The competency-based movement in psychology has significant implications for how psychologists are trained and evaluated. For this reason, there is a growing need to examine how to develop and evaluate competence to ensure that psychologists are prepared for practice. One area in need of more attention is consultation. Consultation is a functional competence for all psychologists, and it is also a foundational competence for school psychologists. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess how competently school-based consultants implement consultation in a computer-simulated school setting. A qualitative case study design was used to evaluate the competence of four graduate students in school psychology. The results of the study indicate that although consultants had high consultation knowledge and confidence, there were weaknesses in their demonstrated skills. Implications for competency-based training as well as using computer simulation for competency-based assessment are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to examine how novice consultants address cultural factors during consultation. A qualitative case-study design was used to examine how four novice consultants implemented problem-solving consultation in a computersimulated school environment. The consultants were four advanced graduate students in school psychology who had completed consultation training and at least one year of school-based practicum. The consultants were recruited to complete one consultation case with a simulated European American teacher and a simulated African American student. On completion of the consultation case, each consultant was interviewed about her approach to multicultural consultation. Four themes emerged from the data indicating that, although consultants have some knowledge of how to address cultural factors during consultation, there are barriers that prevent them from demonstrating this knowledge during consultation (e.g., discomfort with raising cultural topics, a lack of multicultural consultation training). Implications for training are discussed.
The purpose of this study was to analyze how school psychologists engaged in problem analysis during problem-solving consultation. Five aspects of the problem analysis process were examined: 1) the types of questions participants asked during problem identification, 2) the types of data participants requested, 3) the frequency of requests for each type of data, 4) the use of multiple methods and sources of data across multiple domains, and 5) the criteria used to interpret the data. Four school psychologists were recruited to each complete three fictional consultation cases within a computer-simulated environment. A qualitative case study method was used. The results of this study revealed how school psychologists used theory, a multidimensional assessment framework, and self-referent data to analyze a problem. Implications for future research are discussed. C 2011
Objective –This study compared the effectiveness of simulation-based and didactic instructional approaches in improving students’ understanding of information literacy (IL) concepts and practices.
Methods – The instructional approaches were implemented with two groups of middle school students (i.e., seventh and eighth grades) over a 4-week period. During the implementation period, all students were required to maintain a portfolio of their work. The portfolios were designed to capture students’ actions as they engaged in a common set of information-based problems. The contents of the portfolios were analyzed to examine the research questions that guided the study. Contingency tables demonstrated observed patterns of difference from week 1 to week 4. Chi-square analysis helped to determine whether a significant relationship existed between instructional approach and shifts in IL proficiency levels at the .05 level.
Results – There was a significant relationship between the simulation-based approach and increases in students’ ability to 1) recognize the need for information, 2) formulate specific questions that would help in finding needed information, 3) identify a range of information sources for meeting needs, 4) explain successful strategies for accessing needed information, 5) judge the accuracy, relevance and completeness of sources and 6) analyze information from a variety of sources to determine its applicability to a specific problem. Four major distinctions are believed to have caused the students within the simulated instructional environment to experience more proficiency level shifts: situated practice, authenticity, community of practice and an expanded landscape of resources.
Conclusion – The results of this study suggest that simulation-based instructional approaches have the potential to augment IL learning. The technology-based approaches may provide powerful learning environments (virtual worlds) that allow students to engage in the activities and practice of information specialists, instead of simply learning the facts associated with the discipline.
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