Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology

Inspired by the current embodiment turn in the cognitive sciences, researchers of STEM teaching and learning have been evaluating implications of this turn for educational theory and practice. But whereas design researchers have been developing domain-specific theories that implicate the role of physical movement in conceptual learning, the field has yet to agree on a conceptually coherent and empirically validated framework for leveraging and shaping students' capacity for physical movement as a socio–cognitive educational resource. This symposium thus convenes to ask, " What is movement in relation to concepts such that we can design for learning? " To stimulate discussion, we highlight an emerging tension across a set of innovative technological designs with respect to the framing question of whether students should discover an activity's targeted movement forms themselves or that these forms should be cued directly. Our content domains span mathematics (proportions, geometry), physics, chemistry, and ecological system dynamics (predator–prey, bees).

Sexton, T. L., Fisher, A. R., Graham, C., & Elnahrawy, N. A. (2014). Evidence-based practice in the prevention and treatment of adolescent behavior problems. In T. P. Gullotta, R. W. Plant, & M. A. Evans (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent behavioral problems: Evidence-based approaches to prevention and treatment (2nd ed., pp. 85-104). New York: Springer.

Science has always been a central part of family therapy. Research by early pioneers focused on studying the efficacy of both couple and family interventions from a systemic perspective. Today we know more now than ever before about the processes of diverse families and the therapeutic outcomes of family therapy practices. Despite the acknowledged importance of family therapy research, there are still questions about its impact on "real life" practice. Despite all the flaws of each, research and practice are critical interacting elements of a dialectic relationship: High-quality practice combines reliable scientific knowledge with individual clinical judgment made by family therapists in the context of their dynamic transactions with a family or couple. Future research can help uncover the mechanisms we have yet to know and test the ones we have identified while the dynamic interaction of research and practice that can lead to further innovations and developments central to the future of family therapy.

ABSTRACT Measurement Feedback Systems (MFS) offer unique opportunities to Couple and Family Psychology. As illustrative examples of true technical innovations, MFS's have the potential to reduce the ever present research–practice gap, dramatically change treatment, assessment, and evidence-based practices. In this manuscript, we review the unique challenges and opportunities offered by MFS along with their limitation and the implications as a foundation for a new vision of Couple and Family Psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effect of an evidence-based family-focused intervention, Functional Family Therapy (FFT), on adult offenders’ mental health, family relationships, and risk of reoffending. The results showed that the participants who completed FFT experienced significant improvement in individual and relational functioning and they reported fewer symptoms of distress, less family conflict, and higher levels of family cohesion and organization. The findings also indicated that the FFT group had significantly lower levels of criminogenic risk than offenders who received traditional probation services. This study provides preliminary evidence for the relevance of a family-focused approach as a method for adult as well as youth offender rehabilitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)