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Flipping Out for Faculty Meetings



This year my classroom grew from about 25 students to about 665 students, as I made the transition from sixth grade teacher to elementary principal. It has been an exciting and enjoyable transition. It has also been interesting being on the other side of things. For example, being on the other side of faculty meetings.

September's faculty meeting I did the traditional approach. Scheduled it. Sent out an email reminder. Met with the faculty and started going over what I needed to say, offering very little time for discussion. But then I did change things up about half way through. I introduced our district's Google Expedition VR kits. I took them on a few virtual reality field trips and showed them how they could be used with any subject. Then before I knew it, it was time for the students to arrive.

As I prepared for my October faculty meeting, I thought about how I introduced the teachers to the Google Expeditions VR kits and how teachers in grades 3, 5, and 6 used those a few times each with their classes already. Both teachers and students said how much they enjoyed using the VR kits and how powerful of a learning opportunity it was for them. But I also thought about how little time I offered for discussion with the teachers at the faculty meeting. I wanted to give them a chance to discuss, but I also wanted to give them time to think about the topics before discussing.

So I flipped my faculty meeting. I sent out an email detailing the topics I needed to cover and then attached an optional Google Form that gave teachers an opportunity to add input on each topic, as well as a space to add anything else they wanted to share. When the teachers walked into October's faculty meeting they knew exactly what I needed them to and they had an opportunity to share with me their thoughts on the topics. But they were also in for another new experience. They were given a Breakout EDU to do. Only two teachers were familiar with Breakout EDU so it was new to just about all. It was great to see them look in bewilderment and wonder what to do with those locked boxes in front of them, however they ended up working very well together as they figured out how to unlock all the locks and open the box. Once they opened the box, they could leave the faculty meeting and more information about Breakout EDU was posted on our school's Google Classroom for their reference.

As I look to November's faculty meeting, I will continue to flip the meeting and show teachers new ideas, but also allow time for discussion. Being on the other side of things, like faculty meetings, I have taken some risks in trying new approaches and sharing new ideas, but I need to model that risk taking if I am asking my teachers to do the same. And while I am on the other side of some things, my teachers and I are still all in this together, and that is what I hope for them to see as I try different, new approaches.

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