Part of a series of articles entitled "Environment and the Child,

The impact of individual or cooperative goal structures on the achievement, interpersonal behavior, and attitudes of learning disabled (LD) and non-LD students (grades seven and eight) was studied. Cooperative goals, especially following training in cooperative behavior, may facilitate achievement and interpersonal relations of LD and non-LD…

Current research data provide only weak support for the continued use of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs). It is argued that MDTs have not had a fair chance to be implemented and that the complexity of organizational changes needed for MDTs to function effectively have been overlooked by team members and administrators. (Author/PN)

A program is described that integrates specialty training with clinical interdisciplinary aspects of health care by directly involving pharmacy and other health care professional students in an ongoing team model of health care delivery. It increased knowledge of and positive attitudes toward interdisciplinary teams, sensitivity to patients, and…

Examines a confrontation team-building intervention that was highly successful in building the supervisors into a unified group. Evaluation indicated the team became the most important variable with little consideration given to the rest of the organization, resulting in the whole organization being severely crippled and having to be rebuilt.…

Improvement of teaching performance can be accomplished within the teacher evaluation process if the approach is positive and nonthreatening, with considerable emphasis on peer- and self-evaluation. (Author/SJL)

The Higher Education Management Institute's (HEMI) management development and training program, designed to improve college and university performance by helping managers understand and carry out their responsibilities, is discussed. Management teams, program organization, identifying needs, action planning, management training, and program…

Four variations of a microtechnology process and its effects on the development of cooperative behavior of third-grade children were investigated. It was concluded that cooperative behavior could be increased by microtechnology processes; the process was effective with self-confrontation components; and short-term retention was exhibited.…

In Neenah Joint School District, the Team Functioning Checklist is used as a general survey for examining the attitudes and perceptions of staff members, and in a "pre- and post-test" manner to judge the effects of some team-promoting procedure or organizational change. Areas of common concerns could be identified. (Author)

Addresses the role of the speech language pathologist in the education and therapy of students with hearing impairments educated in classes with normally hearing peers. It concludes that the speech-language pathologist should be the on-site specialist in hearing responsible for designing a collaborative rehabilitation/education plan that addresses…

Describes a New Zealand workshop for 10 gifted children (ages 10-11) that used computers to foster innovative ideas and provide opportunities for creativity and problem solving through independent and group learning experiences. The children brainstormed about the future and designed an original "MicroWorld" using the theme…

Reflects on a study involving 92 general educators and 114 special educators that examined perceptions of actual and preferred preassessment-related team activities and team members. Discusses commonalities between preassessment and educational reform, provides an overview of the importance of preassessment, and outlines a model for preassessment.…

Design of student-centered instruction for telecourses must take into consideration the variables that contribute to meaningful and motivated student learning: clarity; connections; teacher immediacy behaviors; and active learning. Unlike much conventional instruction, telecourse teaching isn an intensive and demanding team process requiring…

Provides guidelines for fairly and validly assessing students in small, cooperative groups. Discusses the purposes of assessment; how processes occurring during group collaboration may work for or against the purpose of assessment; how to design assessments with clear, consistent goals; issues involved in assigning students to groups; and…

This study examined the effect that instruction about and participation in groupwork/cooperative learning had on preservice teachers' attitudes toward cooperative learning, especially their knowledge of related academic and social benefits, and their pedagogical competence to organize classrooms for group work/cooperative learning. Surveys…