Increasing Self‐Selection and Self‐Location of Words by Mildly Retarded Children during Story Writing

Sentence‐writing behaviour, including use of words self‐selected and self‐located independently of teacher modelling, was established with eight mildly retarded children in a special class. The procedure comprised three components: 1) provision of word lists; 2) praise for self‐selecting and self‐locating words from supplied word lists; and 3) response cost for responses dependent on teacher modelling. The latter were termed Words Shown and Words Told, while self‐selected and self‐located responses were termed Words Found. In a sequential component design it was found that after baseline, supplying instructions and a word list (Phase 2) and continuing the use of word‐lists together with praise for self‐managed behaviour (Phase 3) decreased the frequency of Words Told, but Words Found and Words Shown were not appreciably affected. Words Shown decreased with the introduction of response cost for responses dependent on teacher modelling (Phase 4). Also, in Phase 4 Words Found increased substantially above levels in all previous phases and Words Shown decreased to zero frequency. These changes within sentence‐writing behaviour are discussed in terms of the need for accurate discrimination of and selective attention to positive and negative instances in the acquisition of self‐regulation.     

Using student learning and development outcomes to evaluate a first-year undergraduate group video project

Students in an interdisciplinary undergraduate introductory course were required to complete a group video project focused on nutrition and healthy eating. A mixed-methods approach to data collection involved observing and rating video footage of group work sessions and individual and focus group interviews. These data were analyzed and used to evaluate the effectiveness of the assignment in light of two student learning outcomes and two student development outcomes at the University of Minnesota. Positive results support the continued inclusion of the project within the course, and recommend the assignment to other programs as a viable means of promoting both content learning and affective behavioral objectives.     

Cross-cultural reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale Adult Recall Short Form

OBJECTIVE: To provide data on the cross-cultural reliability of the Adult Recall Short Form of the Multidimensional Neglectful Behavior Scale (MNBS), and also illustrative validity evidence. The MNBS includes items on four aspects of neglectful behavior: cognitive, emotional, physical, and supervisory. METHOD: The data were obtained by questionnaires completed by a convenience sample of 7179 students at 33 universities in 17 countries. RESULTS: The alpha coefficient of internal consistency for the entire sample was .72. By site, the coefficients ranged from one site with .55-12 sites in the .60-.69 range, and 20 sites with alpha of .70 or higher. The validity of the scale was indicated by low confounding with social desirability response set in all 33 cultural contexts, and by the results of construct validly analyses which controlled for physical maltreatment found that students who were victims of neglectful behavior as a child were more likely than other students to have physically assaulted a dating partner in the previous 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Although the results are from a relatively privileged sample, they revealed high rates of neglectful behavior and are sufficiently promising to encourage use of the Adult Recall Short Form of the MNBS in a variety of cultural settings.