| Purpose of the study. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid instrument to assess the effectiveness of interdisciplinary teams. The instrument was developed from (1) a review of the literature and research, (2) perceptions of practitioners of interdisciplinary teaming, (3) field-testing and refinement through statistical analysis. The specific objectives of the study were: (1) To identify major theoretical constructs which have been demonstrated relative to effective interdisciplinary teams. (2) To develop an instrument based upon those constructs which can help assess the effectiveness of interdisciplinary teams. (3) To validate, pilot, analyze, and refine the instrument so it may be used by practitioners and researchers to assess interdisciplinary teams.;Procedures. An instrument of seventy-seven items and ten constructs was produced after the review of literature and research. The instrument, the Interdisciplinary Team Audit (ITA) was sent to non-first year team teachers in 100 randomly chosen Missouri middle schools. The teachers responded to all seventy-seven items on a nine-point likert scale regarding the importance of each concept to the overall functioning of interdisciplinary teaming. The data gathered were subjected to varimax orthogonal factor analysis.;Findings. Factor analysis reduced the instrument to thirty items distributed in a four factor solution. The four factors were labeled Instructional Practices, Student Orientation, Team Organization, and Team Structure.;The Instructional Practices factor, comprised of twelve items, is the degree to which team members implement and integrate curriculum using effective instructional and evaluative practices. The Student Orientation, comprised of ten items, is the degree to which team members demonstrate concern and accept responsibility for promoting students' academic and social development. The Team Organization, comprised of four items, is the degree to which team members are organized as they conduct their team responsibilities. The Team Structure, comprised of four items, is the degree to which the teaming process facilitates the implementation of the principles of shared students, common planning time and adjacent classrooms.;Summary. The Interdisciplinary Team Audit is a valid, reliable instrumentation for research regarding team effectiveness and self-assessment feedback for practitioners. |
