TeachMeets are a worldwide phenomenon, which have their roots in Scotland.
There’s a Wikipedia page which shares some of the background and you can even look back in time and witness the birth of the name.
Essentially, TeachMeets are unconferences which are organised by teachers, for teachers. They’re a grassroots, not for profit, movement which aims to make it easier for teachers to learn from each other.
TeachMeets can take a variety of formats but they tend to have some key principles, which include:
- Open to all and free.
- Organised by classroom teachers.
- They normally, but not exclusively, consist of a mixture of 7 minute ‘micro’ and 2 minute ‘nano’ presentations. There are variations to the format with round table discussions and longer format learning conversations as additions or alternatives.
- Presenters are chosen at random, and times are strictly adhered to.
- In the early days, everyone who attended was expected to be ready to share…at the very least, the opportunity to present should be open to all.
- Use of PowerPoint, or equivalent, is strongly discouraged.
- Commercial presentations are a big no no, the purpose is to share practice, not sell products.
- Sponsorship might be required to make the event happen, but it should be kept to a minimum and sponsors do not get a presentation slot.
Since its birth in 2006, there have been many TeachMeets in Scotland, most of them organised through the UK wide TeachMeet Wiki. For various reasons there appears to have been a decrease in the number of TeachMeets in Scotland and the purpose of this site is to try and help more to be organised by providing advice and an easier to use site.
So if you’re thinking of organising your own TeachMeet, you’ll find some general advice here, and some specific advice on how to use this site here.
Happy sharing!