A Case Study of Team-Initiated Problem Solving Addressing Student Behavior in One Elementary School

Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) is an approach for organizing school team meetings to improve identification of targeted problems, use of data in the development of solutions, and development of implemented action plans. TIPS has been demonstrated in single-case and randomized controlled trial studies to improve the effectiveness of teams to both define academic and social problems in their schools, and to build practical solutions. This case study describes the experience of one elementary school team in their use of the TIPS approach, and the extent to which interventions developed by the team resulted in benefits for students. The major findings were that not only was the team effective at identifying academic and social problems and building solutions, but clear documentation was provided of improvement in student outcomes. The team used TIPS effectively, and there were measurable benefits for students. This case study has direct implications for how schools can improve team effectiveness, and the results suggest specific directions for future research focused on how teams can better use data to build action plans that benefit students.