Measuring the Process and Outcomes of Team Problem Solving

Abstract

Although there is a strong legislative base and perceived efficacy for multidisciplinary team decision making, limited evidence supports its effectiveness or consistency of implementation in practice. In recent research, we used the Decision Observation, Recording, and Analysis (DORA) tool to document activities and adult behaviors during positive behavior support team meetings. In this study, we revised the DORA to provide evidence of the extent to which the solutions that teams developed were implemented with fidelity and associated with improvements in student behavior. Using trained observers, we documented decision making at 18 meetings in 10 schools where team members discussed a total of 44 problems. We found that scores on the Decision Observation, Recording, and Analysis–II (DORA-II) were acceptable indicators for documenting problem solving during team meetings and that they provided technically adequate information on the extent to which teams were assessing whether they had implemented a solution and whether the solution made a difference for students. We believe the revised assessment tool has value in studying team-based problem solving, and we discuss our findings as a base for a well-reasoned research agenda for moving the process forward as evidence-based practice.

A Randomized Waitlist Controlled Analysis of Team-Initiated Problem Solving Professional Development and Use

“…Organization and functions of team meetings. We collected data at team meetings using the Decision Observation, Recording, and Analysis-II (DORA-II; Algozzine et al, 2016). The DORA-II is a two-part direct observation tool with demonstrated validity and acceptable interobserver agreement (97% for Foundations and 90% for Problem Solving).…”

“…While most research does not provide strong support that teams are using effective and efficient problem-solving practices, extant evidence indicates that the Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) model with initial professional development and follow-up technical assistance/coaching results in improved team problem solving (Algozzine et al, 2016; Newton, Horner, Todd, Algozzine, & Algozzine, 2012; Todd et al, 2012; Todd et al, 2011). The TIPS approach guides teams to use data to define precise problem statements (e.g., not only what problem behavior is occurring, but where it is occurring, when it is most and least likely, who is engaging in the behavior, and the behavioral function maintaining the behavior) and accompanying goals.…”

Exploring Cloud Computing Tools to Enhance Team-Based Problem Solving for Challenging Behavior

“…To enhance the efficacy of that preparation, a systematic Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) model with accompanying professional development was created to provide teams with a concrete structure for engaging in each step of a data-based problem-solving process (Newton et al, 2012; Todd et al, 2011). Todd et al (2011) provides a description of the conceptual foundations for the TIPS model while Newton et al (2012) and Algozzine, Horner, Todd, and Newton (2016) describe the operationalized components of TIPS to support implementation and monitoring by teams. Figure 1 displays an organizational model that includes the steps associated with TIPS when it is incorporated into a model for promoting data use (Bertrand & Marsh, 2015; Marsh & Farrell, 2015).…”

Comprehensive Trauma-Informed Care for the Whole Community: The Whole Child Initiative Model

“…Staff leadership teams at all levels of the district are trained in team-initiated problem solving (TIPS) (Newton, Todd, Algozzine, Algozzine, Horner, & Cusumano, 2014;Newton, Horner, Algozzine, Todd, & Algozzine, 2012;Todd, Horner, Newton, Algozzine, Algozzine, & Frank, 2011). TIPS is an evidence-based set of deceptively simple meeting disciplines that emphasize using data to pinpoint and precisely define problems, identify the goals for change, generate possible solutions that are relevant to the context, implement the solution with high integrity, and monitor the impact of solutions.…”