0. Partnerships with LEAs: a common language for meeting facilitation
Delaware LEA Liaison Workshop
Partnerships with LEAs: a common language for meeting facilitation
November 30, 2010

1. Today’s Agenda
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

2. Today’s Agenda
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

3. DDOE has developed a program of support to help districts produce plans for carrying out their ambitious reform agendas
Goals
Provide LEAs with the time and resources that were not available during the 90 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
Components
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
End product
LEAs’ complete Success Plans - with a clear description of which parts are funded by RTTT
Improved understanding and capacity for LEAs and DDOE
Funding
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

4. Ongoing workshops focus on building skills and content expertise
Re-purposed time
Proposed new time
Date
Activity
Focus & Follow-up work
Chief meeting
September 23
Content focus: Program overview
Skill focus: Understand the “delivery” challenge
Follow-up work: Conduct LEA needs assessment
October 11, 12, or13
County workshop
October 28
Chief meeting
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
Chief meeting
November 16
December 6, 7, or 8
County workshop
December 14
Chief meeting
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
January 27
Chief meeting
February 7, 8, or 9
County workshop
February 24
Chief meeting
Content focus: Deep support for the lowest-achieving schools
Skill focus: Create a delivery culture
Follow-up work: Revise “support for the lowest-achieving schools” part of plan; develop communication strategies and sustainability plans
March – 7, 8, or 9
County workshop
March 24
Chief meeting
April 1
Revised Success Plans Due
Spring 2011
Plan refinement

5. The basis of the skill-building component of LEA workshops is the delivery framework1 2 3 4
Develop a foundation for delivery
Understand the delivery challenge
Plan for delivery
Drive delivery
Define your aspiration
Review the current state of delivery
Build the delivery unit
Establish a “guiding coalition”
Evaluate past and present performance
Understand drivers of performance and relevant activities
Determine your reform strategy
Establish routines to drive and monitor performance
Solve problems early and rigorously
Sustain and continually build momentum
Set targets and establish trajectories
Produce delivery plans 5
Create an irreversible delivery culture
A. Build system capacity all the time
B. Communicate the delivery message
C. Develop high-quality relationships

6. The purpose of today’s workshop is to prepare you to partner with districts
Your role
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
Expectations
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
Challenges
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
Today’s training objectives
Understand your role as liaison
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
Practice facilitation skills
Understand how to prepare for a meeting

7. Today’s Agenda
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

8. A few fun facts about meetings…
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

9. Basic beliefs of the interaction method
Basic facts:
The interaction method is a set of 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
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

10. Key meeting roles and components (1/3)
Facilitator
“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”
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
Recorder
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”

11. Key meeting roles and components (2/3)
Group leader (president or chair)
Calls for the meeting
Recruits the facilitator
Contributes ideas
Acts as a group member, allowing the objective facilitator to guide the meeting process
Group member
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
Group memory (flipchart or paper on wall)
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

12. Key meeting roles and components (2/3)
Room arrange-ments
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
Supplies
Newsprint
Flat wall
Masking tape
Watercolor markers

13. Tools for reaching agreement
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
Opening
To gather information and ideas
Brainstorm
Clarify
Narrowing tools
To organize the information
Eliminate dupli- cates
Prioritize (N/3)
Natural cut
Closing tools
To reach agreement
Negative poll
Build up/ eliminate
Both/and

14. Today’s Agenda
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

15. Roles for role plays 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

16. Exercise: Facilitation role play 1
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
Brainstorm (4)
Clarify (1)
Facilitator
Recorder
Group 5

17. Exercise: Facilitation role play 2
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

18. Preventions are an important way to keep your meeting on track before things become difficult
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 of process) makes meeting run more smoothly
Role modeling
Demonstrate the behaviors that you want to see in the group, e.g., not interrupting the person who is speaking, starting on time
Up front agreements
At the beginning of the meeting, get agreement on the objectives, agenda, timing, ground rules, etc.
Icebreaker
A short activity at the beginning of an interaction can relax tension and help group members work together
Validation
Establish a practice of validating the contribution of each member of the group (e.g., “three claps on three”)

19. When things do become difficult, interventions are important tools for your toolkit (1/2)
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 postpone discussion until later?
Boomerang
Return a question to the person who asked it or to the team 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 discussing right now?”
Parking lot
Keep a piece of paper on the wall to put ideas that are 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
Confronting difficult group members
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?”

