The NSRF Winter Meeting took place last week in Tampa, Florida, December 13-15, 2007. The opening session kicked the meeting off with an amazing teaching demonstration from Gloria and the Math Team from her elementary school. Gloria uses movement and call and response to teach math vocabulary and problem solving patterns. The children were obviously both excited and proficient, and I was excited to be there. It was a great way to put students and learning at the forefront of our discussions for the next two and a half days.
Most of the Winter Meeting was devoted to spending time in Home Groups. For the first time, I got to facilitate a Home Group and I was truly blessed with a group who came to work.
We started with a 3-2-1 icebreaker. In pairs, we shared three things about ourselves, two AHA's that we had from the opening session, and one burning question that we brought with us. We introduced our partners to the group, shared the burning questions, and debriefed the process.
Next, Phil led us through the Passions Profiles Protocol. This was one of the most popular activities of the day. I had never used it before, and now I am itching to use it in other contexts.
After lunch, we recorded the norms that we were already using and added some to help us think about how we would help each other do powerful work.
Reflections
Prompt: What worked? What needs work? Comments?
Day 1 Reflections
“I thoroughly enjoyed the day—truly. So far, the experience has exceeded my expectations. I feel the group has quickly ‘jelled’ & that the power of our collective thoughts will make for an even more amazing day tomorrow. I appreciated that there felt like plenty of time to accomplish all our endeavors today. Unlike the Tazmanian deveil-style PD I have been planning lately, I feel relaxed & in a good place to learn. The efforts to understand the group needs & plan the time around them was multipurpose—we learned new protocols & identified our indiv & group needs. I feel so grateful to be here—well worth the journey.
Thanks for the great day!”
“•I am surprised that participants hesitated on volunteering to facilitate. . . should it be an expectation or highly suggested?
•How can we refocus on the ‘lens of equity’ through which the [work] is done? Is there a theme for this Winter Meeting?
•Thanks for the intro activities. Quick 3-2-1 to build some connection ASAP. I’m thinking about how to bring back “passions” to my small schools—It was a nice twist to try on something new.
*Will we get the notes from our profile questions? Very rich discussion.
•As a pair of facilitators, I found you both moving seamlessly back & forth through the day. Gentle [pushing], pulling us along.
•This was a very quick day! Time flies when you. . . .”
“I liked the protocols we used today. I don’t know if I just am intimidated by the size or make-up of the group. . . I’m not comfortable yet voicing some disagreement I’ve had. It seems some in the group are taking more air time than others.
I liked that today was spent getting us to know the group better and the time spent to clarify what we want from this experience; it helped me figure out what I want to present.
Will we have a list of contact in our group, or should we get that on our own?
Note: I’m still processing, more to come.”
“I enjoyed meeting everyone. Breakfast was out of your control, but having eggs & ham separate would have been great.
I look forward to tomorrow and learning from each protocol. Many I have already used—but always find new ways to run them.
The ‘passions’ was great. I have already spoken w/ two others in my group and we are actively thinking about where & when to use this!”
“I feel confident that I will leave on Saturday with my needs being met. There was space for everyone to make sure that they will leave knowing what they need to know. There was also time to allow us to pre-flect on what is it that we hope to leave with therefore making us responsible for our own learning. Everyone is doing good at pushing one another, using new protocols etc. . .
A suggestion I have for the affinity mapping is to use larger notecards & markers making it easier to read.”
“3-2-1
As a shy person, I loved being able to introduce another person. Felt I learned more about the people in our group.
Passion Profile
Want to use this at my school. We have a new principal and I think this will be a great way for her to be able to see the strengths of her staff.
Norm Setting
Great way to set norms—we haven’t set norms for our faculty meetings. Will suggest this to the new principal as well.
Affinity Mapping
Can this be used for problem solving at a school?? We are developing new systems for a variety of things at my school—would this be a good way to generate ideas for systems/models??
Thanks for a great day!”
“Warm Feedback:
--I liked the Passions Profile as an alternative to the more commonly used Compass Points. It relates more directly to our profession & describes diversity via what we appreciate most from our work, not just our personality type.
--I like the opportunity to go outside & meet w/ a new group for 15-20 minutes as well. I think it is important to move about a bit so as to not sit all afternoon, & to meet others more intimately during the day.
--I really like this group; I do with there were a better gender mix.
Cool Feedback:
Maybe a more revised system to determine scheduling is needed. Some pre-planning around #’s of people vs. time slots needed would have been helpful to expedite the process of scheduling work.”
“Today’s conversation expanded my thinking and allowed me to see connections between protocols and different aspects of the work of public education.
I enjoy playing with new protocols and look forward to being introduced to more—
What really worked for me was the [group’s] sharing & matching of our work to a protocol. I discovered new protocols!
What I wish to be different is the opportunities to move around more.”
“Enjoyed today. Thank you for planning & facilitating.
I thought introductions were fun & informative. I particularly liked ‘Passions.’ Getting to bond w/ one like-minded was validating. I will use it w/ my own group.
I liked listing norms we had already been using. Made sense since things were working fine. I particularly like the ‘Respect Silence’ one & will take it back to my group where we have a problem with that issue. I just wonder if I have the nerve to enforce it.
The only thing I was uncomfortable with was moving around somebody else’s sticky note. My mother’s voice in my head prevented me from messing with somebody else’s stuff!”
“Today I experienced what it means to have symphony. I saw how productive sharing ideas can be. How rewarding it was to be able to think, reflect in a group, and come to the realization that there are others who share the passion, challenges and victories.
The protocols that were used really promoted interaction and deeper thought. Today was great!”
“1) I liked the ‘get acquainted’ activity—it really worked!
2) I have done Passions Profile before, but I like the activity. It takes Compass Points a little deeper.
3) I have done the Affinity activity before, but not on this topic. I think I will start using it more.
4) The triads to match protocols to dilemmas was productive.
5) We have a compatible group, and I look forward to tomorrow.”
“Well Done (Done Well)—The group became functional quickly. The Affinity ‘Passion’ Protocol was very good! I didn’t really get much out of the continuum activity. It was good to hear everyone’s burning issues/questions.
I am looking forward to the work tomorrow. We will be doing some great things together!”
“It felt like a great start in terms of the group bonding/rapport. I enjoyed the passions profiles today. It was a great way to flesh out what the members of the group value.
The scheduling at the end of the day felt a little chaotic. May be unavoidable, but I’m wondering if there could have been a simpler way to structure it. I liked that your (Donna’s) overriding question was—‘Are your needs going to be met?’—for each participant. Thanks for a great day!”
“Everything we did today really clicked—the last seminar I attended had a lot of beginners in it, and I felt like we spent a lot of time going over nuts & bolts things that consumed time away from the ‘real work’—frustrating. This group, however, felt like we hit the ground running and was able to focus on what we needed and wanted from the meeting.
Great job allowing us the latitude to see the different protocols—a scheduling headache—but its great to be able to see the different ones.
We got a lot accomplished—are you sure it’s only Day 1?”
“I enjoyed today. I’ve not attended a Winter Meeting before & am so glad I am here. Today, more than anything, I enjoyed making connections with fellow educators. I was able to share ideas, problems, stories, etc. & found support & understanding (Lots of commonalities!!). I look forward to working with this group tomorrow & learning the Issaquah. Thank-you!”