Peter Kopriva, Ed.D, professor of early childhood development and special education, is back at FPU this fall after a spring sabbatical. Projects fell into three parts; in each Kopriva worked side-by-side with wife Siemie, a recently retired classroom teacher of children living with physical and health impairments.
In Phase 1, the couple gave weekly individual and small-group instruction in developing emotional intelligence to 25 kindergarten-age children at a Fresno school. Lessons were very successful for the children and continued until the close of the 2016-2017 school year.
For Phase 2, the Koprivas visited the Netherlands to learn how education is conducted in a variety of public and private schools and hear the concerns of educators there through interviews with administrators and classroom teachers.
Phase 3 included participation in the 28th International Montessori Congress in Prague, Czech Republic. The Koprivas joined 1,800 educators and interested persons from 72 countries at the conference, which takes place every four years.
Back at FPU, plans are in the works for a formal presentation during 2017-2018 to include video and photographic illustrations of the couple’s work, and a three-part series of articles in the FPU DC Newsletter beginning, with the November 2017 issue.