Interprofessional education (IPE) aims to introduce students to the importance of team-based decision making. This article presents evaluation data from an IPE poverty simulation event. The goals of the project were to increase students' understanding of the barriers faced by families in poverty, and to increase students' confidence when working…

To improve student achievement schools need the leadership of knowledgeable, highly skilled, and visionary principals and superintendents. Exemplary school leadership doesn't develop in isolation, however. Strong leadership grows from dynamic, collaborative, and intentional interactions between superintendents and their principals. These savvy…

The participative model of institutional budgeting is compared briefly with two other common models, and its rationale is discussed. An explanation of nine basic principles of participative budgeting uses examples from a variety of colleges and universities, and concludes with the author's reflections on the approach, based on his experience. (MSE)

An engineer/writer team approach to technical writing produces high quality papers intelligible to nonspecialists as it significantly reduces the amount of time the engineer must spend writing. The first step is transferring information from engineer to writer. A detailed outline is the most common form of initial input and can be presented to the…

This presentation introduces the methods of negotiation and mediation in transdisciplinary decision-making, and applies the methods specifically to the educational needs and placements of students with disabilities. Four stages of mediation are described: problem identification, generation of problem-solving options, evaluation of options, and…

This practical guidebook is designed for managers and leaders who have responsibility for the creation and success of teams. First, a team is described as a workgroup whose members are dependent upon one another for the completion of a given task, and whose members possess different but complementary skill sets. A team manages its own work within…

This article describes efforts in Colorado to develop collaborative relationships among educators to better meet needs of students with disabilities. The article stresses the importance of developing common understanding, developing a full array of services within the delivery system, and addressing school scheduling issues. (JDD)

This paper discusses the concept of a dual cultural and political perspective for analyzing interaction. It also illustrates how this dual perspective can explain how senior management teams (SMTs) operate in English secondary schools, in which senior faculty profess commitment to teamwork. Methodology included: (1) case studies of six secondary…

Teams can produce innovative solutions to complex problems, enabling organizations to be faster, more responsive, more competitive, and more successful in meeting their missions. These kinds of results are not guaranteed, however. When an organization sponsors a team, it is usually to address a challenge deemed essential to organizational success.…

Many schools across the United States are attempting to implement some form of decentralization and shared decision making. This paper identifies some of the challenges associated with implementing school-based decision making and describes ways in which some schools and their principals have dealt effectively with them. Three particular…

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…

This report describes the development and implementation of an integrated team approach for interviewing candidates for employment with a residential program that serves children (ages 10-18) with emotional disturbances and behavior disorders. The integrated interview approach was accomplished by: (1) training the supervisors to increase their…

A case study describes how a rural local education agency (Allegany County, Maryland) developed a comprehensive staff development system. It presents some contextual and theoretical background information, summarizes the problem as perceived by key actors, and then describes a series of activities resulting in the development of the comprehensive…

An administrator in a State agency for the development and implementation of services for the mentally retarded relates her experiences and training as a paraprofessional and later as a professional in this field. She recommends the use of transdiciplinary teams including paraprofessionals, and increased cooperation between professionals and…

A problem-oriented approach originally designed for patient record keeping by Dr. Lawrence Weed was adapted to facilitate decision making by administrators of student health care services at the University of Southern California. A description of the approach is given, and reactions of staff members are described. (PP)