45-7 Group Agreements and Other Ways to Run Inclusive and Accessible Discussions: A Recommendation from the Planetary Workforce Integration, Development, and Empowerment (PWIDE) Community Alliance

Session: Surface Processes Across the Solar System (Posters)

Poster Booth No.: 45

Presenting Author:

Shōshe Cole

Authors:

Cole, Shōshe B.¹, Knicely, Kas², Piatek, Jennifer L.³, Rathbun, Julie A.⁴, Stadermann, Amanda C.⁵, and the members of PWIDE Community Alliance, ⁶

(1) Space Science Institute, Boulder, , (2) Alaska Satellite Facility, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, , (3) Central Connecticut State University, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, New Britain, , (4) CCAPS, Cornell University, Ithaca, , (5) Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, , (6) ,

Abstract:

Most meetings, including classroom discussions, operate under unspoken/unwritten rules or accepted norms. Making these rules and norms explicit in written form enables every participant to understand expectations and better contribute to group efforts.  Meeting structure will vary by size and  purpose, but should always be discussed by all group members (for smaller groups) or by organizers. Incorporating explicit rules in classroom discussions prepares students to participate in group meetings, whether employed in academia, government, or industry.

As a volunteer group with variable meeting attendance, the Planetary Workforce Integration, Development, and Empowerment (PWIDE) Community Alliance (https://workforce.psi.edu/pwideca/) uses several explicit agreements to make our meetings as inclusive as possible. We present some examples to encourage others to adopt similar agreements for their classrooms or group meetings, along with mnemonics that we use to help us recall these: 

 - ELMO (Enough already, Let’s Move On)

 - WAIT (Why Am/Aren’t I Talking)

 - There are no stupid questions, only mean answers

 - Ouch/oops

 - Listen to understand, not to speak

 - Give people time to respond

Our list changes as our group evolves and based on member suggestions. In addition to the above agreements, we have adopted additional changes to our meeting format: 

(1) Meetings start 5 minutes after the hour and end 5 minutes before the hour so members have time between meetings for self-care and to prepare for their next commitment. 

(2) We begin each meeting with a land and labor acknowledgement. Members take turns presenting these to reflect the range of locations and experiences within our group, and we provide several online resources for developing land and labor acknowledgements.

(3) We review our group agreements aloud during each meeting to give time for members to review and accept them, including discussing potential additions, before proceeding to the main agenda.  

This is not an exhaustive list of possible agreements, and these agreements may not be useful for every group. We will present details of what has worked for us in order to encourage other groups to use these as a starting point to develop their own discussion guidelines.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 2, 2026

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