As a facilitator in an OpenLearning course, your role is not to merely explain content, but to focus on encouraging, supporting and engaging learners within the learning community.

You want to help facilitate learners interacting with the course concepts and also each other, and move away from a one-directional, teacher-centred approach:

Creating a peer-to-peer learning community, not only benefits learners and their learning experience, but it is much more scalable and sustainable than you as the teacher, being the centre of every interaction.

What does teacher as facilitator look like?

1. Encouraging meaningful discussions that extend the ideas being shared;

2. Observing learners' engagement and providing support and encouragement to those at risk of becoming disengaged;

3. Guiding learners to manage their own learning;

4. Knowing when to become involved and when to step back in discussions; and

5. Building a sense of community within the course.

How to 

How to assign a user as a facilitator in a class?

Learn more about course and institution roles

Next: Seeding the community before it starts