Join the IF Collaborative Discussion Coach Training and Apply for the IF Fellowship Program

Register for the Interactivity Foundation’s Collaborative Discussion Coach Training in September or October 2024 to join a community of over 100 coaches. This training provides tools for facilitating collaborative discussions and access to resources, including certificate program templates and one-on-one consultations. The program is open to educators, community leaders, and others passionate about discussion, with training sessions conducted online for $265. Additionally, applications are open for the Sustained Discussion Visiting Fellows program, offering $5,000 to lead discussion projects on public concerns, with the fellowship running from September 2024 to June 2025. Read the blog post below and find more information here. 

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Release: Certified IF Collaborative Discussion Coach Training & Sustained Discussion Visiting Fellow Applications Now Open

Become a Certified IF Collaborative Discussion Coach:

Register for the Interactivity Foundation’s (IF) September or October 2024 Collaborative Discussion Coach Training to become a coach and join our growing community of coaches (100+) who award certificates in collaborative discussion (700+). One of the participants from this year’s summer training shared: “This was an amazing training! I am walking away with a diverse set of tools that I can meaningfully integrate into my program curriculum as well as reflections about how I approach collaborative discussions myself.”

By the end of the Collaborative Discussion Coach Training you will have...

• Deeper understanding of key collaborative discussion concepts
• Greater familiarity with the collaborative discussion toolkit and intentional design of toolkit activities
• Experienced a selection of expedited toolkit activities with a debriefing on how to facilitate each activity
• Access to coach only resources, assessment suite, certificate program templates, and more!
• Administrative support to award certificates and digital badges in collaborative discussion
• Access to post-training one-on-one consultations with the program director and support team
• Invitation to monthly gatherings, workshops, webinars, and opportunities to join working teams
• Opportunity to be part of a growing community of educators, dialogue practitioners, and civic professionals

Both the September and October trainings are limited to 10 participants to ensure interactive, hands-on engagement. After completing this training, certified collaborative discussion coaches will be able to offer their own certificate programs in classrooms, communities, and workplaces. Coaches are able to award certificates & digital badges to participants who successfully complete their certificate program.

Who should register? Anyone interested in becoming a certified IF collaborative discussion coach. Open to educators and staff (higher education and K12), librarians, community leaders, civic consultants, teaching assistants and graduate students, professional development managers, and others passionate about the power of discussion to build collaborative intelligence.

When is the deadline to register? Sunday, August 25, 2024

Register for the September 2024 Collaborative Discussion Coach Training
When: The training will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (eastern) on Saturday, Sept. 28, online. An optional follow-up session will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Sept. 29.
Where: Online via Zoom, with small group breakout sessions
How much does it cost? $265

Register for the October 2024 Collaborative Discussion Coach Training
When: The training will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (eastern) on Wednesday, Oct. 2; Wednesday, Oct. 9; Wednesday, Oct. 16; and Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Where: Online via Zoom, with small group breakout sessions
How much does it cost? $265

Scholarship: We are able to offer a discounted price due to the generous support of the Interactivity Foundation. Our programming should never be cost prohibitive. Please contact us if a scholarship is needed.

Questions? Contact Ritu Thomas at [email protected]

Applications Open: Become a Sustained Discussion Visiting Fellow:

Friends,
We are excited to share that applications are now open for our Sustained Discussion Visiting Fellows program!
The Interactivity Foundation’s Sustained Discussions Program (SDP) offers a select group of Visiting Fellows the chance to lead independent, exploratory discussion projects focused on topics of public concern. Each project produces new discussion tools to help others have meaningful conversations. The next Sustained Discussion Fellowship Cohort begins September 1st, 2024 and concludes in June, 2025. Apply Now!

What is an IF Sustained Discussion Project?
Over the years, IF has supported more than 50 Sustained Discussion Projects and created dozens of discussion guides to help others have meaningful discussions around emerging issues of public concern. As we relaunch this initiative, we are excited to invite visiting fellows to propose project topics and develop public facilitation plans and discussion tools for others to use.

Exploration is at the core of IF Sustained Discussion Projects. Our projects are designed to expand understanding of an emerging area of concern. They are not designed to reach a consensus, propose immediate solutions, or advocate for a single course of action. They are designed to intentionally seek out divergent perspectives, expand collective imagination, and open up a range of possibilities for action. SDP Visiting Fellows will use the IF Exploratory Method to guide their discussion groups to new possibilities, not lead them to a predetermined solution.

How does the Fellowship work?
Visiting Fellows receive $5,000 to support a discussion project, facilitating at least ten discussions on their proposed topic. Selected Visiting Fellows will:

• Identify a topic that is an emerging area of public interest or concern.
• Recruit participants to join a sustained discussion group designed to explore this emerging topic of public concern.
• Manage and facilitate small-group discussion projects using the IF Exploratory Method.
• Collaborate with the SDP Team to develop, facilitate, and showcase discussion project tools. Project team members include Ieva Notturno (Senior Fellow), Daphne Chan (Social Design Visiting Fellow), and myself.
• Collaborate with other SDP Visiting Fellows in monthly cohort meetings.
• Develop a public facilitation plan and other discussion tools to help others discuss the topic.

Who should apply?

• Individuals passionate about facilitating exploratory discussions about emerging issues of public concern.
• Civically-minded individuals and/or civic professionals who represent community organizations. We welcome support, co-sponsorship, and collaboration from other organizations.
• Individuals interested in organizing and facilitating small-group discussions.
• Individuals interested in collaborating to create discussion tools and resources.
• Individuals focused on supporting the exploration of areas of concern but not driven by a singular and predetermined outcome (we are not looking for advocates for specific policies or courses of action).

Learn More & Share this Opportunity!

Join us on July 31, 2024, from 12 pm - 1 pm ET for an Information Session via Zoom. Applications Close on August 23, 2024. Apply Today.

Please share this opportunity with your friends and colleagues who may be interested in working with our team on their own sustained discussion project! Share.

We look forward to hearing from you,
Shannon & the SDP Team ​

IF Collaborative Discussion Coach Training URL: https://www.collaborativediscussionproject.com/event-details/september-2024-if-collaborative-discussion-coach-training

Fellow Application Article: https://interactivityfoundation.substack.com/