Acknowledgement of Sources
We acknowledge that these workshop materials came from many sources.  We try to give credit where we can, although some of the information has been around so long that's it's difficult to trace it back to the source.   Our main sources are listed below.

Bill Kentta is Curriculum and Staff Development Ccoordinator, Eugene, Oregon Public Schools.  He has published articles and given many workshops (including  those at the American School in Japan) on organizational development in schools.  A special interest of his is the use of cadres:  specially trained facilitators in school districts who help groups problem-solve and reach consensus.  Bill has been a mentor and friend of ours for years, and we owe our interest in this topic to him.   He can be reached at  Kentta@4J.Lane.edu. 


Robert Garmston and Bruce Wellman are well known in the education community for their work in developing and facillitating collaborative groups, as well as Cognitive Coaching and other topics.  As a team, and indivdually, they are regular presenters for ASCD, at EARCOS, CERCOS and other overseas conferences, at their own summer institutes, and for schools worldwide.  We have heard them speak a number of times and always come away not only with new insights and techniques, but also renewed belief in the potential of schools that embrace these concepts.

They can be reached at
Four Hats Press,
337 Guadalupe Drive, El Dorado Hills, CA  95762      (916) 933-2727


There are many books on the subject of meetings, organizational development, team building, and related topics.  Some are excellent, some are OK, and some are not useful to educators.
We will list some of our favorites below:


Meetings That Work! by 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 byThomas 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 by 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, for those wanting more:
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.
Facilitating With Ease by Ingrid Bens (Josey Bass)
Keys to Successful Meetings, Stephanie Hirsh (National Staff Development Council)
How To Make Meetings Work, by Michael Doyle and David Strauss (Jove books)
This little paperback was written in 1976, but it is amazingly current and useful.
The Team Building Tool Kit, by Deborah Harrington-Mackin, American Management Association, 1994      Although this book includes other topics related to teams, it contains good material on team meetings.
 
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