20. When things do become difficult, interventions are important tools for your toolkit (2/2)
Enforce process agreements
Refer back to the agreements that the group has signed
“We all agreed that we would not check our blackberries 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?”
Pace the discussion
Identify issues for further discussion and refer them to future meetings so that the group can move on now
“Would anyone object if we moved on to the next point?”
Build understanding
Ask questions. Rephrase what has been said, and invite other interpretations
Link comments back to the meeting objectives and agenda so that everyone understands where they are in the process
Maintain participation
Monitor airtime and invite suggestions from reluctant participants
“Does anyone who hasn’t spoken want to comment? Al or Jo, what do you think about . . .?”

21. Today’s Agenda
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

22. The most important tool for workshop design is an agenda
Example: Partial agenda for today’s workshop

23. To design an agenda, lead with the learning objectives
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)
Time
Learning Objective
Activities
Person(s) responsible
Materials
0900 – 0910
Understand the context for today’s workshop and roles as liaisons
Present (5)
Fac
Fac, Grp
Slides with expectations for program, overview of LEA support program, definition of delivery
Flipchart
Markers
0910 – 0915
Create shared expectations and agreements
Welcome, introductions, review outcomes (3)
Brainstorm expectations (3)
Brainstorm agreements (4)
Slides
0915 – 0940
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
Brainstorm characteristics of good and bad meetings (2)
Present Interaction Method (23)
Slides:
Introduction
Key meeting roles
Tools for reaching agreement
Knowledge
Decision
Knowledge

24. Once you have determined your objectives, you can design the right activities to help you meet them
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”)
Time
Learning Objective
Activities
Person(s) responsible
Materials
0900 – 0910
Understand the context for today’s workshop and roles as liaisons
Present (5)
Fac
Fac, Grp
Slides with expectations for program, overview of LEA support program, definition of delivery
Flipchart
Markers
0910 – 0915
Create shared expectations and agreements
Welcome, introductions, review outcomes (3)
Brainstorm expectations (3)
Brainstorm agreements (4)
Slides
0915 – 0940
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
Brainstorm characteristics of good and bad meetings (2)
Present Interaction Method (23)
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

25. Finally, fill in the remainder of the agenda
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
Time
Learning Objective
Activities
Person(s) responsible
Materials
0900 – 0910
Understand the context for today’s workshop and roles as liaisons
Present (5)
Fac
Fac, Grp
Slides with expectations for program, overview of LEA support program, definition of delivery
Flipchart
Markers
0910 – 0915
Create shared expectations and agreements
Welcome, introductions, review outcomes (3)
Brainstorm expectations (3)
Brainstorm agreements (4)
Slides
0915 – 0940
Understand the basics of meeting facilitation
Brainstorm characteristics of good and bad meetings (2)
Present Interaction Method (23)
Slides:
Introduction
Key meeting roles
Tools for reaching agreement

26. Many agendas will share some common elements at the beginning and end
Common elements of agendas
Time
Learning Objective
Activities
Person(s) responsible
Materials
Beginning
Understand context
Understand outcomes
Create and/or affirm expectations and/or agreements
Present/Q&A
Brainstorm
Clarify
Agree
Fac, Grp
Slides
Flipchart
Markers
Middle
TBD
End
Evaluate the meeting
Brainstorm positive elements
Brainstorm what to do differently next time

27. Exercise: design an agenda for an LEA team meeting
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

28. Today’s Agenda
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

29. 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