Educational & Psychology Diagnostics in
Teaching Practice
2nd meeting
DAVID HAVELKA
2.11.2018
About SCARED STRAIGHT
creation: 1970´s
authors: inmates in long-term inprisonment (esp. Richard Rowe)
Goal: prevention of juvenile delinquency
Application: USA, UK, Norway, Australia, Germany, Canada
Media: TV series Beyond scared straight (13. 1. 2011 – 3. 9. 2015)
Documentary film
- 1978: Arnold Shapiro
- Until the end of 1979 – spread into 30 USA jurisdictions1
Program effectivity
12 statistically sound studies (1978 – 2010)2
Showed that Scared straight
!DOES NOT WORK!
No study proving opposite was published1
2 - Klenowski, P. M., Bell, K. J., & Dodson, K. D. (2010). An Empirical Evaluation of Juvenile Awareness
Programs in the United States: Can Juveniles be ‘‘Scared Straight’’? Journal of Offender Rehabilitation,
stránky 254–272.
1- Petrosino, A., Carolyn, T.-P., Holis-Peel, M. E., & Stern, A. (2014). Scared Straight and Other Juvenile
Awareness Programs for Preventing Juvenile Delinquency. Crime Prevention Research Review.
Why the program does not work?
◦ Disproportionate DOSING
◦ CONFRONTIERING nature of the program
◦ TRUE interest in juveniles
◦ CRUELTY of punishment is far less disparaging than CERTAINTY of punishment
◦ Lack of REHABILITATION components
◦ The program is not based on an explicit theory
◦ Nondelinquent X delinquent individuals
Lessons for diagnostic and teaching
practice
DIAGNOSTIC PROCESS AND DECISSION MAKING:
1) MUST BE THEORY DRIVEN – NOT BASED ON COMMON SENSE AND
INTUITION
2) MUST build on the life story and development stage of the child
3) MUST BE SOLUTION-FOCUSED – not just good-looking and
popular
4) SHOULD BE not only problem minimizing but also COMPETENCY
DEVELOPMENT based
Diagnostic Interview
(DI)
Why is DI so important?
Diagnostic interview is the most common, most
natural and probably the first way of gaining
information relevant for educational and
teaching proces…
DI
=
one of the most difficult diagnostic processes
EVENTHOUGH IT LOOKS EASY AND NATURAL….
- very different from casual conversation
◦ Focused purpose
◦ Clearly defined roles (teaches & student)
- no predefined scheme
- requires skills, experience, knowledge
GOALS:
◦ obtain information relevant for diagnostic proces
and educational planning
o establish contact with a child, deepen the
student-teacher relationship
Teacher´s behavior during an interview
MAIN PURPOSE: CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
- no judging or forgiving – simply accepting
- acting:
◦ Tactful and considerate
◦ Patient
◦ Adaptable
◦ Inventive
◦ NO cunning tone
◦ NO artificial adaptation to the language of child
What we do not need for the proces of education, we do not have
to ask….
Non-verbal component of the interview
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS…
Vitally important
Helps to interpret inner world of the child (especially in smaller kids)
I am
fine….
I am
fine….
I am
fine….
Types of DI
- SMALL TALK
- FOCUSED
- ESSAY
What can interview tell us?
information about the inner world that observation could not
provide:
- opinions
- attitudes
- wishes
- concerns
- developmental stage (moral, cognitive, etc.)
Deeper insight into the case of the child
Phases of an interview
1) initial phase
2) core of an diagnostic interview
3) termination + conclusion
Context of an interview
In a diagnostic interview it is not important only what we say….
but also how we say it….
how we act before an interview….
How we act during the interview…..
and how we act after the interview….
Techniques of conducting an interview
1) questioning technique
Open-ended questions; try to avoid WHY questions; more valuable
are HOW questions
Direct questions
Indirect questions
Projective questions
2) simple acceptance
Nodding (exammple – phone call)
Techniques of conducting an interview
3) capture and clarification
„I am not very good in PE.“
„Are you rather a studying type?“
4)paraphrasing
„I suck at math, I am totally hopeless.“
„You are not very good at math.“
5) interpretation
„I have three F in math.“
„ You are not very good at math“
Techniques
Magical techniques
Sorcerer with a magical wand
Miracle question
Transformation of a child into an animal
How to ask questions
From simple to harder topics
Open-ended (Do you like math?)
General (what is happening commonly)
Some children fight with their siblings, how about you?
ASSIGNMENT FOR MEETING III
- make a diagnostic interview with a child
-cover these topics…
Send it to 362303@mail.muni.cz until November 23
ASSIGNMENT STRUCTURE
OBSERVATION DURING AN INTERVIEW
TRANSRIPTION OF AN INTERVIEW
CONCLUSION
Recommended interview dimensions
FAMILY & FAMILY HISTORY (family status, age and profession of both parents, realtionship with parents, siblings –
number, age, relationships, common activities, other important people in childs life)
SCHOOL (attitude towards education, school behavior, home preparation, marks, favorite and unpopular subjects,
etc.)
PEER REALTIONSHIPS (attitude towards other children, conflicts, possition in group)
ATTITUDE TOWARDS AUTHORITIES (teachers, parents, adults in general)
LEISURE TIME & HOBBIES (ways of spending time, hobbies, afterschool activities, etc.)
EARLY CHILDHOOD (before primary school, memories, nursery, etc.)
SELF-DESCRIPTION (character, strenghts, weaknesses, etc.)
FUTURE PROFESSION (what the child would like to be and why, other dreams)
POTENTIAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY (substance use, conduct disorders, aggression, way of solving the conflicts,
problems in social relationships)
OBSERVATION DURING AN INTERVIEW
APPEARANCE, ATTITUDE, ACTIVITY
MOOD/AFFECT (variation during an interview)
SPEECH/ LANGUAGE
COGNITIONS (attention, memory)
THOUGHT PROCESS + CONTENT
INSIGHT + JUDGMENT
TRANSRIPTION OF AN INTERVIEW
MAKE A TRANSCRIPT FROM AUDIORECORDED INTERVIEW
CONCLUSION
Make a short conclusion (max. ¾ of normal page – 1350 characters)
Pedagogical impressions
Case conceptualization
Teaching and education plan/ recomendations
Potential refferal to other provders
Inspiration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vohjjW5xA40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBtwOnB4HYw
https://www.pearsoned.com/clinical-interviews-for-student-assessment/