Browsing by Author "Strasser, Katherine"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Argumentation Skills Mediate the Effect of Peer Argumentation on Content Knowledge in Middle-School Students
    (2021) Larrain, Antonia; Singer, Vivian; Strasser, Katherine; Howe, Christine; Lopez, Patricia; Pinochet, Jorge; Moran, Camila; Sanchez, Alvaro; Silva, Maximiliano; Villavicencio, Constanza
    There is compelling evidence that arguing with peers in educational contexts fosters students' content knowledge and argumentation skills. Indeed, curricula have already been developed that, through tailored support for peer argumentation. promote both content knowledge and argumentation skills simultaneously. However, we do not yet know how to optimize the occurrence of peer argumentation, although there are suggestions in the literature that computers may have a role to play. Likewise, there are uncertainties about the mechanisms through which the benefits of peer argumentation are achieved, especially whether (and how) there is interdependence across the two types of benefit. In this paper, we report a quasi-experimental study randomized at class level, which addresses these two issues. A total of 502 fourth-grade students and 20 classes and teachers covered a module in science under three conditions: (1) using a curriculum that was already known to promote peer argumentation and content knowledge (standard support). (2) using the same curriculum but with additional computer-based support (computer-enhanced support), and (3) a routinely taught control group. Students' argumentation skills and content knowledge were assessed. Content knowledge was assessed prior to and after the intervention, with immediate and delayed posttests. Multiple regression analyses showed that peer argumentation was indeed most frequent in the computer-enhanced condition. Moreover, on the basis of a multilevel path analysis, we found that individual contributions to peer argumentation had a direct effect on posttest argumentation skills and an indirect effect on posttest content knowledge, both immediate and delayed. The indirect effect of argumentation on delayed posttest content knowledge was mediated by immediate posttest knowledge and posttest argumentation skills.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    The evolution of therapeutic change studied through generic change indicators
    (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2007) Krause, Mariane; De la Parra, Guillermo; Aristegui, Roberto; Dagnino, Paula; Tomicic, Alemka; Valdes, Nelson; Echavarri, Orietta; Strasser, Katherine; Reyes, Lucia; Altimir, Carolina; Ramirez, Ivonne; Vilches, Oriana; Ben Dov, Perla
    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 Lambert's 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.