Teaching Parliamentary Procedure: Then vs. Now

Having had the opportunity to conduct a workshop for FFA members on parliamentary procedure not once, but twice, was an amazing experience that was filled with learning opportunities for both me and the students. I love interacting with members while we work on honing our parli skills. I facilitated these two workshops at different times. The first one took place while I was serving as a state FFA officer, while the second occurred after I had retired and was taking a class on parliamentary procedure #agedparli. After facilitating the second time, I realized a drastic difference in how I facilitated and the content I used to teach the students.

Similar in both workshops, I had about a forty minute window to facilitate the "basics of parli pro". First of all, "wow". How in the world do you fit parli pro into just forty short minutes? I understand it's the basic level, but there's so much to it that it was a daunting task. Together with Thomas Gabel, we developed a workshop that we thought could rock the socks off any parliamentarian around. We designed the workshop to meet the needs of our members and the criteria that would be covered at the State Legislative Leadership Conference. We included an activity on agendas and basic motions, including an opportunity to practice in a "mock meeting". Overall, we felt the students walked away with enough knowledge to comfortably participate in the conference. Now for a disclaimer: I knew parliamentary procedure, but nowhere near an accredited level. I understood how to chair a meeting comfortably and explain simple rules and procedures.

Jumping ahead, when I was asked to facilitate a parliamentary procedure workshop at the annual AFY leadership conference, I jumped at the opportunity. Immediately after I said yes though, a dozen thoughts about the workshop swirled around in my mind. I had forty minutes, forty SHORT minutes to teach students the basics of parli pro. I had some work to do. My biggest challenge when developing and facilitating this time around was determining what was important and what wasn't. At this point, I had been in AEE 216 #agedparli for a number of weeks, and my parli knowledge had grown exponentially. I understood concepts, ideas, and practices much better than I had before. It seemed like everything was important for the students to know. I settled on three things that I thought were very important to learn: what parliamentary procedure is and why we use it, the importance of agendas, and basic motions that may come up in a meeting setting.

Using this outline, the students participated in multiple activities that enhanced these learning objectives. I believe in practice by doing, so at the end of the workshop, the students had the opportunity to act independently while running a mock meeting. I sat in the back as the parliamentarian and provided answer to questions as they came up.

Overall, the workshop at the AFY conference was a success. I was worried I had failed the students because I did not feel proud of my teaching. After the conference however, students approached me saying how much they learned. I received several inquiries to come to individual schools to work with local FFA chapters in parli pro. I can't wait to continue to work with members by helping them understand and use parliamentary procedure.

From the time I conducted my first parli pro workshop to the second, I had learned more about the topic than I thought possible. My knowledge of the subject helped better prepare me for a successful workshop at the AFY leadership conference. I can't wait to see where I encounter parli and members in the future! #agedparli #bob #RONR