Partnerships with LEAs: a common
language for meeting facilitation
November 30, 2010
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:39 AM
Delaware LEA
Liaison Workshop
Today’s Agenda
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:39 AM
Time
Learning objective
1:00 – 1:10 Understand the context of today’s workshop
1:10 – 1:15
Outcomes, agenda, and agreements
1:15 – 1:40
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
1:40 – 2:25
Practice facilitation skills
2:25 – 2:45
Understand how to prepare for a meeting
2:45 – 3:00
Prepare for next week’s meeting
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
1
Today’s Agenda
Learning objective
1:00 – 1:10
Understand the context of today’s workshop
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:39 AM
Time
1:10 – 1:15 Outcomes, agenda, and agreements
1:15 – 1:40
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
1:40 – 2:25
Practice facilitation skills
2:25 – 2:45
Understand how to prepare for a meeting
2:45 – 3:00
Prepare for next week’s meeting
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
2
DDOE has developed a program of support to help districts
produce plans for carrying out their ambitious reform
agendas
Components
End product
▪
▪
day planning period
Help all LEAs further develop high impact, outcome-focused plans
Help all LEAs build the skills and capacity to successfully implement their
plans
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Chiefs’ meetings and county workshops
Readings and follow-up work
Visits to and from others who have done this work
Dedicated LEA liaisons and facilitators
Focus on critical “content” and “skill” areas
▪ LEAs’ complete Success Plans - with a clear description of which parts are
▪
Funding
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Goals
▪ Provide LEAs with the time and resources that were not available during the 90
funded by RTTT
Improved understanding and capacity for LEAs and DDOE
▪ DDOE will not play “gotcha” with the final Race to the Top funding decision, and
▪
will make expectations as explicit as possible
However, the Support Program is about much more than funding - it’s
about Delaware’s comprehensive approach to improving student
achievement
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
3
Ongoing workshops focus on building skills and content
Re-purposed time
expertise
Activity
September 23
Chief meeting
October 11, 12, or13
County workshop
October 28
Chief meeting
November 16
Chief meeting
December 6, 7, or 8
County workshop
December 14
Chief meeting
January 27
Chief meeting
February 7, 8, or 9
County workshop
February 24
Chief meeting
March – 7, 8, or 9
County workshop
March 24
April 1
Spring 2011
Focus & Follow-up work
Proposed new time
• Content focus: Program overview
• Skill focus: Understand the “delivery” challenge
• Follow-up work: Conduct LEA needs assessment
• Content focus: Effective teachers and leaders
• Skill focus: Plan for delivery
• Follow-up work: Revise “teachers and leaders”
part of plan; prioritize activities and link activities to
targets
• Content focus: Rigorous standards, curriculum, and
assessments
• Skill focus: Drive delivery
• Follow-up work: Revise “standards, curriculum,
and assessments” part of plan; establish routines to
drive successful implementation
• Content focus: Deep support for the lowest-
achieving schools
• Skill focus: Create a delivery culture
Chief meeting
• Follow-up work: Revise “support for the lowestRevised Success Plans Due achieving schools” part of plan; develop
communication strategies and sustainability plans
Plan refinement
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:39 AM
Date
4
The basis of the skill-building component of LEA workshops
is the delivery framework
1
Develop a
foundation
for delivery
2
A. Define your
aspiration
B. Review the
current state of
delivery
C. Build the
delivery unit
D. Establish a
“guiding
coalition”
Understand
the delivery
challenge
A. Evaluate past
and present
performance
B. Understand
drivers of
performance
and relevant
activities
3
4
Plan for
delivery
A.
Determine your
reform strategy
B.
Set targets and
establish
trajectories
C.
