Page 332 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

1 5C H A P T E R

Facilitating Group Learning

Objectives

• Explain the stages of group development.
• List the factors influencing group cohesiveness.
• Differentiate between formal and informal groups.
• Identify the characteristics of group and team dynamics.
• Describe the roles and responsibilities of a group leader or facilitator.
• Describe the roles and functions of both the facilitator and participants.
• Discuss the suggestions for promoting group change.
• Develop skill by leading a small group discussion.

CASE CHALLENGE 1

Betty Smith, RD, CDE, is planning a series of meetings for a new support group for parents of
children who have been recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Her concern today is planning for
optimum group participation in the first session, which will be 1 hour long. She also wants to be sure to
meet the needs of the group so that they will return for future sessions.
The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the
goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve the goals.

—Rensis Likert

Introduction

332