In May 2004, a group of 25 teachers at Jenks High School in Oklahoma received an invitation to the Summer 2004 Advance. Although many organizations hold retreats for their employees, the administrators wanted to send a different message: we're not retreating; we're advancing! Like many states, Oklahoma suffered a school budget crisis during the…

This article describes changes experienced by a multidisciplinary team of the Center for Learning Disabilities in Tirat Carmel, Israel, in the wake of the enactment of the country's Special Education Law. Over the course of several years, the team working at the Center was able to adapt to the changes, while preserving the professional level of…

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of two trainings designed to increase the competencies of professionals to develop high quality positive behavior support plans for students that engage in problem behaviors that interfere with theirs and/or others' ability to learn. Training one consisted of training attendees on six key…

Students need to know how to find and use information, yet only 31 percent of information searches succeed. Google and Wikipedia are not the only providers of answers, although they are often students' first stops for information. Everyone knows how to open a browser, but can teachers assume they know how to search effectively for information? In…

Purpose--What is required of job design and production planning, if they are to result in a work group taking a self-starting approach and going beyond what is formally required of it? This paper aims to contribute to group research by testing a theoretical model of relations between job design on the one hand (captured as completeness, demand on…

Adolescents with learning disabilities are not educated in a vacuum. Successful programming for these students involves many school professionals working together to integrate their programs for the benefit of students with learning disabilities. Collaborative teaming probably can best be described as an attitude rather than a certain way of…

The inclusion of students with learning disabilities in the general education setting has resulted in a dramatic shift in the roles of educators, school psychologists, and administrators alike. Although many changes were anticipated, some were not. The primary purpose of this study was to engage school psychologists in a focus group to explore…

This article provides an overview of the charter school movement in the United States and a synthesis of the findings of the studies that have been conducted for nearly a decade by the University of Maryland in collaboration with the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE). The research documents the evolution of…

This article describes how the Global Challenge allows high school students to do something for the environment while winning an award that will help them financially through college. The Global Challenge is an online competition for high school students across the world. Students from other nations can pair up with students in the U.S. and…

The proposal project stretches over a significant portion of the semester-long sophomore course Professional Communication (ENG 250) at Monroe Community College. While developing their proposal project, students need to use time management skills to successfully complete a quality project on time. In addition, excellent oral and written…

This paper discusses a cognitive model of how action agendas and goals emerge through the dynamics of self-organization in collaborative activities. While machines are designed to perform a function, or goal, humans are self-organizing systems that set their own goals and produce order without having external order imposed on them, or, more…

This guide is intended to help individuals with deaf-blindness or other severe disabilities and the people involved with them to plan positive futures. An introduction notes that Personal Futures Planning is different from other planning meetings in that all participants are there voluntarily, there are no rules, and the planning is done…

This 23-minute videotape describes the Conciliation Project, which was developed to resolve conflicts between parents and schools in Lane County (Oregon) regarding students' special education programs. The video presents a case developer who gathers information about a specific situation and a team of trained community volunteers who facilitate…

The long-term success of school improvement depends on the ability of participants to function productively together. This book explores a variety of forms for collaboration in schools and presents a framework for understanding how to build stronger working relationships among colleagues. Following the introduction, chapter 1 establishes the…

This booklet offers a humorous perspective on important guidelines for developing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities which respect the values of collaboration, student and family leadership, and full inclusion. Humorous section titles and cartoons illustrate important principles: "Developing an IEP Shouldn't Be…