Produce delivery
plans
Drive
delivery
A. Establish
routines to drive
and monitor
performance
B. Solve problems
early and
rigorously
C. Sustain and
continually build
momentum
5
Create an irreversible delivery culture
A. Build system capacity all the time
B. Communicate the delivery message
C. Develop high-quality relationships
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
5
The purpose of today’s workshop is to prepare you to
partner with districts
▪
▪
Expectations
▪
Challenges
Today’s
training
objectives
▪
▪
You are a dedicated liaison to your assigned district
You will serve as a thought-partner, facilitator, and link between
the district and state as they develop and refine their plans
You will be paired with a member of the leadership team to work
with districts in producing strong plans
You will be available to help districts lead team meetings,
support one of their meetings, or just come to listen and to get
to know your LEA better
You will communicate key messages from the state to districts
and also bring feedback from districts to the state
▪
Making the most of your limited time with districts
Being a helpful, thoughtful partner and facilitator without
knowing all the intricacies your district
Establishing credibility with districts and their leadership teams
▪
▪
▪
▪
Understand your role as liaison
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
Practice facilitation skills
Understand how to prepare for a meeting
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:41 AM
Your role
▪
▪
6
Today’s Agenda
Learning objective
1:00 – 1:10
Understand the context of today’s workshop
1:10 – 1:15
Outcomes, agenda, and agreements
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Time
1:15 – 1:40 Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
1:40 – 2:25
Practice facilitation skills
2:25 – 2:45
Understand how to prepare for a meeting
2:45 – 3:00
Prepare for next week’s meeting
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
7
A few fun facts about meetings…
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▪ Managers will spend over one-half
of their working lives attending,
conducting, preparing for, and
following up on meetings
▪ Over twenty million meetings take
place every day in the United States
alone
▪ Almost one third of all meetings are
considered unnecessary by the
people who attend them
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
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Basic beliefs of the interaction method
–
–
tools and processes for running
meetings
It consists of a specific set of
practices that are particularly
useful in certain situations
It is not necessarily appropriate
for all situations, but various
principles of the interaction
method can be helpful at various
times
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
▪ Basic beliefs:
– People support what they
–
–
themselves create
Decision-making is improved
when based on group consensus
Equal participation of all group
members creates better outcomes
for both individuals and the team
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▪ Basic facts:
– The interaction method is a set of
Key meeting roles and components (1/3)
▪
▪
Facilitator
▪
▪
▪
Recorder
▪
▪
▪
Helps group achieve their desired results and
keeps them on track
Stays neutral
Creates a safe environment for open
discussion
Seeks maximum appropriate participation
from all group members
Guides the process of the meeting and make
suggestions
for alternatives
“I will serve as a neutral
facilitator, only contributing my
ideas when given the group’s
permission. My aim is to keep
the group on track to achieve
your desired results. This is
your meeting and I want to
help make it work for you”
Records what happens in the meeting on
newsprint
Stays neutral
Uses only key words and phrases rather than
whole sentences
Captures distinct ideas by
– Writing in alternating dark colors
– Highlighting with bright colors
– Using bullets instead of numbers
“I am here to keep a record of
the meeting. I won’t
contribute my ideas without
asking. If I miss something
important or write something
incorrectly, please let me
know. This is your written
group memory”
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
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▪
1
0
Key meeting roles and components (2/3)
Group
member
Group
memory
(flipchart
or paper on
wall)
▪
▪
▪
▪
Calls for the meeting
Recruits the facilitator
Contributes ideas
Acts as a group member, allowing the objective facilitator to guide the
meeting process
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Contributes ideas
Makes sure that the recorder writes ideas down
correctly
States concerns openly
Helps to create and abide by group agreements
Encourages participation of other members
Maintains focus and stays on task
Shares in decision making
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Makes sure that everyone’s ideas are heard and recorded
Keeps group focused on ideas rather than each other
Helps the group focused on task
Prevents people from repeating ideas
Makes it easier for latecomers to catch up
Encourages participation
Focuses attention on one area – helps to avoid distractions
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:42 AM
Group
leader
(president
or chair)
11
Key meeting roles and components (2/3)
▪
The arrangement of a room can either contribute
or detract from a group’s effectiveness during a
meeting. A room set-up tends to be helpful when it
allows for
– Wall space (or flip chart easel)
– Placement of chairs so all group members can
focus
– Enough space so members are not crowded
A semi-circle without tables is one way to do this
▪
▪
▪
▪
Newsprint
Flat wall
Masking tape
Watercolor markers
Room
arrangements
Supplies
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
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▪
12
Tools for reaching agreement
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Facilitators lead a group discussion through 3 stages on the way to reaching agreement – opening,
narrowing and closing. In opening, as many ideas as possible are generated. In narrowing, these
ideas are organized. In closing, the group makes decisions and reaches agreement . The model
below shows techniques or ‘tools’ that can be used effectively in each of the stages
Narrowing tools
• To organize the information
Opening
• To gather
information
and ideas
• Eliminate
• Brainstorm
• Clarify
•
•
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
duplicates
Prioritize
(N/3)
Natural
cut
• Negative
•
•
Closing tools
• To reach agreement
poll
Build up/
eliminate
Both/and
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1
Today’s Agenda
Learning objective
1:00 – 1:10
Understand the context of today’s workshop
1:10 – 1:15
Outcomes, agenda, and agreements
1:15 – 1:40
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:42 AM
Time
1:40 – 2:25 Practice facilitation skills
2:25 – 2:45
Understand how to prepare for a meeting
2:45 – 3:00
Prepare for next week’s meeting
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
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Roles for role plays
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LEA Team Members
▪ Superintendent of Schools
▪ Deputy Superintendent, Teaching & Learning
▪ Director, Data and Accountability
▪ Director, Secondary Curriculum and
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Professional Development
Director, Elementary Curriculum and Professional
Development
Supervisor, Accountability and Assessment
Director, Early Childhood Education Services
Director, Staff Development
Associate Director, Testing
Board of Education President
Director, School Improvement Services
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
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Exercise: Facilitation role play 1
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You, the liaison, have been asked to help districts brainstorm a list of all the
major actors at the district, school, and classroom level necessary to
effectively implement one of the required activities: common core standards.
