I am a member of the Measurement, Evaluation and Computer Applications in Education Section and teach courses in statistics, research methods, psychological assessment and learning.

My current research interests are instructional psychology, assessment of student cognition and motivation, multivariate techniques, school psychology, and assessment of children with learning problems. I work primarily with graduate students and those who wish to become teachers in secondary schools. If you would like to learn more about my work, you can contact me at the MacLaurin Building— room A523 or via the following:

office MacLaurin A 523

phone 250•721•7791

fax 250•721•6190

walshj@uvvm.uvic.ca

University of Victoria

PO box 3010 Stn CSC

Victoria, BC V8W 3N4

Recent Publications with Students

Winded by a gas question

Could an adolescent's question be the first step to an energy breakthrough?

A Nobel prize? Playing with matches?

—John Walsh

 

I had prepared early for my son's adolescence. While others around him were reading Penelope Leach's book Your Baby and Child and cooing over his infancy, I had already begun to tackle the big one: adolescent curiosity.

As a well-prepared parent and a psychologist, I can, at a moment's notice, provide a reasonable explanation of why girls are as they are, why boys are as they are, and how each began. Sexual terms are no trouble for me. From anal to zenoerotic and back again, I can define each with illustrations and examples. I can even explain President Bill Clinton's behaviour, at least the sexual parts.

This is why, when my son asked recently whether “farts” were really flammable, I was prepared. Well, sort of. Immediately, I rallied all the neurons that comprise my diminishing assembly. I reasoned with vigorously honed parental insight that my son's question was likely the result of his recent interest in new scientific discoveries.

Could Greenpeace have moved on from attacking cow gas to denouncing the ozone-depleting effects of plumes of human fumes? Might the elusive riddle of spontaneous human combustion finally have been solved and reported in a major study published in the authoritative New England Journal of Medicine? Just as likely, I speculated silently, might he have been listening to a discussion of new biological discoveries on CBC's Quirks and Quarks?

The parental mind is a remarkable thing at such moments. It moves at a speed that matches the velocity of an adolescent excuse. Its mental course can, however, be somewhat erratic. Much like an adolescent's explanation of obligations left unmet, the parental mind may not always be firmly in touch with the facts. Filled with the self-deception that preserves so much of our love for others, the heart and mind step in quickly to offer solace to a parent's rambling fears. Every unreasonable explanation for our children's behaviours bursts forward in a bellicose defence—and so too in this case.

Might my son really be on to something here? Could he cleverly be thinking of a new and valuable resource that would lead to energy independence for all? Would vegetarians be forced to redistribute their bounty as part of a new National Energy Policy? Would my son thank me when accepting the Nobel Prize? (More importantly, would he share the money?)

Questions from loved ones always bear close attention, but no other questions can sit so demandlingly as those asked under the watchful gaze of an adolescent. Part question and part protest, they call for a rapid and unflinching response. But how does one approach this surprising topic?

Are there Latin phrases that might add a bit of dignity to the discussion? Perhaps something along the lines of caveate flatus. I thought not. My Latin has never been good and my son would sense the deception of resorting to an armchair defence.

Asking my son why he asked this question would be out of the question. He would detect my confusion and surprise. Like the good criminal lawyer, a parent never asks a question when he or she does not have at least an inclination of the response. Besides, some things are best left unknown, where the adolescent is concerned, as this helps to preserve a precious measure of murkiness among parents and adolescents. How else can a parent limit worry?

A scientific approach to the question seemed best. It would lend a sense of authority and objectivity to my answer, and I could obfuscate at will with words like biomass and methane. I might even be able to serve up a small lesson on the essentials of organic chemistry, at least, all that I can remember. In this way, considerable pride might also be taken from my turning this idle question into an important educational opportunity.

But as my thoughts were about to be launched in the prepared order, my son looked at me. Wide eyed, part savvy, and part innocent, his look rattled and then strangled my thoughts. Gripped by his gaze, I blurted all that remained: “Yes, flatulence can be flammable and don't play with matches or you'll end up smoking.”

It is going to be a long adolescence.

John Walsh is Jeremy's father and a professor at the University of Victoria

A half-marathon race I enjoyed running with students from my class at UVic.

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