Live session topic notes
Click the following link to view a completed example of a Best Practices Guide. CIS550s Best Practices

Example of a Best Practices guide: CIS550s How to Use summary page

Example of a Best Practices guide: CIS550s Course Setup summary page

NOTES FOR TECH COURSE DEVELOPMENT:

Development of a Best Practice guide begins in the Alpha test phase, typically when complex situations begin to arise in testing.

Best Practice guides are owned by the facilitation team during the Alpha test phase.

It is the Alpha facilitators duty to maintain the document as it evolves, as bugs, issues, and changes occur.

Create a "Best Practices" Guide Document

  1. Make a copy of the Best Practice Guide template on the shared Google Drive folder: Facilitation Guides > 00_Templates.

  1. Rename the copied template, providing your course code and name in the header and title of document.
  2. Place the cloned guide in its corresponding folder (create it if it's not there yet) in the Facilitation Guides gDrive folder.
  3. Copy the Guide's share link from Google and paste/link it in each relevant course's AA Facilitator Notes page.
  4. Replace the placeholder text thruout the new document. The template can initially accomadate six courses. Add or subtract courses as needed. Be sure to update the links on the first page of the copied template to match the # of courses. See example below.

Which resource should you create?

Instructional Designers (working with the IDD) will decide which resource to create for the three document types. The choice depends on the type of information shared, course complexity, and additional factors.

  • Facilitator guides and "Best Practice" guides are recommended for complex courses.
  • Smaller or simple courses, non-technical courses, and streamlined courses benefit from a AA Facilitator Notes page.
  • Use a combination of all three document types at the discretion of the ID. This may be especially useful for technical courses.
  • Best Practice guides are useful for courses that have very involved faculty who desire or need to contribute during and after course development.
The Instructional Design team chooses which resource(s) to create. Consult with your IDD for further guidance.

Facilitation Guide Process

Instructional Designers create Facilitation Guides after the charter meeting. As a living document, update the Facilitation Guide with any new information or guidance during or between each course session. The instructional designer, in collaboration with the faculty person, create and complete the Facilitation Guide after a new project charter session. Update the main content when each course in the series reaches the review stage: the ID fills in all relevant sections for that course, noting any specific exercises or information that might help a facilitator orient themselves within the course material. The content should align the future facilitators to student needs unique to the course and certificate (.ie. grading assignments, responding to questions, etc.). Faculty authors review and approve the guide before course approval in the development review stage.

The Facilitator Notes live in a shared Google Team Drive named "Facilitation Guides", and are linked from the AA Facilitator Notes page in each Canvas course for ease of access.
Information on tech course facilitation guide process

For tech courses, ID's update the facilitators guide following the conclusion of the tech course Alpha Review for each course in the series. With this iterative process in mind, ID's record any pertinent issues or notes occurring during Alpha Review for future facilitators. For more on the Alpha Review process, see the help docs articles here.

In technical courses or certificates that include an Alpha Review, there is an additional step of editing and refinement of the Facilitator Notes that occurs in collaboration with the Alpha Review facilitator, after each Alpha test.

Facilitation Guide Workflow

  1. Facilitation Guides are generated for a new certificate after the charter session. The typical Wrike plan includes a task for this in the form of a checkbox in the 0. Course Setup task:
    1. This step is the initial creation of a Facilitation Guide doc for Cert. If this is the first course in the series, you will see this prompt in the 0. Course Setup task in your Wrike project.
    2. See below in "When and How to Generate and Update Facilitation Guides" for the steps to create the initial Facilitation Guide for your project.
  2. Draft Course Facilitator Notes and update Facilitation Guide: the Instructional Designer, with input from the course faculty, will finalize the course-level notes in the Facilitation Guide at the review phase for each course. If it's the final course in the series, the ID and faculty will need to finalize the entire Facilitation Guide. Note the task listed within the typical Wrike project plan found in section 5. Review.

