Team Effectiveness
How to conduct a thoughtful Learning Club?
Learning Club
Rules for Engagement
What makes a team successful?
List 3 specific things.
What drives you crazy about
meetings?
What could a team do to assure that If you had a chance to create the
it would not fail?
perfect team meeting, what would it
be like? Create an analogy to
describe it.
Participation
Attendance
Reflection
Timeline
Members participate fully both during meetings and after meetings.
All members agree to attend every meeting.
We will take the time to reflect before and at the end of the meeting to assess our
new learning.
We will start on time and end on time. 5 minutes before the end, we will chart our
next steps.
Interruptions
We will not allow interruptions unless there is an emergency.
Communication
We will keep accurate meeting notes and share them with all members of the group
within 3 days.
Input
We will give everyone an opportunity to provide input into our discussions.
Preparation
We will come to all meetings with assignments completed, prepared for sharing, and
ready to contribute in discussions and decisions.
Argument
We will disagree respectfully and take time to listen to others points of views.
Troubleshooting
We engage in problem solving rather than blaming the circumstances when
confronted with a challenge.
Evaluation
Decision Making
We will take time to evaluate our effectiveness as a group and determine our level of
accomplishment toward each of our goals.
Assumptions about Teamwork
• Teams exist for a purpose.
• Teams are a means to an end, not an end in
themselves.
• Skillful teamwork doesn’t just happen; teams must
work at becoming effective.
• Teams move through stages of development.
• Team development becomes increasingly complex
and dynamic as the team matures, requiring
increasing levels of skill and trust on the part of the
members.
Every team member must understand the
team’s PARTS if the team is to be effective
Purpose: Why are we meeting? (purpose and goals)
Attainment: What will the results look like when the goals
are attained?
Role & responsibilities: What roles and responsibilities
will each member play to achieve the group’s goals?
Tasks: What tasks will have to be completed to achieve the
goals?
Skill:
What knowledge and skills will we need to acquire to
achieve the goal and work effectively as a team?
Learning Club Members’ Roles:
Teacher Leader
The teacher leader is responsible for seeing
that the team accomplishes its mission. The
teacher leader does not do all the work, but
provides guidance, support, and structure
that allows all the members to contribute.
The teacher-leader helps to establish group
norms, shape the agenda for each meeting,
and keep the group on task.
Learning Club Members’ Roles:
Participants
Each learning club member is responsible for
participating fully in the club’s work by:
– Attending meetings
– Coming prepared
– Completing assignments between meetings
– Presenting work
– Reflecting upon practice
– Remaining open to new learning and learning
from others
Learning Club Members Roles:
Group Facilitator
The group facilitator’s role is to make sure the
group is working effectively. The facilitator
makes sure the group members are
adhering to the agreed-upon group norms,
time is used effectively, and the group stops
regularly to assess their overall
effectiveness.
Meeting Structure
Check In
Agenda Ground Rules
Present, Discuss, Decide
and Review
Check Out
Check In
Check in is the first item on the agenda. It signals the official start of the
meeting. Check in is short and is designed to move along quickly.
Each individual is encouraged to make a brief statement of 5 to 15
seconds about his or her current frame of mind—but it is acceptable to
pass. During check in, there should be no discussions. The check in
helps group members:
–
–
–
–
–
Settle in for the meeting
Get mentally focused on the meeting
Address a basic human need at the outset of the meeting
Discard emotional distractions
Learn about and be sensitive to others’ situations at the time of the
meeting
Agenda and Ground Rules
Taking a few moments to review the agenda:
– Focuses everyone’s attention on the content of the meeting
– Provides an opportunity for clarification, contribution of new ideas,
and discarding any items if necessary
– Reminds everyone of the purpose and length of the meeting
– Helps the group self regulate
– Reminds people of the norms they have agreed upon
Present, Discuss, Decide, & Review
• This is the heart of the meeting.
• The majority of the group’s time is spent on this.
• An underlying goal is to ensure that all members
have a chance to participate and contribute.
• Have one person summarize key points after each
item on the agenda or after a member presents.
• Possible agenda items:
–
–
–
–
–
Introduce or review a new tool or strategy
Plan a lesson or unit
Problem solve an issue
Brag or bemoan
Analyze student work
Four types of communication
– Sharing
– Discussion
– Dialogue
– Active listening
Check Out
• Conducted like a check in—one person at a time.
