A flipped staff meeting traditionally includes the administrators sharing in advance with the staff the purpose of the meeting. Often times the teachers will receive the agenda, articles, or other documents ahead of time. We were a little more secretive for this flipped staff meeting. We wanted to build up the excitement for the teachers. Below is the invitation we sent the teachers before the staff meeting.
The purpose of a flipped staff meeting is to allow teachers more time to collaborate and make the meeting relevant and worthwhile. Before the meeting we gave the teachers the sheet below and gave a quick explanation of what they were about to learn.
To make the training extra special we had our students be the teachers. We brought the students together after school one day and gave them all the coding toys we had purchased. We explained each toy to the students and simply let them play with them. Tiffany and I were amazed how much faster the students figured out the coding toys compared to us. They absolutely LOVED it!
We also had them practice their presentation skills. To assist our students on this, I created the sheet below. It is a quick and simple reference guide on how to present.
We also had them practice their presentation skills. To assist our students on this, I created the sheet below. It is a quick and simple reference guide on how to present.
As we were training the students, we made them promise they would not say a word to the teachers about what we were doing. They were our Top Secret Agents and we depended on them to keep our secret. The students actually kept it a secret! They had me and Tiffany, my principal, cracking up. Even my own child fussed at me when I almost let it slip. They definitely took their job very seriously.
I was so proud of our students! They presented their coding "toy" and were so well spoken. The ages of students presenting ranged from 6-9 years old. They were able to explain to the teachers what coding was and how to operate their product. The students showed the teachers how to use Ozobot, Osmo Coding, Robot Mouse, Dot, and CodeApillar. We had 5 different stations set up and the teachers rotated through each station.
After the training I created a sign-out sheet station for teachers to check out these fun new toys. For now we have one of each coding toy and will purchase more based on how often teachers use them. I have learned that it is also important to follow-up with teachers after you do trainings like this. Encourage them to take this new learning back into their classroom.
Overall, the flipped staff meeting was a success. If I were to do one thing differently, I would make sure to do this type of training in a larger space so that the teachers had more room to spread out. I can't wait for our next flipped staff meeting! Our hope is our teachers will look forward to staff meetings and walk away with new learning that they can implement into their classroom immediately.
