Comprehensive Evaluation of the 1996 Interdisciplinary Teamed Instruction Summer Institute.

The Interdisciplinary Teamed Instruction (ITI) Project was a 2-year project aimed at determining the effects of ITI on teaching and learning and at validating the effectiveness of a professional development model to facilitate development, implementation, and evaluation of ITI. Through summer institutes and onsite workshops, project staff provided training, resources, and ongoing technical assistance to teacher/administrator teams from four rural Virginia secondary schools. Teams designed and tested integrated curricula that incorporated learning activities and alternative assessment forms; conducted collaborative action research to determine the effectiveness of units; and redesigned units using feedback from students, teachers, parents, and supervisors. Researchers evaluated the 1996 ITI Summer Institute. Evaluation included questionnaires on teacher empowerment, schools as learning communities, school effectiveness, and teachers' sense of control; observations; participant interviews, reflection, and feedback; oral evaluation feedback; and rating of participants' videotaped presentations. Results indicated that the Institute met its intended outcomes. The greatest impact on participants related to collaboration, cooperative learning, assessment rubrics, multiple intelligences, and team building. Participants were very positive in evaluating the Institute, which strengthened their belief in and commitment to ITI concepts and practices. The quantitative instrumentation utilized may not have fully captured and documented Institute effects. Appendices contain a meeting agenda; three questionnaires on teachers, school as community, school products and services; a control questionnaire; a feedback form; interview questions; a team reflection log; presentation scoring rubric; and an evaluation standards checklist. (Contains 20 references.) (SM)