Who's the Winner? An Exercise in Measurement

Issues of measurement are fundamental in statistics but often overlooked in introductory courses. This interactive exercise encourages students to think critically about how things are measured.     

Engaging youth and pre-service teachers in immigration deliberations

In this report of innovative teacher practice, the author describes an arts-based event which brought together adolescent refugee and immigrant students and pre-service teachers to deliberate about immigration policies and attitudes in the United States.     

The Doctoral Portfolio: Centerpiece of a Comprehensive System of Evaluation

The authors describe the process used to revise a traditional doctoral student evaluation system from one that consisted of written comprehensive and final oral examinations to one that features portfolio development. Student competence, expected student outcomes in each competency area, procedures for portfolio development, and documents and procedures for faculty review of the portfolios are described. Recommendations for implementing such a system and implications for counselor education programs are discussed.     

Age at menarche in competitive figure skaters: variation by competency and discipline.

We estimated age at menarche in a cross-sectional sample of 159 competitive figure skaters aged 11-22 years. The sample represented three standards (test stream, pre-elite, elite) and three disciplines (free skaters, pair skaters, dancers). The status quo (yes/no) and retrospective methods were used. Estimated age at menarche based on probit analysis of the status quo data was 14.2 +/- 0.5 years, with 95% confidence intervals of 13.2 to 15.2 years. Mean recalled age at menarche for 67 skaters aged 16 years or over was 13.6 +/- 1.2 years. Comparisons of skaters by standard and discipline were limited to skaters > or = 16 years. Menarche was, on average, significantly later (P < 0.01) in elite (n = 36; 14.0 +/- 1.4 years) than in test stream (n = 15; 12.9 +/- 0.8 years) skaters. Age at menarche in pre-elite skaters (n = 16; 13.5 +/- 0.9 years) did not differ significantly from the other two groups. By discipline, menarche was, on average, significantly later (P < 0.01) in pair skaters (n = 12; 14.5 +/- 1.3 years) than in both free skaters (n = 38; 13.4 +/- 1.0 years) and dancers (n = 17; 13.4 +/- 1.4 years). Early maturing girls (menarche < 12.0 years; n = 2) were not represented in this sample of competitive figure skaters. Mean recalled age at menarche of mothers of skaters (n = 84) was 13.7 +/- 1.3 years and the mother-daughter correlation (n = 56 pairs) was 0.45 (P < 0.01). Later maturation was thus characteristic of competitive figure skaters, particularly in elite and more specialized pair skaters, and there was a significant familial resemblance.     

Men’s Perceptions of Pregnancy-Related Weight Gain: A Psychosocial Firestorm (Upheaval) Intertwined With Supportive Intentions

In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 men who had a significant other who had given birth within the last 5 years. Men were asked about their perceptions of pregnancy-related weight gain, and content analysis was used to identify themes from the interviews. Men described nine themes related to perinatal weight gain: (a) negative perceptions, (b) eating behaviors, (c) exercise habits, (d) health impact, (e) body changes, (f) weight-loss success, (g) “it bothered her more than me,” (h) “the weight gain wasn’t a problem,” and (i) intimacy. Together, these themes offer a glimpse into men’s experiences and highlight the discord and balance between experiencing negative feelings/perceptions and being a supportive partner. This information on how men perceive pregnancy-related weight gain can be used to develop interventions to assist men to support their significant others in meeting weight loss goals following pregnancy.     

Examining listening previewing as a classwide strategy to promote reading comprehension and vocabulary

Classwide instructional strategies to improve not only reading fluency but also comprehension and vocabulary knowledge are essential for student reading success. The current study examined the immediate effects of two classwide listening previewing strategies on reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. Twenty‐one, fourth‐grade general education students were exposed to three experimental conditions including a silent reading control condition, a listening previewing condition, and a listening previewing with vocabulary previewing condition. For all conditions, students read grade‐level passages, answered 10 comprehension questions, and completed a vocabulary‐matching task. Results showed that both listening previewing conditions led to improvements in comprehension as compared to silent reading. Adding a vocabulary previewing component to listening previewing procedures resulted in the highest levels of comprehension and vocabulary. Applied implications and directions for future research are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

International Counseling Trainees’ Experiences and Perceptions of Their Multicultural Counseling Training in the United States: A Mixed Method Inquiry

This study examined international counseling students’ (ICTs) experiences and perceptions of their multicultural counseling training (MCT) in the United States. The focus was on (a) relevance of the training, (b) effectiveness of the training methods, and (c) development of cross-cultural competence as trainees. Major findings indicated that ICTs found their MCT to be more useful in the areas of knowledge and awareness rather than in skill development. Dissatisfaction was expressed with training received; limited applicability to country of origin was noted. MCT in the US appears to reflect primarily a Westernized approach to teaching and learning related competencies. Implications and recommendations for counselors and educators are discussed.     

Publications in the doctoral thesis: challenges for doctoral candidates,supervisors, examiners and administrators

Encouraging doctoral students to publish during their candidature is becoming more widely accepted and practised, both in Australia and internationally, although it is still less common in some fields. Almost all universities in Australia now offer candidates an option to include publications in their doctoral thesis. This paradigm shift has occurred over several decades as the role of doctoral education has been debated, but guidelines for students, supervisors and examiners have yet to catch up. While various benefits, challenges and criticisms have been discussed by established academics, the voices of the candidates themselves are limited. Using a narrative inquiry approach, this study helps to fill that void by reporting the personal experiences of the author, who recently completed a thesis with publications (TWP) in education. As such, this paper not only illuminates the potential challenges for doctoral candidates but it also offers possible ways in which universities, supervisors, examiners and candidates themselves can make the path to completing a doctoral TWP easier to navigate.