Sidney M. Moon

Research methods in family therapy

Part I: Introduction Sprenkle, Moon, Toward Pluralism in Family Therapy Research. Part II: Qualitative Methods: Naturalistic Research Newfield, Sells, Smith, Newfield and Newfield, Ethnographic Research Methods: Creating a Clinical Science of the Humanities. Rafuls, Moon, Grounded Theory Methodology in Family Therapy. Social Constructionist Research Boss, Dahl, Kaplan, The Use of Phenomenology for Family Therapy Research: The Search for Meaning. Critical Theory Research Rediger, Critical Theory Research: The Emancipatory Interest in Family Therapy. Avis, Turner, Feminist Lenses in Family Therapy Research: Gender, Politics and Science. Focus Group Evaluations Piercy, Nickerson, Focus Groups in Family Therapy Research. Part III Quantitative Methods: Design and Measurement Dickey, Quantitative Design in Family Therapy: Insider Hints on Getting Started. Snyder, Rice, Methodological Issues and Strategies in Scale Development. Experimental Research Lyness, Sprenkle, Experimental Methods in Marital and Family Therapy Research. Dickey, Methods for Single-Case Experiments in Family Therapy. Wampler, Serovich, Meta-Analysis in Family Therapy Research. Relational/Predictive Research Snyder, Mangrum, Approaches to Prediction: Correlation, Regression, and Discriminant Analysis. Volk, Flori, Structural Equation Modeling. Cost Effectiveness Evaluations Pike-Urlacher, MacKinnon, Piercy, Cost-Effectiveness Research in Family Therapy. Intensive Research Moon, Trepper, Case Study Research. Greenberg, Heatherington, Friedlander, The Events-Based Approach to Couple and Family Therapy Research. Bischoff, McKeel, Moon, Sprenkle, Systematically Developing Therapeutic Techniques: Applications of Research and Development. Survey Research Nelson, Survey Research in Marriage and Family Therapy. Fish, Busby, The Delphi Method. Program Evaluations Leber, St Peters, Markman, Program Evaluation Research: Applications to Marital and Family Therapy.

Achievement motivation and gifted students: A social cognitive perspective

The purpose of this article is to provide an illustrative review of recent research on achievement motivation and gifted students from a social cognitive perspective. The review discusses several constructs that have been a focus of motivation research: perceived competence and self-efficacy, attributions, goal orientations, and intrinsic motivation. For each construct, motivational research from the general motivation literature and from the field of gifted and talented studies are critiqued and compared. The review suggests that a general social cognitive perspective is a useful theoretical framework for research on motivational processes involved in the intellectual and personal development of gifted and talented students and that a process-oriented model is superior to a static model for research on both giftedness and achievement motivation. Implications of the review for future research on motivation and talent development are discussed.

Gifted Students’ Perceptions of the Academic and Social/Emotional Effects of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Grouping

This study investigated student perceptions of differences in academic and social effects that occur when gifted and talented youth are grouped homogeneously (i.e., in special classes for gifted students) as contrasted with heterogeneously (i.e., in classes with many ability levels represented). Forty-four students in grades 5-11 completed interviews or questionnaires while attending a summer residential program for gifted and talented students. Questions were designed to clarify the nature of academic and social outcomes under the two grouping conditions. On the whole, the participants perceived homogenous grouping more positively with respect to academic outcomes. They learned more in the more challenging environment provided by homogeneous classes. However, they had mixed feelings about which setting better met their social needs. Participants seemed to value having both similar peers in homogenous classes and the social diversity of heterogeneous classes. A troubling finding that emerged was the preference of a few of the students for heterogeneous classes because they were easier and enabled them to attain a high class ranking with little work. Implications of the findings for educators and counselors of gifted students are discussed.

Grouping Gifted Students: Issues and Concerns

Gifted and talented students need instruction at a level and pace as well as conceptual complexity commensurate with their advanced levels of ability and achievement. Grouping heterogeneously and providing cooperative learning in heterogeneous groups leads to lowered achievement and motivation as well as poorer attitudes toward school. Academic achievement of American youth is lower than the achievement of youth in many Asian and European countries. If we wish to sustain or increase the academic achievement of American youth they should be grouped for instruction according to ability and achievement levels, but grouping practices should be flexible, and rigid tracking should be avoided.

The Effects of Acceleration on High-Ability Learners: A Meta-Analysis

Current empirical research about the effects of acceleration on high-ability learners’ academic achievement and social— emotional development were synthesized using meta-analytic techniques. A total of 38 primary studies conducted between 1984 and 2008 were included. The results were broken down by developmental level (P-12 and postsecondary) and comparison group (whether the accelerants were compared with same-age, older, or mixed-age peers). The findings are consistent with the conclusions from previous meta-analytic studies, suggesting that acceleration had a positive impact on high-ability learners’ academic achievement (g = 0.180, 95% CI = -.072, .431, under a random-effects model). In addition, the social—emotional development effects appeared to be slightly positive (g = 0.076, 95% CI = -.025, .176, under a random-effects model), although not as strong as for academic achievement. No strong evidence regarding the moderators of the effects was found. Putting the Research to Use The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that acceleration influences high-ability learners in positive ways, especially on academic achievement. An important message for educators, parents and students is that high-ability learners can benefit from acceleration both in the short-term and in the long run. Specifically, accelerated students tend to outperform students who are not accelerated in their performance on standardized achievement tests, college grades, degrees obtained, status of universities or colleges attended, and career status. Accelerants equal or surpass non-accelerants in self-concept, self-esteem, self-confidence, social relationships, participation in extracurricular activities, and life satisfaction. It is informative for policy-makers that acceleration programs, especially university-based early college entrance programs, have been frequently assessed and appear to be the most effective. In summary, acceleration can be effective both in K-12 education and in college. Parents are encouraged to consider acceleration for their academically talented children and educators are encouraged to make acceleration options available.

