What if our faculty meetings followed the same pattern? Dream with me here. The day before a meeting, a Google Doc is circulated where teachers share what topics and subjects they are interested in learning about. The doc could contain a table with columns. Teachers can fill out the first three columns based on their interests. In the first column, teachers can write in any idea or topic that they would like to know more about. The second column is for other teachers to indicate their interest in that topic. The third column is for teachers to sign up to lead discussion on the proposed topic.
On the day of the faculty meeting, use the interest stars to guide room and time decisions. Remember, if you don't have time to address all the topics, that's ok! Continue to use the form week to week.
Encourage facilitators to start the sessions promptly to allow maximum discussion in the time slot. If participants want to discuss a topic further, offer the session again another time, or even better, start a discussion about the topic in a faculty Google Group. I would suggest keeping the in-class discussion time short. This will keep interest level high.
If the model works well for afternoon faculty meetings, consider using it for a full day of in-service professional development.
Collaboration is key!
That sounds like a great way to do things. Just wondering how you got it started and how many you have been to?
ReplyDeleteJared, if you are referring to how many Edcamps I've been to, I've only attended EdcampPhilly. I also follow many of the Edcamp organizers. Next week, I'm attending Padcamp in New Jersey, which also uses the Edcamp model.
ReplyDeleteIf you are asking how many Edcamp faculty meetings I've attended... that would be zero. I'm just dreaming here of the possibilities.