Conversation skills are critical to learning and the development of social relationships. Some students with severe disabilities have a difficult time conversing with their nondisabled classmates because of their unintelligible verbalizations or an inability to correct or repair a message that may have been misunderstood by their conversational…

School counselors often face large caseloads of students and cannot spend hours of time addressing each student's problems using traditional approaches. With this in mind, step-by-step instructions on how to use solution-focused brief counseling (SFBC) with elementary and secondary students is provided here. School counselors can utilize this…

This research project devised and evaluated a program for improving primary grade students' interpersonal skills to reduce their inappropriate behaviors when interacting with others. Teacher surveys, journals and observations of children's behavior were used to document poor interpersonal skills in kindergartners through third graders in four…

This study examined the effectiveness of Project Spectrum, an intervention program for at-risk students and an approach to assessment and curriculum development that identifies a child's area of strength and constructs the education and learning experiences around the child's competencies. A total of 119 students in 6 first grade classrooms…

A behavioral treatment program was used to improve the functional skills of a 12-year-old anoxic child. Neuropsychological test results indicated marked amnesia and global cognitive deficits. Functionally, self-care tasks could be performed, but only with verbal and physical prompting. Introduction of a monetary reward system significantly reduced…

In this article, the authors seek to re-conceptualize the perspective regarding students' difficulties with algebra. While acknowledging that students "do" have difficulties when learning algebra, they also argue that the generally espoused criteria for algebra as the ability to work with the syntactical rules for solving equations is…

Groups of children at three different developmental levels were each given a brief presentation by their classroom teachers regarding the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, one day after the shuttle exploded. The standardized presentation included information about where the shuttle was launched, the crew, the special significance of Mrs.…

This report describes the ESEA, Title I Elementary School Guidance Program instituted in 22 Norfolk elementary schools. The primary purpose of the program is to provide an organized developmental service that promotes positive child growth and development. This is to be accomplished through zealous efforts to achieve the following objectives: (1)…

This evaluation study had two aims: (1) to compare the teaching behavior of parents who had been participating in the Parent Education Follow Through (PEFT) Program to that of parents who had not, and (2) to examine the relationship between child achievement and parents' use of the 10 desired teaching behaviors (DTBs) emphasized by the PEFT…

This paper describes an application of behavior modification techniques and new means of presenting academic materials to the 450 children in the kindergarten and first grade of a small semi-urban community. Four years of research on behaviors useful in educational diagnosis and prediction of future success revealed two tests highly related to the…

This paper examines the learning needs of 35 Grade 1 children and 60 Grade 2 children who were identified as vulnerable in their number learning on the basis of a clinical interview and reference to a set of research-based growth points. All children were selected for an intervention program that aimed to accelerate learning in four number…

This action research project sought to improve the social skills of targeted first-, third-, and fourth-grade students. Students demonstrated an inability to collaborate with others, a disregard for the feelings and opinions of others, a lack of responsibility, excessive noise, incomplete assignments, unnecessary physical contact, inappropriate…

This action research project sought to improve social skills in targeted elementary students. The problem of poor social skills was documented by means of data revealing the number of students exhibiting inappropriate behaviors. Students exhibited a lack of social skills through: inappropriate manners, lack of cooperation, not occupying one's own…

Examined developmental trajectories toward violence over middle childhood and children's response to a universal school-based preventive intervention. Found that three growth patterns--positive linear, late acceleration, and gradual deceleration--characterized the children's trajectories, and these trajectories varied meaningfully by child…

Examined the long-term effects of an intervention for elementary students in high-crime urban areas. The intervention combined teacher training, parent education, and social competence training in an effort to reduce health-risk behaviors at age 18. Self-reports showed reduced rates of violent behavior, heavy drinking, and sexual intercourse at…