"School Budget Hold'em" is a game designed to help school districts rethink their budgeting process. It evolved out of Education Resource Strategies' (ERS) experience working with large urban districts around the country. "School Budget Hold'em" offers a completely new approach--one that can turn the budgeting process into a long-term visioning…

Describes currently active rural women's consciousness-raising group in eastern Nebraska, relating this group's experiences to a model of group development. Emphasizes group process and content evidenced as the group was established and passed through beginning, conflict, and cohesive stages of development. Relates changes in participants' values…

This guide is intended to provide assistance in developing, organizing, and operating vocational instructional program (VIP) advisory committees. It is designed to be useful for secondary or postsecondary programs that offer training for an occupation or cluster of occupations. The guide is a compilation of suggestions, illustrations, and…

The concept of community in higher education is broadly defined yet often exclusively linked with the undergraduate student population. Based on a two-year qualitative study at Oregon State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this article explores the notion of doctoral student community. Community as experienced by science…

Created in response to requests from organizations across the country that wanted help in establishing teams for many purposes, this guide is an easy-to-use recipe book on the essential areas of teaming. It does not cover all the aspects of teaming, but focusses on the essential components of team development necessary for a team to function. The…

In today's workplace, organizations are moving from top-down, hierarchical decision making to team decisions based on consensus. This guide offers advice on setting the stage for team consensus to grow and on establishing an environment that fosters consensus. Topics of the four sections, the components of full consensus, are: (1) "Purposeful…

This document presents one module in a set of training resources for trainers to use with parents and/or professionals serving children with disabilities; focus is on community advisory committee leadership training. The modules stress content and activities that build skills and offer resources to promote parent-professional collaboration. Each…

This guidebook is one in the Target Topic Series developed to highlight issues and concerns related to effective community education operation. It is intended for the community education advisory council member who wants to improve the effectiveness of the council. The material is designed to improve the atmosphere of the council to allow the…

This guide is intended for individuals and groups who are interested in developing resource material for highly participatory, small, democratic adult discussion groups that are based soundly on adult learning principles. Suggestions are provided for preparing learning circle material that will be balanced, authoritative, and help people in…

Group discussion and learning activities are featured in this paper, the ninth in a series of resources for community development groups. The introduction defines the nature and goals of "core groups"--small community groups that will discuss the possibilities of individual and community transformation and promote new, life-enhancing…

This packet contains materials, process guidelines, discussion questions, and suggestions that serve as a guide for a 3-hour training session on the topic of organizational culture for groups of from 7 to 21 (or more) adults. During the training session, participants simulate organizational behaviors following three different sets of cultural…

This workbook is designed for people interested in facilitating Personal Futures Planning, a person-centered creative planning process designed to help people craft a life of meaning and contribution for a person with developmental disabilities. The facilitator of the Futures Planning process organizes a group to listen to the dreams and desires…

This facilitator's guide explains how to lead a series of five sessions (study circles) designed to foster public dialogue and problem solving among citizens interested in meeting the challenges of community growth and development. The document begins with an introduction to the concept of study circles that examines the following: definition of…

This document is intended to create an opportunity for teens and adults to talk together and find ways to make their community a place where young people can grow up successfully. The discussion guide begins with a brief statement of purpose and a brief explanation of study circles and their objectives. The remainder of the guide consists of…

Four papers focus on the processes involved in developing a community team for providng services to handicapped preschoolers. Jerry Elder and Elynor Kazuk review steps in beginning a community team approach in "Getting Started," including the mechanics of planning and conducting an initial meeting to explain the advantages of collaborative…