The authors examined the problem-solving practices of school teams engaged in implementing and improving schoolwide behavior support implementation. A multiple baseline design across 4 elementary school teams was used to assess the effects of the Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) training program (1 day of team training plus 2 coached…

Zero-tolerance policies have created schools that are often intolerant and destructive to children and communities. High rates of suspension and expulsion of students are associated with negative outcomes and school dropout. New approaches to staff development that create positive school communities are essential in stemming the…

Three strategies for implementing self-renewal by urban schools are discussed-- technical assistance, content training for staff, and process consultation between specialists and staff. (JD)

Adult learners bring a greater background of life experiences to the learning situation; may experience diminished learning rates, if not ability; and approach learning from personal or professional needs, not compulsion. Effective adult learning requires time for reflection and for application and manipulation of ideas. Principals dealing with…

Discusses current views on problem solving in the workplace, and identifies five areas for consideration: (1) knowledge representation; (2) verbally teaching strategy components of the skill--versus the learner acquiring it inductively through practice; (3) the principles of teaching procedures; (4) how to construct simulations; and (5) weighing…

Differences in men's and women's communication styles affect their interactions with each other. Organizations must be flexible enough to recognize situations in which traditional male values of competition may be most functional and those in which more collaborative, female strategies are more appropriate. Personnel training can help ensure that…

Quality circles can be defined as small groups of employees who meet regularly to solve problems and to find ways of improving aspects of their work. Quality circles are based on western ideas, but developed in Japan. Well-established guidelines for quality circles include support from management, clear reasons for the program, support of unions,…

When preparing middle-level students for the information Age, educators must consider staff-development needs in the areas of computer technology and portfolio design; classroom restructuring for project-based curriculum; integrated subject disciplines; and alignment of the portfolio approach to school, district, state, and parental expectations…

Quality circles attempt to satisfy both task and personal needs through staff involvement in solving work-related problems. This paper summarizes quality circle theory, applies it to school settings, and suggests a framework for introducing the process to educational institutions. After briefly defining quality circles, the article presents two…

Problem-based learning (PBL) has gained credibility and some use in institutions of higher education. This paper provides a brief conceptual discussion of PBL and the idea of "problem," and describes one learning model that incorporates PBL as a method for moving students to high levels of learning. The second portion of the paper describes one…

A fertile area for the improvement of mathematics achievement in the United States is in staff development for multicultural education. Multicultural mathematics is best defined by what it is not; it is not ethnomathematics, nor simply Afrocentrism or Eurocentrism. Multicultural mathematics furthers the multicultural goals of the school system…

A study was conducted by a National Education Association (NEA) panel of experiences in three local school districts with state and local regulations that approximated the provisions of Public Law (PL) 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act). Selected testimony and case studies from educators, parents, and children in Des Moines…

The preliminary findings of the evaluation of the training program, Creative Problem Solving, are presented. The training was provided through the Blumberg Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Special Education at Indiana State University. Twenty-one state and county child service coordinators participated in the training on a voluntary basis.…

The aims of this conference were to promote information literacy as a means of personal and national advancement in today's information-dependent society; to emphasize information literacy as an essential competency for lifelong learning; to ensure that all delegates understand information literacy and its importance for the economic and social…

This final report describes activities of the Early Integration Training Project (EITP), which provided multidisciplinary inservice training to child-care personnel in Ohio to facilitate the inclusion of young children (birth through age 5) with disabilities in typical community early childhood programs. The 3-year project has provided a 15-hour…