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Faculty Groups

From Frustration to Collaboration

By: Susan A. Wheelan, Corwin Press, Inc.

Develop high performance teams and improve student learning and achievement!

Traditionally, the culture of teaching has been one of isolation, yet today's educators are being asked to make fundamental changes in the way they interact with their colleagues by participating in various school teams. Faculty Groups translates what social scientists have learned about work groups into practical guidelines for educators, including:

How groups develop, and why some groups succeed while others fail
What team leaders can do to help their groups become productive
How to facilitate and participate in effective meetings
How multiple groups can work together to create a collaborative school culture

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9780761931669
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2004
Page Count: 192
Publication date: October 28, 2004

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Description

"This is an astounding handbook for educators. What we've needed is exactly what this book provides."
-Jan Kesseling, Superintendent
Madison Loral School District, Middletown, OH

Develop high-performance teams and improve student learning and achievement!

Traditionally, the culture of teaching has been one of isolation, yet today's educators are being asked to make fundamental changes in the way they interact with their colleagues by participating in various school teams-grade level teams, vertical teams, school leadership teams, study groups, and school improvement teams, to name a few. While great in theory, the concept is often difficult in practice. Faculty Groups translates what social scientists have learned about work groups into straightforward, commonsense, practical guidelines for educators.

Believing in the efficacy of faculty teamwork, author Susan A. Wheelan provides a road map for teachers to learn how to collaborate with each other, reduce frustration, and make a significant difference in student learning and performance. By developing high performance faculty and administrative teams, educators can generate a cooperative and collegial culture, resulting in a learning environment that is second to none.

To successfully develop collaborative faculty groups, points of discussion include:

How groups develop, and why some groups succeed, while others fail
What faculty members and leaders can do to help their groups become productive
How to design, facilitate, and participate in effective meetings
How multiple groups working in the same school can work together to create a collaborative school culture
How detailed surveys, assessments, instruments, and teambuilding activities for team members can measure their skills and target areas for improvement

Educators agree: no goal is more important than educating the next generation. Everyone involved helps to create the school's culture and establish effective and productive work groups. Written for principals, teacher leaders, and teachers on teams, this book can also be used by other educational groups such as school boards and site-based leadership councils.

Key features

Author(s)

Susan A. Wheelan

Susan Wheelan was president of GDQ Associates, Inc. Until 2001, she was a professor

of psychological studies and faculty director of the Training and Development Center

at Temple University. Dr. Wheelan received Temple University’s Great Teacher Award

in 1992. She also worked as a psychologist in a number of hospital and clinical settings.

Dr. Wheelan was the author of Facilitating Training Groups; Group Processes: A

Developmental Perspective; Creating Effective Teams: A Guide for Members and Leaders;

and Faculty Groups: From Frustration to Collaboration. She was editor of the Handbook

of Group Research and Practice and coeditor of The Lewin Legacy: Field Theory in Current

Practice and Advances in Field Theory. She wrote 66 research articles for publication.

Corwin Press, Inc.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

1. Why Educators Should Work Together: The Case for Faculty Teamwork

2. How Groups Develop and How Groups Get Stuck

3. Skillful Membership

4. Skillful Leadership

5. Designing Effective Meetings

6. Keeping Your Group on Track During Stage I and II

7. Keeping Your Group on Track During Stage III and IV

8. Intergroup Collaboration and Culture Change

9. Supporting Teams and Providing Professional Development

10. Imagining a Collaborative Future: Some Stories and a Modest Proposal

Resource A: Effective Member Checklist

Resource B: The Collaboration Survey

Resource C: Effective Leader Checklist

Resource D: Team Performance Checklist

Resource E: The Organizational Support Checklist

Bibliography

Index

Reviews

"This is an astounding handbook for educators. What we've needed is exactly what this book provides."

Jan Kesseling, Superintendent
Madison Loral School District, Middletown, OH

Other Titles in: Conflict Resolution for Adults | Principalship | Collaboration & Team Building

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This book is not available as a review copy.