Optimizing Efficiency in Meetings

When it comes to unproductive uses of time in education, various factors contend for the top spot on the list: interruptions during teaching, stolen planning time, and administering standardized assessments, among others. However, one practice that often garners the most disdain is meetings.

It’s important to note that teaching teams do find some meetings useful. The issue lies more with the mandated meetings led by administrators and instructional leaders that lack significant engagement. Perhaps it’s time to reassess the value of most meetings and instead prioritize embedded communication and professional growth.

EFFICIENTLY UTILIZE MEETING TIME

Emphasize professional development and collaborative planning. The consensus is that there are too many meetings, but the quality of these meetings is also a concern. Often, meetings are poorly designed or not tailored to the appropriate audience, making it crucial to maximize the impact of the meetings that do occur.

Teachers rightly feel that mere one-time learning experiences in meetings are ineffective. Contrary to professional development, which involves one training session with follow-up accountability, professional learning consists of multiple sessions over time to foster growth in a specific area. Involving teachers in determining the learning focus enhances the effectiveness of professional learning.

Opting for utilizing in-house expertise rather than external consultants can enhance instructional practices within schools in a cost-effective manner. Empowering teachers to lead professional learning not only benefits them but also promotes learning from peers, creating a more collaborative environment. Additionally, allocating time for team or professional learning community planning helps teachers engage in valuable learning experiences without adding extra meetings to their schedules.

Ideally, this time should extend beyond daily lesson planning to focus on broader aspects like curriculum planning using backward design. Weekly meetings could address student progress through ‘data chats’ or discussions on student performance ‘kid talk’ to identify factors contributing to student achievement and challenges.

Encourage optional gatherings regularly. Teachers often move around the school, teaching in various classrooms or roaming the building. School leaders can establish a presence in common areas to facilitate informal conversations with teachers. This practice fosters natural communication and information sharing among staff.

Offering optional meetings enables individuals to explore specific topics of interest without mandatory participation. For example, administrators could hold monthly sessions for new teachers to provide additional support on essential topics like grade entry or classroom management strategies. Tailoring professional learning to teachers’ requests, such as supporting multilingual learners in core subjects, can be another beneficial strategy.

ACHIEVE OBJECTIVES WITH FEWER MEETINGS

Avoid meetings for the sake of meeting. Meetings should address genuine professional needs, and unnecessary meetings should be eliminated. Some organizations fall into the trap of overly structured, routine meetings that lack purpose. It’s important to reassess the necessity of meetings and avoid holding them when no valuable outcome is expected.

Organizational expert Joseph McCormack highlights common meeting pitfalls and advocates for breaking out of autopilot mode. McCormack emphasizes the importance of questioning the need for excessive meetings that hinder productivity. By avoiding predictable and monotonous routines, organizations can improve the efficiency and relevance of their gatherings.

Simplify operational communication. We are familiar with the sentiment of meetings that could have been emails. However, emails may not always be the most effective way to handle operational updates, as inboxes can become overwhelmed. Implementing a weekly running document for updates, highlighted with actionable items, can streamline communication. This document, accessible online, ensures easy access to recent and past updates, with urgent matters communicated via email.

Teachers prioritize time as their most valued asset, making efficient use of minutes and hours crucial. By reassessing and reducing unnecessary meetings, school leaders demonstrate respect for teachers’ time and professional commitments.