Describes teachers' efforts at a New Jersey middle school to learn alternative assessment strategies and implement a portfolio system. As they became more student-centered and interdisciplinary colleagues, these teachers realized they needed new student assessment tools. Portfolio neophytes are advised to start small and simple, using a limited…

Institutional researchers' work to support analysis and decision making can be more valuable if they are trained in group dynamics and facilitation. By practicing these arts, institutional researchers can help college and university decision-makers make decisions that are grounded in the support of institutional constituents. The Step Ladder…

Provides strategies to facilitate more effective professional/paraprofessional collaboration in special education: clarification of roles and responsibilities, discussion of job expectations, daily scheduling, ongoing communication, and regularly scheduled training. Lists sample role descriptions for professionals and paraprofessionals, discussion…

This article discusses components of teacher collaboration, such as working together to prevent learning and behavior problems and to minimize the need for special service referrals; learning to manage the care of students who must be referred; and participating in school-based teams working towards comprehensive integrated, programmatic…

"Texts and Teachers," a truly collaborative, NEH-funded program originating in Brown University's Department of Comparative Literature, is a long-term university/high-school partnership in creating interdisciplinary courses. Sample course titles include "Desire and the Marketplace,""Coming of Age," and "City…

Examines the barriers faced by preschool children with visual impairments in gaining access to the environment and presents some approaches to reducing those barriers. The importance of early identification, early intervention, a team approach for the provision of educational services, and parent participation is discussed. (CR)

Discusses a model of effective transition services for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. Project RENEW provides comprehensive case coordination for these students' ongoing education, employment, and community adjustment. Outcome data indicate that interagency collaboration improved on a pretest-posttest measure of agency…

Outlines a five-step process to help school and community members in planning the initial phases of a new school: (1) establish a realistic planning timeline; (2) select a design team with diverse perspectives; (3) develop a sense of team/community among design-team members; (4) develop a vision for a new facility; and (5) select an architect.…

Describes development of a rural Guatemalan women's organization created to respond to the psychological, economic, and educational consequences of long-term war, massacre, military occupation, poverty, and exile. The association's genesis and current work reflect collaborative processes of interethnic and transnational nonformal education,…

POWER (Providing Opportunities with Everyday Reading), stressing reading in the content areas, is a program for high schoolers driven by continuous improvement and teamwork. Improved test scores and enhanced attitudes toward reading result from high teacher commitment and sustained interest achieved through this teacher-led program's design. (MLH)

Compares and contrasts the experiences and perceived roles of librarians and architects in the library-design processes of recently completed branch public libraries in three library systems in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia. Discusses the project team, site selection, architect selection, library interiors, and information…

Describes the Revans Centre for Action Learning and Research based at the University of Salford (United Kingdom). Topics include collaborations between practitioners and academics, organizational and professional development, change and human learning processes, interdisciplinary teamwork, action learning interfacing with research; and degrees…

Describes the design and delivery of outdoor-based team-building programs that enable management teams to transfer what they learn back to the workplace. Discusses a model of group development, five phases of the team-building process, combining tasks and review processes to yield outcomes, and an experiential-learning cycle. (TD)

A study examined the impact of functional assessment interventions on appropriate and challenging behaviors of 75 typical children (ages 3-6), 60 children at-risk, and 75 children with special needs. Functional assessment procedures resulted in a decrease in challenging behavior and nonengagement and an increase in active engagement and peer…

This case study of a 14-year-old boy with severe disabilities describes the collaboration of a team of educators who sought to include him in eighth-grade general-education classes. His inclusion plan included four steps: planning, selecting classes, accommodating, and collaborating. The accomplishments of the student's inclusion in earth science…