• Focuses on what happened in the meeting.
• Provides an opportunity to assess the group’s
effectiveness. (strength and weakness)
• Allows individuals to have a final say. (This is not a
time to bring up new items.)
Meeting Records
Meeting records are essential to effective teams because they convey key
meeting activities. A meeting record is typically a one- or two- page
summary of the topics discussed, actions taken, decisions made, or
assignment for the next meeting.
• Use a standard format.
• Include times, dates, and locations.
• Identify meeting participants.
• Keep track of key discussion items.
• Identify decisions that were made and assignments for next
meeting.
• Summarize the learning.
• Put the meeting record in a template on your laptop and fill in as
you go.
• Send it out electronically to appropriate people.
What to do between meetings
• Check with members between meetings to keep
momentum and to correct any misconceptions.
• Encourage members to complete assignments
between meetings.
• Send out minutes and summary after the meeting.
• Remind members of assigned tasks and what they
need to bring with them to the next meeting.
• Ask members if they are confused about anything
or need help in completing their assigned work.
Sample Meeting Agenda
Fast Track Team Meeting
Participants: All members in attendance
October 22nd
Time: 8:00am-10:30
Location: Conference Room
Purpose/Goal: To make use of the best research-based instructional practice to
improve student learning.
Team Goal: To learn the phases of the Compare and Contrast strategy, to compare the
strategy with our own experiences using Compare and Contrast, and to develop initial
plans for implementing the strategy.
Time
Activity
8:00-8:15
Check in activity and review the purpose, goal, and agenda
8:15-8:30
Examine Compare and Contrast Portfolio
8:30-8:45
Discuss how we presently use Compare and Contrast in our classrooms
8:45-9:15
Participate in the Compare and Contrast lesson
9:15-9:30
Compare our use of Compare and Contrast with the phases of Compare
and Contrast
9:30-10:00
Brainstorm ideas and generate initial plans for Compare and Contrast
lessons
10:00-10:15
What are the next steps?
10:15-10:30
Check out activity: What? So What? Now What?
Team Planning Form
Team Member
Date
Mission: A brief statement of purpose that includes why we are meeting
Goals: Specific end results or outcomes we need to achieve
Tasks: A list of specific activities that we will engage in to achieve our goals
Timeline: Timeline we will follow to achieve our goals
Four Stages of
Group Matrix
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Forming:
• Orientation process
• Members want to know the goals,
expectations, and tasks to be done and how
the group will operate.
• Issues are discussed in a polite way.
• People are harmonious and reluctant to
share concerns or delve into their work
deeply.
Storming:
• A period of frustration and some confusion among
members
• Conflict around the issue of leadership, power, control, and
influence
• Norms are tested and not adhered to.
• Roles and responsibilities need to be clarified.
• The mission of team needs to be reinforced.
• Chaos and conflict in some form is an essential part of this
phase in building community and teamwork.
• The problem is not the presence of chaos or conflict but
rather getting stuck in it.
Norming:
• A period where the team resolves many conflicts and
establishes norms of behavior that contribute to team
productivity
• More attentive sharing occurs and people are willing to
begin to look at their work more critically.
• People start to remove their own barriers to communicate
and let go of their defensiveness.
• People speak more personally and are willing to share their
experiences.
Performing:
• The team can now focus fully on performance and results.
• All attention is directed toward improvement and
achievement.
• Group members own problems and look for solutions.
• High levels of cooperation and caring – conflicts are not
allowed to fester.
• Participants ask for more meaningful feedback from group
members.
• People feel rewarded for their participation.
• Creative energy often appears spontaneously.
• Team becomes very efficient; leadership is spontaneous
and comes from all members of the team.
Effective Learning Clubs are SUCCESSFUL
because their members:
Share their beliefs and their efforts with each other
Unlock their passions and work together to create a vision of high quality
instruction in every classroom
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Choose “Best Bets” to focus attention of instructional techniques proven to
raise student achievement
Establish goals that are aligned with the school’s and district’s goals
Stay “close and curious”; work together as “cheerleaders,” not “checkers” of
each other’s work.
Seek positive and effective ways to overcome resistance
Find time to praise team members’ efforts
Use student work analysis to improve results
Look for ways to expand their instructional expertise