The principal of a large Boston elementary school encountered 10 barriers to high student achievement. Examines why he and his staff struggled with those barriers for most of his 15-year tenure at the school. Believes the turning point came when Massachusetts mandated high-stakes tests. (MLF)

Reports on research undertaken in a telecommunications management course. Investigates how communication technology can facilitate team learning. Describes a quasi-experiment designed to observe the interaction among the pedagogies of team learning, active learning (the case method), and computer-mediated learning. (PM)

Details a strategy for district improvement that establishes discernible parameters and then provides each school with the autonomy to chart its own course and lists four steps toward team engagement. Also former Principal Rebecca Burnette DuFour discusses how the central office can best promote learning communities. (MLF)

Considers higher education and professional learning and describes a Web-based course focusing on project management skills, including collaboration. Discusses professional knowledge; self-directed learning; social processes of professional learning; integration of learning and assessment; social support for professional skills; cognitive support…

To select an adapted mobility device for a 5-year-old boy with blindness and spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, a multidisciplinary team used 8-millimeter videography to evaluate the subject's joint angle during ambulation with one of three canes and with no cane. The I-style cane provided optimal posture and gait pattern. (Contains references.) (CR)

Maintains presumed lack of applicability of vocational development theories to persons with developmental disabilities is rooted in assumptions concerning career behavior, scope of career development strategies, and employment potential of such persons. Suggests types of involvement in career decision making that persons with developmental…

Briefly reviews children's literature on the themes of cooperative learning, community cooperation, interdependence, and putting the social back into social studies. Summarizes three books for primary readers, four for intermediate grades, and three for young adults. Covers a wide variety of cooperative learning situations. (CH)

The following ideas are presented: (1) working together in calculus, including a handout for a jigsaw lesson; (2) a lesson on water and ecology from the USSR using the collective teaching technique; (3) the Israeli Havruta "Companionship" method for peer teaching; and (4) an origami lesson outlined and illustrated. (JD)

Describes a course developed at the University of Victoria (British Columbia) to provide training for educators that will facilitate communication with computer scientists as they work together on educational software development projects. Software engineering and instructional design principles are discussed, the course methodology is explained,…

Fundamental characteristics of good leadership are described. They include: a sense of purpose, careful listening, a focus on people, good communication, and creativity and taking time for one's own projects--the formation of ideas that are intellectually renewing. (MLW)

Described are five ways to coordinate resource room and regular education programs: (1) consultation services, (2) collaborative teaching/co-teaching, (3) structured recess program, (4) work completion groups, (5) and daily check-outs for contract monitoring. (DB)

In an information-processing organization, it is essential that lines of communications stay open, and that can best be accomplished through cooperative teamwork. Strategies for developing teams in collegiate bureaucracies are discussed. (Author/MLW)

The father of an infant with motor neuron disease describes his early experiences with medical professionals. He urges that parents see the medical community as assistants in the process of raising a special needs child, and urges that the medical community see parents as full partners. (JDD)

The article examines the sparse literature on acquired brain injury in infants and preschoolers, including epidemiology, neuropathology, neurodevelopmental outcome, and treatment efficacy. It suggests blending applied research and clinical practice, emphasizing team approaches, focusing on family involvement, integrating assessment and treatment…

Support groups for parents of hearing-impaired students, led by a team of school personnel and mental health professionals, can effectively provide parents with information, support, and a forum for open discussion of concerns. Suggestions are offered on getting organized and conducting the first meeting. Potential discussion topics are outlined.…