Activity Title:The Issaquah Protocol

Source:adapted from

Type of Activity: / Practice
Purpose of Activity: / To practice applying facilitation skills in a coaching setting
Approx Time: / 30-45 minutes
Best Used With: / Small or large group (5-10)
Materials Needed: / None

Steps to Implement:

  1. Break into small groups.
  2. Identify one person to be a presenter — someone presents a concern they have regarding the implementation of CR-PBIS or facilitation of the universal team at their school building. The presenter must be open about the issue. If the presenter can frame the concern as a question, the feedback will likely be more focused. (3 minutes)
  3. Group asks clarifying questions. Truly informational, meant to more fully understand what is going on;clarify any places of confusion. (3 minutes)

“Rounds” begin

  1. Active listening by the group. (WHAT?) These are statements which restate what has been said already: “I heard [the presenter’s name] say…” “What I’m hearing is…” (Go-round — 5minutes)

Note: The purpose of active listening is not only to understand better what you are saying but to help the person hear what it sounds like and give them a chance to confirm if it is what they mean to be saying.

  1. Interpretive listening/reflecting back by the group. (SO WHAT?) “What I think this means is…” “What I think is going on in this problem is….” (Go-round 3 minutes)

Note: The purpose of interpretive listening is to get at what meaning you are making from what you arehearing in order to help the presenter think/re-think about what they areconveying.

  1. Presenter Check-in. Quickly, are we hearing you correctly? If not, what would you change/add? (2 minutes) “ Are we getting it right?” “Is what I’m/we’re saying making sense?”

Note: It is easy to think we know what we’ve heard and then find out we’re wrong. Always good to check back.

  1. Probing Questions by the group. We now go deeper into what is going on and ask questions that help the presenter identify the tensions, paradoxes and assumptions in the problem or issue, without asking or implying that there should be some reconciliation. (Participants write questions on a card or post-it note, then go around the circle and read their questions aloud, one at a time, as the presenter listens. They then give the presenter their questions to the presenter and chooses the question that is the “most probing” and responds to it (7 minutes)

Note: It is important to not get to probing questions until we have done the previous steps—the ones which build up our “right” to go further since we now have a little understanding about what we are hearing.

  1. Presenter response. The presenter is asked simply whether any of the probling questions made him/her think differently about the dilemma or problem. The point is not to answer the questions, but just to help the particpants gain more access to the presenter’s thoughts on the problem. (1 minute)
  2. Suggestions by the group. (NOW WHAT?) Finally, and only then, ideas to try, “What if she…?” “One thing I might consider/try/do…” (Go-round — 7 minutes)

Note: Suggestions are only made when it is clear that they are welcome and that we have established a level of shared understanding about what is going on. It is a good idea to limit suggestions — too much is too much. As with the other rounds, the presenter is silent and takes notes.

  1. Presenter reflects back. What the presenter is now thinking of doing, concrete steps that can be taken , next-steps, long/short term that now seem possible. (5 minutes)
  2. Debrief: Starting with presenter, then all participants: (3 minutes)
  • What was it like to go through these steps?
  • Which kind of question was most useful/least useful?
  • What was it like to use this process?

Potential Challenges:

Finding someone to openly share a concern or question

Having participants stick to the protocol and ask the types of questions being sought instead of judging

Jumping too quickly into trying to find solutions to questions or concerns

Insights Gained:

Coaches’ skills learn and reflect on the different kinds of questions and statements used and how that relates to work as a coach.

Clarifying questions are the first kinds of questions we should ask in our work—showing our interest in learningmore about what is going on and not leaping to judgment.

Facilitation Tips:

Facilitator should make it clear that the purpose of this consultation is to provide the kind of help that is wanted. Some people prefer to have their thinking pushed but do not want advice, while others really want ideas.