For enhancing student achievement, the most successful cooperative learning approaches have incorporated two key elements: group goals and individual accountability. Positive effects have been consistently found on outcomes such as self-esteem, intergroup relations, acceptance of academically handicapped students, attitudes toward school, and…

Steps for implementing team management in libraries are discussed in the first of four articles. The second reviews the use of quality circles in librarianship, the third describes the implementation of self-management teams in technical services, and the fourth discusses nominal group technique as a team development tool. (CLB)

This paper describes comprehensive cooperative learning approaches for elementary-school reading, writing, and mathematics. Team-Assisted Individualization (TAI) and Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) are used to implement principles of cooperative learning throughout schools, among teachers and administrators as well as…

Cooperative learning approaches can create a cooperative family environment, involving positive interdependence and appropriate social and communication skills. This is especially important in families with a special needs child. Activities which can minimize competition among family members include participative rule-making, planning special…

To overcome factors inhibiting effective decision making by child study teams, a rationale is established for the development of pandisciplinary tools to assist in interpersonal communication, group decision making, and assessment. Specific examples of such tools are presented, and their relationships to current practices are discussed.…

The Parent Transition Plan ensures a child's smooth transition from preschool to public school kindergarten and assigns responsibility for various tasks to parents or school personnel. This article outlines the need for a transition plan, the goals of transition planning, and guidelines for writing the plan at a parent-teacher meeting. (JDD)

Guidelines for helping special educators contribute to transition planning for students with disabilities include understanding the legislative mandate, identifying relevant persons and resources at the school district level, investigating alternative approaches to transition planning, promoting family participation, using various assessment…

A school board member and a superintendent realized in their three years of working together in a Florida school district how crucial the board/superintendent relationship is to a smoothly running school district. Advises board members and superintendents to keep their roles straight and to work as a team. Offers guidelines to board presidents.…

Analysis of 24 responses from members of transdisciplinary teams to a survey on implementation of the transdisciplinary service delivery model for young children with disabilities identified consistencies and discrepancies between theoretical principles and implementation in the areas of parent participation, child assessment, team activities, and…

Weaknesses in the field of education that have implications for collaborative research are considered, and education is compared to the more mature professions of health sciences and engineering which have agreed-upon standards and controls. Educational practitioners and researchers are seen as turning to collaborative decision making to bridge…

The implementation of peer coaching at an elementary school is described. Pairs of teachers worked together through initial discussions, classroom observations, and coaching meetings to refine specific areas of their teaching. The initial training in preparation for peer coaching is described, along with advantages and disadvantages of this…

Focuses on the work of girls who take on the role of refereeing the course of action within the game of hopscotch. The fieldwork for this article is based on a study of the interaction of bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking girls. The range of experiences within this game challenges characterizations of girls' play as limiting the development…

This article proposes that law schools teach trial advocacy and appellate advocacy as a two-course sequence, in which a "trial" is conducted in the first semester and appealed in the second. Students would work on teams and gain experience representing either the party with the burden of proof or the responsive party. (MSE)

Reports research on cooperative learning strategies used in a college computer skills lab course and compares learning performance and retention of students taught via cooperative teams or traditional individual learning. Results show that both performance and retention were significantly improved with the use of cooperative learning. (Author/JMV)

Three teachers share techniques for adapting to learning styles: "The Personal Touch Eases Anxiety of Adult Students" (Bilderback); "Learning to Cooperate: Recipe for Success" (Lindsay); and "Thoughtful Questions Lead Students to Answers" (Crowley). (SK)