The DEC Recommended Practices provide guidance to families and professionals about the most effective ways to improve learning outcomes and promote development of young children, birth through age 5, who have, or are at-risk for, developmental delays or disabilities. "Instruction: Effective Strategies to Support Engagement, Learning, and…

Peer relations during middle childhood and adolescence are an important part of children's social and emotional development. Children and adolescents pick up essential social and communication skills from their peers as they move into late adolescence and early adulthood. Peer conflict is not necessarily a bad thing; disagreement and conflict are…

Peer mediation is one of hundreds of programs schools are using to enhance security or prevent violence. The Winning Against Violent Environments (WAVE) conflict-resolution program in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the oldest in the country. Lists seven sources of information. (MLF)

This videotape demonstrates environments and several teaching strategies in the area of child-focused practices recommended by the Council for Exceptional Children's Division for Early Childhood. The strategies were selected based on a literature review and input from focus groups of parents and teachers on what promotes learning for young…

This book presents stories from teachers nationwide who tackled specific discipline challenges. Chapter 1, "Taking the Total Quality Road" (Judi Call, Beth Ziecheck, Janice Wright, and Kenneth Rigsby), discusses the use of Total Quality Management (TQM) in developing classroom management systems, explaining how Florida elementary…

This program guide for the elementary and middle school levels contains the student manual which is also published separately. Through the strategies of mediation, negotiation, and group problem solving, students learn to recognize, manage, and resolve conflict in peaceful, noncoercive ways. While accepting conflict as a natural everyday…

This program guide for the middle and high school levels contains the student manual which is also published separately. Teachers and administrators are advised on how to implement a peer mediation program, which is designed as an alternative for conflict resolution. The peer mediation approach presented here assumes that conflict is a normal and…

Presents discipline tips from several teachers to keep classrooms running smoothly all year. Some of the suggestions include the following: a bear-cave warning system, peer mediation, a motivational mystery, problem students acting as the teacher's assistant, a positive-behavior-reward chain, a hallway scavenger hunt (to ensure quiet passage…

A part of the Fuss Busters peer mediation program, this teacher's guide is designed to increase students' conflict resolution skills. Fuss Busters is intended to help elementary students resolve conflicts in a creative and cooperative manner through reflective listening, defusing anger, brainstorming, and mediation. The guide is designed to help…

This article examines peer intervention as a strategy for modifying disruptive behavior in inclusive classrooms, focusing on the method known as peer confrontation. A vignette of this method's application to reduce the incidence of verbal abuse in a regular classroom is provided, and implications of peer mediation for inclusive schooling are…

This study investigates whether the Student Mediation Model is useful for understanding how undergraduates learn from international teaching assistants (ITAs) teachers who are not from the United States and are not native English-speakers. The study examines a sample of over 8,300 students enrolled in beginning and more advanced calculus and…

This document presents a critical analysis of two of the most popular types of programs that schools have implemented to prevent violence among students: (1) mediation programs, and (2) conflict resolution curricula. While both promote interpersonal skills necessary to prevent violence, their effectiveness has not been evaluated adequately. These…

Students encounter numerous volatile situations throughout their school days. These videotapes and the accompanying teacher's manual and student handouts provide ways in which students can creatively assess and resolve these conflicts. The videotapes are designed for the whole school community: students and parents, teaching and non-teaching…

Teachers, parents and other caregivers who wish to bring the skills of peacemaking to life in children and in the world rely on four basic concepts: accepting self and others, communicating effectively, resolving conflicts, and understanding intercultural differences. Ways in which adults can impart these skills to children are presented in this…

This report summarizes findings from a study concerned with Arizona school safety. The survey component highlights safety-related policy information across 300 schools; the interview component highlights school-safety perceptions of 64 staff across 16 schools. Various policies and programs that respond to internal and external threats to school…