The "State Benchmarks of Quality" is used by a collaborative State Leadership Team(SLT) to assess progress and plan future actions so that Recommended Practices (RPs) are available for providers and families statewide. The Benchmarks are grounded in the science of implementation which bridges the gap between an evidence-based practice…

Good assessment is part of all good learning communities, and this article provides a useful set of best practices for learning community assessment planning: (1) articulating agreed-upon learning community program goals; (2) identifying the purpose of assessment (e.g., summative or formative); (3) employing qualitative and quantitative assessment…

An eight-step decision-making paradigm appropriate for guiding decisions regarding selection of instructional programming alternatives for visually impaired multiply disabled children is presented. Brief case studies illustrate the application of the paradigm. (Author/DB)

The paper reviews difficulties in special education interdisciplinary team decision making and relates the experiences of one team's efforts to increase intra-team communication. Among problems cited are lack of focus in discussions, unequal levels of participation, and limited abilities to produce recommendations or provide therapy in a truly…

The Preferred Future Worksheet is a planning tool that can assist school members or teams who are dealing with a school problem or issue. The worksheet has been designed to assist in analyzing the current situation, identifying a preferred future, and then creating a plan of action. Introductory material urges heterogeneous group membership and…

The article describes a decision-making model to guide special educators and their colleagues in selecting intervention strategies appropriate for the individual needs of disabled students and applies the model in a case study. (DB)

Outlines how school executives should work with their secretaries and reviews six ways secretaries and administrators can work better together by: being members of a team, providing information needed, giving secretaries authority, not treating secretaries as "gofers," encouraging professionalism, and rewarding secretaries financially. (MD)

Presents a "Decision Tree" process for structuring team decision making and problem solving about specific student behavioral goals. The Decision Tree involves a sequence of questions/decisions that can be answered in "yes/no" terms. Questions address reasonableness of the goal, time factors, importance of the goal, responsibilities, safety,…

Evaluates the 1975 California administrator group's decision to have principals form a leadership team instead of forming collective bargaining units. Although a 1984 survey of 100 principals found that most support the decision, it also revealed that 45 percent are dissatisfied with the concept. (MD)

The Vermont Independent Services Team Approach (VISTA), is a cross-disciplinary method for planning consensus decisions about type, mode, and frequency of related services required to support a student's educational program. After six student planning teams used the VISTA model, team members reported higher levels of confidence in team practices…

Intended for students from about fourth-grade through high school, the "Road Game" is about competition and cooperation, teamwork and chaos, perception and misperception, and communication and conflict resolution. All information necessary for playing the game is provided. Instructions for playing the game with a cultural bias are also included.…

This paper clarifies vocabulary in the area of collaboration in schools, describes characteristics of collaboration, and outlines a set of principles. Principles explain that collaboration is not a prerequisite in most school programs, may occur informally, requires time to develop, is not a panacea, and may raise ethical issues for special…

This volume, one of a series of curriculum guides compiled by the Colorado Workplace Learning Initiative: 1991-92, contains seven workplace literacy courses on enhanced basic skills involving decisions, teams, problem solving, and critical thinking. Introductory materials include a table of contents and a list of the curriculum topics covered by…

Games players need a large repertoire of movement patterns that they can use under differing conditions in the playing of games. (JD)

Presented is a brief framework, with suggestions to help a principal provide necessary staff assistance when implementing a mainstreaming effort. (KC)