| These are our favorite books out of dozens that we have seen on this
topic. All are available on Amazon.com.
Meetings That Work! Richard Chang
and Kevin Kehoe, published by Jossey-Bass. 1994
This is not a large book (only 108 pages) but is packed with tips and information.
The 6 chapters are: Introduction, Making Meetings Work, Three Essential
Meeting Stages, Preparing for the Meeting, Conducting the Meeting, and Evaluating
the Meeting. In the appendix the authors have included some ready-to-photocopy
forms for minutes, agendas, and evaluation of meetings.
Mining Group Gold Thomas Kayser, published
by McGraw-Hill, 1995
Although this book has a section on meetings, it goes much further into the
topic of team building and collaboration throughout an organization.
It was written for the corporate world but has clear implications for schools.
Instead of "meetings" Kayser likes to use the term "Group Sessions," thereby
emphasizing the meeting as an opportunity to build effective teams, not just
gather or share information.
The Adaptive School Robert Garmston
and Bruce Wellman, pub. by Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc. 1999
This is one of the few good books on meetings that focuses on schools, not
the corporate world. The authors see good meetings as just one element
in "adaptive schools." Other topics in the book include developing collaborative
norms, using conflict as a resource, working with unmanageable problems,
and building a true community. We learned a number of specific tools
from these authors, and included them in this web site and in our workshops.
Also:
The Skilled Facilitator, Roger Schwarz, pub. by Josey Bass,
1994
In addition to the focus on facilitators, the books covers why some groups
are more effective than others, how a facilitator can help, when to step
in, and the diagnosis of group behaviors.
Keys to Successful Meetings, Stephanie Hirsh (National Staff
Development Council) A useful paperback designed for educators.
A useful web site and organization:
National Staff Development Council (NSDC) www.nsdc.org
Meeting Toolbox
We like to keep these items in a plastic tub, ready to take to a
meeting.
20 sharpened pencils
20 fine-tip felt tips (Black)
Overhead markers (Colors and Black)
Whiteboard Markers (Colors and Black)
Dots (Red, Blue, Green, Yellow)
Folder of Meeting Skills overheads
Blank overheads
Pushpins
Magnets
Posters
Lined meeting sheets (Folded and Roll)
Tape (Scotch and Masking)
Index Cards, sentence strips
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