Instructional Consultation Teams: Collaborating for Change

While there is considerable evidence for the effectiveness of school consultation teams for interventions with difficult or at-risk students, relatively little has been written on how such teams are most effectively developed and integrated into school culture. This book details that process and describes the important features of the Instructional Consultation Team, including methods and instruments to help build cohesive teams, identify and analyze problems in collaboration, and plan and implement interventions.

Instructional Consultation Teams functions as a handbook for change. The authors convincingly argue that the improvement of schools' response to at-risk students requires major modifications in the school culture, and to engender that change professionals need special skills. Bringing together literature on school consultation and school change, this accessible volume enables the school-based professional who takes the role as change facilitator not only to implement new, more effective services, but also to ensure that the services become established functions of the school system.

To address the joint issues of consultation and the change process in relation to Instructional Consultation (IC) Teams, chapters first describe the current context for developing interdisciplinary consultation support services in relationship to school and special education reform. Then, after outlining the essential dimensions of the IC-Team and the role of the change facilitator, the authors focus on the transition to a new service delivery system. Utilizing a stage-based model for innovation design, they provide a road map for initiating, training, implementing, and institutionalizing IC-Teams. At each interval, procedures for evaluating progress are described and illustrated with numerous case examples. Four appendices contain reproducible forms useful for developing instructional consultation teams.

A hands-on guide to forging effective collaborative relationships in the educational setting, this book is essential reading for all school system personnel, including school psychologists, guidance counselors, principals, and other administrators and consultants. It is also a useful resource for other professionals interested in collaborative work and serves as a text for consultation courses in school psychology and general or special education.

Sylvia A. Rosenfield, PhD, is Professor in the School Psychology Program and Chair of the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services of the University of Maryland in College Park. In addition to this book, she is the author of Instructional Consultation and other publications on consultation services.

Todd A. Gravois, PhD, is School Psychologist and Resource Specialist for the Instructional Consultation Team Project in the Howard County Public Schools in Maryland. He has extensive experience in developing and evaluating instructional consultation teams.