Examines three theses: (1) work teams should be analyzed as object-oriented activity systems; (2) the nature of teams depends on the type of production in which they are implemented; and (3) fluid forms of collaborative work organization are displacing stable teams. (SK)

Teachers are separated by isolated classrooms and tightly packed schedules, rarely working with colleagues on matters related to teaching and learning. This paper describes benefits of collaborative team structures in schools, discusses potential pitfalls, and notes that the challenge is to develop teams with a high group IQ that can work…

Suggests that many undergraduate management faculty use teams for case study analysis but few give students the opportunity to experience teamwork in an organizational setting. Describes courses at Western Michigan University that provide a team-based learning experience to management-education majors. (JOW)

A study of 178 graduate students in organizational behavior assessed their learning style with Kolb's Learning Style Inventory. Factors that affected effective teamwork included motivation, attitude toward group work, learning style, and valuing other people's learning styles. (SK)

Today's companies are looking for managers who are independent and have the courage of their convictions. Although companies want leaders who will speak their minds, the new leaders must be team players who are devoted to helping to realize the chief operating officer's vision. (JOW)

For 345 Asian participants in adventure learning, the cultural value of collectivism was negatively related to changes in task participation and social support. Changes in these two teamwork attitudes predicted similar changes in team spirit and organizational identification. Adventure learning might produce higher attitude changes in Western…

Interviews with female employees of a clothing company moving to lean production and teamwork indicate that Taylorism is being reinvented in the contemporary workplace. Restructuring produces higher productivity but greater work pressures and lower wages, despite rhetoric about autonomy, job satisfaction, and workplace democracy. (Contains 57…

Describes how one school district transformed its cleaning program to increase efficiency, improve performance, and reduce errors and training time. Equipment cost savings and other benefits experienced from the new cleaning program are revealed, as is how the district overcame worker resistance to change. (GR)

Teachers should engage in active, collaborative, creative problem solving with their colleagues and students when developing solutions to common behavioral problems. Children communicate through their behaviors and need to learn more positive alternatives. Teachers should help students make successful transitions, create a sense of control, follow…

Parent-teacher action research (PTAR) empowers both groups to define their own problems and collaborate on solutions. Schools with PTAR teams have developed mutually respectful working relationships that can positively influence children's learning. (SK)

Reviews historical trends and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, problems in the use of interdisciplinary teams, varying degrees of team member participation and satisfaction, concerns about the team decision-making process, and implications of the special education team mandate for the training of gerontology professionals. (SK)

Presents a technique for structuring cooperative learning that enables teams to work together meaningfully on in-class exercises. Includes incentives for students to assist one another, team role survey, skills and duties of team members, and a description of the exercises and the cooperative learning principles they are designed to develop. (SK)

Five teams of postgraduate business students in three countries participate din a business strategy simulation game using e-mail and videoconferencing. The pilot study showed the need for technical support and a game administrator and the importance of making simulated competition conditions as realistic as possible to enable transfer of learning.…

Describes the University of Hartford's All-University Curriculum, which includes 25 interdisciplinary courses, most team taught. Addresses institutional buy-in, resources, team formation, conflict resolution, institutional policies, and ongoing development. (SK)

Describes how parent teacher conferences in elementary schools in Tacoma, Washington, differ from traditional conferences by starting early in the schools year, being held at least twice a year, lasting about 40 minutes, including students, developing goals using conference information, and involving parents and students in developing goals to…