Education Innovation: How To Have "Beautiful" PLC and Team Meetings: 12 Ways To Respond

Part of my ongoing series on "Beautiful" Professional Learning Communities based on Edward de Bono's book "How To Have A Beautiful Mind" here are 12 Points to help PLCs respond to each other.

1. The overall objective in any conversation might be to agree, to disagree, to agree on the difference—and to have an enjoyable and interesting conversation. From moment-to-moment in PLCs you members will feel the need to respond to what has been said. It is natural.

2. If you are in any doubt about what has been said, it is important to ask for clarification. Misunderstanding and arguing at cross purposes are a waste of time and energy.

There is no bigger waste of PLC energy and time than two members arguing because they have misunderstood each other. If there is any doubt about what has been said or what was meant, clarification is needed.

3. Support goes beyond agreement. You can support a point that has been made from statistics, from your own experience, from a shared set of values and so on.

Support in this case does not mean saying, “Yes.” Support in this case means putting forward some point or opinion that actually make the idea or plan of another stronger.

Support can be based on experience, feelings and emotions, values, facts, figures, and statistics, stories, and anecdotes.

4. Anecdotes, examples and stories add liveliness and reality to the discussion. They may be stories from your own experience or ones you have heard and believe to be relevant.

Team members should get used to supporting ideas instead of remaining quiet as a sign of agreement or support. It is important to verbalize support.

5. Stories do not ‘prove’ anything except perhaps to challenge a generalization (by showing exceptions).

Nobody has better stories than teachers. Stories provide a common understanding. Stories are easy to relate to. Stories do not provide proof or evidence, but they are useful catalysts for thinking.

6. Stories illustrate principles, processes, and possibilities. A process that might be complex to explain can be illustrated by a simple story.

Stories can make the complex understandable. The more we understand each other in PLCs the more effective we can be.

7. You may want to go further than just agreeing with a point that has been made. You may want to build upon that point in order to take it further.

You never know how powerful an idea or plan can be. If team members look for ways to take the point further there is the potential for something truly powerful and truly innovative.

8. You may wish to extend a suggestion by enlarging it and growing the suggestion.

Two of the most powerful words that can be spoken in a PLC are, “What if.”
What if you do this? What if we do that? An idea that is extended using “What if” has the potential for developing an idea or plan that has not yet existed before.

9. You can imagine and idea being put into action in the real world. You watch what might happen and describe what you see: in both a positive and negative sense.

Team members should do their best to visualize the plan or idea in practice in the classroom or the school. Imagine it at work in your day. What is working? What isn’t working? What problems are arising? After, make modifications. Fix what might not be acceptable prior to implementing it.

10. You may want to modify an idea to make it more acceptable to yourself, stronger or more practical.

Nobody will understand the impact of an idea or plan more than the person who will have to implement it in their classroom and with their students. If appropriate, make changes that will correct problems or issue. Anticipate what might not work or what needs to be strengthened.

11. Once an idea has emerges it is no longer a matter of ‘your idea’ or ‘my idea’ but an idea to be improved and assessed.

Once an idea has been cast in front of the team, it no longer has a single owner. The entire PLC is responsible for assessing it, making the idea the best it can be, or politely rejecting it.

12. Instead of the usual ‘battle’ of argument there is a joint effort to explore the subject.

Beautiful PLCs know that when they respond constructively, they are more of a community, more professional, and have a greater chance of truly learning. Arguing does nothing but hinder that goal.