The Caught Being Good Game (CBGG), a variation of Good Behavior Game, is an interdependent group contingency, which focuses on giving students points for engaging in appropriate, rule-following behavior. The present study aimed to expand the literature on CBGG by targeting students in general education classrooms and comparing the impact of student-chosen versus teacher-chosen contingency criteria on disruptive behavior and academic engagement. Four students who were at-risk for developing emotional disorders in two general elementary classrooms were targeted in the study. A multiple-baseline across participants design with an embedded alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the outcomes of the CBGG. Results indicated that the CBGG intervention resulted in decreasing disruptive behavior and increasing academic engagement for all four students although data demonstrated limited experimental control. Moderate differences in improvement in classroom behavior were observed when comparing teacher-chosen and student-chosen contingency criteria; however, the teacher-chosen criteria condition led to overall lower levels of disruptive behavior and higher levels of academic engagement. Social validity assessments indicated that both the teachers and the students found the intervention to be acceptable.

The purpose of this action research study was to observe, participate in, and tell the story of teachers involved in a professional development experience. Professional development is an important tool to assist teachers in improving their teaching abilities. After a review of the literature on various forms of professional development and some personal experience with a variety of professional development activities, I created a collaborative study group (CSG) that included three teachers. Their work together was studied using a narrative approach to action research. The stories of these three teachers and their experiences with an informal professional development activity are shared in narrative prose that honors the voices of the participants. The data were analyzed through an iterative process that revealed the content and process of the professional development experience and allowed me to evaluate the activity. Over the six-month study the participants explored a range of issues such as education challenges, students the teachers were working with, and the personal and professional lives of teachers. The teachers discussed educational issues related to helping students (them), the individual teachers (me), and the teachers' relationships with each other (us). The CSG was a unique and informal professional development experience that empowered the participants to take charge of their personal and professional growth as teachers. This study provides evidence that teachers do not need to rely on school or district initiatives for professional development activities but can seek out other teachers to design meaningful and effective professional development.

Diploma thesis focuses on the question of how kindergarten teachers choose books for preschool children, what kind of books and main factors which influence their choice, e.g. cheap books, collectors' campaigns or interactive books. The theoretical part describes the development of a preschool child with respect to the reading, literary genres and types of books suitable for preschool children. It also points out publishing houses that publish children's books, awards for high-quality children's literature, and, last but not least, the media which influence the selection of books. It also explains the importance of support and development of reading literacy for a pre-school child. The aim of this work was to describe the process of selection of children's literature by kindergarten teachers and to find out main factors influencing this selection. After studying the literature, a questionnaire on 31 items for kindergarten teachers was created in the practical part. It was filled in by 129 respondents. By evaluation of this questionnaire i answered 14 hypotheses. It has been confirmed that university-educated teachers choose awarded books more than teachers without university education. For the teachers the most important feature from the options offered is high-quality text of the book. They also...