Wooden planks are a tool for developing youth skills through science, technology, engineering, and math exploration. These are small planks that can be stacked to create complex structures as youths explore math and physical relationships in an applied context. Building with wooden planks also cultivates planning, reasoning, and team skills as…

Teaming--when done well--can make all the difference. Yet where can teachers and leaders learn how to be effective team members? What common challenges do teams face? And how can a developmental approach help teams thrive? In this article, the authors address the painful challenges many adults encounter when working in teams. They discuss how…

This paper presents two studies using focus groups with people with learning disabilities. One study was about "What is it like for people with learning disabilities who have a family or friend with cancer?" and other study was about "How to break bad news to people with learning disabilities?" Two of the researchers had…

This article describes how action learning can be accompanied by a project to encourage shared learning about organisation culture, the external environment, political context and team dynamics, while allowing space for personal issues. It drives forward reflective practice and encourages sets to deliver a tangible pay-back to the organisation.…

Leaders in pre-school and primary settings--administrators, directors, lead teachers, and others--often find themselves consumed by the numerous tasks that must be accomplished daily. Gardenswartz, Cherbosque, and Rowe state that "teams as well as individuals need to develop emotional intelligence skills that help enhance teamwork, improve group…

Many have heard calls from national policy experts, the Obama administration, and influential foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Lumina Foundation for Education to increase the number of Americans with postsecondary credentials earned at community colleges by 5 million within 10 years. If community colleges choose to…

It's true that adults learn differently than children. They have real-life experiences, strong preferences, time constraints, competing priorities, and varied objectives. But, they also share some similarities. Training the adults who work directly with children is the best way to make a positive impact on the children. In this article, the…

The author describes a collaborative project involving a textiles and clothing specialist, an occupational therapist, and a wheelchair-bound disabled woman to design and construct an apron that facilitated independence in daily living for the disabled woman. (Author/CH)

Investigates the ways in which Alcatel Telecom attempts to smooth the transition of its employees from technical to business manager. Focuses on the Alcatel centre at Antwerp University, Belgium, which provides training in entrepreneurship, leadership, teamwork, the Alcatel culture and strategy, the dynamics of the telecommunications market,…

This article discusses the role in the Netherlands of independent regional advisory teams made up of professionals who have experience with individuals who exhibit challenging behaviors. One team's methods are illustrated by describing the case of a completely isolated 24-year-old man who, after a 7-year intervention, was able to fulfill a long…

A research team approach was selected for an ethnographic project to identify those variables that influenced the adult beginning readers' acquisition of reading strategies and their effect on reading achievement. Weekly staff meetings focused on (1) identifying initial conceptualization and emerging foci reflected in the data, and (2) continually…

This report is part of a series of reports designed to document innovative daytime and supported living practices. It is based on a site visit to Katahdin Friends, Inc. (KFI) in March 1998. Since the mid-1980s, KFI, located in Millinocket, Maine, has transformed its supports for people with developmental disabilities from those that promote…

The case study describes a family residential service for three people with profound and multiple disabilities in Burlington, Vermont. The disabled individuals live with a couple and their two children who are also provided support services in the form of weekend relief and helpers for the late afternoon and evening period. The house is owned by a…

This paper reports on a focus group discussion held in June, 1998, in Killington, Vermont, about a 3-year project in Vermont to encourage the self-determination of people with developmental disabilities. The project has involved training of four project teams, each composed of a person with a developmental disability, a family member, and a person…

This paper proposes a systematic approach to the application of assistive technology that takes advantage of the strengths of key members of the rehabilitation team. The report begins by describing the roles of the vocational rehabilitation counselor, the vocational evaluator, and the assistive technology practitioner. The limitations of the…