This will likely involve a common set of actors across all districts, e.g.
teachers, principals. The desired outcome: a list of actors at all levels that
reflects the input of all LEA team members.
What
How
Who
Time
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Brainstorm a list of all relevant actors
at the following levels:
– District
– School
– Classroom
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
Brainstorm (4)
Clarify (1)
Facilitator
Recorder
Group
5
16
Exercise: Facilitation role play 2
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Situation: You, the liaison, have now been asked to help districts think about
how they will communicate common core standards adoption to their
schools. You will facilitate a brainstorming session to capture all of the
messages the LEA team deems important with regard to common core, but
will need to help them pare this list down. The desired outcome: a list of no
more than three key messages that reflect the LEA team’s top
communications goals.
What
How
Who
Time
▪
Brainstorm a list of key messages to
communicate to schools about
common core adoption
▪
▪
Brainstorm (3)
Clarify (1)
▪
▪
▪
Facilitator
Recorder
Group
▪
4
▪
Narrow the list to the LEA’s top three
messages
▪
Prioritize N/3
(3)
Discuss and
agree (3)
▪
▪
▪
Facilitator
Recorder
Group
▪
6
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
▪
17
Preventions are an important way to keep your meeting on
track before things become difficult
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Preventions
Expectations and
agreements
▪ Brainstorm at the beginning of group interaction
▪ Refer back to lists posted on wall to keep group on track
Assigned roles
▪ Common understanding of roles (e.g., facilitator is in charge
Role modeling
▪ Demonstrate the behaviors that you want to see in the
Up front agreements
▪ At the beginning of the meeting, get agreement on the
Icebreaker
▪ A short activity at the beginning of an interaction can relax
Validation
▪ Establish a practice of validating the contribution of each
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
of process) makes meeting run more smoothly
group, e.g., not interrupting the person who is speaking,
starting on time
objectives, agenda, timing, ground rules, etc.
tension and help group members work together
member of the group (e.g., “three claps on three”)
18
When things do become difficult, interventions are
important tools for your toolkit (1/2)
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Interventions
Ask or say what is going
on
▪ If the group is encountering a difficulty, name it for them
▪ “It looks like we are getting stuck on this issue. Can we
Boomerang
▪ Return a question to the person who asked it or to the team
postpone discussion until later?
▪
so that the Facilitative Leader does not take responsibility for
answering all questions
Example:
– Team member: “How can we meet that schedule?”
– Facilitator: “What do you think will get in the way?”
Focus using questions
▪ “That’s a good point – but how does it relate to what we’re
Parking lot
▪ Keep a piece of paper on the wall to put ideas that are
discussing right now?”
▪
Confronting difficult
group members
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
important but not a part of today’s agenda
Allows people to see that their ideas are being dealt with,
even if it is not in this meeting
▪ Accept: “OK, let’s build on that…”
▪ Legitimize: “Good point,” “Valid concern,” etc. – then
choose:
– Deal with OR
– Defer: “Can we talk about that in a future meeting?”
