ABSTRACT
The characteristics of a facilitator are important. Should facilitators be experts in the content the students are learning? Should they be experts in facilitation or experts in both? The research is unequivocal that the facilitator should be familiar with the skills of facilitation (Barrows, 1988). However, it has been suggested that content experts may have a detrimental effect on collaborative learning (Wilkerson, Hafler and Lui, 1991) as they are more likely to talk too long, too often and have a more directive role. Even unwittingly, once students detect expertise there may be a tendency to commit themselves less actively.
