Basic HTML Version
24
Professor Miranda examines ways of thinking that
increase vulnerability to suicidal thoughts and behav-
iors among young adults. Her four-year, $760,000 NIH
study,
Measurement of Social Cognitive Risk Factors
for Suicidal Ideation & Behavior,
examines different
forms of ruminative thinking (the repetitive focus on a
negative/depressed mood and the causes, meanings
and consequences of that mood) and future-oriented
rumination. This longitudinal study compares 400 first
and second year NYC college students ages 18–34
with and without a history of suicidality. Students are
randomly assigned to an experimental or control
group. Preliminary data showed that by inducing opti-
mism over several treatment periods, the experimental
group shifted their thoughts about the future. “We’re
developing this methodology with the hopes that our
findings will have implications on how treatment is
conducted for hospital patients with suicide attempts.”
Professor Krauss, along with Professor Issa Salame of
City College, recruits science majors from college and
trains them to become middle school science teach-
ers through a novel method in his two-year, $464,000
NSF grant,
Introduction to Computer-based Analytic
Methods to Teacher Education Programs for Future
Middle School Science Teachers.
The program teaches
future teachers how to teach science by allowing mid-
dle school students to conduct real science, gather
and analyze useful data from the Internet, and develop
theories and hypotheses. The goal is to help young
students understand the importance of math, how it
relates to science, and eliminate, early on, the science
phobia many students have. “This project allows com-
munity college students to be directly involved in
improving middle school science education.”
Regina Miranda,
Associate Professor, Psychology
Hunter College
David Krauss,
Assistant Professor, Science
Borough of Manhattan Community College