PBIS Newsletter
Collaborative Teaming - Taking Team Action
Collaborative Teaming - Taking Team Action
The following is an excerpt from Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices
by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney. While the focus is for students on IEP, it works well for
PBIS as well.
In the beginning of year, core teams should focus on the student’s daily schedule and how the
student participates across the day. The team should ask and answer questions such as,
1. What parts of the schedule can the student participate in with no adaptations?
2. What parts of the day will require adaptations? What kinds of adaptations will be needed
(curricular, instructional, ecological)?
3. Do we need to plan routines or other activities that must be completed apart from peers
(e.g., self-care, intensive instruction)? If so when, where and with what support?
Matrix of PBIS objectives plotted against the classroom schedule of activities, times, and
locations.
Daily schedule →
PBIS Objective
Communication
Independence
Math
Language Arts
Arrival
Share time
Journals
Reading, LA
activities
IVDB 1265 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1265 541-346-3591
Other
Use Problem-solving methods
Elements of problem solving: Interpersonal and procedural considerations.
Interpersonal Considerations
 Establish a climate of trust.
 Share relevant information.
 Encourage input from all
parties.
 Defer judgment about the
solutions.
 Be supportive rather than
attacking.
 Evaluate the solutions, not
people.
 Elicit input from all parties.
 Be accepting of differences.
 Ascertain that all
participants feel some
ownership of the trial
solution.
 Reach a decision by
consensus.
Step 1. Identify the
problem
Step 2. Brainstorm
Possible Solutions
Step 3. Evaluate the
Possible Solutions
Step 4. Choose a Solution
Step 5. Write an Action
Plan
Procedural Considerations
 Focus on the problem, not
the solution.
 Reach agreement on the
problem.
 Generate as many
alternative solutions as
possible.
 Identify criteria by which
the solutions are
judged.
 Modify and combine the
solutions as needed.
 Select a trial solution.
 Determine what materials
will be needed (if any).
 Assign responsibility for
the specific steps.
 Set a timeline.
 Establish measurement
procedures.
 Schedule a follow-up
meeting.
States of the Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem-Solving Process. (Activity)
State 1: Objective-finding (“Mess” Finding)
Divergent: List broad objectives or goals of a program: imagine potential challenges (without
judgment, explanation, or discussion).
Convergent: Converge on the best way to state the objective: select the best way to state the
challenge.
Stage 2: Fact-finding
Divergent:
 List as many facts as possible regarding the objective/challenge: facts might concern the
student’s needs or the class or activity.
 Present facts without explanation, judgment, or discussion in a short time period (5-8 minutes):
o Facts can include team members’ feelings.
o Facts include what people believe to be true about the challenge situation.
o Facts are recorded and saved for later use (during idea finding).
Convergent:
Select a subset of relevant facts to assist problem-finding in the next stage.
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney
Stage 3: Problem-finding
Divergent:
Clarify the challenge or problem by considering different ways of viewing it: “In
what ways might we…?” Repeat the question until the team feels confident that it
has teased out the real issue.
Convergent:
Select one of the new challenge statements that the team agrees it most wants to
solve. Prompt consensus by asking team members questions such as
 Which of these challenges do we most desperately want to accomplish or solve?
 If we could help this student or could resolve one problem right now, what would that be?
Stage 4: Idea-finding
Divergent:
 Ideas are potential solutions to the challenge statements from stage 3.
 Ideas emerge thorough brainstorming (i.e., a divergent process to stretch beyond the obvious):
sort time periods; people speak quickly in short phases, not sentences; are recorded quickly ; aim
for quality, use free-wheeling or round robin.
 Use techniques and “idea joggers” to jar ideas loose:
o Forced relationships/rearrange: Combine two ideas/objects with little apparent
relationship in some way to generate a new idea to solve a problem.
o Synectics: Make the strange familiar and the familiar strange so things can be seen in
new ways (facts bout student and challenges).
o Incubation: Move away from the challenge for a time to engage in different activities:
return to it later.
o Idea jobbers:
 Make some fact about the situation smaller or bigger, rearrange it, eliminate it,
reverse or turn it upside down or inside out.
 Hitch-hiking effect: Build new ides on ideas of another.
Convergent: Separate out the ideas with the most promise and appeal.