19
When things do become difficult, interventions are
important tools for your toolkit (2/2)
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Interventions
Enforce process
agreements
▪ Refer back to the agreements that the group has signed
▪ “We all agreed that we would not check our blackberries
▪
Pace the discussion
▪ Identify issues for further discussion and refer them to
▪
Build understanding
other interpretations
Link comments back to the meeting objectives and agenda
so that everyone understands where they are in the process
▪ Monitor airtime and invite suggestions from reluctant
▪
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
future meetings so that the group can move on now
“Would anyone object if we moved on to the next point?”
▪ Ask questions. Rephrase what has been said, and invite
▪
Maintain participation
during sessions – I’d like to ask that we all honor that
agreement”
“I see what you’re saying, but it sounds like you’re talking
about a problem. Since we agreed to talk about solutions,
can we please focus there?”
participants
“Does anyone who hasn’t spoken want to comment? Al or
Jo, what do you think about . . .?”
20
Today’s Agenda
Learning objective
1:00 – 1:10
Understand the context of today’s workshop
1:10 – 1:15
Outcomes, agenda, and agreements
1:15 – 1:40
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
1:40 – 2:25
Practice facilitation skills
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:43 AM
Time
2:25 – 2:45 Understand how to prepare for a meeting
2:45 – 3:00
Prepare for next week’s meeting
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
21
The most important tool for workshop design is an agenda
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Example: Partial agenda for today’s workshop
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
22
To design an agenda, lead with the learning objectives
Time
Learning Objective
Activities
0900 –
0910
■
Understand
the context for
today’s
workshop and
roles as
liaisons
■
Create shared
expectations
and
agreements
■
0910 –
0915
■
■
Understand
the basics of
meeting
facilitation
Knowledge
Welcome,
introductions, review
outcomes (3)
Brainstorm
expectations (3)
Brainstorm
agreements (4)
Brainstorm
characteristics of
good and bad
meetings (2)
Present Interaction
Method (23)
Decision
■
■
0915 –
0940
Present (5)
■
Person(s)
responsible
■
Fac
■
Fac, Grp
■
Fac
■
■
Fac, Grp
Fac, Grp
■
Fac, Grp
Knowledge
■
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
■
Fac
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A learning objective is one of the following that you would like your audience to have at the
end of the meeting:
▪ Knowledge about something (e.g., a lesson, a process relevant to their work)
▪ Improvement in a specific skill (e.g., using the LEA planning template)
▪ A changed attitude (e.g., support for the Race to the Top agenda)
▪ A decision (e.g., agreement on priority goals)
Materials
■
■
■
Slides with
expectations for
program, overview of
LEA support program,
definition of delivery
Flipchart
Markers
■
■
■
Slides
Flipchart
Markers
■
Slides:
–
–
–
Introduction
Key meeting
roles
Tools for
reaching
agreement
23
Once you have determined your objectives, you can design
the right activities to help you meet them
Time
Learning Objective
Activities
0900 –
0910
■
Understand
the context for
today’s
workshop and
roles as
liaisons
■
Create shared
expectations
and
agreements
■
0910 –
0915
■
■
■
0915 –
0940
■
Understand
the basics of
meeting
facilitation
■
■
Present (5)
Welcome,
introductions, review
outcomes (3)
Brainstorm
expectations (3)
Brainstorm
agreements (4)
Brainstorm
characteristics of
good and bad
meetings (2)
Present Interaction
Method (23)
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
Person(s)
responsible
■
Fac
■
Fac, Grp
■
Fac
■
■
Fac, Grp
Fac, Grp
■
Fac, Grp
■
Fac
Materials
■
■
■
Slides with
expectations for
program, overview of
LEA support program,
definition of delivery
Flipchart
Markers
■
■
■
Slides
Flipchart
Markers
■
Slides:
–
–
–
Introduction
Key meeting
roles
Tools for
reaching
agreement
Activities should
be designed to
maximize
interactivity, with
only as much
presentation as is
absolutely
necessary
24
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:44 AM
Activities should be time-bound and can include:
▪ Presentation by the facilitator or by others
▪ An interactive process led by the facilitator, such as Q&A, a plenary discussion with one or
more question prompts, or the various facilitative tools for reaching agreement (e.g.,
Brainstorm, Clarify, Prioritize N/3, etc.)
