A practicum used a new learning tool to enhance long-term retention of new vocabulary. Sixteen seventh-graders in Language Arts, who had a long-term retention mean score of approximately 40% of newly learned vocabulary, increased their long-term retention of new vocabulary by 25% (a new mean of 65% of new vocabulary). Additional objectives…

A practium study sought to improve the confidence, clarity, and fluency of 115 seventh graders' public speaking skills. Students' public speaking skills were evaluated before and after the practicum by rotating peer review committees of three students each. The first month the practicum focused on self-esteem and a study of the history and…

This practicum addressed the problem of seventh grade compensatory education students' not having adequate instruction, opportunity, or experience to prepare for success in any level of eighth grade English. Overall goals for the practicum were to give instruction in public speaking, to provide opportunities for students to engage in public…

A practicum intervention was designed to increase the motivation of seventh graders in a small, non-urban school system in the southeastern United States. Many of these students exerted little effort to succeed in school by completing homework, studying lessons, and participating in classroom activities. A series of staff development workshops…

A key strategy for teaching inferential comprehension was implemented in a seventh-grade classroom of students who were at least one year below grade level in reading. The purpose was to improve the students' inferential comprehension skills. The implementation began with a diagnostic reading test followed by several weeks of introducing different…

This practicum used a weekly tutorial program to improve students' written expression using precision teaching as a monitoring tool. Remedial children were referred for instruction by teachers, school psychologists, or parents. The practicum was based on the students' needs for a program strengthening writing mechanics and reading comprehension…

There are potentially successful students who are failing one or more subjects every year. Many students are spending more than the normal 3 years at the middle school level because of this failure. A program was designed to increase the self-esteem, motivation, and interest of at-risk students, thereby improving their grades. A second aim was to…

Carried out as the practicum of a doctoral program in early and middle childhood education, this report describes the development of a children's literature program for a middle school in a lower middle-class neighborhood in Florida where reading scores were below district and national norms, and where a literature anthology of condensed books or…

The problem of school dropouts and at-risk students has many causes. No one cause can be seen clearly as the dominant factor in a child leaving school and the possibility of that student not finishing his high school career. This program addressed the problems of at-risk students with poor social and academic skills. The literature reviewed…

This practicum report describes the development of a program designed to improve self-confidence in low-achieving seventh grade girls towards computers. The questionnaire "My Feelings Towards Computers" was used for pre- and post-comparisons. Students were introduced to the computer program LOGO, were taught to compose programs using the…

A practicum was developed to improve process writing skills of seventh grade at-risk students by increasing interest through the use of the microcomputer, word processing software, and telecommunications technology. Sixteen students wrote a series of eight "basic" hand-written essays as part of the regular language arts class. Students then…

This study examined the effectiveness of a program with three basic features--high interest plays, oral reading, and high readability level--designed to aid middle school students scoring two or more years below grade level in reading comprehension. Subjects, 13 boys and two girls enrolled in a basic English class in a suburban middle school…

This practicum intervention was designed to improve the effectiveness of a middle school's interdisciplinary teams. While the school's sixth grade teams were judged to be effective in implementing the district's philosophy, two seventh grade and two eighth grade teams, composed of 18 teachers and 588 students, were among 70 interdisciplinary teams…

This practicum report describes an individualized multiple methods/materials approach to the teaching of reading to improve the critical reading skills of seventh grade students in a middle school in Georgia. The core of the program was the use of novels selected with the particular interests of adolescents in mind. Sixty-four students in the…

Outcomes of a teacher-teaming program that was implemented among seventh-grade teachers at a Florida middle school are described in this practicum report. Training sessions on effective teaming practices were initiated to address the lack of effective teaming practices among the seventh-grade teachers. Eight seventh-grade teachers participated in…