This practicum report describes an intervention to increase teachers' skill and confidence in the use of classroom observation techniques in a school serving children from kindergarten through second grade. Goals of the intervention were that teachers would: (1) recognize six types of observation; (2) implement two types of observation in their…

This practicum project used organized professional development to increase involvement of teachers at a preK-8 school in the school's reform process. All members of the school community actively participated in planning, data collecting, and sharing of pertinent reform information. The 3-month staff development intervention consisted of three…

This action research project evaluated a program designed to increase the use of appropriate social skills and improve academic achievement. The targeted population was comprised of first through third graders in four separate communities located in northeast Illinois. Evidence of the problem included teacher observational checklists denoting…

This report describes a program designed to promote the use of recorded observations in Child Development Associate (CDA) advisors' assessments of interns in early childhood education at a southwestern community college. Sixty-one advisors participated in the program, which consisted of a series of five staff development meetings, formulation of a…

The general nature of collaborative work among peers in classrooms is discussed. This framework is applied to the interpretation of a 2-year study which examined how pairs of children in two classrooms (8- and 9-year-olds; 11- and 12-year-olds) worked together to solve computer programming problems in the LOGO language. It was found that students…

This practicum was designed to enable teachers in an elementary school to gain the skills required to utilize technological equipment and materials in their classrooms. The primary objective was that teachers would become proficient in the use of technology in their teaching. A second goal was that teachers would use technology to vitalize…

This practicum was designed to develop learning experiences for teachers which would improve their ability to be accountable for children's progress in play-oriented educational programs. The primary objective was to increase teachers' competence with regard to knowledge about play, and their skill in assessing and reporting developmental progress…

This practicum study devised and evaluated a program designed to reduce overt incidents of stereotyping among diverse fourth through sixth graders in a large urban K-8 school. The 8-month intervention was comprised of six elements: (1) establishing a safe secure classroom atmosphere governed by consistent authoritative discipline; (2) building…

This practicum took place in seven treatment programs that offer residential, day treatment, and therapeutic school services to children and adolescents with social, emotional, and/or behavioral problems. Each of these programs provides milieu therapy including group-centered treatment guided by professional child and youth care counselors. The…