Stage 5: Solution-finding
Divergent:
List criteria or ways to evaluate the ides generated.
Convergent: Focus on each idea and evaluate it by each criterion; asking whether it meets or
fails the criterion. Eliminate all but those judged as acceptable to the team.
Combine those ideas to create the solution(s).
Stage 6: Acceptance-finding
Divergent:
Find ways to implement the ides by asking the following questions: wo, what,
where, when, why, and how?
Convergent: Develop a plan of action that delineates actions to be taken, by whom, and when.
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney
Criteria for deciding if an idea is a good one. (Intervention)
Applying Criteria to Potential Solutions:
How will we judge if an idea or potential accommodation is a good one?
_____ 1. Is it “doable” and reasonable?
_____ 2. Is it time-effective?
_____ 3. Does it promote school/community access?
_____ 4. Does it provide opportunities to interact with peers?
_____ 5. Does it provide opportunities to communicate?
_____ 6. Is it cost effective?
_____ 7. Is it safe?
_____ 8. Is it team generated?
_____ 9. Is it related to specific classroom demands?
_____ 10. Does it empower, rather than humiliate, the student?
_____ 11. Is it student-validated or generated?
_____ 12. Does it meet class requirements?
_____ 13. Does it incorporate best practices?
_____ 14. Other:
_____ 15. Other:
Solution-finding worksheet: Evaluating ideas and finding solutions.
Solution finding
Potential solutions
Criteria
Neutral or
positive
for
Addresses students
student
without
need
disabilities
Likely to
support
valued life
outcomes
Perceived as
usable by
users (e.g.,
teacher,
student,
parent)
other
1.
5.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney
A questionnaire for teachers to reflect on collaborative teaching. (Evaluate)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Item
I fell that my knowledge and skills are
valued.
I believe that information and materials are
freely shared.
I believe that I am an equal partner in the
decisions that are made.
I am frequently acknowledged and reinforced
by my partner.
I believe we are using sound instructional
practices.
I am learning as a result of our roles and
responsibilities.
My time is used productively when I am in
the classroom.
I am satisfied with our roles and
responsibilities.
I am satisfied with the way we communicate
with and coach each other.
Not at all
1
2
3
4
5
6
Completely
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney
A quiz for team members to assess their communication behavior.
Checking Out My Communication Behavior
Directions: Complete all the questions by yourself. Review your answers in a round-robin fashion
by having each member summarize his/her current communication performance.
1. If I were to explain something to teammates and they sat quietly with blank faces, I
would
_____ try to explain clearly and then move on
_____ encourage members to ask questions until I knew everyone understood
2. If our facilitator explained something to the team that I did not understand, I would
_____ keep silent and find out from someone else later on
_____ ask the facilitator to repeat the explanation or to answer my questions
3. How often do I let other members know when I like or approve of something they say or
do?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
4. How often do I let other teammates know when I am irritated or impatient, embarrassed
by, or opposed to something they have said or done?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
5. How often do I check out teammates’ feelings and not just assume that I know what they
are?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
6. How often do I encourage others to let me know how they feel about what I say?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
7. How often do I check to be sure I understand what others are saying before I think
judgmentally (e.g., “I don’t agree” “She’s right!”)?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
8. How often do I check to be sure I understand what others are saying before I express
my judgments nonverbally (e.g., head shake, frowning) or out loud (e.g., “I don’t agree”
“She’s right!”)?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
9. How often do I paraphrase or restate what others have said before I respond?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
10. How often do I keep my feelings, reactions, toughs, and ideas to myself during meetings?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
11. How often do I make sure that all information I have regarding the topic under discussion
is known to the rest of the group?
Never 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 -5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 Always
Question content: Questions addressing the following aspects of communication: 1 and 2 – One-way and
two-way communication; 3 and 4 – Your willingness to ask for feedback on how you react to their
messages; 5 and 6 – Your willingness to ask for feedback on your messages; 7-9 – Your receiving skills: 10
and 11 – Your willingness to contribute (send) relevant messages about the team’s work.
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney
“Are we really a team?” quiz.
Directions: Circle the points to the left of each item only if all group members answer “yes” to
the item. Total the number of points circled. The maximum score is 100 points.
POINTS
2
We meet in a comfortable physical environment.
2
We start our meetings on time.
