WLD Guide to Facilitating_UMass Amherst 1 | Page 3

3 What is the difference between a facilitator and a trainer? A facilitator:  helps others learn.  helps participants to collaborate as they explore a topic or issue.  encourages participants to learn through engaging ways, and ultimately to articulate key ideas, to ask vital questions, to uncover variables, to find solutions, and/or to identify productive actions.  may or may not be a content expert. The word trainer is often used interchangeably with facilitator, but the trainer usually connotes a facilitator who has content expertise. Both facilitators and trainers must understand how adults learn and how to draw out the best thinking of a group. http://www.workshopexercises.com/Facilitator.htm