WHAT RESEARCH SAYS: Emerging from the Mists: The Field of Teaming

Teaming, like parenting and marriage, often comes unaccompanied by training or instructions. The assumption is often made that people have an innate ability to function "naturally" in interpersonal settings. But, in most cases, success does not come naturally and often results from a combination of trial and error, luck, and commitment. Teaming is more than putting two to five people in adjacent classrooms and giving them a common plan ning time. Even though 57% of the schools now report teaming arrangements (Valentine, Clark, Irvin, Keefe, & Melton, 1993), an increase from the 42% reported in 1990 (Epstein & Mac Iver, 1990) and 33% in 1989 (Alexander & McEwin, 1989), such arrangements do not necessarily mean the teachers assigned to these teams communicate frequently to integrate curriculum, rearrange the schedule around activities, or engage in other collaborative strategies. Successful teaming does not just happen. High team performance requires train ing, practice, and support structures. Now after 30 years of implementing interdisciplinary teams in middle level schools, a developing research agenda provides insights for creating and sustaining effective teams. The "Systemic Framework for Variables of Team Performance (Figure 1) provides a conceptual model of the factors that affect team performance. This article describes the three categories of the framework, their usefulness, and examples of pertinent studies within each category.