▪ An exercise that breaks the audience up into individuals or teams and prompts them to
work on a hypothetical or real set of issues (e.g., “fill out section A of the template”)
Finally, fill in the remainder of the agenda
Time
Learning Objective
Activities
0900 –
0910
■
Understand
the context for
today’s
workshop and
roles as
liaisons
■
Create shared
expectations
and
agreements
■
0910 –
0915
■
■
■
0915 –
0940
■
Understand
the basics of
meeting
facilitation
■
■
Present (5)
Welcome,
introductions, review
outcomes (3)
Brainstorm
expectations (3)
Brainstorm
agreements (4)
Brainstorm
characteristics of
good and bad
meetings (2)
Present Interaction
Method (23)
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
Person(s)
responsible
■
Fac
■
Fac, Grp
■
Fac
■
■
Fac, Grp
Fac, Grp
■
Fac, Grp
■
Fac
Materials
■
■
■
Slides with
expectations for
program, overview of
LEA support program,
definition of delivery
Flipchart
Markers
■
■
■
Slides
Flipchart
Markers
■
Slides:
–
–
–
Introduction
Key meeting
roles
Tools for
reaching
agreement
25
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:44 AM
Keep in mind:
▪ Feel free to revise learning objectives and activities if you discover that there is not sufficient
time for everything
▪ Your materials list can be a helpful guide for preparing the rest of the meeting, including
both presentations and logistics
Many agendas will share some common elements at the
beginning and end
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:45 AM
Common elements of agendas
Time
Learning Objective
Beginning
■
■
■
Understand context
Understand outcomes
Create and/or affirm
expectations and/or
agreements
Activities
Person(s)
Materials
responsible
■
Fac, Grp ■ Slides
■
Flipchart
■
Fac, Grp ■ Markers
■
Present/Q&A
■
Present/Q&A
■
■
■
■
Brainstorm
Clarify
Agree
■
Fac, Grp
Fac, Grp
Fac, Grp
■
Middle
■
TBD
■
TBD
■
TBD
■
TBD
End
■
Evaluate the meeting
■
Brainstorm positive
elements
Brainstorm what to do
differently next time
Clarify
■
Fac, Grp
■
Flipchart
Markers
■
■
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
■
■
Fac, Grp
■
Fac, Grp
26
Exercise: design an agenda for an LEA team meeting
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:45 AM
Situation: District X has asked you, the liaison, to help them create an
agenda for an important meeting that the LEA team will be holding next
week with the principals of all of the schools. A few key facts:
▪ The district has drafted 3 priority Race to the Top goals and a clear
strategy for achieving them, but the principals have not yet signed on. The
principals are skeptical of the Race to the Top agenda, so this might be an
uphill climb
▪ The overarching goal of the meeting is for the principals to buy in to this
agenda (possibly with their feedback incorporated) – but the team needs
your help to flesh out the specific learning objectives and activities that
will help them achieve this goal
What
How
Who
Time
▪
Create a list of learning objectives for
the meeting, noting whether each is a
knowledge, skill, attitude, or decision
▪
▪
Brainstorm
Clarify
▪
Groups of 2
▪
5
▪
Assign at least one activity to each
learning objective
▪
▪
Brainstorm
Clarify
▪
Groups of 2
▪
5
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
27
Today’s Agenda
Learning objective
1:00 – 1:10
Understand the context of today’s workshop
1:10 – 1:15
Outcomes, agenda, and agreements
1:15 – 1:40
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
1:40 – 2:25
Practice facilitation skills
2:25 – 2:45
Understand how to prepare for a meeting
Last Modified 3/23/2016 7:08:45 AM
Time
2:45 – 3:00 Prepare for next week’s meeting
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
28
Next month’s workshops will be held on December 6, 7, and 8
Draft December workshop agenda
8:30-8:35
Welcome, update, agenda overview
8:35-8:45
Discuss potential “new” and existing activities based on LEAs’ needs, PLC
time, and the TLEU human capital framework
8:45-9:45
Facilitated breakout: discuss potential “new” activities
9:45-10:10
Cross-LEA sharing
10:10-10:20
Break
10:20-10:25
Discuss selecting, prioritizing and removing activities
10:25-11:05
Facilitated breakout: select, prioritize, and remove activities
11:05-11:25
Cross-LEA sharing
11:25-11:30
Wrap-up
©2010 U.S. Education Delivery Institute
29
Thank You