Trails to Literacy: TOOLKIT
It is important for the participants and agency to establish a statement of the rights, responsibilities and behaviour acceptable to the group. It should be negotiated at the beginning of the project and readdressed on a regular basis as changes in participants occur. If a rule isn't working it should be looked at again. If situations occur which cause group discord, new rules should be established.
The 'ground rules' belong to the whole group, including the facilitator. The group should consider some of the following:
With the whole group sitting in a circle or around a table, the facilitator explains that it is often necessary to establish "ground rules", to allow everyone to feel comfortable and to allow the group to work as a team. Ground rules are the basic etiquette and rules that everyone will "live by" when the group is working together. The facilitator should advise the group that the exercise or activity is to establish a list of rules. Everything agreed to by the group will be acted upon but: some rules, national laws and whole agency rules, cannot be negotiated; and the overall vision and goals of the Trails to Literacy project should be kept in mind at all times.
If the group is large, participants can form smaller random groups. Probably four in a group is best to encourage the best discussion and allow everyone some input. Each group should have a pen and a large sheet of paper. They draw a large circle on the paper and inside the circle write everything they would like to see happening in a good group meeting or in a good team. Outside the circle write everything they would not like.