Katherine Strasser

The evolution of therapeutic change studied through generic change indicators

Abstract Ongoing change and therapeutic outcome were studied in five psychotherapeutic processes: three brief psychodynamic therapies, one social constructionist family therapy, and one group therapy of a comprehensive nature for drug abuse patients. Using qualitative methodology, in-session and extrasession change moments were identified and classified in a hierarchy of generic change indicators. Additionally, all patients were administered Lamberts Outcome Questionnaire. Results show that (a) extrasession change moments are more frequent toward the end of therapy, (b) therapy types differ in the frequency of some change indicators but not others, and (c) change indicators observed at the beginning of therapy are of lower level than those occurring at the end.

Home and Instruction Effects on Emergent Literacy in a Sample of Chilean Kindergarten Children.

The study examines the home literacy experiences, emergent literacy skills, and instructional experiences of a sample of Chilean kindergarten children (n = 126) and kindergarten families (n = 188) nested in 12 kindergarten classrooms from different socioeconomic status groups and types of schools. Descriptive information is given showing the level of literacy knowledge of the children and the literacy experiences that they encounter both at home and in the classroom. Multiple regression is used to test the effect of home and instruction variables on emergent literacy learning in kindergarten and later in first grade. Findings show that Chilean children in the sample are exposed to less literacy experiences than children in developed countries, at home and at school. Results also show that, in spite of little explicit code instruction going on in classrooms, this measure had a positive significant effect on literacy growth in kindergarten. Results are compared with those of developed countries, especially the United States.

Language and therapeutic change: A speech acts analysis

Abstract Drawing on the speech acts theory, a linguistic pattern was identified that could be expected to be associated to therapeutic change, characterized by being uttered in the first person singular and present indicative, and by being self-referential in its propositional content. The frequency of the pattern was examined among verbalizations defined as change moments in three therapies with different theoretical orientation. Results show that the majority of change moments have the specified pattern, and that this pattern is significantly more frequent in change moments than in random non-change-related verbalizations, and so, it does not pertain to therapeutic conversation in general. Implications are discussed concerning the possibility of using the linguistic pattern as an additional and complementary criterion in the identification of moments of change in the therapeutic process.

Gestión del Tiempo en 12 Salas Chilenas de Kindergarten: Recreo, Colación y Algo de Instrucción

Palabras clave: educacion preescolar, kindergarten, lenguaje, ensenanza de lectura, gestion del tiempo en el aula. This study examined time management in 12 kindergarten classrooms from 9 Chilean schools with diverse sources of funding and socioeconomic status (SES). We conducted 33 observations in the 12 classrooms (average duration 197 minutes), and determined the amount of time devoted to different activities. More than half of the time in these classrooms was spent in non-instructional activities such as recess, snack, and managing the children’s behavior. Additionally, the distribution of instructional time is not in accordance with current fi ndings regarding the activities that are more fruitful for children’s development. These results are independent of the schools’ source of funding and SES.

Effects of Storybook Reading Style on Comprehension: The Role of Word Elaboration and Coherence Questions

Research Findings: Two studies examined the effects of specific reading styles on the comprehension of stories of at-risk preschool Chilean children. Study 1 examined the effect of word elaboration on story comprehension with 72 children. Children who were exposed to elaborations of unknown words during storybook reading achieved better comprehension than those who were not after vocabulary and narrative comprehension skills were controlled. This effect was mediated by childrens learning of the elaborated words and thus provides evidence for the causal role of word knowledge in story comprehension. Study 2 examined the effect of asking questions about coherence relations versus other kinds of open-ended questions such as requests for predictions, descriptions, and real-life connections. Children exposed to coherence questions achieved better story comprehension than those exposed to other open-ended questions after initial vocabulary, narrative comprehension skills, and attentiveness were controlled. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest the use of specific reading strategies for improving comprehension. Teaching rare words and asking coherence-related questions during reading leads to better understanding of the story. These are 2 easy methods that could be integrated into daily teaching practices to help improve childrens narrative comprehension.

La Comprensión Narrativa en Edad Preescolar: Un Instrumento para su Medición

La comprension narrativa es una habilidad fundamental en la alfabetizacion infantil, poco atendida por investigadores y educadores por las dificultades para comprenderla y medirla, sobre todo a edades tempranas. Se reportan resultados de un estudio cuyo objetivo fue elaborar y validar un instrumento para la medicion de la comprension narrativa en ninos en edad preescolar. Participaron 117 ninos y ninas chilenos entre 3 anos 6 meses y 5 anos 1 mes de edad, pertenecientes a jardines infantiles de la Region Metropolitana. Se encontro evidencia que apoya la confiabilidad y la validez concurrente del instrumento, de facil y rapida aplicacion y codificacion. Se discuten las implicancias de contar con un instrumento para medir comprension narrativa que sea adecuado a la poblacion preescolar chilena, asi como estudios futuros necesarios para mejorar el instrumento.

