This practicum focused on preventing referral to special education by meeting the needs of kindergarten and first grade children identified with behavioral or academic problems in the mainstream classroom. The practicum emphasized: (1) early identification of potentially dysfunctional children; (2) development of individual education plans…

A 10-week program was developed to provide structure, consistency, and organization in the classrooms of 30 elementary-age emotionally handicapped (EH) students. The program sought to assist the students with staying on task, becoming structured, and reducing inappropriate behavior. The program contained two basic components (a behavioral…

This practicum attempted to modify the antisocial behavior of 25 early adolescent children classified as having emotional disturbances by a training program to facilitate the development of affective skills in their mothers. The 8-month training program involved discussion groups, social activities, and individual and/or small group meetings with…

The implementation of a developmental kindergarten program designed to address the needs of kindergarten children with learning and behavior problems was resisted by parents. As a result, a practicum was designed for teachers to (1) provide information needed to improve skills necessary for conferences with parents regarding developmental…

Because handicapped and nonhandicapped students in a Pennsylvania elementary school were not sucessfully mainstreamed and lacked social skills, a practicum was devised to (1) teach social behavior skills to socially/emotionally maladjusted (SEM) students, and (2) present social skill intervention strategies promoting a positive attitude between…

Two sixth-grade, hearing-impaired students were studied to determine the effectiveness of stress management techniques using biofeedback instruments to monitor their nervous and cardiovascular systems. The male student had behavior problems, exhibiting explosive behavior without warning. The female student experienced excessive audible inhalations…

This practicum involved development and implementation of an inservice training workshop on behavior management in the high school setting. Participants were five teachers with students who exhibited challenging behaviors. Prior to the workshop, a needs assessment was conducted which found that the school had a high rate of referral and placement…

This practicum was designed to reduce the frequency of disruption occurring in a class of emotionally disturbed students, aged 6-10. Objectives were to have the students remain on task and attentive to teacher instruction during 80 percent of a morning classroom session and to reduce the need for crisis intervention outside the classroom. Three…

The martial art of Aikido was used as an intervention with 15 middle and high school students with severe emotional disturbances in an alternative educational setting. Students with an extensive history of violently disruptive and assaultive behaviors were trained for 12 weeks in this nonviolent Japanese martial art in order to achieve the…

This practicum project addressed the need to improve antisocial behavior in disruptive elementary school children, using a skill deficit perspective. Six student participants were selected on the basis of a high number of school suspensions and their identification as disrespectful, confrontational, and self-absorbed, as well as behaviors that…

This practicum sought to provide elementary school teachers with the skills and knowledge needed to teach students residing in foster care. The three specific goals of the practicum were: (1) to have all 30 of the teacher participants use teaching strategies appropriate to the education of foster care children; (2) to have at least 25 of the 30…

A behavior modification program was developed and implemented to decrease the tardy behavior of 20 middle school students (ages 13 to 15) in a self-contained dropout prevention class. Student interviews revealed that the students were unable to manage their time, were not motivated to attend class, and did not find class rewarding. The…

This practicum was designed to establish behavioral and assessment criteria for dealing with seriously emotionally disturbed elementary students enrolled in self-contained emotionally handicapped (EH) units. A primary goal was to provide out-of-field EH teachers with an objective tool for continuously assessing students' individual behavioral and…

A plan to de-escalate fighting behaviors at an inner-city elementary school was implemented. It is believed that factors contributing to the problem were: low socio-economic status; a lack of parental supervision at home; a lack of parental involvement at school; a high level of criminal activity surrounding the schools; overcrowded class areas;…

This practicum was designed to decrease the number of times boys in third, fourth, and fifth grade classes met with the school guidance counselor for unacceptable behaviors and to improve the attitudes of the boys and their parents. Pre- and post-attitudinal and observational questionnaires were administered to 30 randomly selected third, fourth,…