  1. FOR TECH COURSE ONLY: During the Alpha Review stage, Alpha Facilitators will have a chance to update the Facilitation Guide documents.
Creating the Facilitation Guides
Updating After Certificate Charter:

Facilitation Guides for a certificate should be created and placed in the respective Google Drive folder after the charter session for the series. Follow these steps from the Guide Template to make a copy for your certificate:

1. Make a copy of the Facilitator Guide Template

2. Rename the copied template, providing your course code and name in the header.

3. Place the cloned guide in its corresponding folder (create it if it's not there yet) in the Facilitation Guides gDrive folder.

4. Check the related box complete in the Course Setup Wrike task to signal the Guide has been generated.

5. Copy the Guide's share link from Google and paste/link it in each relevant course's AA Facilitator Notes page.

Editing the Facilitation Guide Document

In order to make the most use out of the Guide document, IDs will follow the formatted red-labeled sections to organize the information, and the grey text as examples for what each section should look like. Delete the example grey text from each section as you complete it. The Guide documents are for facilitators, so in collaboration with your faculty, try to include any important design rationale or teaching methodology that might be the preferred approach for future facilitators of the certificate.

Note: If this cert or course requires an Alpha Review, there is an additional editorial task for the Alpha Facilitator which is to be confirmed by the ID.

Facilitation Guide Grading Structure

In Section 2.2 of the Facilitation Guide, provide a breakdown of the typical pacing and grading structure for each course. This should be a general overview of the grading expected of facilitators in the courses and series, noting any deviation from the structure in the series.

These sections should include each of the following:

1. Overview Description of Grading the Series

Example:

  • A typical course is 3 weeks long and composed of several programming assignments, quizzes and discussions with the following weights:
    • Programming assignments 70%
    • Quizzes 10%
    • Discussions 20%
  • Each course typically has several programming assignments with multiple exercises each. Students may require up to 10 hours per week to complete the course on time. It is important that students begin the course right away.

You will need to create a copy of the Grading Structure Template to organize the assignments and grading for the courses in your series, and link it in the Facilitation Guide as a reference.

3. Process for Manual Facilitator Grading

If your course's assignments include exercises that require manual grading by a facilitator, you should note that process in this section as well. This should focus on an overview of the grading approach/philosophy provided by the faculty: how stringently should content be graded; where can facilitators find references to solution sets for each assignment; what constitutes a pass/fail, etc.

Updating the Facilitation Guide

During Development

After the guide is created and appropriately named, it will not require much maintenance until the content for the first course(s) have been developed and expanded on. If the ID has a strong grasp of the facilitation needs of the content early on, they can begin documenting the material for facilitators in the Guide. Typically though, the first major update to the Facilitation Guide will be either:

  1. After Alpha Review, if its a Tech course.
  2. During the Course Review phase.

Each relevant course section is filled out to the best of the designer's and author's abilities during the review stage.

After Development

Once a course or certificate has launched, the development team will typically stop making updates to course content. This does happen in some cases when facilitators note issues or address reported bugs, particularly in technical courses using Codio.

If a course or certificate needs an update or fix, the Facilitation Guide has a Changelog section for recording what was changed, when, why, and what was done to address the issue. This creates a useful historical document that facilitators can continually update and use to monitor any changes.

Facilitation Guides and Notes for For-Credit Courses

Facilitation guides are also an important tool for-credit courses. Each for-credit course will have its own unique facilitator guide/note needs: use the examples below and elsewhere in this article to develop guides specific to your program's requirements.

Custom Canvas template for tech course instructor notes page

Occasionally, you will need to take a different approach vs non-credit certificate courses. For example, in for-credit STEM courses, the facilitator team may not have first-hand knowledge of coding activities with solutions, or they may not know how to find solutions in Codio. The example below displays a custom Facilitator Notes page that offers coding solutions to the course Codio activities.

Questions to ask before using the custom template:

  • Who is the faculty?
  • Are they trained in Codio?
  • What type of technical content (languages, packages, frameworks) is used in the course?

The template may be most applicable for courses covering content such as coding in SQL, or any coding course that involves straight-forward (e.g., single-correct-answer) solutions.

Quick link to the Facilitator Notes Answer Key + Grading Guide template. Please read instructions before copying the template.

Example: Instructor notes for BANA6550: SQL, using the custom format template on the Instructor notes page in Canvas.

How did we do?

Contact