This study focuses on teachers' group decision making during Dutch allocation meetings. A previous interview study showed that teachers question the objectivity of decisions due to negative interaction experiences and a lack of structure during these meetings. To characterize the structure and interaction of these meetings, 33 student allocations…

School-based teams are a core method for stakeholder collaboration and coordination. Although school teams are responsible for making numerous decisions, a limited number of measures exist to support the evaluation of these meetings, none of which span the full range of hypothesized meeting quality variables (e.g., meeting structure, use of data).…

This article is based on a study focusing on how structured learning communities can promote reflective awareness and professional development, through collaborative analysis of professional experience. As participant-observer, the researcher used recorded observations as well as individual participants' reflective writing as data. Of importance…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore whether and to what degree community development of teacher teams takes place and how community development comes about, that is, what community-building efforts teacher teams undertake. Design/methodology/approach: Using a multi method approach, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from…

Consensus-based decision making can turn faculty meetings into meaningful and productive work sessions in which faculty members know that their input is respected and valued and important decisions are made. Reaching consensus has different meanings in different contexts. Decisions are made "by consensus" when the decision affects the entire…

Most scheduled gatherings of teachers are, in fact, meetings at which teachers yawn their way through lists of informational items announced and commented on by the principal. If any clear communication results from those meetings, it takes place in the parking lot long after the official meeting has ended. Good faculty meetings should be…

Former elementary principal suggests ways to improve student learning by increasing information sharing among faculty, including the restructuring of faculty meetings, adopting an inclusive planning process, and creating study groups. (PKP)

Although technology is affecting the way organizations conduct business, there still remains a need to pay attention to good business meeting practices. Based on observations of the meeting practices of a business firm, a consultant found several areas in which meetings can be made more productive. The purpose of the meeting should be defined.…

Effective meetings require three simultaneous operations: task activity (working on the agenda), maintenance (keeping the group in good working order), and team building (strengthening group's capacity to face future issues successfully). Discusses twelve reasons for group dysfunction during meetings. (EM)

The author suggests that teachers should be involved in the decision making process and that the administrator should structure meetings to generate such participation. Discussed are the National Group Technique (NGT) and the Delphi Technique as means of facilitating pooled judgments. (KC)

Offers tips on conducting productive discussion of curriculum in staff meetings. (JW)

Describes the "Capture Lab"--a computer-supported conference room designed to capture the thought processes, plans, and decisions of business teams. Discusses how groups have used this environment for collaborative writing. Shares observations of how users respond to the technology and how they learn to use the room. (RS)

Whenever educators gather to achieve a common goal, every participant should arrive with a sense of purpose and leave with a feeling of accomplishment. This book explains how to make meetings more efficient and effective. It outlines: (1) the correlation between excellent meetings and excellent results; (2) how to plan, open, conduct, and follow…

The processes involved in staging successful inservice training, staff meetings, and task force sessions are described. Examples are provided and details are given for four phases of preparation: preplanning (including identification of need, setting priority objectives, and determining the type of group session); planning (covering such aspects…

Presents an analysis of faculty dynamics in nursing curriculum situations based on the social theories of conflict, community power, and interest-group to form a political model representing stages in policy development. These stages are applied to curriculum change examples to show how social conflict and power plays cause problems. (MF)