Case Studies to Illustrate Psychological Literacy in Action: sharing activities to develop Psychological Literacy across the curriculum

While many psychology educators are keen to embed psychological literacy into their curricula, there are few practical resources. This poster presents case studies from our Compendium of Psychological Literacy (Taylor & Hulme, 2015) and illustrates the variety of methods of learning, teaching and assessment used to develop psychological literacy

Introducing a compendium of psychological literacy case studies: Reflections on psychological literacy in practice.

This article introduces a set of case studies that were submitted to us following requests in psychology conferences and publications, and through professional networks. The full versions of the case studies make up the first version of a Psychological Literacy Compendium of Practice that is available online at www.psychologicalliteracy.com. The first part of this article presents a brief synopsis of each case study and categorises case studies to allow those considering introducing psychological literacy activities to easily compare and contrast different approaches. Categories include: when the activity takes place in the curriculum; whether it is a core or elective unit, or optional activity, and assessment strategies. In the second section, we evaluate each case study in terms of which of the nine psychological attributes identified by McGovern et al (2010) each case study illustrates. This information can be used to assist curriculum design and quality assurance procedures, and highlights the need to define the attributes of psychological literacy that activities are designed to address. Finally, we conclude with a discussion and some suggestions for future work and activities. This article aims to highlight practical ideas to develop psychological literacy and to encourage academics and practitioners to use the Compendium to develop activities to embed psychological literacy within the Psychology curriculum

Pupil participation in Scottish schools: final report

This research was commissioned by Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) to evaluate the nature of pupil participation in primary and secondary schools across Scotland. The specific objectives of the research were: <p>· To describe what school staff and pupils understand by the term ‘pupil participation’.</p> <p>· To describe the range and usage of pupil participation mechanisms employed in schools.</p> <p>· To describe how school staff respect and respond to pupils’ views and ideas, and those of the wider community.</p> <p>· To identify the characteristics of schools and classrooms that facilitate effective pupil participation.</p> <p>· To identify possible barriers to the development of pupil participation in schools and to make suggestions about how these can be overcome.</p> <p>· To capture examples of effective practice of pupil participation.</p> <p>· To make suggestions about how pupil participation can help support the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence.</p&gt

Computerised speechreading training for deaf children: A randomised controlled trial

Purpose: We developed and evaluated in a randomised controlled triala computerised speechreading training programme to determine a) whether it is possible to train speechreading in deaf children and b) whether speechreading training results in improvements in phonological and reading skills.Previous studies indicate a relationship between speechreading and reading skill and further suggest this relationshipmay be mediated by improved phonological representations. This is important since many deaf children find learning to read to be very challenging. Method: Sixty-six deaf 5-7 year olds were randomised into speechreading and maths training arms. Each training programme was comprised of10 minutesessionsa day, 4 days a week for 12 weeks. Children were assessed on a battery of language and literacy measures before training, immediately after training, 3 months and 10 months after training. Results: We found no significant benefits for participants who completed the speechreading training, compared to those who completed the maths training, on the speechreading primary outcome measure. However, significantly greater gains were observed in the speechreading training group on one of the secondary measures of speechreading. There was also some evidence of beneficial effects of the speechreading training on phonological representations, however these effects were weaker. No benefits were seen toword reading. Conclusions: Speechreading skill is trainable in deaf children. However, to support early reading, training may need to be longer or embedded in a broader literacy programme. Nevertheless, a training tool that can improve speechreading is likely to be of great interest to professionals working with deaf children

International Edition of the Psychological Literacy Compendium

During 2014/15, the HEA funded the production of a Psychological Literacy Compendium of Case Studies providing examples of psychological literacy gathered from academics in the UK. Following this, we invited psychology academics to submit case studies for a second version of the Compendium and we opened invites to the International community at various conferences. We also invited previous contributors to submit revised version of their case studies showing how they had adapted them as a result of feedback and reflection. This International Compendium will be published online at the www.psychliteracy.com/ website and within our University repositories. The Compendium was presented at a Psychological Literacy Symposium at the EuroPLAT Conference held in Salzburg in September 2017 and it will be discussed within a workshop at the EFPTA Conference to be held in Reykjavik in April 2018. The case studies are presented in alphabetical order and while they are not fully representative of the work being carried out internationally, they provide a snapshot of good practice and hopefully will provide ideas for academics wishing to introduce psychological literacy into their curricula. We would like to thank all our contributors and if you are reading this and would like to contribute to the next edition please email one of us! Jacqui and Julie (February 2018) [email protected] [email protected]

Dietary value for money? Investigating how the monetary value of diets in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) relate to dietary energy density

Estimating the monetary value of individuals’ diets allows investigation into how costs relate to dietary quality. A number of studies(1–2), including one in Scotland(3), have reported a strong negative relationship between diet costs and energy density. Most studies of this type neglect to address the issue of mathematical coupling, where energy is both the numerator in the energy density variable (kJ/g) and the denominator in energy-adjusted diet cost (e.g. E/10 MJ). As a result, the findings could be reflecting a mathematical relationship(4). This study investigated how estimated diet costs of NDNS adults relate to dietary energy density using the ‘residuals’ regressionmethod to account for energy. Diet diary information from 2008–2010 was matched to an in-house database of national average (2004) food prices (the DANTE cost database) to assign a cost to each food and non-alcoholic beverage consumed. Mean daily diet costs and costs per 10 MJ were calculated for each participant. Energy density (g/kJ) was derived from foods and milk. The sample median diet cost was £2.84 per day (IQR £2.27, £3.64), or £4.05 per 10MJ (£3.45, £4.82). Values for energy density, food energy, and diet costs by quintiles of dietary energy density (1 = least energy dense) are presented in the table. Adjusted linear regression found a strong negative relationship: additional standard deviation above the diet cost expected for a given energy intake (the residual), there was an associated decrease in energy density of 0.46kJ/g (95% CI - 0.53, - 0.38, p<0.001). This is the first time individual-level diet costs have been characterized for a representative British population. These diet costs represent the inherent value of the diet, and are not comparable to UK expenditure data. The analyses confirm a diet cost-energy density link that is not due to mathematical artefact, and suggest that those consuming more energy-dense diets are achieving more kilojoules for their money

Better communication research project : language and literacy attainment of pupils during early years and through KS2 : does teacher assessment at five provide a valid measure of children's current and future educational attainments?

It is well-established that language skills are amongst the best predictors of educational success. Consistent with this, findings from a population-based longitudinal study of parents and children in the UK indicate that language development at the age of two years predicts children’s performance on entering primary school. Moreover, children who enter school with poorly developed speech and language are at risk of literacy difficulties and educational underachievement is common in such children. Whatever the origin of children’s problems with language and communication, the poor educational attainment of children with language learning difficulties is an important concern for educational polic