Leaders in effective and inclusive STEM: Twenty years of the Institute for Scientist & Engineer Educators

The role of facilitator, and facilitation strategies, are components that sometimes get overlooked as important in promoting collaborative interactions, such as with group work. Being able to work effectively in a group is a required skill for most disciplines, in particular for those in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. It is also central throughout the Professional Development Program (PDP) developed and run by the Institute of Scientist and Engineer Educators (ISEE), starting with group formation and leading all the way up to the final culminating activity. As such, PDP teams are taught facilitation strategies. Keeping in mind a group’s goals and what their measures for accountability are, the facilitator should be able to give constructive feedback and actively assess the team’s progress on the go. In this process, the facilitator can identify early on issues that can then be addressed before they become pathological. In this paper, we discuss from our experience as PDP participants and facilitators, what are different spaces we have applied facilitation strategies, what are some of the strategies that have worked throughout the years to improve group work, and what observations from the group help us make the best possible assessment.