Date of Award
1-1-1991
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Victoria J. Dimidjian
Committee Member
Carl Corter
Keywords
accountability, assessment, child development, children's play, confidence, developmentally appropriate programs, educational programs, evaluation, inservice education, learning experiences, needs assessment, play assessment, play enhancement, play-oriented programs, practitioner training, professional development, program justification, questionnaire, reporting skills, teacher competence, teacher confidence, teacher training, teachers, understanding play, workshop evaluation
Abstract
This practicum was designed to develop learning experiences for teachers which would improve their ability to be credibly accountable for children’s progress in play-oriented educational programs. The primary objective was to increase teachers’ competence with regard to knowledge about play and skill in assessing and reporting it. Additional goals were to increase teachers' confidence about running a play-oriented, developmentally appropriate program, in justifying and explaining such a program to critics, and in enhancing the play of children in the program, and to design learning experiences which would effectively meet the needs of practitioners.
The writer administered a needs assessment to teachers by means of a questionnaire; developed a series of learning experiences based upon research on effective inservice education and research on children's play; carried out inservice for several groups of teachers amounting to about 250 individuals in all, and developed and administered an evaluation component.
The results of the practicum were positive. Analysis of the data revealed that teachers expressed increased confidence in their knowledge about play and their ability to assess and report it. They indicated that they felt more encouraged to run developmentally appropriate (play-oriented) programs, and to justify and explain such programs to concerned others.