Center For Divorce Education Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 1 Summer 2008 Two years in development, CIM Online was just launched this spring. How is it different from the CIM video used in groups of divorcing parents? Additional scenes were filmed when CIM was refilmed in 2005, with an instructional design that allows parents to choose between two methods of handling the conflict in the opening scene. Parents are required to interact with the content, at their own pace, and are quizzed on what they learned from each of the five scenarios in the program. To pass the course, they have three attempts to get 70% of the questions correct. An online e-bulletin board or discussion forum allows parents to respond to the content and each other, mimicking the interaction they might have in a class with the safety of anonymity. An Ask the Expert page gives parents an area where they can request a phone consultation, for a fee, with leading national experts on divorce and its effects on families. When parents complete the course, a certificate of completion can be printed and/or emailed to the referring professional. The cutting edge instructional design of this program makes use of brain research to accelerate learning to unprecedented levels. Users process the visual images in the video along with multimedia presentations. They then make required physical movements in choosing and responding to content. The spoken and written content is crafted to bypass a person’s defensiveness and allow open-minded learning. The combination of these factors results in very rapid gains in understanding and skills, far outperforming face-to-face instruction, reading, watching videos, or text-based online programs. We recommend parents take both a class-based course and the online course for several reasons. Each method has its unique advantages. Participating in a class lets other parents benefit from discovering that their experiences are not unique, and interaction with a skilled facilitator can motivate and inform parents. If parents use the online program after attending a class, they will benefit from repetition of the content in a different format requiring interaction, and see the skills demonstrated again in the video scenes. Their motivation to apply these skills and knowledge will increase, which is important as often their motivation is high when the class ends but wanes over time. If parents take the online course prior to attending a class, they will be more enthusiastic and informed participants in class. Because they have learned about risks to children
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Children in the Middle (CIM) Online
and skills to use to reduce those risks, they will be eager to share this in class, thereby having a contagious effect on other parents. Leading such classes will be more satisfying because of the level of sophistication and enthusiasm of some of the participants who have used the online program. The families will benefit as the earlier parents learn these skills, the sooner they can prevent damage to family relationships. For out of state parents, where the court wants both parents to attend, the online CIM course will afford convenience and economy. When rural parents have to drive considerable distances to take a class, the option of an online program provides savings in gas and child care expenses, as well as missed parenting time. Page 1
Brochures Available for CIM Online
We have recently created two high-quality full-color brochures describing all the benefits of Children in the Middle Online. These brochures are intended to be sent out to parents who would be more willing to use the CIM online course than a directed course. We will be happy to mail you as many brochures describing CIM online as you wish. These are intended to be given to parents and should motivate them to use the online program. We guarantee their satisfaction with the program or we will refund the $45 subscription fee, no questions asked. We can also mail you brochures for professionals if you want to share information about this program with other professionals in your community. These brochures have more in-depth descriptions of our online course. If you are interested in either of these brochures please contact us through the information on the back of this newsletter.
Children in the Middle Online Research
Drs. Don Gordon and Karen Blaisure (a professor at Western Michigan University) received a federal grant to study the differences between online and class-based CIM, as well as developing a Spanish version of online CIM. Through focus groups and measuring (pretest and follow-up) parental acrimony, child adjustment, and substance use, they will learn about the effects of each approach. A Michigan court is randomly assigning parents to either the online program or the class, which is the golden standard of research designs. The program contains content to prevent substance abuse in parents and teens. The same study will be replicated in South Africa, using parents referred through mediators. Another study is planned for Ireland.
Divorce Innovations in Australia and Canada
During an international conference for family court personnel in Vancouver, Canada, Dr. Gordon learned of innovations occurring in Australia. In an effort to provide support and reduce harm from divorce to families, the government has, in the past two years, established 65 Family Relationship Centers. Through these, parents receive mediation and counseling to help them avoid a contested divorce, and to amicably prepare for the changes to the family. No divorcing parent in the country can file with the court until they have been through mediation. In Canada, a similar focus on mediation and counseling is diverting parents from the adversarial process. Dr. Gordon gave a presentation on Online CIM during a symposium with Drs. Shirley Thomas, Les Herold, and Laura Backen Jones. Drs. Thomas and Herold, leading authorities on divorcing families, are on the Ask the Experts page for CIM Online. Page 2
Children in the Middle In Holland
Marjan Pot, a child therapist in Holland, has received her government’s support to translate CIM materials into Dutch and is training dozens of “coaches” to facilitate CIM classes throughout the country. She has arranged with major child advocacy organizations to refer separating and divorcing parents to the classes, and uses other innovative marketing methods (i.e., driving around in a car emblazoned with “Kinderen in het Midden”). She has arranged for a major university to study the effects of the CIM program on Dutch families. Dr. Don Gordon will address a symposium in Holland this November to further introduce the program to Holland. Marjan plans to export the Dutch version of CIM to all Dutch-speaking countries. A link to Holland’s Children in the Middle program can be found in the links section of our website.
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Children in the Middle Passes National Registry of Effective Prevention Programs and Practices Review
NREPP, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services, is reviewing all of the Model Programs SAMHSA has endorsed. Children in the Middle has successfully passed the review, with detailed information on the research and description of the program. For more information and links please visit our website.
CDE Partnerships
Dr. Don Gordon has been employed as one of the leading experts on FirstWivesWorld website, offering advice to divorcing and divorced moms. His monthly columns will include access to various scenarios from online CIM and Parenting Wisely, in an effort to help visitors learn skills using the advanced instructional design mentioned above. Strategic partnerships are also in the works for Mediate.com, the principal website for divorce mediators in North America, and Our Family Wizard, a website for parents to do their child exchange scheduling online to avoid conflict. If you are interested in partnering your site with CDE, please contact us at info@divorceeducation.com Page 3
http://www.divorce-education.com
Visit us online at:
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The Center For Divorce Education
1005 East State Street, Suite G Athens, OH 45701 Phone: (740) 594 - 2526 Fax: (740) 594 - 2521 Email: info@divorce-education.com On the web at: www.divorce-education.com