PLC Facilitator Meeting

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PLC Facilitator Meeting

• January 4, 2006
• January 5, 2006

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AgendaPLC Facilitator Meeting

• GOAL
• Compare the functioning of your PLC with the
  characteristics of an effective PLC
• Share Successes Troubleshoot Problems
• Sign-In
• Warm Up Characteristics of an Effective PLC
• Share Successes of PLC groups
• Reflection on Characteristics of Individual PLC
• Principals PLC To Do List
• Plans for January 10 Early Out
• Question Answertroubleshoot problems

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Characteristics of Effective PLC Meetings

1. Furniture arrangement and space dont matter.
2. Everyone should be present and seated before the
   session starts.
3. The facilitator has the most influential role in
   the group.
4. Not much can be done about group members who are
   silent, vocally dominant, or negative.
5. A meeting is the place to read a memo to the
   group.
6. Whats urgent has priority over whats important.
7. Meeting time should be devoted to topics, rather
   than reflection, processing, or group
   development.
8. The more items on an agenda, the more will be
   accomplished.
9. Because everyone has been in the meeting, there
   is no need for closure.
10. A meeting, unlike a lesson, can be done without
    planning.

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• 1. Furniture arrangement and space dont matter.
• Meeting space must be right to provide
• comfort
• ability to see one another
• opportunities to interact
• facilitate movement
• the tools needed to accomplish your work

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• 2. Everyone should be present and seated before
  the session starts.
• Start on time regardless
• Use interactive activities that make participants
  think about their prior knowledge regarding
  todays issues.
• subgroups report concerns about the first agenda
  topic
• subgroups complete a stem about the agenda item
• pairs share ideas that should be brought forward
  from the last meeting.

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• The facilitator has the most influential role in
  the group.
• The most influential role in any group is the
  group member by
• following meeting standards and group processes
  to work in harmony across differences and get the
  greatest value from meeting time.
• being responsible for the work of the PLC as
  engaged, proactive participants
• Possible Rotating Roles
• Facilitator
• Recorder
• Time Keeper
• Sergeant at Arms or Enforcer

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• GOAL PLC meetings where the educational
  community can learn, dialogue, plan, problem
  solve, monitor, and make decisions to improve
  student learning.
• Effective meetings require more than skilled
  facilitators. Facilitation is important, as are
  sound agendas and functional physical
  surroundings. More important are skilled group
  members and the application of certain
  principles. Meeting success is influenced more
  by the collaborative norms of the group than by
  the knowledge and skills of a meeting
  facilitator (Garmston Wellman, 1999).

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• Not much can be done about group members who are
  silent, vocally dominant, or negative.
• Facilitators or group members need to redirect
  unproductive behavior.

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Productive Conflict
EFFECTIVE GROUPS INEFFECTIVE GROUPS
Disagree gracefully about ideas Avoid conflict
Have norms to promote full expression of differences Live with poor decisions made by the leader or other vocal member
Examine assumptions underlying different points of view Personalize conflict
Promote best possible resolution Create apathy, decreased commitment to the groups purpose, poor decisions
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• Conflict can be seen as a gift of
• energy, in which neither side loses
• and a new dance is created.
• Thomas F. Crum, The magic of Conflict

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• A PLC meeting is the place to read a memo to the
  group.
• Meetings are to PROCESS information, not
  receive information.
• Test Does the group need to talk about it to
  understand or implement it effectively? If so,
  it belongs on the agenda.

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• 6. Whats urgent has priority over whats
  important.
• Putting out fires gets in the way of addressing
  difficult items.
• Maintain the focus on student learning

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• Meeting time should be devoted to topics, rather
  than reflection, processing, or group
  development.
• Improvement comes with reflection.
• Routine self-assessment helps groups become
  more effective.
• Routinely assessing meeting standards, can almost
  guarantee meetings that produce maximum work in
  minimum time with maximum member satisfaction.

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• 8.The more items on an agenda, the more will be
  accomplished.
• Allow enough time for the group to understand,
  deliberate, and decide on important items.
• Find alternate ways to address
• other items.

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• 9. Because everyone has been in the meeting,
  theres no need for verbal closure.
• People hear understand decisions differently.
• Have pairs share a summary of the meeting, check
  for alignment.

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MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MEETINGS

• 10. A meeting, unlike a lesson, can be done
  without planning.
• Meeting design is the 1 mechanism for effective
  meetings.

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Sharing Successes of PLCs
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Reflecting on your PLC
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Characteristics of Effective PLC Teams

• Room Arrangement
• Procedures
• Collective Commitments for Team Members
• Follow-Up/Documentation
• Meeting Content
• Meeting Processes

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Principals PLC To Do List
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January 10 Early Out
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Question Answer
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Closure