Taming of the Team: How Great Teams Work Together

by Jack Berckemeyer

Getting the best out of students is made easier by using teaming to nurture their educational, emotional, social, and developmental needs, and this guide is a blueprint for teambuilding in any school setting. True stories and practical strategies make this an effective and entertaining tool for assembling and managing a team within a professional learning community. It includes a dynamic “3-5-3 Action Plan” for improving student behavior as well as tips for using teams to address Common Core State Standards. The book guides teams through resolving conflicts; planning ahead and preventing time wasting; setting consistent expectations for students; and connecting curriculum, instruction, and calendar schedules. It is a helpful combination of humor and instruction that will help any school with teambuilding.

Genres: Education

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Monica Hills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the humor in this book. I was interested in reading this because I saw the author in person and loved him. The book was helpful and had a great appendix with all of the different ideas he discussed in the book. There were some great strategies to help teams. However I do see some of these as just not possible due to time constraints in a typical day. There is a lot of added paperwork in an already paperwork fueled profession. I do recommend anyone teaching in a team to read this book because it will definitely help with the set up and effectiveness of a team.

[Shannon Hugo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, practical, self-explanatory.

[Holly Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for Jack Berckemeyer's visit to our school this week and my role on the leadership team working with him. He did our keynote speech last year for our inservice day before school started, and he was hilarious. This book has a lot of great ideas for teaming in middle school. I remember when I was teaching in the 90s, teaming was big, and I loved working that way - our school was committed to it. I'd love to see the concept come back. I'm sure it never went away in some schools, but I haven't worked in a true team setting for a long time. The unfortunate thing is to get the extra team time, it requires money, and I think that extra time is what makes teams work the most effectively. Even without that time, though, we can do things to make our teaching less isolated and more collaborative, which is best for everyone. My favorite ideas in the book are the index card activity and the 3-5-3 Action Plan. I also love the idea of creating a team name and identity. I look forward to working with the author this Wednesday.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very okay book. An easy read with some good ideas I can put into practice right away. Many of the elements they mention are pretty common sense, but the appendices are going to give some useful tools for the year.

[Matt Castello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas and insight for educators. Especially pertinent for educators working in teams (obviously) but has good ideas for teachers not working in teams, as well.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Good ideas for teaming in schools, especially schools getting started with teaming.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really great practical information about how to run middle school teams. Thanks, Jack!