Essential Agreements - part 2

Yesterday I was thinking about being a workshop leader and drawing up essential agreements for how to conduct a workshop.  Today I'm thinking about what leaders expect from the participants.  Just before I left for our Christmas break I was talking about this with another educator who will be running a workshop right at the end of the Christmas holidays.  She told me that the teachers have been told they need to come back from their holidays 2 days early for this workshop and she was nervous that they wouldn't be very motivated to participate having been forced to attend and lose part of their break.  Here are some essential agreements it would be good to have participants take on board (though obviously it would be better to have them actually draw up these agreements themselves so that they have ownership of them).  All are based on the IB Learner Profile.


Communicator
We will take responsibility for being active communicators, both receptively and expressively.

Knowledgeable
We will be responsible for completing pre-reading and will actively share the knowledge that we bring and acquire both during and after the workshop.


Open minded
We will be willing to try new ideas and practices without judgement.


Principled
We will respect the essential agreements and show respect towards different points of view/cultures.

Risk- Taker
We will flexibly particpate in all aspects of the workshop.

Caring
As caring participants we will show empathy, sensitivity and respect for our peers. 

Open-Minded
We will be willing to try new ideas and practices without judgement. 

Thinker
We will connects school experience to theory and undertandings being developed. Through critical thinking and problem solving skills, we will organize information and understanding in order to apply strategies and understandings in the classroom.

Balanced
We will keep a balance between actively sharing, actively listening and volunterring (adapting a variety of roles) whilst taking part in a range of learning experiences. 

Inquirer
As inquirers we come to the workshop ready to question the programme as well as our own practice and we are engaged in probing into the 'so what?' of learning. 

Reflective 
We will make mearning by connecting and applying prior knowledge to new understandings by identifying tensions and adressing them.


Photo Credit:  Chairs by Pieter Musterd