Quietly and without warning or government edict, TeachMeets have begun to take hold of Britain’s schools. With the constant reshuffling of policy getting in the way of progress for pupils, more and more schools are taking matters into their own hands and joining the TeachMeets journey.

What is fascinating to observe is the number of teachers willing to give up their own time and energy to exchange ideas with one another in this exciting new format for professional development. Here we explore the possibilities and give you an insight into how your school can successfully form its own boarding party.

The theme for events can be tight and specific, for example ‘the Raspberry Pi in education’, or general, like ‘Engaging Learners through Technology’. You might even prefer to be a maverick and have no theme at all.

There are two main types of presentations: micro presentations, which are 7 minutes long; and nano-presentations, which are just two minutes long. The micro ones are either live or live broadcast. They focus on school change initiatives, new methods of teaching or leadership processes. Nano-presentations usually just focus on one key idea.

The pace is fast and furious. After three micro-presentations, one head in the audience asked for an apathy break so he could take time to digest the exciting information pouring forth.

New terms explained

Micro-presentation — a presentation lasting no longer than 7 minutes. Your idea can be presented in whatever format you choose.

Nano-presentation — 2-minute sound-bite, this presentation too can be in any format.

Enthusiastic lurkers — if you are attending a TeachMeet just to watch, you are a ‘lurker’. However, not all organisers like this phraseology and many prefer the more traditional term ‘audience’. Whichever word is used, it is usually preceded by the word ‘enthusiastic’. After all, TeachMeets are all about open minds and inspiration!

Apathy break — a break in the evening to give everyone’s brains a rest from the flow of inspiration and allow them to digest the information. SR

Pros of TeachMeets for CPD:

• Fast and furious: lots of ideas in short space of time
• Variety of choice: from subject specific to general
• Practical and immediately implementable suggestions
• Free: neither delegates nor presenters pay or get paid
• Showcase opportunity for hosting school, a way to lift local profile
• Chance to be front edge, not constrained by policy
• Free thinking encouraged, presenters don’t need to be ‘on-message’
• Opportunity to form networks and engage social media for ongoing development and conversations

Cons of TeachMeets for CPD:

• Favour speed over depth and reflection, which have their place
• Short slots mean some presenters attempt to squeeze in too much and opt for talking faster rather than reducing content, so coherence can be lost
• Technology whizzes tend to represent themselves better, even if their ideas are weaker
• Need for further analysis and investigation following pitches, which are often not backed up with notes so it is not always clear where to get further information