Measuring R & D Priorities
This afternoon, the Social Studies R & D team convened for its 3rd meeting of the year. Our agenda was as follows:
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Gallery walk: Small groups of 3-4 rotate among 4 posters. Each poster contains 1 of the 4 priority goals that every R & D team has been charged with accomplishing. On post it notes, team members write what each one means a) in his/her own classroom and b) for our R & D team at large.
The purpose was to
a) expose and remind team members to these priorities again
b) capture input and build common meaning among team members
c) generate ideas and obstacles as fodder for future meetings.
See the results below. (30 min)
Next, we used a “poll everywhere” to gauge how the team felt, in general, we were doing as a whole R & D team in regards to accomplishing these 4 priorities. Results are interesting, but scientific accuracy is disputable.
4:00 p.m. – 4:35 p.m. – Discussions/Workshops: Team members choose 1 of the 4 that they are most interested in exploring in greater detail. They commit by writing their preference down. Two groups are designated as more “conversational” in nature, while the other two are classified as “workshops.” The goal was to try to manage expectations and help team members leave feeling like they ‘got something out of it.’ The feeling in the room was earnest dialogue and diligent production. I’m proud of this team.
4:35 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Share Out/Philosophy: Finally, each group, pair, or individual shared out what they had accomplished or discussed. We ended by sharing the final draft of our co-written philosophy statement. Shelley read aloud…
Here is the original draft of the plans for this meeting. We deviated a bit from our original timeline:
15 min – Gallery Walk
60 min – Discussions/Workshops
15 min – Share out/Philosphy