Evaluated effects of a reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) intervention on arithmetic performance of 12 low-income, underachieving elementary school students. Results indicated that merely teaming students and providing them with positive attention for constructive team activities had no clear effect on arithmetic performance. RPT condition that…

Rather than focusing on "proven" practices, Washington State University and the faculties of more than 50 schools have collaborated on Project LEARN (League of Educational Action Researchers in the Northwest) to enhance teachers' professional lives. Teams of teachers actively pursue the answers to their own teaching and learning…

This paper presents the requirements for family participation on multidisciplinary teams under Public Law 99-457, reviews literature on family participation on teams working with handicapped children, identifies factors that influence team functioning, and suggests how team members can facilitate family involvement. (Author/JDD)

Describes how a writing teacher and a photography teacher teamed up to provide opportunities for high school students to combine their skills in the production of the school newspaper. (MG)

Few administrators fail to become leaders because they lack technical skills. The problem is lack of people skills and inability to exercise good judgment. Administrators can minimize failure by valuing honesty, objectivity, delegation, and feedback and by respecting chain of command and the limitations of power. Other potential pitfalls are…

The family is the handicapped infant or toddler's ecological system, is critical to the child's optimal development, and must be incorporated into early intervention programs. Characteristics of the ecosystem of the family of a handicapped child are discussed, followed by characteristics of ecologically attuned early intervention teams. (JDD)

A multidisciplinary team, including representatives from medicine, psychology, and residential living, examined 436 mentally retarded residents' regimen of psychotropic medications, with the goal of finding the least restrictive method of behavior management and lowest drug dosage. Significant reductions in psychotropic drug use were observed,…

Argues that Master's of Business Administration classes should reflect the workplace more accurately by introducing a team approach in which students cooperatively manage learning and participate in decision making. (SK)

This section includes (1) "Time Saver Options" (Dishon and P. W. O'Leary), which outlines ways to teach cooperative skills; (2) "Getting Started--Tips from Teachers," a collection of ideas for all levels; and (3) "Cooperative Mathematics Lesson Plans" for developing problem-solving skills, fractions, word problems, and number concepts. (JD)

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)