A 10-week practicum intervention was implemented with 67 first graders at a small, independent, university-run school in order to improve the children's affective behavior by increasing their self-esteem. The program began with a meeting with parents at which they were informed of the school's emphasis on self-esteem. In-service education was…

A study developed a plan for implementing the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Institutional Effectiveness Model at Lakeshore Technical College (LTC). A literature review identified several models in place for assessing effectiveness at colleges. Efforts were underway in the WTCS to develop implementation strategies. The president and…

A practicum intervention that provided an intensive language acquisition skills program to kindergarten children performing below grade level expectation in language acquisition was designed, implemented, and evaluated. Parents were included through scheduled meetings and newsletters that were developed by the children. The program was designed…

The development of adequate educational programs to provide relevant instruction to train students who will be able to compete for the computer-related jobs of the future requires an understanding not only of the curriculum development process, but also of the capabilities of the computer as an instructional device, the different instructional…

The entry level cardiovascular condition test scores of 45 cadets at the Criminal Justice Training Institute (Florida) were compared with test scores after the cadets participated in a 15-week conditioning program. The test consisted of running, push-ups and sit-ups, and bench and leg presses. The conditioning program was designed to increase…

A project developed a plan to improve oral reading in 12 mentally handicapped adults by stressing observation of punctuation marks, reading in phrases, using proper volume, and increasing confidence levels. Identifying the parts of a book and identifying new words were also included. The 12 students were reading below their potential, as shown by…

A project was designed to reduce the turnover of direct care staff in a community-based residential facility that provides a home and educational or adult day training services for 54 severely or profoundly mentally and physically handicapped children and adults. The project sought to reduce total staff turnover by 40%, reduce employee…

This practicum report presents a plan to reduce referrals for psychological evaluations in the schools in Dade County, Florida. Three goals of the plan are identified: (1) to reduce the backlog of referrals in three elementary schools; (2) to improve the placement rate of those students who are referred; and (3) to help teachers identify children…

This practicum was designed to enhance the academic achievement of high school students in English in a suburban community in southeastern New England. Through a 12-week program of study skills introduced in the English 9 collaborative classroom, the practicum aimed to enable students to recognize their best learning strategies. A pre- and…

This practicum report describes the development and implementation of a program to increase parent participation in the planning and conducting of activities sponsored by the district-level special education parent advisory committee. Monthly meetings and social events were held to encourage the 250 special education families to be more involved…

Over a l0-week period, an elementary school teacher designed and implemented a practicum study intended to help a target group of 24 kindergartners develop crucial mathematical problem-solving skills and to prepare them for taking the Stanford Achievement Test. The objective was addressed through implementation of direct instruction, modeling,…

This practicum sought to combat the problem of decreasing readiness skills and overall general knowledge of entering kindergarten students, by developing and implementing an integrated parent involvement program for regular and special education classes in preschool and kindergarten. The first phase involved parents and children in a home-based…

As a practicum project, an elementary school counselor developed and implemented a parent education program centered on the use of parents as models and peer facilitators for other parents. Based upon a survey of parents' self-professed needs, the program focused on parenting skills designed to help children avoid such high-risk behaviors as…

A screening instrument developed for this study measured the listening skills of 22 children in a kindergarten class. Children were found to be weak in four areas of listening: (1) auditory discrimination; (2) auditory perception; (3) following oral directions; and (4) listening comprehension. After these measures were administered, students…

An elementary school administrator designed and implemented a 12-week summer program for school-age children that provided educational, recreational, and cultural opportunities. Each week of activities centered on a specific theme. Recreational opportunities included sports activities, outdoor games, organized indoor games, free play, swimming,…