Team Development Challenges

Adult Development and Teaming

• Adults learn and grow when working together in teams, but teams face challenges and difficulties.
• Effective teaming can help adults develop internal capacities and make a difference in their roles.

Four Ways of Knowing

• Adults make sense of the world through one of four qualitatively different ways of knowing:
  • Instrumental knowers (focus on rules and procedures)
  • Socializing knowers (orient towards feelings and approval of others)
  • Self-authoring knowers (share their own perspectives and expertise)
  • Self-transforming knowers (explore complexities and paradoxes)

Support for Growth

• Each way of knowing has strengths and growing edges, and developmental supports can help adults grow:
  • Instrumental knowers: provide opportunities to consider alternative paths, model flexibility, and encourage dialogue.
  • Socializing knowers: provide opportunities to share individual perspectives, model accepting differences, and challenge assumptions.
  • Self-authoring knowers: create opportunities to identify and share goals, support different approaches, and encourage critique.
  • Self-transforming knowers: build teams with diverse experiences, provide space for discussion, and challenge them to be patient.

Pillar Practices and Adult Development

• Teaming: collaborate on curriculum, literacy, technology, and diversity teams to increase individual and organizational learning.
• Collegial inquiry: engage in purposeful dialogue to examine assumptions and share perspectives.
• Mentoring and coaching: support adults in broadening perspectives, examining assumptions, and sharing expertise.

Challenges in Teaming

• Dilemmas arise when team members have different ways of knowing, leading to conflicts and challenges:
  • Dilemma 1: The Complainer
  • Dilemma 2: The Slacker
  • Dilemma 3: The Overachiever
  • Dilemma 4: Stuck in the Middle
  • Dilemma 5: The Boat Rocker

Solutions

• Role-playing and applying a developmental lens can help teams navigate challenges and improve communication.
• Investing time in learning about team members' ways of knowing and providing supports can help improve relationships and productivity.
• Expressing genuine appreciation and recognizing the importance of adult development in teaming can lead to stronger relationships and better outcomes.### Authors and Their Works
• Eleanor Drago-Severson is a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York.
• Christy Joswick O'Connor is a doctoral student and curriculum supervisor in New Jersey.
• Jessica Blum-DeStefano is an instructor at Bank Street College, New York.
• Katie D. Lewis is an assistant professor in the Department of Education at York College of Pennsylvania.
• Angela M. Novak is an assistant professor in the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
• Christine L. Weber is an associate professor in the Department of Childhood Education, Literacy and TESOL at the University of North Florida.

Publications

• Drago-Severson, E. (2004). Helping teachers learn: Principal leadership for adult growth and development.
• Drago-Severson, E., & Blum-DeStefano, J. (2016). Tell me so I can hear you: A developmental approach to feedback for educators.
• Drago-Severson, E., & Blum-DeStefano, J. (2016). Teaching, learning, and leading in today's complex world: Reaching new heights with a developmental approach.
• Coronado, J. (2015). Where are gifted students of color? Continuing the conversation: Critical issues in gifted education: A case studies approach.
• Ford, D. Y., Moore, J. L., & Nelson, S. W. (2004). Beyond cultureblindness: A model of culture with implications for gifted education.

Research and Findings

• Drago-Severson's research focuses on developmental approaches to teaching, learning, and leadership.
• The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) defines gifted students.
• Researchers have explored teacher perceptions of gifted Hispanic bilingual students and the underrepresentation of Blacks and Hispanics in gifted education.
• Studies have investigated educator beliefs and cultural knowledge, as well as implications for school improvement efforts.