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Beyond the Tyranny of Testing: Relational Evaluation in Education

Kenneth J. Gergen and Scherto R. Gill

Practices of assessment in education are byproducts of a bygone era. When testing and grades become the very goals of education, learning suffers, along with the well-being of students and teachers. ... More

Practices of assessment in education are byproducts of a bygone era. When testing and grades become the very goals of education, learning suffers, along with the well-being of students and teachers. In this book, the authors propose a radical alternative to the measurement-based assessment tradition, a vision in which schools are no longer structured as factories but as sites of collective meaning-making. As it is within the process of relating that the world comes to be what it is for us, the authors draw from this process their understanding of what knowledge is and what is good and valuable. Equally, learning and well-being are embedded in relational process, which testing and grades undermine. Thus the authors advocate a relational orientation to evaluation in education, emphasizing co-inquiry and value creation. The aim is to stimulate and enhance learning while simultaneously enriching the vitality of the relational process. A wide range of innovations in evaluative practice bring these ideas to life. The authors include detailed illustrations using cases from pioneering schools around the globe, at both primary and secondary levels, demonstrating how evaluation can foster students’ engagement in learning, feed into teachers’ professional development, support whole school improvement, and further nurture learning communities beyond the school’s walls. A relational shift in evaluation also opens a space for the flourishing of interactive and participatory teaching practices and more flexible and co-created curricula. Such a transformation in education speaks to the demands of a rapidly changing and unpredictable world, in which our capacities to listen, dialogue, and collaborate are imperative.Less

Cognitive Skills You Need for the 21st Century

Stephen K. Reed

Cognitive Skills You Need for the 21st Century begins with the Future of Jobs Report 2018 of the World Economic Forum that describes trending skills through the year 2022. To assist with the ... More

Cognitive Skills You Need for the 21st Century begins with the Future of Jobs Report 2018 of the World Economic Forum that describes trending skills through the year 2022. To assist with the development of these skills, the book describes techniques that should benefit everyone. The 20 chapters occupy 6 sections on acquiring knowledge (comprehension, action, categorization, abstraction), organizing knowledge (matrices, networks, hierarchies), reasoning (visuospatial reasoning, imperfect knowledge, strategies), problem-solving (problems, design, dynamics), artificial intelligence (data sciences, explainable AI, information sciences, general AI), and education (complex systems, computational thinking, continuing education). Classical research, recent research, personal anecdotes, and a few exercises provide a broad introduction to this critical topic.Less

Coming of Age: The Neurobiology and Psychobiology of Puberty and Adolescence

Cheryl L. Sisk and Russell D. Romeo

The purpose of this book is to explore the neurobiology and psychobiology underlying puberty and adolescence. It tells the story of how contemporary neuroscience has come to make significant ... More

The purpose of this book is to explore the neurobiology and psychobiology underlying puberty and adolescence. It tells the story of how contemporary neuroscience has come to make significant contributions to the understanding of a developmental period that used to be the sole purview of developmental psychologists and pediatric endocrinologists. The authors presume the reader will have a general understanding of the basic principles of neuroscience and psychology and have written this book to serve as an appropriate text for an upper-level undergraduate seminar or graduate course designed to probe puberty and adolescence more deeply from a psychobiological perspective. Topics covered in specific chapters include timing and regulation of reproductive maturation (puberty), mechanisms of adolescent brain development in laboratory animals and humans, neural underpinnings of higher risk-taking and impulsive behavior in adolescents, hormonal programming of social behaviors during adolescence, and effects of stress and drugs on the adolescent brain. The book ends with the authors’ perspective on some of the big questions about the adolescent brain and behavior that remain to be answered.Less

Exploring the Complexities of Human Action

Catherine Raeff

Exploring the Complexities of Human Action offers a bold theoretical framework for thinking systematically and integratively about what people do as they go about their complex lives in all corners ... More

