Simulation and Instructional Objectives in Counselor Education

Simulation is a controlled representation of a real situation. An instructional program using simulation to reach instructional objectives is described. The four levels of simulation discussed are reading and listening, modeling, practice experiences and role playing, and supervised experience.     

The Construct Problem in Measuring Counseling Performance

This article describes the role of inadequate construct definition in the current problems involving measurement of counseling performance and suggests potential responses for improving measurement capability.     

Coming to Grips with Continuous Assessment

In the aftermath of the apartheid years the South African education system is being reformed and the curriculum transformed. One reason for doing so is that the old curriculum, apart from being the product of a universally discredited past, is also inappropriate for a developing economy in the 21st century. The new curriculum espouses outcomes based education. This shifts curricular emphasis from prescribed content knowledge to a learner centred, teacher facilitated, activity based style of education. Teachers must become adept at perceiving clues to a learner's thinking by observing science activities closely. The method of 'dynamic assessment' is discussed. It involves teachers eliciting clues or observing and interpreting learners' actions as a reflection of their concept development. By acting immediately when the learner is judged to be at a 'point of divergence' the teacher can pre-empt a conceptually costly meander. Teaching in this way requires confidence as well as good subject knowledge. The Primary Science Programme (PSP), where both authors are employed, is an in-service organisation. The PSP's work suggests that clear performance indicators which articulate distinctly what teachers must focus on is a powerful teaching and in-service mechanism. The new South African curriculum is discussed and shown to be demanding for teachers.     

Computer-Assisted Feedback in Counseling Supervision

This article outlines the capacity of the microcomputer to help provide process feedback to counselors-in-training. Discussion is focused upon low cost equipment, innovative adaptation, and interaction of standard equipment commonly found in counselor training laboratory facilities. Advantages, limitations, and desirable features of each system are briefly discussed. Finally, possible system usage in counselor training is considered in light of the new potentials made economically feasible by advances in microcomputer technology.     

A Two-Study Comparison of Written and Video Modeling and of Written and Oral Assessment

This article presents the findings from two research studies. In Study I, 21 counseling students were given either a written standard model, written serial model, or a videotape model of how to ask tacting questions. While there were no differences between the written and video models, significant multivariate differences were found between the two forms of the written models. In Study II, 24 counseling students received either the written or video model and then were assessed either by orally responding or by writing reflections of feeling responses to a series of client vignettes. Once again, no differences were found for mode of model presentation. Students who responded in writing, however, outperformed those who responded orally. The discussion focuses on the implications these two studies have for counselor education.