After an introduction to the problems experienced by Australian individuals with multiple disabilities and their families, this article outlines the use of the McGill Action Planning System, or MAPS, to improve or develop educational programs. The timing and relationship between MAPS and Individual Education Plans are also discussed. (Contains…

Quality work teams that are based on W. Edwards Deming's business-management theories have proliferated at the school and district levels to handle problem solving and decision making. Teams are said to build stronger relationships among those involved in education and, ultimately, to benefit students because more people with broader perspectives…

Collaboration as a strategy to improve the instructional effectiveness of a school's faculty is examined in this bulletin. The first of four chapters provides a brief discussion of teacher isolation and its consequences and the positive effects of collaboration on school renewal, teacher satisfaction, teacher learning, cooperation among students,…

Characteristics and contributions of collaborative research studies to educational practice are explored in this paper. Definitions of collaborative research are presented which note its multiple roles and similarity to action research. Reasons for conducting collaborative research are given, centering around increased use of research outcomes,…

Between 1996 and 1998, a team of teacher-consultants affiliated with the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project (KMWP), Georgia, used support from Project Outreach of the National Writing Project to develop a model for promoting teacher leadership within individual urban schools and for their writing project site as a whole. Their model is not a…

The School Improvement Specialist Project prepared seven modules. School improvement specialists, as defined by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory at Edvantia, are change agents who work with schools to help them improve in the following areas so as to increase student achievement. These modules are intended to provide training materials for…

This article presents the Autism Spectrum Disorder Inclusion Collaboration Model and discusses its five major components: environmental and curricular modifications; classroom support and instructional methods; attitudinal and social support; coordinated team commitment; recurrent evaluation of inclusion procedures; and home-school collaboration.…

Research on a team game designed to reinforce positive target behaviors is reviewed. Classroom organization, reinforcement criteria, when and how long to play the game, and reinforcement for winning teams are discussed, as are two variants on the original game. The game is found to be highly effective in reducing talking and out-of-seat behavior.…

This paper points out the importance of special educators' communication skills in effective collaboration. The basic components of face-to-face communication are discussed, emphasizing the role of the speaker and listener. An explanation of the process of active listening is also included, noting possible verbal and nonverbal listener responses.…

Three administrative building blocks for supporting collaborative processes in schools are discussed: program advocacy based on a school climate of trust and good communication between staff and administration, visible participation by administrators to build credibility, and support for maintenance and durability of the program. (JDD)

A meta-analytic review of all adequately designed field and laboratory research on the use of incentives to motivate performance is reported. Of approximately 600 studies, 45 qualified. The overall average effect of all incentive programs in all work settings and on all work tasks was a 22% gain in performance. Team-directed incentives had a…

No single comprehensive student services delivery model exists, and "student services" terminology remains problematic. The Office of Student Services has defined student services as those services provided by educational institutions to facilitate learning and the successful transition from school to work, military, or more education. To be…

This book chapter puts community-based rehabilitation and community-based instruction in an historical perspective by describing a number of influential social, political, legal, technological, and philosophical factors that have shaped contemporary special and regular education. The characteristics of community-based instruction, community-based…

Domains of faculty research development are considered, with attention to various scholarly activities such as publishing in journals, editing books/monographs, publishing book reviews, and delivering papers at professional meetings. A cognitive map of faculty development is presented that incorporates findings from the literature on the sociology…

This book aims to introduce teachers and other educational practitioners to the concepts, operating principles, and teaching strategies of the adventure in the classroom (AITC) model. Adventure involves more than equipment, risk taking, or the outdoors. Adventure is a matter of significance, support, stimulation, and satisfaction--characteristics…