The departure or death of an important college or school fund raiser can threaten campaign morale and momentum. The experiences of development programs in such situations illustrate a variety of strategies for management, including good record keeping and institutional communication, teamwork, assuming business as usual, having two people in…

This study compared reading gains of low-socioeconomic status, at-risk kindergarten students within two curricula collaboratively written by classroom teachers and speech-language pathologists. Compared to the alphabet-based curriculum, the whole-language curriculum showed greater gains in the use of print to represent meaning and similar gains in…

Describes the University of Virginia's Commonwealth Center Invitational Team Case Competition, a yearly activity focusing attention on case-method teaching to encourage reflective thought and action. Teams, who are presented with the same classroom case, compete to analyze the situation effectively and defend their positions. (SM)

The Enabling Practices Scale was developed to measure the level of empowering practices used by employment organizations serving individuals with disabilities and was tested with 127 Australian parents who have adult children with intellectual disability. Factor analysis revealed three factors: comfort with parent-staff relationship,…

Interviews with nine families and staff of an early intervention program for young children with disabilities found that staff members maintained beliefs about themselves as primary decision makers regarding development and implementation of Individualized Family Service Plans and that families perceived the early intervention program as more…

Discusses the challenge of providing an educational program for young adolescents that balances a commitment to academic achievement with a commitment to providing a caring, nurturing learning environment. Outlines 10 characteristics of the continuous process of school improvement in the high achieving school. (TJQ)

The relationship between organizational support and satisfaction with a collaborative problem-solving structure called the Teacher Assistance Team (TAT), which assists general education teachers concerning special needs students, was studied with 161 TAT members and 127 elementary school consumers of TAT services. Organizational supports involved:…

Personal observations and reflections recount the first year of experience of a team of two doctoral students specializing in speech-language pathology and early childhood special education. The students were selected to supervise master-level students in training. Aspects of interdisciplinary collaboration, stages of team development, and…

A Wisconsin advocacy model for gifted education programs is presented, emphasizing ongoing collaboration and dissemination to most effectively utilize meager resources. Essential elements of the dissemination design are identified, including use of regional sites, requiring participation of an administrator on the team, group problem solving, and…

This keynote address states that early intervention services must consider more than professional analyses in their planning. It describes findings from focus group discussions with Latino families of children with disabilities, emphasizing the need to match early intervention services with parent expectations and goals, and the need for services…

A study investigated national research policies, particularly factors affecting research productivity in the United Kingdom and the issues of critical mass, economies of scale, critical time, and risk strategy in Australian resource allocation for research. Conclusions are drawn concerning the relationship between research performance and resource…

The Student Study Team (SST) is described as a California intervention model that encourages effective multidisciplinary team participation. The development, training, operation, and evaluation of such teams are discussed, and implementation recommendations are offered. The article includes a flow chart of the SST process, a meeting competency…

Examines the Teacher Assistance Team (TAT) approach in providing all students with individualized, supportive instructional alternatives in the classroom. Explains how the TAT is a cost- and time-effective approach for providing teacher support in handling "slow learners" and letting teachers have ownership and responsibility in dealing with…

Outlines a collaborative processing model of art education what draws upon the language and learning notions of Lev S. Vygotsky. Emphasizes the role of the learner in collaboration with her/his social environment rather than traditional disciplinary boundaries. Synthesizes the principles of transactional learning theory and the processes of making…

Describes a weekend residential trip at a British outdoor education center aimed at assessing primary students for the National Curriculum. Instructors constructed personal profiles based on assessment of math, science, geography, and technology and observation of personal and social skills. Formal assessment was conducted during structured group…