Exploring the Complexities of Human Action offers a bold theoretical framework for thinking systematically and integratively about what people do as they go about their complex lives in all corners of the world. The book offers a vision of humanity that promotes empathic understanding of complex human beings that can bring people together to pursue common goals. Raeff sets the stage for conceptualizing human action by characterizing what people do in terms of the complexities of holism, dynamics, variability, and multicausality. She also constructively questions some conventional practices and assumptions in psychology (e.g., fragmenting, objectifying, aggregating, deterministic causality). The author then articulates a systems conceptualization of action that emphasizes multiple and interrelated processes. This integrative conceptualization holds that action is constituted by simultaneously occurring and interrelated individual, social, cultural, bodily, and environmental processes. Action is further conceptualized in terms of simultaneously occurring and interrelated psychological processes (e.g., sensing, perceiving, thinking, feeling, interacting, self/identity), as well as developmental processes. This theoretical framework is informed by research in varied cultures, and accessible examples are used to illustrate major concepts and claims. The book also discusses some implications and applications of the theoretical framework for investigating the complexities of human action. The book shows how the theoretical framework can be used to think about a wide range of action, from eating to art. Raeff uses the theoretical framework to consider varied vexing human issues, including mind–body connections, diversity, extremism, and freedom, as well as how action is simultaneously universal, culturally particular, and individualized.Less

Geographies of Campus Inequality: Mapping the Diverse Experiences of First-Generation Students

Janel E. Benson and Elizabeth M. Lee

In efforts to improve equity, selective college campuses are increasingly focused on recruiting and retaining first-generation students—those whose parents have not graduated from college. In ... More

In efforts to improve equity, selective college campuses are increasingly focused on recruiting and retaining first-generation students—those whose parents have not graduated from college. In Geographies of Campus Inequality, sociologists Benson and Lee argue that these approaches may fall short if they fail to consider the complex ways first-generation status intersects with race, ethnicity, and gender. Drawing on interview and survey data from selective campuses, the authors show that first generation students do not share a universal experience. Rather, first generation students occupy one of four disparate geographies on campus within which they negotiate academic responsibilities, build relationships, engage in campus life, and develop post-college aspirations. Importantly, the authors demonstrate how geographies are shaped by organizational practices and campus constructions of class, race, and gender. Geographies of Campus Inequality expands the understanding of first-generation students’ campus lives and opportunities for mobility by showing there is more than one way to be first generation.Less

Handbook of Political Violence and Children: Psychosocial Effects, Intervention, and Prevention Policy

Charles W. Greenbaum, Muhammad M. Haj-Yahia, and Carolyn Hamilton (eds)

A major goal of this volume is to create a forum for the integration of three areas: theory and research on the effects of exposure to political violence (EPV), intervention to aid victims of EPV, ... More

A major goal of this volume is to create a forum for the integration of three areas: theory and research on the effects of exposure to political violence (EPV), intervention to aid victims of EPV, and the prevention of EPV. It notes the lack of application of social science research and theory to prevention of EPV. The introductory chapter presents a description of the gap between international law forbidding political violence against children and recent increases in children’s EPV, an overview of social science theory related to research and intervention, and descriptions of the contributions of each chapter. Section I, on research, presents reviews of research, original quantitative and qualitative research reports, and a chapter on methodology and ethics. Section II, on intervention, contains research on intervention with children who have experienced EPV in school, their family, and community contexts, and a chapter on issues related to individual therapy with such children. Section III, on prevention, provides chapters on legal and social issues in the prevention of recruitment of children as child soldiers in armed groups, on the role of the International Criminal Court in deterring children’s EPV, and on the use of transitional justice for preventing recurrence of children’s EPV. The concluding chapter reviews the major findings of the volume and emphasizes the need for prevention of EPV. It describes the legal framework for prevention, social science theory that could explain the prevalence of EPV despite legal and moral sanctions against it, possible means of protecting children in armed conflict, and possible future directions in research.Less

How Children Invented Humanity: The Role of Development in Human Evolution

David F. Bjorklund

Infants and children are the often-ignored heroes when it comes to understanding human evolution. Evolutionary pressures acted upon the young of our ancestors more powerfully than on adults. Changes ... More

Infants and children are the often-ignored heroes when it comes to understanding human evolution. Evolutionary pressures acted upon the young of our ancestors more powerfully than on adults. Changes over the course of development in our ancestors were primarily responsible for the species and the people we have become. This book takes an evolutionary developmental perspective, emphasizing that developmental plasticity—the ability to change our physical and psychological selves early in life—is the creative force in evolution, with natural selection serving primarily as the Grim Reaper, or a filter, eliminating novel developmental outcomes that did not benefit the survival of those individuals who possessed them, while letting the more successful outcomes through. Over generations as embryos, infants, and children continued to change and to produce slightly different adults, a new species was born—Homo sapiens. This book is about becoming—of becoming human and of becoming mature adults. One theme of this book is about how an understanding of our species’ evolution can help us better understand current development and how to better rear successful and emotionally healthy children. The second theme turns the relation between evolution and development on its head: How can an understanding of human development help us better understand human evolution? The short answer to this second question is that children invented humanity, and that human evolution can be seen as children setting the stage and leading the way to species innovation.Less

