Math Preference and Mastery Relationship in Middle School Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

We conducted this study to determine the relationship between math preference and mastery for five middle school students with autism spectrum disorders. We randomly presented several math addition and subtraction problem formats to determine the students’ preferences. Results indicated that preference was idiosyncratic across students. In addition, preference was not related to mastery in some students. Results are discussed within a theoretical framework of matching law. Implications for practitioners are discussed.

Effect of task presentation on students’ performances in introductory statistics courses

Research on academic learning indicates that many students experience major difficulties with introductory statistics and methodology courses. We hypothesized that students’ difficulties may depend in part on the fact that statistics tasks are commonly viewed as related to the threatening domain of math. In two field experiments which we carried out in the ecological context of introductory statistics courses, the representation of a statistics task administered to undergraduate students in Psychology (Study 1; n = 127) and Biology (Study 2; n = 166) was manipulated. In both studies we found that students who reported the least favorable prior attainments in math had their performance thwarted when the task was presented as related to the math domain, whereas no performance impairment was observed when the task was presented as related to the verbal/linguistic domain. Implications of the findings for the design and delivery of introductory statistics and research methodology courses are discussed.

Are There Stable Factors in Preadolescent Girls’ Externalizing Behaviors?

Relatively little is known about the factor structure of disruptive behavior among preadolescent girls. The present study reports on exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of disruptive girl behavior over four successive data waves as rated by parents and teachers in a large, representative community sample of girls (N = 2,451). Five factors were identified from parent ratings (oppositional behavior/conduct problems, inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, relational aggression, and callous-unemotional behaviors), and four factors were identified derived from teacher ratings (oppositional behavior/conduct problems/callous-unemotional behaviors, inattention, hyperactivityimpulsivity, and relational aggression). There was a high degree of consistency of items loading on equivalent factors across parent and teacher ratings. Year-to-year stability of factors between ages five and 12 was high for parent ratings (ICC = 0.70 to 0.88), and slightly lower for teacher ratings (ICC = 0.56 to 0.83). These findings are discussed in terms of possible adjustment to the criteria for children's disruptive behavior disorders found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders.

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Visualizations in Mathematics

In this paper we discuss visualizations in mathematics from a historical and didactical perspective. We consider historical debates from the 17th and 19th centuries regarding the role of intuition and visualizations in mathematics. We also consider the problem of what a visualization in mathematical learning can achieve. In an empirical study we investigate what mathematical conclusions university students made on the basis of a visualization. We emphasize that a visualization in mathematics should always be considered in its proper context.

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Towards a New Epistemology of Mathematics

In this introduction we discuss the motivation behind the workshop “Towards a New Epistemology of Mathematics” of which this special issue constitutes the proceedings. We elaborate on historical and empirical aspects of the desired new epistemology, connect it to the public image of mathematics, and give a summary and an introduction to the contributions to this issue.

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Under-represented college students and extracurricular involvement: the effects of various student organizations on academic performance

Several studies indicate that students who are involved in extracurricular activities during college are more academically successful than are those who are not; however, most studies do not distinguish between different types of activities nor do they adequately consider the unique experiences of under-represented college students. Drawing on Ogbu’s theory of oppositional culture and Tinto’s theory of educational departure, I examine the effect of involvement in six different types of student organizations, as well as involvement in a co-ethnic student organization, on the academic performance of African American and Latino college students attending 27 different selective colleges. I find that student organizations differentially affect academic performance, depending on the type of organization and the race and gender of the students.

Preventing Family Violence: An Educational Model

This article gives an example of cross-cultural teaching between the United States and Korea using Bible study, lecture, and psychodrama by Korean students on the topic of domestic violence. In the process, basic education on domestic violence is presented in a culturally sensitive way.

Aktuelle Probleme der Krankenhausplanung in der Psychosomatischen Medizin und Psychotherapie

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Duties Owed in Serving Students: The Importance of Teaching Moral Reasoning and Theories of Ethical Leadership in Educating Business Students

This article concerns the importance of teaching moral reasoning and ethical leadership to all undergraduate students and in particular makes the case that students in business especially need familiarity with these capacities and theories given the complex world in which they will find themselves. The corollary to this analysis is the claim that content on moral reasoning and ethical leadership be mandatory for all business majors and that all degrees require course material on these subjects.

Learning from people, things, and signs

Starting from the observation that small children can count more objects than numbers—a phenomenon that I am calling the “lifeworld dependency of cognition”—and an analysis of finger calculation, the paper shows how learning can be explained as the development of cognitive systems. Parts of those systems are not only an individual’s different forms of knowledge and cognitive abilities, but also other people, things, and signs. The paper argues that cognitive systems are first of all semiotic systems since they are dependent on signs and representations as mediators. The two main questions discussed here are how the external world constrains and promotes the development of cognitive abilities, and how we can move from cognitive abilities that are necessarily connected with concrete situations to abstract knowledge.

Remarks on Grandi’s Comments

This note is a reply to some of Giovanni Grandi’s comments on my paper “Berkeley’s Contingent Necessities.”

