Sample 1: Meeting Management
Goal: Reduce wasted time and increase the effectiveness of staff meetings.
Constructive Feedback. At the end of each meeting, all participants fill out an evaluation sheet about different aspects of the meeting. They also provide two specific suggestions on how to ncrease the effectiveness of future meetings. A summary of this evaluation data is distributed to all the participants and to the meeting manager.
Professional Facilitators. Outside facilitators are hired to conduct important meetings (such as strategic planning by the top management). These facilitators are certified by the International Association of Facilitators on the use of effective techniques for achieving different types of meeting goals.
Scrum. The team members participate in 15-minute stand-up meeting every day. They take turns to answer the same three question related to the sprint: What did you do yesterday? What will you do today? What obstacles are preventing you or the team from achieving the sprint goal?
Online Meetings. The meeting manager uses a conferencing platform and a meeting management software program. This program displays instructions for conducting systematic steps to achieve the goals of the meeting. The participants interact from their locations through the use of text chats.
Sample 2: Teacher Training
Goal: Teach differently
Rubrics. Clearly specify what is involved in teaching differently. Prepare a rubric that identifies the behaviors of Master Teachers. Also record on video classroom sessions conducted by Master Teachers and rate their performances using the rubric.
Mentoring. Assign a Master Teacher as a mentor to each new teacher. Encourage the new teacher to observe the Master Teacher and to interview the teacher after the classroom session.
Buddy System. Organize the new teachers in triads and instruct two of the teachers to observe the teaching performance of the third teacher, using the rubric. At the end of the classroom session, ask the two observers to share their ratings and give constructive feedback.
Recognition. Once every month, ask the students to anonymously rate their teacher. Publicly recognize the work of outstanding teachers.
Removal of Punishment. Make sure that the colleagues and principal don’t criticize the new teacher for not reaching traditional standards of teaching.
Classroom Setup. Arrange the furniture in the classroom to facilitate a different type of teaching.
Workload Adjustment. Schedule free time for the new teacher to permit planning and preparation of different types of lessons.