Using teams is an effective way to meet the challenges of breaking down teacher isolation, halting curriculum fragmentation, and creating a learning organization. This guide is designed to help school leaders train groups to become teams, guide them to become high-performance teams, and empower them to become technology-based teams. It contains…

This booklet was designed to help families, school professionals, and students understand the function and purpose of comprehensive school improvement. It is part of the SILC Road initiative, which was founded by several education groups in Colorado for the purpose of helping schools educate all students. The volume focuses on the elements of the…

Crisis management teams in a rural New York State school district include 6 to 10 members. Each group must go through three days of intensive training that prepares them to deal with the media, legal issues, students, parents, and peers, while maintaining as much academic normalcy as possible in crisis situations. Lists crisis team…

Experience shows that teamwork produces powerful results. Working in a team environment, however, presents its own set of challenges. This handbook provides U.S. Department of Education managers and employees with guidance to develop high-performing teams. Based on input from agency employees throughout the country, the handbook was designed to…

Although simulation is among the least common of the many methods consultants employ to stimulate team development, realistic simulation can help in the diagnosis of management teams. Simulations fill a gap in the repertoire of data collection methods for organizational diagnosis and development by affording an opportunity for direct observation…

In recognition of the limitations of isolated decision making, teamwork has emerged as a preferred approach for educating students both with and without disabilities. The Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach (VISTA) process described in this manual offers ways to think about and implement many of the tenets of collaborative teamwork to…

The document outlines steps in the process of developing intervention assistance teams, which are described as school-based, problem-solving groups whose purpose is to assist teachers with intervention strategies for dealing with students' learning needs and interests. Objectives include the following: (1) to enable the school district's…

The Entry Year Assistance Program of Educational Service Unit #11 in Nebraska is a staff development project to train mentor teachers, entry-year teachers, and school administrators in small, rural school districts. Schools that participate in the program select a team consisting of a mentor teacher, an administrator, and an entry-year teacher.…

Reports on a study of the impact of cooperative learning techniques, compared with traditional Navy instructional methods, on Navy air traffic controller trainees. Finds that cooperative learning methods improved higher level reasoning skills and resulted in no failures among the trainees. (CFR)

Reports on subtle and intricate relationships among hierarchy, competition, and collaboration in medical education, with specific emphasis given to the daily working and teaching rounds conducted by attending physicians. Addresses the interdisciplinary education with health professionals, other than physicians, for three levels of participants in…

Emphasizes the need for school systems to develop planned strategies for dealing with a suicide. Presents guidelines to be used in the development of a postvention plan including specific suggestions in the areas of team development, inservice programs, faculty contact, crisis centers, individual classroom procedures, home visitation, special…

Although 80% of all administrative decisions are made at the department level, many community college department chairs accept their positions without a clear understanding of the demands or training in leadership skills. It is critical to a productive department, however, that chairs possess the leadership skills to shape their departments into…

This book introduces newcomers to the concept of facilitation, and it presents a critical analysis of established and current theory on facilitation for existing practitioners. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) emergence of the field of facilitation; (2) development of facilitation in management; (3) development of facilitation in…

Designed for managers and workers in virtual organizations as well as adult and continuing educators in higher education, associations, and private sector, this book outlines a customer-driven performance management system and explains its use as a development tool. The characteristics of virtual organizations are described, and the rationale for…

Standards-based education is likely to remain prevalent in education far into the future. Effective leaders must protect and support teachers, who are the heart of every school. Chapter 1, "The First Key: Understanding Motivation," explores the importance of motivation in promoting change in schools. Teachers and staff can choose to…