2
We arrange ourselves in a circle when we meet.
2
The size of our group does not exceed 7 members.
2
Our meetings are structured so that there is ample “air time” for all participants.
Needed members:
2
 Are invited (Note: members may change from week to week based upon the agenda
items).
2
 Attend.
2
 Arrive on time.
2
 Stay until the end of the meeting.
2
We have regularly scheduled meetings which are held at times and locations agreed upon in
advance by the team.
2
We do not stop the meeting to update tardy members. Updates occur at a break of
following the meeting.
We have a communication system for:
2
 Absent members.
2
 “Need to know” people, not part of the core team.
We use a structured agenda format which prescribes that we:
2
 Identify agenda items for the next meeting at the prior meeting
2
 Set time limits for each agenda item.
2
 Rotate roles.
2
 Process group effectiveness regarding both task accomplishment and social skill
performance.
2
 Review and modify the agenda, whenever necessary.
2
We have publicly agreed to the group’s overall goals.
2
We have publicly shared our individual professional “agenda”: that is, we each stated what
we need from the group to be able to work toward the group goals.
2
We coordinate our work to achieve our objectives ( as represented by the agenda items).
3
We have established group social norms (e.g., no “put downs,” all members participate) and
confront one another on norm violations.
3
We have a “no scapegoating” norm. When things go wrong, it is not one person’s fault, but
everyone’s job to make a new plan.
2
We explain the norms of the group to new members.
3
We feel free to express our feelings (negative and positive).
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney
2
3
3
2
3
We call attention to discussions which are off-task or stray from the agenda topics.
We openly discuss problems in social interaction.
We set time aside to process interactions and feelings.
We spend time developing a plan to improve interactions.
We have arranged for training to increase our small group skills (e.g., give and receiving
criticism, perspective taking, creative problem solving, conflict resolution).
2
We view situations and solutions from various perspectives.
2
We discuss situations from the perspective of absent members.
3
We generate and explore multiple solutions before selecting a particular solution.
2
We consciously identify the decision-making process (e.g., majority vote, consensus,
unanimous decision) we will use for making a particular decision.
3
We distribute leadership functions by rotating roles (e.g., recorder, time-keeper,
observer).
2
We devote time at each meeting for positive comments.
2
We structure other group rewards and “celebrations.”
3
We have identified ways for “creating” time for meetings.
2
We summarize the discussion of each topic before moving on to the next agenda item.
2
We distribute among ourselves the homework/action items.
3
We generally accomplish the tasks on our agenda.
3
We have fun at our meetings.
2
We end on time.
_________ Total possible pints =100
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney
Observing team process.
Process elements
Informal behaviors:
Entering the room, seating
arrangement, interaction patterns,
signs of trust
Structure of the team meeting:
agenda, designated facilitator, sense
of purpose, evidence of organization
Communication: sharing of
information, values, perspectivetaking, listening, and speaking styles
Participation by members: shared
participation, verbal and nonverbal
signs of involvement or withdrawal,
invited and encouraged participation
Problem-solving and decision making
processes: clarity of the question,
consideration of alternatives, use of
consensus, assignments for action,
sense of ownership for decision
Conflict resolution:
acknowledgement of differences,
open discussion of positions,
compromise
Giving and receiving feedback: by
and to individuals, discussion of how
team is functioning
Effectiveness of leadership during
meeting: shared leadership,
facilitator, timekeeper
Needs for future team
development: current state of
development, types of training,
experience, and consultation that
would help this team achieve the
highest stage of development
Positives
Issues and concerns
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney
A grid for observing cooperative skills used by team members.
Observer: __________________________________________
Date: ____________
Team Meeting: __________________________________________________________
Target Skills
Carla
(GE)
Kenna
(SE)
Joy
(SLP)
Brenda Mary
(Parent) (TA)
Waits for team member to finish speaking
before talking
Follows team ground rules
Avoids arguing but expresses disagreement by
seeking clarification or stating an alternate
viewpoint
√ indicates an instance of the behavior / skill
- indicates a need for the behavior / skill
Anecdotal record of “good” examples of skill performance (note member)
Other relevant observations that are related to target skills
Collaborative Teaming: Teachers’ Guide to Inclusive Practices by Martha E. Snell and Rachel Janney