Model-Eliciting Activities as a Tool to Develop and Identify Creatively Gifted Mathematicians

This article addresses the use of Model-Eliciting Activities (MEAs) as a (curricular) tool to develop mathematical creativity and identify students who are creatively gifted in mathematics. The thesis of this article is that by using MEAs, gifted educators can: (a) provide students with opportunities to develop creative and applied mathematical thinking; and (b) analyze students’ mathematical thinking when engaged in creative mathematical tasks, aiding in the identification of those students who are especially talented in domain-specific, mathematical creativity. The authors’ conclude that MEAs have potential for both developing and identifying creatively gifted mathematicians in the middle grades.

Specialized Counseling Services for Gifted Youth and Their Families: A Needs Assessment

Although many authors have recommended counseling for the gifted (Colangelo, 1991; Kerr, 1986; Silverman, 1993b), little research has been done to find out what types of counseling services parents, teachers, and counseling professionals believe to be most beneficial to the development of gifted and talented individuals (Myers & Pace, 1986; Passow, 1991; Shore, Cornell, Robinson, & Ward, 1991). In this study 335 parents, school personnel, and related counseling professionals were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the specialized counseling needs of gifted children and adolescents as part of a needs assessment for a proposed university-based counseling center. Results indicated that all groups of respondents believed that gifted and talented youth have important social, emotional, family and talent and career development needs that can best be met by differentiated counseling services; and that such services are not readily available to gifted youth. Implications of the study for the development of counseling services and the training of counseling professionals are discussed.

Counseling Needs of Gifted Students: An Analysis of Intake Forms at a University-Based Counseling Center

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of the counseling needs of gifted children from the perspective of parents who sought help from a fee-based counseling center for gifted students. The counseling center provided assessment and educational and career guidance, as well as family social/emotional counseling, all of which were differentiated to meet the needs of gifted children ages 4-18. Participating parents completed intake forms that included a 47-item client problem inventory and were designed to assist the counseling process. One hundred and twenty of these problem inventories were analyzed to determine which counseling needs led parents to bring their children for counseling services and whether there were any differences in perceived needs among three different developmental levels of children (preschool, preadolescent, and adolescent). Results suggested that age had a statistically and practically significant effect on parent perceptions of career and child (psychosocial) concerns and a practically significant effect on school, family, and peer concerns. For all age groups, parents perceived their child’s greatest counseling need to be educational planning, followed closely by school concerns. Psychosocial concerns were also salient for parents of children older than 6. Career planning was important for parents of children older than 12. Peer and family concerns were less salient than the other categories of concern. The study suggests that gifted children do have unique needs for differentiated counseling services and that counseling services for gifted children should emphasize educational planning and be targeted to the needs of specific developmental levels.

Long-Term Effects of an Enrichment Program Based on the Purdue Three-Stage Model.

The long-term effects of an elementary enrichment program for gifted youth were examined in this retrospective study. The enrichment program investigated was a pull-out program based on the Purdue Three-Stage Model (Feldhusen & Kolloff, 1978, 1986; Feldhusen, Kolloff, Cole, & Moon, 1988; Kolloff & Feldhusen, . 1981). Perceptions of students and their families when the students were seniors in high school indicated that ’ the program was successful in achieving its stated goals. The program was also perceived to have had a long-term positive impact on the cognitive, affective, and social development of most participating students and to have been a developmentally appropriate talent development experience. The findings suggest that the Purdue ThreeStage Model is an effective framework for elementary enrichment programs. Implications of the findings for the education of gifted students are discussed. Over the past two decades numerous models have been developed for educating gifted students, and many school districts have implemented programs for these students. How effective have these programs been in achieving their goals and developing talent io participating students’) Research is needed to answer this question (Cor nell. Delcourt, Bland, & Goldberg, 1990: Fox Washington, 1985; Horowitz & O’Brien, 198:--): Hunsakcr & Callahan. 1993: Passow, 1989: Spavin. 1990a). In fact, the National Center for Research on the Gifted and Talented has identified longitudinal research on student outcomes of gifted programming as the highest research priority for the field of gifted education in the next decade (Gubbins & Reid. 1991)_

Learning and Motivational Characteristics of Boys with AD/HD and/or Giftedness:

This study compared the academic and learning characteristics of students with (a) Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), (b) giftedness, and (c) giftedness with AD/HD, and examines specific a priori questions. The information reported by teachers, parents, and children was analyzed with a multiple-case design with constant comparative procedures within and across groups. The results indicated that giftedness conferred benefits related to specific talents but did not offer protection from the negative outcomes of AD/HD, such as inattention and homework problems. The learning and motivational profiles of each group were discussed in terms of implications for differential diagnosis and research and for teaching children with AD/HD and giftedness in general and special settings.