IMPORTANCE OF MINUTES

Effective meetings might greatly impact student learning. With more effective meetings, teachers might be better organized, there might be increased team productivity, more time for a focus on instruction and student needs. Read the following article about the importance of minutes.

Word Why are minutes important?

What was insightful? What captured your interest? How is student learning impacted?

OVERVIEW OF MINUTES and COMMUNICATION

Record keeping is necessary. Succinct minutes that capture the purpose of the meeting and its agreed outcomes are a record that can be referred back to and be used for follow up purposes later.

Good minutes are concise and to the point, but at the same time, they do not leave out critical information.

An agenda is a plan for a meeting; the minutes are what actually happened. It is very effective to use the agenda template to record minutes, then the agenda and minutes become one document after the meeting. Agendas and minutes are addressed separately because teams may very well be using agendas, and not minutes, or vice versa. Think of a group in your school that meets regularly. Does the group regularly keep minutes that accurately reflect what happened at the meeting?

UNPACKING MINUTES and COMMUNICATION

Characteristics of Effective Minutes

Agendas can also serve as a template for minutes. Meeting minutes should include:

Purpose of the meeting.

Time and place of meeting.

List of attendees.

Decisions made and actions that were agreed upon.

Actions that require follow-up, including person responsible and expected completion date.

Look through minutes that you have from other meetings. Compare to the above characteristics. How do your minutes compare?

Word View sample meeting minutes. How do your meeting minutes compare?

Characteristics of Effective Communication

  • Central place to store documents (minutes won’t get lost in inbox or on server).
  • Easy access for all participants to provide updates and comments.
  • Distributed to and utilized by all appropriate stakeholders.
  • Attention drawn to action items and follow up.

Think about meeting minutes your teams use. Who sees these minutes after the meeting? Make a list of all those who are impacted by this group, even those who aren’t on the team. Do they receive meeting minutes? Do they attend to meeting minutes when they receive them?

Collaboration impacts student learning, specifically closing the achievement gap.

Depending upon the setting, either electronic or traditional means of communication may be most appropriate. For example, in some settings, minutes received via email may be quickly read, then saved easily, if those in the system are savvy with electronic storage. Conversely, some email communication may simply be deleted. In that case, a bulletin board posted in a conspicuous place with all meeting minutes may be a better strategy.

Attention should be given to setting expectations for the attention given to follow up. What responsibilities do principals have to provide feedback and demonstrate awareness of what has happened in meetings? What are the responsibilities for district personnel? Or for those building personnel responsible for coordinating assessment timelines? This is about an effective communication structure, and a culture that values shared responsibility.

MINUTES and COMMUNICATION IN PRACTICE

Technology Resources

All of the following resources offer different ways of using shared documents, such as meeting minutes and agendas. Store and access shared documents using Wiggio or LiveBinder. Edit shared documents using Dropbox or Google Drive. Or create your own team website using Weebly.

  • Dropbox – Free account, limited space – 2GB.
  • Padlet – Free, can upload files, links, etc.
  • Weebly – Use the free version of Weebly to create your own websites, or use the pay versions (starting at $4/month) for more options. Templates are easy to use.
  • Livebinders – Use Livebinders to create your own online 3-ring binder that you can share.
  • Google Drive – Free account, no storage limits if you use their products, i.e. docs, sheets, slide, sites. Easy to share and collaborate on documents.

MINUTES and COMMUNICATION IN ACTION

Next Steps with Minutes

Develop an effective structure for recording and saving meeting minutes, and a communication structure that ensures communication to team members, as well as others. The outline of meeting minutes will most likely be determined by the agenda that the building has agreed to use. The communication structure established will also be specific to the building/district. Within your team, outline expectations for communication, as well as sharing of information with other buildings in the cohort.