This practicum was designed to help principals who supervise school district prekindergarten classes become more knowledgeable about developmentally appropriate educational practices by using the Head Start On-Site Program Review Instrument (OSPRI). Inservice training was designed and presented in three segments and included an independent…

An education agency's early childhood resource developer implemented and evaluated a practicum intervention designed to increase administrators' and teachers' awareness of questionable trends and practices in kindergarten education. Most of the kindergartens in the agency's area had a highly academic, lock-step curriculum; used standardized…

Because the kindergarten curriculum of a small, rural elementary school appeared to be inappropriate for some children, a school psychologist implemented a practicum designed to provide a positive school experience for those not ready to learn from formal reading materials. The primary goal of the practicum was to provide activities during the…

A teaching master at a community college in Central Ontario implemented a practicum designed to increase the rate of child-directed activities in early childhood education programs. The primary goal was to increase awareness of early childhood educators, parents, and board members regarding the benefits of child-directed activities at early…

The director of a proprietary child care center implemented a practicum designed to train child caregivers in child development and developmentally appropriate practices. The practicum consisted of three evening workshops and used supplementary reading materials, discussion groups, classroom observations, and individual conferences. After…

This practicum paper describes a fantasy play program designed for 3- and 4-year-old preschoolers with Barbie dolls that could be used as a tool in regularly scheduled center play activity. Because of strong biases held by teachers against commercial toys, children were not afforded the ability to experiment with these tools, or discover the role…

A university early childhood laboratory school was making a transition from an academic orientation to one focusing on developmentally appropriate practices. This practicum was implemented to improve parents' awareness of developmentally appropriate programs by means of workshop sessions. The goal was to increase their knowledge of what is…

This practicum study examined kindergarten teachers' perspectives regarding mixed-age groupings that included kindergarten students. The study focused on pedagogical reasons for using mixed-age grouping, ingredients necessary for successful implementation of a multiage program that includes kindergartners, and the perceived effects of a multiage…

This practicum report describes an intervention during the 1990-1991 school year that involved restructuring a kindergarten classroom to include more developmentally appropriate activities. Expected outcomes were stated in the following terms: (1) the arrangement of the classroom will allow free, orderly movement; (2) the county's kindergarten…

This practicum was designed to provide an assessment instrument that would serve as an alternative method of documenting the progress of kindergarten students. The portfolio approach to assessment of student progress was implemented in a kindergarten class and applied as an ongoing process. During a 12-week period, teacher and student selected…

This practicum paper reports on a project undertaken to enhance the knowledge of age-appropriate learning for parents of 3-year-old preschoolers. The project implemented a variety of techniques and strategies to improve parent knowledge, including parent education classes, a monthly newsletter for parents that addressed current research on…

Over a period of 9 months, a certified Child Development Associate (CDA) trainer and charter member of the National Association of Migrant Educators implemented and evaluated a practicum intervention designed to improve the learning environments of migrant preschool children through in-service training of migrant teachers, aides, parents, and…

This practicum sought to provide a model for a local affiliate of the Girl Scouts of the USA, offering a developmentally appropriate curriculum for inner-city kindergarten-age girls at a community recreation center. A hands-on training program was developed and implemented with a group of community volunteers. Program activities were designed to…

This practicum report describes the implementation of a pilot program that used packets of learning materials to incorporate individualized instruction into a traditional curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Objectives of the program were that 80 percent of students would demonstrate improvement in basic readiness skills, and that 90 percent of…

A project was developed and implemented to increase developmentally appropriate activities for children in 79 Orange County, Florida, public schools participating in the Extended Day Enrichment Program (EDEP). Personnel from the EDEP were enlisted to produce curriculum kits, resource portfolios, cultural immersion workshops, and music, art, dance,…