Author Description

Despite increases in the number of middle school using interdisciplinary team teaching, many are struggling to articulate a clear defense of their teaming work in light of confounding and conflicting public demands. This compilation examines teaming in middle schools--its characteristics, knowledge base, current concerns and future adaptations. The chapters are: (1) "Pushing Humpty off the Wall: Stories for a New Age of Teaming" (Dickinson), relating teaming to five significant concepts that help define the potential of teaming; (2) "Thirty Years of Attempting to Fathom Teaming" (Erb); (3) "Team Maturity: Learning to Grow Together" (White); (4) "A Case Study of the Dolphin Team" (Thomas), on the continuous learning of team members; (5) "Teaming in the Rural Middle School" (Lee); (6) "The Brief, Bright Light of the Village" (McDaniel), one principal's experience implementing the team approach; (7) "Teaming: Sharing the Experience" (Burkhardt); (8) "Starting a New Team: Advice and Best Practice" (Rogers, Bowen, and Hainline); (9) "Mature Teams at Work: Benchmarks and Obstacles" (Jones); (10) "The Art of Creative Composition: An Administrative Perspective on Interdisciplinary Teams" (Gallagher-Polite); (11) "Teams and the Affirmation of Middle Level Students' Voices: The Case of Jimmie" (Powell); (12) "Parental Perspectives" (Thompson, and others); (13) "Trends in the Utilization of Interdisciplinary Team Organization in Middle Schools" (McEwin); (14) "Interdisciplinary Team Teaching: Sampling the Literature" (Wraga); (15) "TEAM Me: A Philosophy Bigger Than Sports" (Page and Page); (16) "Research on Teaming: Insights from Selected Studies" (Strahan, Bowles, Richardson, and Hanawald); (17) "Teaming Beyond the Core Four" (Anglin); (18) "Leadership of Interdisciplinary Teams" (Kain); (19) "Teaming and Decision Making" (Pate); (20) "Teams and Curriculum" (Arnold); (21) "Whole Language on the Team" (Butler and Liner); and (22) "Inclusion and Teaming" (Walther-Thomas). Each