Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Teams: Harnessing the Driving Force for ...

West, June A., Tuc...

Technical Note

Teams: Harnessing the Driving Force for School Turnaround

West, June A.; Tucker, Pamela D.

BC-0214 | Published October 7, 2008 | 10 pages Technical Note

Collection: Darden School of Business

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Using quality circles and teams is fairly new to education? and is constrained by how schools are organized and a past emphasis on teacher autonomy. Can school leaders borrow from the business practice of using teams to promote student learning in their schools? This note discusses the information gleaned from participants in the Turnaround Specialist Program that is part of a Darden partnership with the Curry School of Education. The principals in that program conclude that teams made the formidable task of meeting federal Adequate Yearly Progress standards more manageable.

Students—especially educators—learn how the team appproach helps members set expectations and identify common goals and objectives. They also see how learning communities create opportunities for members to challenge and influence one another on fundamental instructional issues. The note includes an extensive list of references suitable for further exploration of learning communities.