The Power of Protocols: An Educator’s Guide to Better Practice

by Joseph P. McDonald, Nancy Mohr, Alan Dichter

The use of protocols has quickly spread from conferences and workshops to everyday school and university settings. Now in its third edition, this perennial bestseller features substantial updates that take into account recent developments in the field of facilitative leadership. The authors have also added eleven totally new protocols, including the Peer Review Protocol and Looking at Student Work with Equity in Mind. This essential teaching and professional development tool includes: step-by-step descriptions of how educators can use protocols to study together, work on problems of practice, teach well, and explore students' work, explanations of the particular purpose of each protocol, discussions of the value that educators have found in using them, and helpful tips for facilitators, a free supplement on the Teachers College Press website with "Abbreviated Protocols" that can be downloaded and customized to suit each facilitator's needs.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Leadership

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the top 5 books every school leader should read.

[Arnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the third edition, which has some worthwhile additions from earlier ones. Great book for how to structure and facilitate discussions in educational settings. Most of the techniques can be applied to settings other than education. I found the print fine and size difficult to read.

[Rachel D’Onofrio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice technical solutions to help with difficult meetings

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conversations in team or department settings need to be constrained in order to heighten participation. Protocols, just as in IT, are methods that allow members to effectively "talk" with one another to ensure that different perspectives and ideas are heard. The majority of the book consists of explanations of the various activities (opening a meeting, closing, deepening the conversation, etc) that could be used.

[Mar · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a 3rd edition 2013, which is probably better to read. This was fine, but updates are generally good.

Gives reasons to use them and then specific guides for conducting protocols.

Useful if you use them.

[LB · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is a bit thick, but the ideas are worth examining.

[K Flewelling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful information about how to introduce protocols (so many protocols) into educational environments, both for students and for educators.

[Julia McBride · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a nice why for the value of protocols for building professional culture around learning together.

[Shaharizan Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have used many of these protocols with my fellow pedagogues and they work. :D