Teacher Assistance Teams: Five Descriptive Studies on 96 Teams

Abstract

School-based teacher support teams are being established by many educational agencies in an effort to assist teachers in more effectively serving students with learning and behavior problems within the general classroom setting. This article addresses questions most frequently asked by educators who are interested in establishing or strengthening school-based teams. Data are summarized from five studies conducted on 96 teams in seven states with respect to intervention goals of teams, team impact on student performance and the special education referral process, reactions of classroom teachers to teams, factors related to team effectiveness or ineffectiveness, and recommendations for improving team effectiveness.

Étude descriptive et exploratoire sur les services offerts aux élèves en difficulté d’apprentissage

“…Selon ce modèle, les services devaient être offerts d'abord au sein même de la classe ordinaire. La documentation, surtout la documentation américaine, révèle qu'il existe plusieurs façons d'offrir les services aux élèves en difficulté d'apprentissage, soit les approches préventives avant la référence (Fuchs, Fuchs, Bahr, Fernstrom et Stecker, 1990;Graden, Casey et Christenson, 1985;Pugach et Johnson, 1989), les équipes de résolution de problèmes (Chalfant et Van Dusen Pysh, 1989), les classes ressources (Wiederholt et Chamberlain, 1989) et les enseignants consultants (Huefner, 1988;West et Idol, 1987). À ces modèles de services s'ajoute la mise sur pied par les écoles de projets, tel le tutorat.…”

Prereferral Interventions

“…A review of the research conducted on pre-referral teams has shown that these teams generally have positive outcomes (Chalfant & Pysh, 1989). The schools surveyed reported successful interventions were developed for 70% to almost 90% of their referrals.…”

“…The fourth member is the referring teacher. Other members, such as an administrator or other specialists are sometimes present and such membership varies within and between districts (Chalfant & Pysh, 1989). TATs allow for flexibility in their procedure, with respect to referral forms, and other pre-referral requirements.…”

“…However, the authors, as well as other proponents of TATs, recommend caution regarding the participation of the school principal. Since said administrator has evaluative responsibility with the teachers, his/her teachers might perceive their presence as threatening (Hayek, 1987;Chalfant & Pysh, 1989).…”

“…The effectiveness of TATs in helping teachers improve the performance of their students was evaluated by Chalfant and Pysh (1989) in four studies Gilmer, 1985;Chalfant & Pysh, 1985. In these studies each school rated the extent to which students achieved the goals written for them by the TATs.…”