Table of Contents
Photo Credits ix
List of Figures xi
Foreword xv
Acknowledgments xix
About the Authors xxiii
1 Read This First 1
Our Shared Legacy 1
A Culture of Isolation and Egalitarianism 4
The Move Toward Collaboration 4
2 Get Ready For Better Teams 7
Why Teacher Teams? 7
Why This Book? 8
Why Cases? 9
It Isn't Extra Work, It's The Work 10
3 What Makes A Good Team, What Makes A Team Good? 11
Why Teams (Typically) Fail 11
The Complexities of Collaboration Are Untaught 12
Effective Teacher Leadership Is Missing 12
The Need for Expertise Is Ignored or Misunderstood 13
Pitfalls Are Unrecognized or Poorly Addressed 13
Team Members Give Up When They Don't Get Along 14
There Are No Consequences for Poor (Individual or Team) Performance 14
The Five Conditions of Effective Teacher Teams 15
Task Focus 16
Leadership 16
Collaborative Climate 16
Personal Accountability 17
Structures and Processes 17
Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk: Connecting Curriculum and Instruction 18
The Importance of Instructional Talk 19
Connecting Instructional Talk to Classroom Planning and Practice 20
Promoting Accountability Through Instructional Talk 21
Using Team Meetings to Improve Instructional Practice 22
4 Instructional Leadership: Principals And Teacher Leaders 25
Throw Out Your Old Org. Chart 25
The Principal as Instructional Leader 26
The Principal Articulates a Vision for the School 27
The Principal Emphasizes the Importance of Collaboration 27
The Principal Actively Engages in Team Development 27
Team-Building Tips for Principals 28
Teacher Leadership 29
What's a Teacher Leader? 29
Teacher Leaders in a Team Context 30
Inside-Outside: Teacher Leaders and Team Leaders 31
This Could Be the Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship 34
5 Team Development And Strategies For Success 35
We Have to Stop Meeting Like This! 35
Establish Team Norms 36
Appoint Specific Roles to Team Members 37
Acknowledge Team-Meeting "Sore Spots" and Take Steps to Avoid or Cure Them 38
Learn by Example 42
Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Chew 42
Tips and Tools for Maintenance, Survival, and Success 43
I Improve Your Team's Communication Skills 43
II Tine-Tune Your Team's Effectiveness 45
III Move Your Team to Its Next Stage of Development 53
IV Get Your New Principal on Board 59
V Connect Your Team With Your School 61
VI Leverage Your "What I Know Now" 62
6 Teaching Cases 65
Cases and Guides to Analysis 65
What the Cases Are About 66
Case Themes 68
Video Cases and Their Guides to Analysis 68
What the Video Cases Are About 70
Okay, One Last Word 71
Cases 73
Case 1 The Neutral Zone: Handling Interpersonal Dynamics on Teams 74
Case 2 Surface Collaboration or Dynamic Interdependence? 90
Case 3 Can't Follow the Leader 111
Case 4 Good Intentions Aren't Enough 126
Case 5 A Principal's Dilemma: The Challenge of Change 146
Case 6 How Far We've Come 163
Case 7 A Vague Destination, No Compass or Map 181
Case 8 The Team That's "Practically Beloved" 194
References 213
Index 219
On Companion CD-ROM
Cases
Case 9 Is It "Take Us to Our Leader" or "We Can Do It Ourselves"?
Case 10 Managing From the Middle
On Companion DVD
Video Cases
Video Case 1 A 3rd-Grade Team Meets to Examine Student Work
Video Case 2 A 5th-Grade Team Meets to Follow Up on a Professional Development Workshop
Video Case 3 A 9th-Grade Physics Team Meets to Plan Interventions for Underperforming Students
Video Case 4 A High School History Department Meets to Develop Consistent Grading Criteria
