Bringing people together in constructive dialogue is essential for organizations and communities to advance projects and build connections. Making these gatherings as effective as possible increases productivity, improves decision-making, and enhances the sense of group membership.

This Advanced Learning Certificate in Group Facilitation & Meeting Management will help you increase your comfort and skill in facilitating groups and meetings – of any audience size, in-person, virtually, or hybrid. Build your awareness of models, processes, and interactive activities that can be applied to group dialogue and meetings. Gain strategies for giving directions to a group, developing facilitation activities related to their identified topic, and managing various responses to activities. Participants will also learn how to support or guide a group toward decision-making, ideation, or dialogue in meeting spaces. Finally, we will examine techniques that can be leveraged to create connections among the members of the group.

HYBIRD PROGRAM: This 5-session program includes in-person class meetings on 10/3, 10/24, and 12/12 from 8:00am - 5:00pm, and 2 virtual class meetings via Zoom on 11/7 and 12/5 from 8:30 - 11:30am, Central Time.

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October 3 - December 12, 2025

Continuing Education Information: 30 Missouri/Illinois Social Work CEs

Registration Deadline: September 19th!

Course Outline

• Class 1 – Forming: This session introduces the group development model through the lens of the Forming stage. Participants will begin to establish the learning community by exploring practices that support psychological safety, early group cohesion, and the conditions necessary for collaborative learning. Strategies for supporting newly formed teams and setting shared expectations will be discussed and modeled.
• Class 2 – Storming: During this session, participants will examine the dynamics of conflict and power that often emerge in the Storming stage of group development. Through facilitated dialogue and applied examples, we will analyze techniques for addressing group tension, supporting productive disagreement, and navigating differences in communication and leadership styles.
• Class 3 – Norming Part 1: In this first session on the Norming stage, we will explore how facilitation supports a group’s ability to align on purpose and process. Participants will be introduced to concrete tools for agenda-setting, clarifying roles, fostering equitable participation, and maintaining momentum. Emphasis will be placed on adapting facilitation tools to the needs and maturity of the group.
• Class 4 – Norming Part 2: Building on the previous session, this segment will focus on deepening facilitation practice through structured planning and intentional design. Participants will engage in exercises that highlight how to tailor facilitation methods to group readiness, surface shared norms, and maintain psychological safety as roles and expectations become more clearly defined.
• Class 5 – Performing & Adjourning Performing: In this culminating skills session, participants will apply key facilitation concepts through role play and case study analysis. Emphasis will be placed on leading real-time conversations, making in-the-moment decisions, and supporting groups in collaborative work such as ideation, planning. Participants will also reflect on their learning and consider the importance of intentional closure in facilitation practice. We will examine strategies for honoring group contributions, creating meaningful endings, and reinforcing connection and accountability beyond the meeting space.

Learner Outcomes

• Apply theoretical models, facilitation processes, and interactive techniques to promote effective group dialogue and meeting engagement.
• Demonstrate skills in providing clear and effective directions to group members, designing facilitative activities aligned with group goals, and managing diverse responses during group processes.
• Demonstrate strategies to support and guide groups in reaching consensus, generating ideas, or fostering productive dialogue during meeting interactions.