Tienen los Niños una Teoría Esencialista Acerca de la Pobreza

Hace ya un par de decadas, nuevos hallazgos en el campo del desarrollo infantil han dado cuenta de la importancia de las teorias que los ninos tienen acerca del mundo a la hora de conformar las categorias con que ordenan sus conocimientos. Estas teorias se ba-sarian en la premisa de que las categorias tienen una realidad subyacente que no se puede observar direc-tamente, pero que le otorga a los objetos su identidad. Asi, la importancia que los ninos otorgan a los rasgos subyacentes al formar categorias, determina que se guien mas por las esencias que unen a los entes, que por sus semejanzas perceptuales (Gelman, 2003). Lo anterior contradice la premisa en la que his-toricamente se ha basado la investigacion en esta area, que afi rma que los ninos estan especialmente atentos a la apariencia super fi cial cuando clasi fi can sus experiencias y, que solo lentamente y gracias al desarrollo de capacidades cognitivas superiores, evolucionarian hacia categorias basadas en elemen-tos mas profundos (Piaget & Inhelder, 1975). Sin embargo, nueva evidencia muestra que, desde mas temprano de lo que se creia, los ninos suponen la existencia de caracteristicas no evidentes y dan por sentado que esos rasgos ocultos pueden ser esen-ciales para la identidad de un objeto (Diesendruck & haLevi, 2006; Gelman, Coley & Gottfried, 2002; Ross, Gelman & Rosengren, 2005). El esencialismo plantea que los conceptos de los ninos estan construidos sobre la base de teorias ingenuas (folk theories), y que estos no se aprenden a traves de estrategias de aprendizaje asociativo ni transitan de lo perceptual a lo conceptual, sino que ambos niveles se presentan conjuntamente. De esta forma, el desarrollo conceptual de los ninos no esta limitado a considerar solo las caracteristicas per-ceptuales y super fi ciales del mundo, sino que, muy tempranamente, entra al plano de las abstracciones y teorias acerca de lo no observable. Esto se re fl eja claramente en una serie de experimentos llevados a cabo por Gelman y Wellman (1991) que mostraron que los ninos atribuyen a los animales elementos internos que los diferencian y que los hacen ser lo que son. De esta forma, los ninos por ejemplo expresaron la creencia de que una vaca criada entre

Chilean children's essentialist reasoning about poverty

Two studies are reported that examine the hypothesis that children construct representations of poverty based on a theory of causal essentialism. One hundred and twenty Chilean kindergartners, half from low socio-economic status (SES) schools and the other half from high-SES schools, participated in the study. The results showed childrens tendency towards an essentialist reasoning about poverty. All children in the study privileged internal features over external ones when deciding who is poor, and also used wealth category as a preferred clue to make inferences about peoples attributes. However, only high-SES childrens answers were consistent with the belief that poverty is inherited and resistant to growth. Implications of these findings for theory and practice, as well as remaining questions, are addressed.

Computer assisted mediation for blind children

Abstract A model for computer assisted mediation and its application to the field of special education for blind children is presented. The model consists of five elements: the domain model, the student model, the pedagogical model, and the dynamic and static projection of learning. The system, based on stored expert knowledge, guides the child in what he or she is able to do and able to learn. Success is dynamically evaluated in order to constantly adjust the teaching methodology. The system contrasts with previous work by giving the teacher a major role, so that the expert system, the child and the educator form a conceptual triangle.

Contributions of print exposure to first and second grade oral language and reading in Chile

This study examines the contribution of print exposure to oral language (expressive vocabulary and listening comprehension) and reading (word reading and reading comprehension) in first and second grade in Chile, and tests whether the contribution of print exposure to reading comprehension is mediated by language and word reading skills. Two-hundred and eighty one children (mean age 6.55 years) participated. Print exposure was measured with a book-cover recognition task in first grade, and outcomes were measured both in first and second grade. Print exposure had direct effects on all outcomes in first grade and indirect effects in second grade. Effects on first grade reading comprehension were partially mediated by listening comprehension and word reading, but not vocabulary. We discuss the importance of the findings for improving reading comprehension in countries with low access to books.