First impressions and professor reputation: influence on student evaluations of instruction

We examined the effects of professor reputation versus first impressions on student evaluations of instruction. Students in 19 Psychology courses completed course evaluation surveys either before meeting the instructor or 2 weeks into the semester. Both groups then completed the course evaluation again at the end of the semester. Unlike evaluations completed prior to meeting the professor, students’ ratings 2 weeks into the semester did not differ from end-of-semester evaluations. Therefore, students considered first impressions more important than professor reputation as determinants of their end-of-the semester evaluations. Results suggest that students form lasting impressions within the first 2 weeks of classes.

Ego-involving and frame of reference effects of tracking on elementary school students’ motivational orientations and help seeking in math class

The author extrapolated from both achievement goal and reference group theories to predict that relative to untracked settings, tracking (a) highlights the importance of ability relative to others and will thus increase students’ ego orientations and reluctance to ask the teacher for help and (b) creates different contexts for social comparison and will thus undermine help seeking among high achievers but may enhance help seeking among low achievers. A quasi-experimental study compared students at ages 10–12 in elementary schools that either tracked students only in math (N  =  337) or did not track students in any subject (N  =  594). Students completed self-report measures of achievement goals and help seeking in math class. Results confirmed that, over all levels of ability, tracking increased ego and work avoidance goals and did not affect task goals. Tracking undermined help seeking among high achievers, but did not enhance help seeking among low achievers. In addition to revealing some hitherto unstudied costs of tracking, the results highlight the importance of considering grouping practices in research on student motivation and strategies and of applying theory and research on student motivation to understanding the influences of tracking.

Spirituality and the Health of College Students

Objectives  The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between spirituality and health risks of college students. Methods  Undergraduate students enrolled in Personal Health and Wellness classes at The University of Tennessee were selected to participate in the study. Two-hundred twenty-one students were administered two instruments: The College Student Appraisal of Risks Survey (The CARS) and the Spirituality Scale (SS). Results  Significant relationships between self-reported levels of spirituality and the health of college students were indicated during the study. Conclusions  College students integrating a spiritual component while processing decisions about risks that could negatively affect their health experienced better health outcomes. The significance of the study is that this research is an important step toward understanding the role that spirituality plays in the various dimensions of health in young adults.

“A Father’s Touch:” Negotiating Masculinity and Sexual Subjectivity in Child Care

This essay explores changing attitudes towards male caregivers in postwar America to understand conceptions of prepubescent gender and sexuality. While the 1950s have been viewed as a period of rigid gender conventions, the demands of a baby boom generation allowed men unexpected roles as caregivers. In the 1960s and 1970s, challenges to the status quo along with fears of female-headed households encouraged men to move into the field of child care, but this was particularly short lived. Political backlash and a failing economy turned male daycare workers into suspects, revealing the ambiguity that so often distorts children’s interactions with men.

Risk Factors for Learning-Related Behavior Problems at 24 Months of Age: Population-Based Estimates

We used a large sample of singleton children to estimate the effects of socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, gender, additional socio-demographics, gestational and birth factors, and parenting on children’s risk for learning-related behavior problems at 24 months of age. We investigated to what extent these factors increased a child’s risk of displaying inattention, a lack of task persistence, disinterest, non-cooperation, or frustration as he or she completed a series of cognitive and physical tasks with a non-caregiver. Results indicated that boys are about twice as likely as girls to display learning-related behavior problems. Children from lower SES households are about twice as likely as those from high SES households to display such behavior problems, which is largely attributable to the effects of having a mother with a low educational level. Statistically controlling for these factors, we found consistently significant patterns of elevated learning-related behavior problems for some Asian and Native American children. Results for African-American children were mixed. Hispanic children did not have consistently elevated risks of problem behaviors. Only small portions of these effects are explained by variation in the children’s gestational or birth characteristics. A significant portion, but still less than half of the socio-demographic effects are attributable to measured features of the children’s parenting. This study helps provide population-based estimates of children’s risk for learning-related behavior problems while at an age when early interventions are most effective.

Philosophy, Psychology, and Public Policy Aspects of Well-Being All Wrapped in One Book Designed to Ruffle Your Feathers

This is a book review of Daniel M. Haybron’s book titled The Pursuit of Unhappiness: The Elusive Psychology of Well-Being, published by Oxford University Press, 2008.

The Ethics of Academic Journal Editing

This paper amounts to a reply to Professor Donald G. Brown’s thoughtful comment on my “Ethical Issues in Journal Peer-Review”, which appeared in this journal.

En-Gendering the Couple-Deity Relationship: Clinical Implications of Power and Process

Spiritual practices are increasingly accommodated by therapists working with religious couples. While research documents potential benefits, spiritual practices such as prayer may invoke an interpretive couple-God relationship distorted by pathogenic processes in one or both spouses. A survey administered to 78 religious couples examined the influence of power/gender as it relates to couples’ harmful triangulation with Deity. Results suggest that harmful triangulation with Deity does occur to some degree in couple relationships, that there are significant differences by gender, and that spouses’ tendencies to triangulate are correlated with one another. We discuss these results from a systemic-feminist perspective, and offer some clinical applications for working with religious couples.

Early Modern Intentionalism: Replies to LoLordo’s Comments

I clarify Locke’s intentionalism and explain what we might gain by paying more attention to the role of linguistic intentions in the work of the British empiricists.