Many teachers experience fatigue during team meetings, viewing them as bureaucratic exercises rather than valuable professional development. This challenge has prompted education leaders to rethink how schools conduct these gatherings.
Elisa MacDonald, an educator and consultant with three decades of experience, has focused on transforming team meetings into spaces for authentic adult learning. Drawing from both her classroom experience and coaching work, MacDonald developed frameworks outlined in her books, The Skillful Team Leader and Intentional Moves, which were included in EdWeek’s professional development reading list released in July. MacDonald emphasizes that effective team meetings should directly impact student achievement and shift instructional practices among educators.
According to MacDonald’s approach, leaders must fundamentally reframe their role during team gatherings. Rather than simply facilitating agendas, leaders should view themselves as facilitators of adult learning. This shift involves measuring whether meetings produce tangible changes in teaching practice and improvements for students. Teams should establish clear, measurable priorities—whether focused on test score improvements or changes to instructional models like co-teaching—to give members direction and purpose.
Logistical considerations also matter significantly. Leaders should carefully select team composition when possible, determine meeting frequency and duration based on the type of collaborative work needed, and ensure adequate time for activities like data analysis and peer observations. Additionally, leaders should establish protocols that invite diverse perspectives and constructive dissent. Rather than discouraging disagreement, effective teams use structured approaches to examine differing viewpoints through data-driven conversations, removing the perception that dissent reflects personal opposition and instead framing it as collaborative problem-solving.
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