Immigrant Japan: Mobility and Belonging in an Ethno-nationalist Society

Gracia Liu-Farrer

Immigrant Japan? Sounds like a contradiction, but as this book shows, millions of immigrants make their lives in Japan, dealing with the tensions between belonging and not belonging in this ... More

Immigrant Japan? Sounds like a contradiction, but as this book shows, millions of immigrants make their lives in Japan, dealing with the tensions between belonging and not belonging in this ethno-nationalist country. Why do people want to come to Japan? Where do immigrants with various resources and demographic profiles fit in the economic landscape? How do immigrants narrate belonging in an environment where they are “other” at a time when mobility is increasingly easy and belonging increasingly complex? The book illuminates the lives of these immigrants by bringing in sociological, geographical, and psychological theories—guiding the reader through life trajectories of migrants of diverse backgrounds while also going so far as to suggest that Japan is already an immigrant country.Less

Mastering Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Training Issues for Master's Level I-O Psychologists

Elizabeth L. Shoenfelt (ed.)

In this book, faculty from top-ranked industrial-organizational (I-O) master’s programs provide best practices and discuss important topics for the training of master’s-level I-O psychologists. The ... More

In this book, faculty from top-ranked industrial-organizational (I-O) master’s programs provide best practices and discuss important topics for the training of master’s-level I-O psychologists. The book begins with a definition of the field of I-O psychology; an explanation of the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by master’s-level I-O practitioners; and a description of I-O master’s professional practice areas. I-O graduate training is introduced, highlighting differences between master’s training and doctoral training. Advice is offered about applying to graduate school, including program selection, undergraduate preparation, and the application process. The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s Guidelines for Education and Training in Industrial-Organizational Psychology are reviewed, as are various methods for teaching the identified competencies. Guidance is offered on implementing important applied experiences such as course projects, practica, simulations, and internships. The pros and cons of a thesis requirement are outlined. Issues faced by faculty in I-O master’s programs, including strategies for balancing teaching, service, and research, are covered. The final chapter gives advice for developing and maintaining an on-campus I-O consulting entity. The best practices presented in this volume, offered by faculty with substantial expertise and experience in successful I-O master’s programs, should be of interest to faculty teaching in I-O master’s programs and other teaching intensive institutions; to I-O faculty and non-I-O psychology faculty advising undergraduates on career options in psychology, specifically as an I-O master’s practitioner; and to undergraduates evaluating potential I-O master’s programs.Less

The Psychology of Property Law

Stephanie M. Stern and Daphna Lewinsohn-Zamir

The Psychology of Property Law considers how research in psychology offers new perspectives on property rules and doctrines, and suggests avenues of reform. The book explains how assumptions about ... More

The Psychology of Property Law considers how research in psychology offers new perspectives on property rules and doctrines, and suggests avenues of reform. The book explains how assumptions about human judgment, decision making, and behavior have shaped different property laws and examines to what extent these assumptions are supported by the research. Employing key findings from psychology, the book considers whether property law’s goals and justifications for various property doctrines could be achieved more successfully with different rules. In addition, the book highlights property laws and conflicts that offer productive areas for further behaviorally informed research. The book critically addresses several topics from property law for which psychology has a great deal to contribute. These include ownership and possession, legal protections for residential and personal property, takings of property by the state, redistribution through property law, real estate transactions, and discrimination in housing and land use. Turning to remedies, the book discusses how psychology can inform legal debates over the desirability of property rules versus liability rules, and in-kind remedies versus monetary ones.Less

Sentence First, Arguments Afterward: Essays in Language and Learning

Lila Gleitman

Jeffrey Lidz (ed.)

