Abstract:

Highly qualified personnel address a key to the success of early intervention services, for which pre-service education and training programs are constructed. There is no related research yet about case method of instruction in early intervention in Taiwan. Therefore, the purpose of the study is intended to apply case method of instruction to teach graduate students in early intervention practicum, in order to help them to bridge the gap of theory and practice, promote their reflective thinking, problem-solving ability and professional knowledge and skills to implement family-centered services. The data collection includes: researcher diaries, verbatim in practicum lessons, conference minutes of case method of instruction, semi-structured interviews and a focus group interview of practicum teachers. The important interim findings of this study are as follows: (1) Eleven case stories are developed；(2) A case-method teaching model in early intervention practicum is developed；(3) These graduate students have clearly more family-centered concepts through case discussions and stories. Based on these results of the study, relevant suggestions are provided.

Keywords:

Case method of instruction, early intervention, practicum.