From setting the stage to engaging the community in understanding the purpose of collaborative professional learning teams, this volume covers what leaders need to know to implement more effective professional learning. Chapters focus on changing school culture, scheduling time, planning, using data, designs for professional learning, facilitating…

This handbook provides information about the Idaho Basic Skills Project as well as processes to help identify participants who will create a successful Basic Skills Team for the school. The handbook begins with a series of questions that are intended (1) to help administrators understand the project better and (2) to help them decide on the need…

Strong faculty relationships can benefit developmental programs by increasing referrals, creating a climate of support for developmental activities, and increasing resources available to programs; therefore, finding, keeping, and using faculty friends represent essential needs for such programs. Faculty friends may be generated in a number of ways…

Development of home-school partnership programs involves encouraging parental participation through communication of mutual respect, sharing ownership, sharing problem solving, agreeing upon roles and responsibilities, assessing home variables, acknowledging the home as a naturalistic setting, and promoting prosocial student behavior. (JDD)

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 handbook examines various topics of interest and concern to teachers as they work with instructional assistants forming a classroom instructional partnership and functioning as a team. These topics include: (1) instructional assistant qualifications; (2) duties--instructional, classroom clerical, auxillary; (3) factors to be considered when…

This guide for building family/school/community partnerships uses a model in which family members and professionals are seen as mutual mentors in partnerships built on mutual caring, trust, and respect in the effort to work collaboratively toward self-sufficiency for children with disabilities. Basic ground rules for successful team relationships…

Teachers frequently need assistance in meeting the needs of students with behavior and learning problems. Contacts with peers and other staff usually are informal and do not allow thorough analysis of the problem. The Building Support System model used in some North Dakota schools provides prompt, accessible support to teachers through peer…

This book explains how and why team teaching works and provides a comprehensive review of research material with practical applications. The nature, purpose, types, history, and evaluation of team teaching are described. The chapters are: (1) "What Is Team Teaching?"; (2) "Why Team Teach?"; (3) "How To Design a Team Teaching Program"; (4) "How To…

Principles of effective teaming in the education of deaf and hearing impaired children are explained and a self-evaluation scale for teams is provided. Literature-based strategies for building effective teams are discussed, such as being mindful of common goals, knowing the purpose of the meeting, engaging in critical listening, and focusing…

General educator-special educator collaboration is discussed. Advantages include professional exchange of ideas and sharing of resources; barriers include a feeling by staff of lack of ownership and lack of power in decision making, and the perception that goals are incompatible; promising practices include clarifying goals and developing…

As more students with learning disabilities are enrolling in college, a formalized collaborative transition model at the high school level is needed. This paper discusses roles of various transition team members, including the student, parents, transition case managers, guidance counselors, school psychologists, rehabilitation counselors, and…

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 article describes efforts in Colorado to develop collaborative relationships among educators to better meet needs of students with disabilities. The article stresses the importance of developing common understanding, developing a full array of services within the delivery system, and addressing school scheduling issues. (JDD)

Designing staff development activities that incorporate four elements of reflective practice helps develop participants' reflective abilities. The article discusses focusing on real problems and concerns; changing the nature of the problem; process-oriented staff development; and promoting collaborative partnerships. (SM)