| 英文摘要 |
In Taiwan, the undergraduate curriculum for counseling and guidance programs considers“Helping Process and Skills”a core course in counselor education. This course plays a critical role in developing students’foundational competencies in counseling techniques and professional skills. However, undergraduate students often encounter several challenges when learning helping processes and skills, including (1) a lack of realistic practical scenarios, (2) an incomplete understanding of the counseling process, (3) insufficient opportunities for repeated observation of counseling sessions, and (4) a lack of confidence in facilitating change. The study of helping process and skills involves acquiring professional knowledge, which can be categorized into theoretical knowledge and action knowledge.“Action knowledge”refers to understanding how theoretical knowledge is applied in real-life situations through situated learning. Therefore, in addition to lectures and independent reading, experiential activities are essential to help learners acquire action knowledge.
To address the aforementioned learning difficulties, this study aims to incorporate observational learning by producing and utilizing“expert videotape demonstrations”(EVDs) as an instructional strategy in undergraduate helping process and skills courses. The objective is to facilitate the transformation of theoretical knowledge into action knowledge while evaluating the instructional and learning outcomes of this approach. Additionally, this study investigates which teaching behaviors can predict learning effectiveness, aiming to refine teaching methods and improve overall counselor training.
Development of EVDs: This study invited an experienced counseling psychologist and a real male client to engage in five authentic counseling sessions, each lasting approximately 50 minutes and conducted weekly. Based on a scripted simulation, a trained counselor played the role of a“simulated client”(SC), who was also male and slightly older than the real client. The SC familiarized himself with the script and the five counseling sessions. Finally, a senior counseling psychologist conducted an impromptu sixth counseling session, which was recorded to produce a complete EVDs of the counseling process. This EVDs served as an instructional material for the undergraduate Helping Process and Skills course. The use of simulated clients allowed for controlled scenarios while maintaining realism, ensuring that students observed structured yet authentic counseling interactions.
Course Content on Helping Process and Skills: The course primarily focused on enhancing counselor activity self-efficacy, covering five key topics: Understanding the overall counseling process, developing interviewing skills, building helping relationships and self-awareness, conceptualizing cases, and conducting intake interviews. The instructional materials included both the EVDs and Hill’s textbook“Helping Skills: Facilitating Exploration, Insight, and Action”for independent reading. Additionally, instructors provided PowerPoint presentations for further explanation. The course design integrated multiple teaching strategies, including discussions, role-playing, and hands-on exercises, allowing students to apply learned concepts in simulated environments.
Research Questions: This study sought to evaluate the learning outcomes and experiences of students enrolled in the undergraduate Helping Process and Skills course using EVDs with SC scripts. Three key research questions were formulated: (1) What are the effects of incorporating EVD-based training on students’professional counseling competencies? The hypothesis was that students’self-evaluated scores on three efficacy scales—the Helping Skills Self-Efficacy Scale, the Interviewing Mastery Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Intake Interview Self-Efficacy Scale—would increase significantly over three assessment points: T1 (course commencement), T2 (mid-course), and T3 (course completion). (2) Which aspects of students’self-evaluated instructional effectiveness (overall assessment of teacher engagement) best predict their learning outcomes in professional counseling competencies? (3) What are students’overall learning experiences and perceptions of the course’s instructional strategies? To enhance future course design, qualitative data were collected to explore students’reflections on their learning experiences. This study aimed to analyze how different instructional elements contributed to students’self-confidence and skill acquisition.
Research Method: This study recruited 50 junior-year students from a psychology and counseling department at a university in northern Taiwan. A mixed-methods research design was employed, collecting data at T1, T2, and T3 through tracking measurements. The study utilized both quantitative and semi-structured self-report questionnaires. The research instruments were categorized into two groups: (1) course implementation, which included the development of EVDs and course design, and (2) learning outcome assessments, which included counselor self-efficacy scales, intake interview self-efficacy scales, teacher engagement assessments, and overall learning experience surveys. The mixed-methods approach allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of learning effectiveness. Quantitative data provided measurable learning improvements, while qualitative feedback offered insights into students’personal learning experiences. By integrating both approaches, this study aimed to capture the depth and complexity of learning in counseling education.
Research Results and Conclusion: Overall, the Helping Process and Skills training effectively enhanced students’self-efficacy in helping skills, interviewing mastery, and intake interviews. Additionally, students demonstrated self-growth in areas such as professional development, career decision-making, and interpersonal communication. The findings underscored the importance of EVDs in this training. (1) The course effectively promotes learning outcomes and self-growth. Students reported positive learning experiences and significant improvements in their helping skills, interviewing mastery, and intake interview self-efficacy. Furthermore, the course facilitated self-reflection on professional development, career decisions, and suitability for a helping profession while improving interpersonal communication skills; (2) EVDs serve as a crucial learning tool for understanding the counseling process. Watching EVDs encouraged diverse thinking and enhanced students’grasp of counseling sessions through imitation and reflection. Comparing their own counseling behaviors with those of experts in the videos allowed students to refine their counseling skills and deepen their understanding of the counseling process. However, EVDs alone were insufficient; a combination of multiple instructional methods, including group role-plays, instructor-led lectures, and final group demonstrations, was essential for optimal learning; (3) instructor-led lectures were more effective for learning specific helping skills, while EVDs were particularly beneficial for mastering interviews and intake practices. Beyond learning various interviewing techniques outlined by Hill, students needed to understand how to integrate these skills into structured, well-paced counseling sessions. The study found that different instructional methods led to different learning outcomes. Instructor lectures were more effective for acquiring helping skills, whereas EVD-based teaching strategies facilitated a better grasp of overall counseling sessions through observation and discussion; (4) EVDs enhanced both theoretical and action knowledge, improving students’knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to the helping process and counseling techniques; (5) self-directed learning played a key role in the course’s effectiveness. The course was designed with a learner-centered approach, incorporating diverse teaching strategies such as book discussions, expert videotapes, group exercises, instructor explanations, and final group demonstrations. These elements enriched the course and deepened students’learning. Quantitative and qualitative feedback indicated positive outcomes. Notably, students who watched EVDs independently showed the strongest predictors of learning effectiveness. Self-directed viewing enabled students to pause, replay, and reflect on counseling sessions, leading to deeper insights into the counseling process; and (6) increasing instructional hours and feedback time for group exercises is recommended. Students suggested extending the course from two to three credits to allow for more in-depth discussions on practical cases and additional practice sessions. Moreover, instructors should allocate more time to providing direct feedback during group exercises.
The instructional design of the Helping Process and Skills course, incorporating EVDs, proved to be an effective teaching strategy for novice undergraduate students in developing a comprehensive understanding of the counseling process and interviewing skills. Although producing EVDs is time-consuming and resource-intensive, their benefits for student learning justify their use. This study hopes to contribute to the advancement of counselor education through the implementation of EVD-based teaching strategies. |
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