Early Childhood Education Commons^™

Using The Instructional Coaching Model To Implement Positive Behavior Supports In Early Childhood Special Education Programs, Heather Donoho

Graduate Research Papers

Challenging behaviors in early childhood programs are of increasing concern to teachers in preschool programs. The use of Positive Behavior Supports, or PBS, has been on the rise in a variety of preschool programs as a way to increase acceptable behaviors while using tiered interventions to identify children in need of specific skills training in hopes of decreasing the chances of negative behaviors. While most teachers are in favor of the PBS initiative, many teachers report not having enough time or expertise to implement the program to the best of their ability. Another new initiative in preschool programs is that …

Transition To Kindergarten : A Project For The Grinnell-Newburg School District, Donna Godar

Graduate Research Papers

This project looked at the following research questions:

How can schools establish a strong transition plan for students entering kindergarten?

What information would be valuable to evaluate and revise a kindergarten transition plan for the benefit of all parties involved?

In order to answer these questions, current literature was reviewed looking at all parties involved in the transition to kindergarten: children, families, schools, and the community. The path to the project included collaboration initially with kindergarten and preschool staff and led to the final development of the project collaborating with two community members, a preschool laboratory director and a scholar …

Technology, Toddlers And Vocabulary Development, Gwendolyn Dayton

Graduate Research Papers

Emergent literacy with toddler age children has a strong foundation in vocabulary development. There are many methods currently being employed to foster vocabulary development. Dialogic reading, sign language, finger plays and songs are just a few of those methods. It is important to look for a curriculum that provides a format to combine these strategies into a cohesive presentation. Understanding the increasing importance that technology plays in the lives of our children is also crucial. Selecting the right technology may provide the solution for infusing vocabulary development into the early learning environment. This project will design a curriculum to implement …