The abuse-related beliefs questionnaire for survivors of childhood sexual abuse

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a new measure, the Abuse-Related Beliefs Questionnaire (ARBQ), designed to assess abuse-related beliefs among adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Study 1 examined the structure of the scale, and Study 2 evaluated its reliability and validity. METHOD: One hundred and seventy female CSA survivors recruited into a group psychotherapy intervention study were administered the ARBQ in Study 1. A subsample of 45 women completed the ARBQ again 12 months later. In Study 2, 70 women from a health maintenance organization who identified themselves as survivors of CSA completed the ARBQ along with the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40) and the Symptom Checklist 90R (SCL-90-R). RESULTS: Three reliable ARBQ subscales emerged in Study 1: Guilt, Shame, and Resilience. Twelve-month test-retest reliability was high (r=.60-.64). The internal consistency of the subscales was further supported in Study 2, and validity was demonstrated by moderate to high correlations with the distress measures. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the ARBQ has good psychometric characteristics, supporting the feasibility of its use in measuring abuse-related beliefs in research on survivors of CSA. A next step for validation of the ARBQ would be to evaluate its sensitivity in measuring changes in studies of interventions for treating CSA survivors.     

Evaluating teaching effectiveness and teaching improvement: A language for institutional policies and academic development practices

Demands for institutional accountability in higher education have been increasing and have led to greater attention to the evaluation of teaching, the assumption being that improved teaching will result in enhanced learning. In our work as academic developers, we are increasingly helping academic managers make explicit teaching policies and practices that seem fair and equitable. To help us in this work, we have developed a framework for evaluating the practice of teaching. What is unique about this framework is the language it provides to differentiate aspects of teaching. For instance, it provides a basis for differentiating and linking criteria to standards, i.e. the level of achievement desired or expected. Standards are critical if the evaluation of teaching is to be seen as fair and equitable, yet they are often unexamined in other representations of the evaluation of teaching. Although the original intent of our efforts was to provide a framework for academic managers, we have come to find it useful in our own work as university teachers and as academic developers. Examples of all three uses are provided in the paper.     

Associative structure of integrated temporal relationships

According to the temporal-coding hypothesis (TCH; Savastano & Miller, Behavioural Processes 44:147–162, 1998), acquired associations include temporal information concerning the interval between the associated elements. Moreover, the TCH posits that subjects can integrate two independently acquired associations that share a common element (e.g., S2–S1 and S1–US), which results in the creation of a third association with its own temporal relationship (S2–US). Some evidence has suggested that such temporal integration occurs at the time of testing (Molet, Miguez, Cham, & Miller, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes 38:369–380, 2012). Here we report two fear-conditioning experiments with rats conducted to identify the associative structure of the integrated temporal relationship. The goal was to distinguish between two possible associative structures that could exist following an initial test on which temporal integration occurs: (1) Conditioned responding to S2 on subsequent tests could be the result of recurring successive activation of two independently learned temporal maps that remain independently stored in memory (i.e., S2–S1 plus S1–US). (2) Temporal integration at the moment of initial testing could result in the formation of a direct S2–US (or S2–response) temporal map. Integration was found to occur at test and to produce a new association that was independent of associations with the common element (S1). However, the associative status of S1 appeared to modulate whether or not the new association with S2 was US-specific (S2–US) or directly activated a fear response (S2–response).     

The “Crime file” drug videotape series

Critics and proponents alike have voiced concerns about the difficulties of practicing multiculturalism in today's criminal justice classrooms. In this essay we present strategies for using the lived experiences of students as a tool for discovering diversity inside the classroom, as well as for finding value in it. We then use our students' discourse to talk about the impact these strategies can have. Our experiences, as well as those of our students, suggest that principles of multiculturalism can be achieved without having to sacrifice the core curricula; and that one of the more valuable resources for teaching multiculturally is the lived experiences that students, teachers and guests bring into the classroom.     

Planning films that teach

Conclusion The viewing of an educational film anf the recall of this viewing should constitute a satisfying learning experience so that the film’s message will be incorporated into a useful store of vicarious experience and remembered facts. Such learning is most likely to occur when those who write, direct, and edit a film have a clear understanding of the nature of the film’s audience and of what the film is expected to do to this audience. Knowing these things and to present his subject matter in the most interesting and satisfying manner possible. Here a long-time writer of educational films and television programs presents some thoughtful ideas on the design of instructional films for specific cudiences. Ralph R. White is a scenario writer with the Army Pictorial Center.     

Pedagogy of the Spirit: Comparing Evangelical and Latter-day Saint Youth Self-Reported In-Class Spiritual Experiences

This study statistically analyzes data from 756 evangelical and Latter-day Saint youth regarding their perceived in-class spiritual experiences of twenty items related to Christian theology. The data indicates similar spiritual outcomes between the two groups, with no statistically significant differences between eleven of the twenty spiritual experience items. However, evangelical participants most highly reported affective spiritual outcomes and least commonly reported action-oriented spiritual outcomes, while Latter-day Saint youth most highly reported action-oriented spiritual outcomes and least commonly reported cognitive spiritual outcomes. Action-oriented spiritual outcomes constitute the greatest difference between the two groups. We explore how the differences between evangelical and Latter-day Saint pedagogy and theology might account for these differences.     

Measuring attitudes to science: Unidimensionality and internal consistency revisited

Summated ratings attitude scales commonly consist of numerous items whose scores are summed to yield a total score. An assumption underlying this technique is that the items in the scale reflect a common construct. If this is not met, the procedure produces uninterpretable data. Although this psychometric principle has been known for a long time, numerous studies in the literature demonstrate a neglect of it. Some make no attempt to conceptualise the construct to be measured; others conceptualise the construct but then ignore the possibility that it may be multidimensional; still others contain evidence indicating that the construct is multidimensional and then proceed to ignore that evidence. A possible contributor to the confusion is the misunderstanding of the related yet distinct concepts of internal consistency and unidimensionality. This paper presents examples of poor and good instrument design, in the hope that clarification of the issues might make a difference in the future.     

Mathematics knowledge for understanding and problem solving

Two important aspects of transfer in mathematics learning are the application of mathematical knowledge to problem solving and the acquisition of more advanced concepts, both in mathematics and in other domains. This paper discusses general assumptions and themes of current cognitive research on mathematics learning, focusing on issues of the understanding thought to facilitate transfer of mathematical knowledge. Two studies illustrating these themes are presented, one concerning students' understanding of numerical relationships involved in basic addition and subtraction combinations, the other dealing with students' understanding of algebraic expressions and transformations. Implications of these cognitive perspectives for instruction are discussed.     

A First Course in Mind, Brain, and Education

ABSTRACT— We describe what may well be the first course devoted explicitly to the topic of Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE). In the course, students examine four central topics (literacy, numeracy, emotion/motivation, and conceptual change) through the perspectives of psychology, neuroscience, genetics, and education. We describe the pedagogical tools we use to develop the skills critical for synthesizing information across the disciplines associated with MBE.