Research Poster Presentations
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Encoding Methods Applied to the Autism Spectrum Christopher Maniscalco (Macaulay Honors College) Faculty Mentor: Professor Kristen Gillespie-Lynch Department: of Psychology The levels-of-processing theory states memory depends on how information is encoded and depth of processing is determined by the nature of a task during encoding. By applying research on encoding, this study seeks to determine what effect, if any, encoding techniques have on students on the Autism Spectrum. Data were obtained once a week as over 30 participants were presented questions tracking the degree to which participants followed the encoding techniques presented in this study. Through qualitative coding and by tracking student’s grades at the beginning and end of the semester, we are able to determine the impact of the strategies we presented. We expect a significant increase in student performance linked to trends in themes based on encoding strategies. By analyzing the effectiveness of the strategies proposed in this study, we hope to apply specific models to experimental structured studies in the future. Keywords: Encoding, Spacing Effect, Autism Spectrum.
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POSTER
#104
Expanding Knowledge of Autism Spectrum Disorders Across Different Majors Claudia Olender (Macaulay Honors College) Faculty Mentor: Professor Kristen Gillespie-Lynch Department: of Psychology The current study assessed variations in baseline knowledge and social stigma associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among students in science related fields (STEM majors: biology, math, engineering, or computer science), students in majors training them to help others (Helping Professions: psychology, education and social work). Changes in knowledge about specific teaching strategies to help individuals with ASD following an online training about ASD were also examined. Participants (N=366) took an anonymous online training on SurveyMonkey.This online study was composed of a pre-test, a training about autism spectrum disorders, and a post-test.The results, from the analysis of the surveys, would confirm initial hypotheses: ASD knowledge would be lower and stigma associated with ASD would be higher for STEM majors than for Helping Professions because the latters’ major curriculum emphasizes the study and understanding of diversity; and, STEM majors will suggest organization is an effective way to teach people with autism whereas, Helping Professions will suggest that emotional responsiveness is more of an effective way to teach people with autism because the latters’ major curriculum emphasizes emotional support. In contrast, the formers’ major curriculum emphasizes clear, concise structure. Given expected differences in baseline knowledge of ASD, results would confirm that the training is more effective for increasing knowledge and decreasing stigma associated with ASD for STEM majors relative to Helping Professions.