This book collects the most significant papers written by Lila R. Gleitman, spanning 50 years of research on language and its acquisition. The book traces the roots of developmental psycholinguistics ... More

This book collects the most significant papers written by Lila R. Gleitman, spanning 50 years of research on language and its acquisition. The book traces the roots of developmental psycholinguistics while presenting empirically driven arguments in favor of a rationalist theory of language acquisition. Gleitman’s work simultaneously shows how learners acquire knowledge richer than what can be found in the environment and how they use their input to acquire a specific language. The book also includes a foreword by Noam Chomsky and an introductory chapter by Jeffrey Lidz contextualizing Gleitman’s work in the transition from structuralism to mentalist architectures in linguistics.Less

Stories Changing Lives: Narratives and Paths toward Social Change

Corinne Squire (ed.)

Personal narratives’ relation to social change is a frequent topic in the narrative-psychological and wider narrative social science literature. It is, indeed, a driving interest for many of those ... More

Personal narratives’ relation to social change is a frequent topic in the narrative-psychological and wider narrative social science literature. It is, indeed, a driving interest for many of those doing and reading narrative social research. This book aims to analyze not only the strong but also qualified significance of personal stories for progressive social change. It pursues this analysis by investigating particular aspects of narratives that narrative psychological research describes and explains and that seem to contribute importantly to narratives’ ability to make or catalyze social change. While narratives’ relation to social change is a common assumption and preoccupation of narrative researchers, fewer publications take this relationship as a central and explicit focus. This book aims to deepen narrative research’s engagement with progressive social change by addressing it consistently and from a number of different narrative-psychological research perspectives. The book acknowledges the strength and the importance of regressive and discriminatory narratives, narratives’ limitations, and research on these. However, it focuses on progressive social change possibilities, which seem especially important to consider at the current time. The book comprises three sections: Personal Stories and Social Change; The Language of Social Change Narratives; and Narrating Histories of the Past, Present, and Future. Throughout, the book foregrounds the multimodalities of narratives; the value of the multiplicity of stories, genres, positions, and intersectionalities; recent work on decolonialities; and the interdisciplinarity, historical reach, and transnationalism of narrative research.Less

Teams That Work: The Seven Drivers of Team Effectiveness

Scott Tannenbaum and Eduardo Salas

Why do some teams thrive, while others struggle? If you are a team leader, team member, senior leader, or consultant, you need to know what really drives team effectiveness. Many books and ... More

Why do some teams thrive, while others struggle? If you are a team leader, team member, senior leader, or consultant, you need to know what really drives team effectiveness. Many books and consultants offer advice about teamwork based on opinion or conjecture. Some of that advice is useful, but much of it is overly simplistic or even misleading. Fortunately, a growing body of research is now available with which to separate the myths from the facts. For example, is it possible to “team away” talent deficiencies? Will more frequent communications improve performance? Is a team likely to perform better when members know each other? What do great team members know, do, and think? When and how can conflict be constructive? In Teams That Work, Scott Tannenbaum and Eduardo Salas answer these and other questions about team effectiveness. While reading the book you’ll learn: Eleven desirable team member competencies and three traits you’ll want to avoid; Four cooperative beliefs that consistently impact team effectiveness; Four coordination behaviors that you’ll want your teams to demonstrate; Eight types of shared cognitions team members need to possess; A dozen conditions that enable collaboration; and seven essential team leadership functions. The book culminates with specific, evidence-based tips along with tangible tools for putting the science of teamwork into practice.Less

Threats: Intimidation and Its Discontents

David P. Barash

This book studies situations in which individuals threaten each other or feel threatened by society, and often respond in ways that threaten social stability in turn. Animals also engage in all sorts ... More

This book studies situations in which individuals threaten each other or feel threatened by society, and often respond in ways that threaten social stability in turn. Animals also engage in all sorts of threats, an understanding of which opens one's eyes to the world of animal behavior otherwise hidden, while also revealing the strange and important question of honest versus dishonest communication. The dynamic of threat-and-response gives insight into such human dilemmas as the fear of death and how this has been manipulated by many organized religions; how fear of strangers and supposed enemies has given rise to an American gun culture that in turn threatens those seeking to avoid such threats; how nativist fears of “the other” has promoted right-wing nationalist populism, which has been making things worse not only for democracy itself, but also for those who feel threatened in the first place; and how capital punishment—intended to contain the threat of murderous criminals—has made this problem worse. Most important and worrisome is how countries convey the ultimate threat against each other: deterrence. Brandishing the threat of mutual annihilation in the expectation that this will keep a country safe is, paradoxically, the ultimate example of a posture that endangers threatener and threatened alike.Less