Training graduate students to be teachers

Pedagogic education of graduate students, when and where it exists, is restricted to theoretical courses or to the participation of the students as teachers' assistants. This model is essentially reproductive and offers few opportunities for any significant curriculum innovation. To open an opportunity for novelty we have introduced a new approach in "Biochemistry Teaching", a course included in the Biochemistry Graduate Program of the Biochemistry Department (Universidade Estadual de Campinas and Universidade de São Paulo). The content of the course consists of a) choosing the theme, b) selecting and organizing the topics, c) preparing written material, d) establishing the methodological strategies, e) planning the evaluation tools and, finally, f) as teachers, conducting the course as an optional summer course for undergraduate students. During the first semester the graduate students establish general and specific educational objectives, select and organize contents, decide on the instructional strategies and plan evaluation tools. The contents are explored using a wide range of strategies, which include computer-aided instruction, laboratory classes, small group teaching, a few lectures and round table discussions. The graduate students also organize printed class notes to be used by the undergraduate students. Finally, as a group, they teach the summer course. In the three versions already developed, the themes chosen were Biochemistry of Exercise (UNICAMP), Biochemistry of Nutrition (UNICAMP) and Molecular Biology of Plants (USP). In all cases the number of registrations greatly exceeded the number of places and a selection had to be made. The evaluation of the experience by both graduate and undergraduate students was very positive. Graduate students considered this experience to be unique and recommended it to their schoolmates; the undergraduate students benefited from a more flexible curriculum (more options) and gave very high scores to both the courses and the teachers.

Psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory applied to college students: factor analysis and relation to the Beck Depression Inventory

The psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the trait form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) and its relation to the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were evaluated in a large Brazilian college student sample containing 845 women and 235 men. STAI-T scores tended to be higher for women, singles, those who work, and subjects under 30 years. Factor analysis of the STAI-T for total sample and by gender yielded two factors: the first representing a mood dimension and the second being related to worrying or cognitive aspects of anxiety. In order to study the relation between anxiety and depression measures, factor analysis of the combination of the 21 BDI items and the 20 STAI-T items was also carried out. The analysis resulted in two factors that were analyzed according to the tripartite model of anxiety and depression. Most of the BDI items (measuring positive affectivity and nonspecific symptoms of depression) were loaded on the first factor and four STAI-T items that measure positive affectivity. The remaining STAI-T items, all of them measuring negative affect, remained in the second factor. Thus, factor 1 represents a depression dimension and factor 2 measures a mood-worrying dimension. The findings of this study suggest that, although widely used as an anxiety scale, the STAI-T in fact measures mainly a general negative affect.

Dimensionality of the premenstrual syndrome: confirmatory factor analysis of premenstrual dysphoric symptoms among college students

Premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) seem to form a severity continuum with no clear-cut boundary. However, since the American Psychiatric Association proposed the research criteria for PMDD in 1994, there has been no agreement about the symptomatic constellation that constitutes this syndrome. The objective of the present study was to establish the core latent structure of PMDD symptoms in a non-clinical sample. Data concerning PMDD symptoms were obtained from 632 regularly menstruating college students (mean age 24.4 years, SD 5.9, range 17 to 49). For the first random half (N = 316), we performed principal component analysis (PCA) and for the remaining half (N = 316), we tested three theory-derived competing models of PMDD by confirmatory factor analysis. PCA allowed us to extract two correlated factors, i.e., dysphoric-somatic and behavioral-impairment factors. The two-dimensional latent model derived from PCA showed the best overall fit among three models tested by confirmatory factor analysis (c²53 = 64.39, P = 0.13; goodness-of-fit indices = 0.96; adjusted goodness-of-fit indices = 0.95; root mean square residual = 0.05; root mean square error of approximation = 0.03; 90%CI = 0.00 to 0.05; Akaike's information criterion = -41.61). The items "out of control" and "physical symptoms" loaded conspicuously on the first factor and "interpersonal impairment" loaded higher on the second factor. The construct validity for PMDD was accounted for by two highly correlated dimensions. These results support the argument for focusing on the core psychopathological dimension of PMDD in future studies.