Harvard Day 6, Part 2: Consultancy Protocol

My small group at AOL was the best one (Group 9 Forever!).

We met each day to review and discuss what we learned. It was always a powerful debrief, and it always deepened my understanding of the day’s topics. My group members included leaders from private, public, charter, and religious schools from all over the US and even China.

As pre-work for the institute, each participant completed a reflection on a current problem of practice and possible steps to improve the issue.

On the afternoon of day six, we met in our small groups and completed a consultancy protocol focusing individually on each person’s problem of practice. We each got 20 minutes of time directed specifically to something we were committed to work on, and the collective brain power of Group Nine was more than I could have ever hoped for in my twenty minutes.

The protocol we used is adapted from the Tuning and Consultancy Protocols and published by the Great Schools Partnership. The copy I have says I can copy it with attribution, but I do not have permission to post it online. If you’re a CSISD person, come see me.

We allocated time for an initial presentation by the focus person, clarifying and probing questions, group discussion, and then presenter response. I appreciated the ability of our group to focus on the problem at hand and to offer ideas, thoughts, and possible solutions. Many years ago I participated in a similar protocol through the Schlechty Center regarding lesson planning. I enjoyed that very much, but found that this process opens itself to a wider variety of problem solving topics.

This is another of those things I can’t wait to use with staff and colleagues. What if we used our staff development time or faculty meetings to dive deeply into problems of practice and truly focus on one issue or challenge? What if our data team meetings (which often become quick problem-solution conversations rather than true deep thinking meetings) followed an abbreviated protocol that helped us maintain focus and productivity? I think it would help all involved parties to see these meetings as more valuable and applicable.

Finally, I want to mention that we didn’t do the consultancy on the first day that we met each other. While we had only known each other five days, they were intense, powerful days of collaboration. I was incredibly comfortable sharing with my group, and I believe they would all say the same.

Earlier in the week we heard Liz City talk briefly about Meeting Wise. It just occurred to me at this moment that the protocol meets many of the guidelines for good meetings! 

It all comes together, doesn’t it!