Communication Board

Meet with your group in your group thread on this communication board. During your meeting, determine how you will proceed with the assignment as a group. Each group member should read the overview of this assignment and be prepared to work with the group to complete the group-facilitated discussion plan.

The weekly topics and presentation weeks are:

• Group 1: Week 10 – Depression and Somatization Disorders
• Group 2: Week 11 – Anxiety Disorders
• Group 3: Week 12 – Mood Disorders (Bipolar Spectrum)
• Group 4: Week 13 – Psychotic Disorders
• Group 5: Week 14 – ADHD

Overview

This assignment has two purposes. The first is for each group to demonstrate the ability to collaborate, design, and create a group-facilitated discussion plan that will teach fellow classmates about their chosen topic. The second is for each group to successfully demonstrate the ability to use their group-facilitated discussion plan to facilitate a discussion forum with their fellow classmates.

Instructions for the Facilitating Group

1. Connect with the members of your group.
   • Within this communication board, determine the best plan of action going forward to complete this assignment. Each group is more than welcome to continue using this communication board for the entire assignment. During the initial meeting, determine how often you will meet, the responsibilities of each group member, and on which meeting tool you would like to use if not this communication board. (i.e. Skype, Google Hangouts, etc.).
2. Work together as a group to create the group-facilitated discussion plan.
   • Remember that the group-facilitated discussion plan topic needs to be based on the child and adolescent populations.
   • This plan will be used during the topic discussion week and should elicit a thought-provoking discussion for your classmates.
   • Each member of the group is to explore and locate resources that can be used for their topic.
   • A minimum of four resources (literature reviewed articles, videos, and the like) should be included as a part of your group-facilitated discussion plan. These resources are needed to provide content for your peers to review as a part of their participation in the discussion.
   • Once the resources have been reviewed and decided upon within the group, three to four discussion prompts should be created for fellow classmates to answer during their participation in the discussion.
3. Submit the entire group-facilitated discussion plan for grading in Week 8.
   • Each student will upload the plan to the Week 8 Assignment 2: Group-Facilitated Discussion Plan Submission. Your faculty will provide group feedback for your review. Your group may be required to make revisions and resubmit. If revisions are needed, it will be noted in the grading rubric.
   • Your plan should include a brief overview of the topic, a list of the resources that you will be asking your classmates to review, three to four discussion prompts you plan to use to facilitate the discussion, and any resources that you used in preparing your discussion prompts.
   • Your plan should be in APA format.

For ideas on how to structure your discussion, including resources to help your classmates learn, please review this sample discussion prompt: Example of a Good Group Facilitated Discussion (PDF). Note: This sample provides you with guidance on structure, not on content!

Group-Facilitated Discussion Presentation Week

• On Day 1 of your selected topic facilitation week, one member of your group will be responsible for posting the following:
  • The presentation of your topic for your classmates to read.
  • Three to four discussion prompts for your classmates to answer. (Example: Please respond to the following questions:…)
  • The resources you want your classmates to review.
  • Any instructions that will help your classmates understand what to do for your facilitated discussion.
• During your group-facilitation week, each and every member of your group is to participate in the facilitation of the discussion. This means you are responsible for responding to each classmate’s initial discussion prompt post, making certain that everyone is engaged, questions are being answered, and the discussion is expanding.

Grading of Facilitation Group Work

• Your group will be graded on your facilitation of the discussion, your preparedness for the week, and your responses to your classmates’ posts.

Grading for Non-Facilitating Students

All students who are not facilitating the discussion are responsible for and will be graded on the following:

• Reviewing the discussion materials.
• Responding to the facilitating group discussion prompts.
• Commenting on two additional peers’ posts to create interesting dialog. Your responses should be in-depth and include evidence-based references.