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D. Meetings
Regular meetings are a key part of the communication,
enrichment, and training for Bonner Scholars. Meetings
can range from two people planning a project to the
entire Bonner family attending a training session led
by an outside facilitator. Although special projects
will require special meetings, a program the size of
the Bonner Scholars Program should have standard meeting
times and places set for effective operation of the
Program.
In addition to the required regular meetings of Bonner
Scholars described below, Bonner Directors are encouraged
to meet one-on-one with Bonner Scholars at least once
each semester and more often for those students who
are having academic or personal difficulties.
1. All-Bonner Group Meetings
Regular meetings should be organized for (and by) Bonner
Scholars for education, training, and enrichment purposes.
Effective Bonner Scholars meetings can be characterized
by the following six attributes:
- Participants have a strong sense of belonging or
unity. The Bonner Scholars are the central players
in the meeting, so they should know that they belong
there. There is a sense of mission and cooperation.
Scholars want to be a part of the group and see a
common purpose. In essence, there is a strong commitment
and loyalty to the group, which translates into good
attendance at each session, prepared and informed
members, and a willingness to work hard for the group
and for self.
- Everybody participates. In a good meeting, everyone
feels comfortable contributing. There is a shared
interaction among members. Regardless of actual status
or position, each Scholar feels that all remarks will
be considered by the rest of the group. No one dominates
or monopolizes the discussion.
- Discussion follows a clear plan. Effective meetings
have clear purposes, published agendas, and prepared
members who stick to the purpose and stay on course.
Everyone knows why the meeting was called, what the
group is trying to accomplish, and where it stands
in relation to the task. Keeping the discussion on
the subject allows for efficient use of time.
- Conflicts are managed. Whenever we meet in groups
to give or share information, make decisions, generate
ideas, or solve problems, differences of opinion will
occur. When meetings are operating properly, we will
feel free to disagree. Organizations that stifle conflict
restrict the good ideas collegial bickering or friction
can produce and the learning that is inevitable. On
the other hand, meetings must not deteriorate into
aggressive free-for-alls. In effective meetings, people
can disagree while maintaining respect for one another.
- Task and people issues are considered. In effective
meetings, the group does its work while maintaining
good relationships between the people involved. Both
the task and the morale of the group are important
considerations. A group that is all work and no play
will quickly burn out. Nor should a meeting be all
fun and games and no work. The more that people like
coming to meetings, the more productive the meetings
can be. Meeting effectiveness is a combination of
productivity and enjoyment.
- The group is aware of its process. Effective groups
have ways to examine themselves and their progress.
At times, they step back from their job and look at
their procedures, membership, and internal communication.
Members can suggest alternative meeting times, propose
new ways of operating, and comment on group problems.
This is the only way that a group can solve its functional
problems. By monitoring the group process, members
can make sure meetings are purposeful, organized,
enjoyable, and productive.
2. Reflection Meetings
Henry David Thoreau once said, “It is not enough
to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, ‘What
are we busy about?’ ” Reflection is a critical
process of learning derived from questioning, examining,
and analyzing events and experiences. It is the time
we spend thinking, evaluating, and assessing the work
that we do, what it means, and how it affects us and
the world. By practicing critical reflection, we begin
to deepen our understanding of the issues, make connections,
gain new skills, and become more effective in our work.
Commonly thought of as an inward, passive process,
reflection can be dynamic when paired with service,
becoming very much an outward, active process. Values
exploration, sharing fears and successes, and recognizing
the connection between individual efforts and those
of other groups, cities, nations, and cultures are all
elements of reflection that draw on the community service
experience, transforming it into a learning opportunity.
Students may be encouraged to reflect through:
- Journals, particularly enhanced through definition
and explanation of the process as it may apply to
Bonner Scholars’ reflections:
- Specify how many entries per week and the maximum
length of each, usually no more than a page per
entry;
- Assure writers of the confidential nature of
the journal, and do not violate that confidence;
always get writer’s permission before you
quote or even obliquely refer to an entry;
- Use the journal information, not as a means
of evaluating or judging the writer, but ofexamining
their experience;
- Leave the writer’s grammar or spelling
alone;
- Make brief, cogent, written remarks/questions
in response to journals;
- Receive and return journals promptly according
to a pre-set schedule;
- Encourage students to understand the difference
between observation and interpretation and have
them separate the two components in each entry;
- Periodically pose a provocative statement or
question to which you want students to respond
in a journal entry;
- Allow some room for students to express to
you, via their journals, what’s going on
inside them (not necessarily related to the Bonner
Scholars Program);
- When it seems appropriate, invite (but don’t
require) the writer to talk with you about something
in the journal (the “distance” and
“facelessness” of written communication
may need to continue for a long time before a
face-to-face conversation can be comfortable or
productive).
- Selected brief readings, copied and distributed
to students for reading prior to discussion;
- Periodic opportunities for students to verbalize
for each other, collectively or in small groups, what
they are learning, their questions, etc. as related
to their service experiences.
3. Site-Based Team Meetings
Bonner students and other student leaders on campus
are often organized into site-based teams for popular
service placements.
Resource Documents
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