Conference 2.0 Resources

Chris Lehmann (Practical Theory) has posted some ideas for hosting “Conference 2.0″ based on his, and others’ , experiences this year at NECC 2007. I won’t go into the history behind this — you can read it all (and grab links to other posts) by reading Chris’ post.

All I want to do in this post is list a few ideas and resources that I have used in the past to restructure professional development sessions & workshops so that they are much more interactive and often result in the production of useful artifacts such as revised lesson plans, action plans, and project ideas. I have been doing this for over five years, and some of the most useful resources include protocols that you can download for free from the National School Reform Faculty Website. This website is used by Critical Friends Group Coaches in preparing to facilitate CFGs (links to a .pdf file).

Protocols are structure to promote constructive dialogue, to ensure that all voices are heard, and are usually designed around specific time limits. They are very useful when you only have limited time to discuss certain topics or make decisions — and when you need solutions/conclusions rather than just aimless “talking in circles”. Usually there is a facilitator or co-facilitator who directs/guides and scribes the conversation (or at least highlights from the conversation), but I think in this case, recording the conversation (and then podcasting it) would work just as well for all participants.

Some specific protocols that might be helpful for some components of Chris’ proposal include the following: (Chris’ original ideas are quoted, and all of the links in this section point to .pdf files)

Issue Conversation Sessions (I’m making these titles up as I go along)
The mini-presentation — 20-30 minute lectures, all note-chatted, where a speaker takes a position on an issue, explains something, tries to define an idea or just tries to get their head around something. Listeners note-cast the session along with a live audio feed so others can take part. After the lecture, 30-40 minutes conversation where the speaker just joins the conversation around a table, followed by 15-30 minutes where personal reflection takes place.

…and…

Unsessions
This would be more like what we saw at the EBC, where one facilitator ran a conversation for an hour. I think these sesisons would work best around ideas where many people felt a level of expertise or previous investment. Goals for sessions like these might be action oriented? If we all are walking in with a lot of expertise, can a good facilitator build consensus toward a goal? Again, if the conversations were an hour long, I’d want to leave time for a half-hour to reflect and write afterwards. (And again, no reason not to have a Snowball mic on the table and make sure that others can take part. In fact, there’s every reason to.)

Future Protocol
Microlabs, and Microlab Guidelines
Constructivist Protocol for Adult Work
What, So What, Now What (this one is particularly great for examining new ideas)
Consultancy
Networking Protocol
A Change in Practice Protocol

Pedagogy Sessions
Here’s what I want to see more of… specific conversations around pedagogy. Could we have some sessions where folks had agreed to read an article beforehand around constructivist teaching and then had a conversation where we looked at Web 2.0 tools with the specific agenda of looking at how to take the best of progressive pedagogy and apply it to the new word in which we live? Maybe even looking at old language and looking at its limits and where we do and don’t need new language? Again… skypecast it, chat it and give time for reflection at the end.

Protocols For Text-based Discussions (these work best when participants have read the article or book passage beforehand and can quickly re-read for key ideas & highlights)
The Final Word
Four A’s Text Protocol
Save the Last Word for ME
Text-Rendering Protocol
Text-Based Seminar (and Guidelines)
Three Levels of Text

Cross-Pollination Lunch
Could we offer up lunch as a chance for people who went to different sessions to get together and talk about what they saw? (I’d say we could do that for dinner too, but we’d all want to head out for dinner and take advantage of Philly restaurants and pubs, methinks.)

Topic Tables — I don’t have a direct link to this protocol, but it is essential a process where people choose a table they wish to sit at based on a sign on the table which indicates the topic. The conversation at each table revolves around the given topic — and usually is facilitated in a round-robin sort of way so that everyone has a chance to express their thoughts, opinions, questions, etc. Usually when I have participated or facilitated this protocol, we give participants about 15 to 20 minutes at each table — facilitators scribe the conversations for each round — and people have the opportunity to visit topic tables of their choice for three rounds. However, this could be adapted for a lunch period — use topics from the conference (perhaps the strands), and let everyone stay at their chosen table for the entire lunch period rather than rotating (which may be a bit difficult if people are eating lunch).

There are MANY more protocols and everything I listed above is only a small sample. Explore the protocols listed here for many more ideas.

By the way — these also work VERY well in the classroom as instructional strategies

Just an FYI on all of the above — I have used all or most of these protocols, and very recently have recorded some of the structured/semi-structured conversations for podcasting. I have also started including some built-in time for blogging at the end of sessions when appropriate (CFG process usually includes time for journaling/reflecting anyway — so it’s not a huge stretch).

Other resources (books) that I have found very helpful in my work include the following:
“The Power of Protocols: An Educator’s Guide to Better Practice, Second Edition” (Joseph P. McDonald)
“Looking Together at Student Work: A Companion Guide to Assessing Student Learning (Series on School Reform)” (Tina Blythe, David Allen, Barbara Schieffelin Powell)
“The Facilitator’s Book of Questions: Tools for Looking Together at Student and Teacher Work” (David Allen, Tina Blythe)
“The Facilitator’s Fieldbook: Step-by-Step Procedures * Checklists and Guidelines * Samples and Templates” (Tom Justice, David Jamieson, David W., Ph.D. Jamieson)
“Leading Lesson Study: A Practical Guide for Teachers and Facilitators” (Jennifer Stepanek, Gary Appel, Melinda Leong, Michelle Turner Mangan, Mark Mitchell)

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