Description
Book SynopsisWhat’s the scarcest resource in schools? Almost any educator will answer, “Time.” The lack of time for colleagues to work together is one of the biggest barriers to improving teaching and learning. All too often, educators also say that the biggest waste of time ismeetings. People in schools attend dozens, if not hundreds, of meetings a year. How can that time be used wisely?
This book, by two editors of
Data Wise: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning,attempts to bring about a fundamental shift in how educators think about the meetings they attend. The authors make the case that these gatherings are potentially the most important venue where adult and organizational learning can take place in schools, and that making more effective use of this time is an important key to increasing student achievement.
In
Meeting Wise, the authors show why planning meetings is a high-leverage strategy for changing how people work together in the service of school improvement. To this end, they have created a meeting-planning “checklist” to develop a common language for discussing and improving the quality of meetings. In addition, they provide guidelines for readers on “wise facilitating” and “wise participating,” and also include “top tips” and “common dilemmas.”
Simple, succinct, and practical,
Meeting Wise is designed to be read and applied at every level of the educational enterprise, from district leadership meetings and professional developmentsessions to teacher-team meetings and even teachers’ meetings with parents and students.
Table of ContentsCONTENTS Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Overview of the Book 3
How to Use This Book 5
SECTION I: THINKING DIFFERENTLY1 Why Focus on Meetings? 9
Time as a Resource 9
Meetings as Powerful Learning Spaces 12
2 The Meeting Wise Checklist 19
Purpose 21
Process 24
Preparation 32
Pacing 34
3 Using the Checklist 39
Complete Agenda Overhaul
Greenville Fifth-Grade Team Meeting 40 Targeting Intentional Collaboration
Jackson County Central Office Leadership Team 48 Targeting Adult Learning
Sheldon Academy Faculty Retreat 54 Targeting Outcomes
High School Parent/Teacher Conference 58 Targeting Problem Solving Over Compliance
Statewide Quarterly Superintendents’ Meeting 61 Targeting Connections
National Anti-Bullying Network Virtual Meeting 64 The Meeting Wise Agenda Template 68
SECTION II: WORKING DIFFERENTLY4 Setting Up for Success 73
Foudnational Setup Tasks 73
Recurring Setup Tasks 78
5 Wise Facilitation 85
Keeping to (and Deviating from) the Agenda 88
Supporting Full Engagement 99
Managing Conflict 108
Maintaining Awareness of the Role You Play 116
6 Wise Participation 119
Keeping to (and Deviating from) the Agenda 121
Supporting Full Engagement 124
Managing Conflict 129
Maintaining Awareness of the Role You Play 133
7 Becoming Meeting Wise 141
Finding an Entry Point 142
Words to the Wise 148
SECTION III: RESOURCES Selected Readings 153
Selected Protocols 155
Protocols in Brief 161
Quick Reference Guide 165
Notes 173
About the Authors 175
Index 177
