Monthly Meeting Prep - October
Hi there,
Welcome to our second installment of Monthly Meeting Prep - an exclusive feature for paid subscribers but available for everyone this month. If you are not a paid subscriber, this will be the last month you receive Monthly Meeting Prep. Don’t miss out!
The goal is to provide ready-to-use resources on a relevant topic for various professional development needs. They might serve as a “PD Moment” at the beginning of a faculty meeting, discussion material for late start or early release time, or thought-provoking content for teacher leadership meetings.
The weekly content will have some consistent features:
An editable PowerPoint file with pre-loaded prompts or discussion questions
A video that offers a unique perspective (that may or may not be directly related to education) and can always be applied in the classroom or improve professional practice
Links to resources to extend the session as needed, including things like:
relevant articles
additional videos
recommended discussion protocols
Without further delay, here’s this month’s content …
October Monthly Meeting Prep
Topic: Zero Prep Team Building in the Classroom
Overview: Last month, I talked about flow states in the classroom. It was a bit of a cerebral topic with some useful, although somewhat indirect, application to the classroom. I received positive feedback overall, and I’m sure we’ll revisit the topic in the coming months.
This month, I wanted to switch gears and focus on a quick win in the classroom — something that would be easy for your teachers to implement tomorrow.
Building a classroom community is essential, especially at the beginning of the year. The importance of simple things, like learning kids’ names in the first week or so, cannot be overstated. But it requires more than mastering the roster in order to lay a foundation you can build on throughout the year. That’s where this month’s activity comes in.
Why I chose this topic: Besides the fundamental importance of building community, I wanted to present something that would be:
very easy to cover in a staff meeting
full of ready-to-use examples
great for students at all levels
fun for teachers to try right away
This month’s video comes from my own content library. Many of you know that I interview top-notch teachers across the country to share their strategies widely. Over the summer, I sat down with one of my favorite teachers — a teacher I actually supervised as an administrator — and picked her brain about classroom management, a skill she has developed masterfully over the last couple of decades in the classroom.
I know that each of you has a rockstar teacher you wish you could copy and paste a dozen times. Darla was definitely my clone-worthy staff member.
In this brief clip, Darla talks about using simple “Would you rather?” questions as a means to build classroom community — not just between herself and her kiddos but also amongst the students themselves.
How to use this content: Now, I know that this may seem like a bit of a cheesy, outdated summer camp hack that’s not all that innovative. But therein lies the subtle nature of its value. As Darla explains in the video, students love it because it’s fun. And fun doesn’t always have to be complicated or require pre-cut, laminated clip art. It really can be as simple as asking a (ridiculous) question.
Zero Prep Team Building in the Classroom | Peer Driven PD
If you’ve got 20 minutes or less:
Show the video
Download this PowerPoint file (Note: I highly recommend downloading the file and opening it in PowerPoint rather than Google Slides)
Peruse (including the presenter notes), edit as needed
Make a copy of this Google form to use with your staff
The form can be emailed out to staff during your meeting. Have each teacher brainstorm one or two “Would you rather?” questions and submit them through the form. Then, view the responses as a Google Sheet (here’s how) and share it with your staff. This will give everyone a handful of questions to use in their classrooms immediately. (Of course, they should continue developing their own, so students don’t hear the same questions repeatedly).
Note: Bonus points if you share the responses with me at mike@peerdrivenpd.com. I’ll compile and share it with the larger group.
Present away!
Resources for extensions:
Using Community Circles to Engage All Students
In the video linked above, Darla references using “community circles” to develop a positive classroom culture. This is a video of Darla explaining how she uses circles in less than four minutes. Great overview and quick “how-to” for teachers who have never used circles and are interested in trying.
Classroom Management Crash Course YouTube Playlist
I’ve shared this on Facebook, so some of you may have already seen it. This is a playlist of six short videos featuring Darla intended to be a very quick “crash course” in classroom management at the secondary level.
Classroom Management Essentials Course
The videos featuring Darla are taken from our full course. We also have classroom management courses for early elementary and upper elementary. If you think you could use these, just respond and let me know. I’ll work with you on getting access for any interested teachers at a drastically-reduced, subscriber-only rate.
Possible Discussion Protocols:
After staff has brainstormed a few of their own questions, get everyone into a community circle. Popcorn call on someone to share their question. Go clockwise around the circle as everyone answers. (If time allows and for greater community-building, allow teachers to explain why they chose their answer). Repeat as time allows.
If you’re doing the extension (see slide 14 of the PowerPoint), start your circle time with the “Would you rather?” questions and move into the circle questions.
I hope you find this brief activity useful. Please feel free to send me questions or feedback. I’m always happy to hear how this monthly email can be more useful for you.
Talk soon,
Mike
P.S. Do you have a ridiculously amazing teacher that I should interview? I’d love to hear about them. Just hit “reply” and send me a few sentences. I’d be happy to start a conversation with you about my work.