Bonner Program Operations

Meetings

All-Bonner Group Meetings

• 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.

Reflection Meetings

• 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.

Site-Based Team Meetings

Resource Documents

• Bonner Student Development Model (Powerpoint)
• Strategic Community Partnerships (Powerpoint)

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