For a school year, a language arts software program was used to help special needs children in Marblehead, Massachusetts who represented a range of learning disabilities and emotional, behavioral and physical disorders of varying degrees of severity. The program had three major components, entitled "Nouns,""Verbs," and "Adjectives." These…

The major goals of this practicum were (1) to initiate a preschool screening program to identify children with special needs in the Lower Township School District, Cape May, New Jersey; (2) to refer these children to appropriate remedial services prior to their entrance into kindergarten; and (3) to provide opportunities for parents to attend…

This practicum focused on the problem of inservice training failing to meet the individual professional needs of a diverse summer staff in an early childhood center. The solution strategy utilized a needs assessment survey and consultations with staff members to determine areas of need and interest, the results of which were used to devise a…

A core group of pre-kindergarten through fourth-grade teachers and staff at a private day school were given in-service training to meet the special education needs of students. Training aimed to prepare personnel to identify students with mild handicaps, refer more severely handicapped students for diagnosis, and teach students with special…

Low self-esteem frequently impedes students' academic achievement. By incorporating different learning and teaching strategies, this practicum attempted to build self-esteem for fifth grade students who exhibited low self-esteem. Participants were selected based on their attendance, academic achievement, and/or behavior. The writer incorporated…

In an attempt to better serve the diverse educational needs of both traditional and non-traditional college students, a self-directed learning process plan was implemented in two community college early childhood education classes. The process began with an informal introductory meeting between instructor and students, followed by individual…