![]() Plan out your timeline and decide on due dates for each chapter.STEP 6: Decide How You Will Facilitate the Book Studyįacilitating a book study doesn’t have to be complicated if you plan and organize. This piece is critical before you move on to step six. Flag the sections that you expect could meet resistance or disagreement. So read, take notes, and begin to picture all the ways this book study could be facilitated, and how you will divide up the chapters and material. Novel idea, I know! If you wing it, or just stay a chapter ahead, you will fail to connect the dots to the bigger picture and your overall goal. ![]() Yes, you read that correctly, read and plan the study before you start. STEP 5: Leaders Read the Book and Plan the Study Use a digital tool to do the work for you. If your group is over 20, DO NOT send this out as a mass email and ask for replies! What a waste of time. Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms also offer some easy-to-use polling options, depending on how you communicate with your group. Or with larger groups, you can create a Google Form for voting. Voting on a book can be fun! This can be something you do as a group, face-to-face, where you offer a “tasting” of the book options. (Looking for ideas? Check out my recommended book list.) ![]() Then share the choices with your participants for a vote. My suggestion is to have the leaders of the book study pick three to five books that fit the needs of your specific audience. Give your participants a choice! If you want buy-in and to truly effect change in your organization, you must give the participants a say in what they read. Once you have defined your audience and selected your leaders, it is time to select a book. STEP 4: Choosing a Book for Your Book Study Make sure every one of the leaders is on the same page and in agreement before you move to step four. Think carefully about the vision for your organization, school, or group, and connect this book study to your mission and goals. ![]() Is your goal to introduce innovative ideas?.Is your goal to help teachers learn how to develop better assessments?.Is your goal to help shift the mindset of your faculty?.Is your goal to get teachers to make the shift to facilitator?.Is your goal to help teachers become more comfortable with technology? Is a book going to do that? Maybe.A meaningful book study should always start with the why, just like the learning in our classrooms. Why are you doing this book study? Is it because your admin says you have to do two book studies per year? I hope not. This doesn’t have to be complicated, but in my experience, a book study without a leader can often lead to less participation and far less implementation. Better yet, form a collaborative partnership or team to take the reigns and help the group navigate. You need to ensure that someone is taking the lead so this whole shebang doesn’t fall apart. If you are unsure who will be participating, send out a Google Form survey. Trust me, nothing is worse than being forced to read a book about something that doesn’t really pertain to your role as an educator. If not, consider forming multiple groups to better meet the needs of everyone. Think through all of the possibilities for your audience and be sure you are forming a group with meaning. Who will be reading this book? Is it open to educators at all levels and subject areas? Or is this a study for administrators? What type of administrators? Maybe this is a study for instructional coaches, a tech team, or even one that involves parents and the community.
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