What Makes Interdisciplinary Teams Effective?

wo ofthebiggest misconceptions surrounding the implementation ofinterdisciplinary teaming inthe middle grades are that (a) the work is complete after teachers and students have been assigned to teams and theclass schedule has been rearranged sothat students on each team have all their classes together (Le., the structures are in place) and (b) the implementation ofteaming ensures that a school will positively impact teacher and student outcomes. However, thetruth is that notonly is the most challenging work tackled after teams have been formed, but, without thefollow-up work, tearning alone is notlikely to achieve sustained outcomes (Erb and Doda, 1989; Felner, Jackson, Kasak, Mulhall, Brand, &Flowers, 1997). For many teachers who are assigned to a team for the first time, working on an interdisciplinary team represents a change from thesecurity oftheir often isolated classrooms toasetting that requires collaboration, teamwork, and ongoing communication with other teachers. Since interdisciplinary teams are comprised of groups ofteachers from different subject areas who work togethertocoordinate instruction, communication, and assessment for a common group ofstudents, teachers must learn towork collaboratively, establish equitable responsibilities among team members, and set attainable goals for the team. Further, once teams have established professional and interactive relationships, they must learn how best touse their group efforts given thegoals they have set for themselves. Since very few educators are trained or prepared towork on teams, these are challenging and often frustrating tasks for even the most dedicated and caring teachers. However, when a team can crystallize its goals and tasks, its members can work together to influence curriculum and instruction, which in tum influences the learning process. In fact, schools engaged ininterdisciplinary teaming have a more positive school climate, have more frequent contact with parents, have higher job satisfaction among teachers, and report higher student achievement scores than non-teaming schools (Flowers, Mertens, and Mulhall, 1999). This article will identify and explain thetypes ofpractices and interactions that teams engage in, which intuminfluence instruction and student learning. Data will also bepresented to illustrate theimpact that common planning time, thesize ofteams, and the length oftime that a school has been engaged inteaming have on team activities and interactions. The data were collected from a group of155 middle grades schools inMichigan that are part ofthe Middle Start Initiative funded by theW. K. Kellogg Foundation. These schools participated intheSchool Improvement Self-Study, a setofsurveys completed by staff, students, and administrators, during 1994-95 and again in 1996-97 (FeIner, Mertens, & Lipsitz, 1996; Mertens, Flowers, &Mulhall, 1998).