Whereas many TeachMeets are based on the model of teachers sharing what’s working for them, this meeting was about teachers sharing the things they haven’t quite figured out yet. In these times of uncertainty, our focus was on sharing the dilemmas that keep us awake. . . . and Puzzle Meet participants had the opportunity to support their colleagues by offering possible next steps and suggestions that could be helpful.
Here is the information you need to run a Puzzle Meet of your own. As Simon Sinek shares “Together is Better” and when we collaborate and share we are wiser and smarter. If you would like to see examples of inspiring Puzzles and the many useful suggestions that a Puzzle Meet reveals visit PZ Sydney.
Before the Puzzle Meet: Preparing for the Consultancy Protocol
1. Presenters take time to think about their dilemma. This guidance might help:
Dilemmas deal with issues with which you are struggling or that you are unsure about. Some questions for helping you select a dilemma might include:
Is it something that is bothering you enough that your thoughts regularly return to it
Is it something that is not already on its way to being resolved?
Is it something that does not depend on getting other people to change - in other words, can you affect the dilemma by changing your practice?
Is it something that is important to you, and is it something you are willing to work on?
2. Do Some Reflective Writing About Your Dilemma
Some questions that might help are:
Why is this a dilemma for you? Why is this dilemma important to you?
What (or where) is the tension in your dilemma?
If you could take a snapshot of this dilemma, what would you/we see?
What have you done already to try to remedy or manage the dilemma?
What have been the results of those attempts?
Who needs to change? Who needs to take action to resolve this dilemma? If your answer is not
you, you need to change your focus. You will want to present a dilemma that is about your practice, actions, behaviors, beliefs, and assumptions, and not someone else’s.
What do you assume to be true about this dilemma, and how have these assumptions influenced your thinking about the dilemma?
What is your focus question? A focus question summarises your dilemma and helps focus the
feedback.
3. Frame a Focus Question for Your Consultancy Group
Try to pose a question around the dilemma that seems to you to get to the heart of the matter.
Remember that the question you pose will guide the Consultancy group in their discussion of the dilemma.
4. Critique Your Focus Question
Is this question important to my practice?
Is this question important to student learning?
Is this question important to others in my profession?
The Puzzle Meet: Using the Consultancy Protocol
1. The presenter gives an overview of the dilemma with which she/he is struggling and frames a question for the consultancy group to consider. The framing of this question, as well as the quality of the presenter’s reflection on the dilemma being discussed, are key features of this protocol. If the presenter has brought student work, educator work, or other “artefacts,” there is a pause here to silently examine the work/documents. The focus of the group’s conversation is on the dilemma. (5 - 10 minutes if there are artefacts to examine)
2. The consultancy group asks clarifying questions of the presenter — that is, questions that have brief, factual answers. (5 minutes)
3. The group asks probing questions of the presenter. These questions should be worded so that they help the presenter clarify and expand her/his thinking about the dilemma presented to the consultancy group. The goal here is for the presenter to learn more about the question she/he framed and to do some analysis of the dilemma presented. The presenter responds to the group’s questions, although sometimes a probing question might ask the presenter to see the dilemma in such a novel way that the response is simply, “I never thought about it that way.” There is no discussion by the consultancy group of the presenter’s responses. At the end of the 10 minutes, the facilitator asks the presenter to re-state her/his question for the group. (10 - 15 minutes)
4. The group talks with each other about the dilemma presented. In this step, the group works to define the issues more thoroughly and objectively. Sometimes members of the group suggest actions the presenter might consider taking; if they do, these should be framed as “open suggestions,” and should be made only after the group has thoroughly analyzed the dilemma. The presenter doesn’t speak during this discussion, but listens in and takes notes. The group talks about the presenter in the third person.
(15 minutes)
Possible questions to frame the discussion:
• What did we hear?
• What didn’t we hear that might be relevant?
• What assumptions seem to be operating?
• What questions does the dilemma raise for us?
• What do we think about the dilemma?
• What might we do or try if faced with a similar dilemma? What have we done in similar situations?
5. The presenter reflects on what she/he heard and on what she/he is now thinking, sharing with the group anything that particularly resonated for him or her during any part of the Consultancy. (5 minutes)
6. Each facilitator leads a brief conversation about the group’s observation of the Consultancy process and summarises solutions offered. A more detailed version can be shared online afterwards. (5 minutes)
The Consultancy Protocol was developed by Faith Dunne, Paula Evans, and Gene Thompson-Grove as part of their work at the Coalition of Essential Schools and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
By Nigel Coutts