Dynamic faculty conference njasa 2014
38
How to Create Dynamic Faculty Conferences Presented by: Edward Aguiles –Principal Sandra Paul – Director of Technology NJASA/NJAPSA Spring Conference 2014
Transcript of Dynamic faculty conference njasa 2014
How to CreateDynamic Faculty
Conferences
Presented by: Edward Aguiles –Principal Sandra Paul – Director of
Technology
NJASA/NJAPSA Spring Conference 2014
Why have a faculty meeting?
What does your faculty meeting look like?
Changing the Paradigm
KEY TO EFFECTIVE CONFERENCES
• DESIGN
• CONTENT
• PROCESS
Classroom Meeting
DESIGNTIME IS VALUABLE –TREAT IT THAT WAY
• Respect your faculty/staff’s time• Set and stick to a start time• Set and stick to an end time
ESTABLISH IN ADVANCE THE LENGTH OF THE CONFERENCE
• The agenda will dictate the conference length • Conferences should last no more than one hour • Optimum time for feeling positive about a
conference is 30 minutes
DESIGNPREPARE AND DISTRIBUTE AN AGENDA AHEAD OF TIME
• Send a draft of the agenda out early enough for staff input to be solicited.
• Send a final revised agenda out guaranteeing that there are a reasonable number of items to be covered.
CONTROL THE CONFERENCE BY CONTROLLING THE CLOCK• Allow for discussion but make certain to keep dialog on
track.• Don’t allow one group or one teacher to monopolize the
discussion.• Steer the discussion back to the topic and prevent people
from filibustering.
DESIGNON A POSITIVE NOTE…Start the conference:
• By greeting people as they arrive.• With a cheerful atmosphere.• With a funny story or humor to provide a relaxed
atmosphere,• With positive comments from community members
( students, parents, community at large) about the school or programs.
• With cohesion – focus on the group and away from individual success stories.
CONTENTWHAT ARE YOUR PRIORITIES?
• Focus on central issues that are essential to everyone
Top three (3) answers are on the board. Name three things that are vital to having a productive conference
• Professional development• School improvement• Opportunities for staff members to communicate with
one another.
Faculty meeting toolsPadletLivebinderSmoreBackchanneling
Food!!!!
Remind 101Flipped Meeting
Google DocsGoogle Hangout
Food!!!!
Livebinder
Remind101● Faculty meeting time and dates● Parent/Teacher conferences● I & RS meeting● Announced Observations/Post
Observations● Parent communications
SmoreSpot On - Spotswood School DistrictLAC - Look Out - Lower Alloway Creek School District
Back ChannelingToday’s Meet - TodaysMeet works like a chat room – you create a room, choose a
timeframe for how long the room stays open (two hours to one month), enter your name, then start chatting. The text box is limited to 140 characters, just like a tweet.
PollEverywhere - PollEverywhere approaches the backchannel a bit differently,
identifying itself as an audience response system. First, it’s anonymous; there is no space to enter a name, which could generate interesting responses.
Socrative -Socrative is a smart response system that empowers an administrator by
engaging their teachers with a series of educational exercises and games within a meeting. Socrative runs on any mobile device.
MicroMobs-Chatzy - Chatzy provides a free platform for hosting your private chat area. To
use it, simply name your chat area, select your privacy settings (you can password protect it), then send out invitations. Instead of sending out invitations you could just post the link to your chat area.
Google Hangout
CONTENTGROUP DISCUSSION
Large Small
ANYONE ANYONE…• You can’t always be the profit in your own land.• Invite guest speakers whenever possible• Have teachers present • Provide time for team building
CONFERENCES SHOULD BE PLACES WHERE…
“Vital information is presented and discussion can occur to tackle problems
or develop policy.”
Brainstorm Let them be part of the solutionWe all agree
BUILDING CONSENSUSAsk for- Consider-Value
Procedures and Routines
Shut Up!
Conflict HappensDEAL WITH IT
• Don’t let it fester.• Discuss the conflict openly then and there.• We all have views learn to accept them.• Teams don’t always agree but they ALWAYS
listen to and respect each other’s views and opinions.
• Settle for resolution – Don’t settle for false harmony.
“Teachers can read the calendar.”
• Reduce or eliminate time spent discussing the calendar.
• Communicate the calendar through other forms of communication.
• If you discussed it in a memo there is no need to discuss it again at your conference.
Changing the Way● Edcamp style● App Smackdown● Learning Centers● Faculty Meeting Tools
“If a meeting is to take place, it should be both
necessary and effective, or it should not be held at
all.”- Grant Wiggins
R-E-S-P-E-C-T• Never meet for meetings sake.• Never meet with the entire staff when
the information only pertains to a small group.
• Never meet when a memo, or other communication format will do.
PROCESSAgenda – If you set it- Follow it.
Be direct.• Keep your
conference quick moving
• Don’t belabor points
• Be concise• Get to the Point!!!
ProcessGive them something to take from your conference.• A sense of accomplishment engagement and/or
participation.• More knowledge than when they entered.• Something useful • An article• A book• A website/app• A resource
ProcessSpeak Up• Ask for participation.• Meet as a small group first to
maximize teacher participation then reassemble as a whole group to share their collective ideas.
Process• Don’t let one person or group monopolize
discussion.• Don’t allow a staff member ( including yourself)
to interrupt while someone is speaking.• Don’t allow conversations to take place that:
• Are off topic• Steal focus
Whole group means EVERYBODY
COMMITMENT AND ENERGY
• Build morale.• Leave your conference with a sense of purpose,
excitement , and commitment.• Leave uplifted not downtrodden.• Build in “teacher time”.
Like show and tell – allow teachers to discuss books, articles, projects with colleagues.
Edcamps are unconferences for educators where learners share their experiences and their professional expertise in a collaborative, interactive learning environment. Edcamps are based on Open Space Technology (OST) which states that “whoever comes are the right people and whatever happens are the only things that could have” (Boule, 2011).
App Smackdown
HAVE FUNMEETINGS CAN BE:
• Boring• Stiff• Pompous• A waste of time • Unproductive
CONFERENCES SHOULD BE:
• Fun• Informative• Interactive• Time sensitive• Rejuvenate
References The Three Most Important Secrets Of Successful Meetings: design, content, and process (In Mind Communications, 2001)
Thank You
Twitter: @spaul6414Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: Sandra PaulCell: 908-433-7076Website: sspaul.blogspot.com
Twitter: @eaguilesEmail: [email protected]
Phone: 732-525-5229
