Category: UNIT 2

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Unit 2, Learning Activity 3

I got 53.9 on Leadership Trait Questionnaire; as for Leadership Theory, I got 22 on Technical skill, 26 on Human skill, and 28 on Conceptual skill; then the Style Questionnaire, 45.6 on task score and 38 on relationship score.

I think the results could typically represent my self-concept from my perspective. I know my weaknesses, and clearly, they are revealed in the results. But I was surprised when I saw my scores on Leadership Trait Questionnaire from the other two colleagues. Accidentally, They both rated me nearly 60. The scores they rated me on Trustworthy, Dependable, Outgoing, and Empathic were much higher than the ones rated by myself. I asked them and they insisted that those were exactly their perceptions of me.

I recalled something I learnt from Social Psychology that the perception of what you are from other people can be different from what you are to yourself (Myers & Smith, 2012). Reflecting the self-concept pictured by myself, I know I always feel inferior about getting along with other people. Therefore, I usually try hard to connect with them and cannot assess my performance correctly. At the same time, it is hard for me to ask them their feelings about me. Consequently, the perceptions were not congruent. It is brilliant that the textbook recommends the leader have another five people (e.g., roommates, coworkers, friends) complete the questionnaires as well (Northouse, 2016). Leaders can obtain different perspectives to add colour to the picture of their self-concepts. Also, it is constructive for leaders to realize their potential deficiencies from the discrepancies of the results and to correct them in turn. Moreover, I would like to add that it does not have to be five other people to complete the Questionnaires. I would like to suggest the more the better.

Reference

Myers, D. G., & Smith, S. M. (2012). Exploring social psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications.

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Unit 2, Learning activity 2.5

The textbook has mentioned several sources of information that can be found in Google Scholar, and they are journal articles, books, citations, conference proceedings, and Academic and government websites (Badke, 2017). I think there are two more ways that can help us getting access to more reliable and relevant academic information of our research questions. The first one is video, for example, the series of TED Talks. As the phenomenon of doing things electronically grows, more professionals and experts would like to illustrate their theories or show their findings through videos. Apparently, this is an extremely useful means to communicate their true feelings and resonate them with the audience. We could search the main words or phrases of our research questions to find the relevant videos; then, look at the videos to see if the topic or content echoes our feelings towards the research questions; at last, search the professors or experts in the video to find his or her books or articles. The second one is the book or author recommended by the professors. For example, my research question is “How to effectively help the students in the elementary school (or post-secondary school) manage their anxiety disorders and academic performance at the same time”. This research question requires professional knowledge of psychology, education, and school counselling. Fortunately, one of my professors is a Doctor of Psychology and she had worked as a counsellor many years ago. She recommended several authors who were all professionals in psychological counselling to me. I really appreciated her professional opinions and kept all the information in mind.

I have a preference for using three sources of information to conduct my research question: Journal articles, books, citations or references at the end of the articles and books. Besides asking professors for advice, I will also use Google Scholar as the main searching method to find the journal articles and books. I used it many times in the last semester and get very used to it right now. In addition, every article or book presented in Google Scholar is followed by the information of how many times has this article or book been cited and what are the related articles. Furthermore, on the right side of the page, there will be a sign that can link to the TWU Library. Before making the decision of using the journal articles or not, I would like to confirm whether they are reliable enough. There are several ways to examine the reliability of the articles and books. First of all, I will check the authority of the author to see his or her credentials. Secondly, the articles and books should be peer-reviewed. Thirdly, the journals and publishers should be academic or professional ones. Then, I will find out if the articles and books have obvious biases or interests. Meanwhile, the purpose and the content of the articles and books should also be checked. At last, I will specifically pay attention to the bibliography, and the intended audience as well. As long as the articles or books can stand up to scrutiny, I will consider their relevance to conduct the research on my topic.

Reference

Badke, W. (2017). Research strategies: Finding your way through the information fog. iUniverse.

Unit 2 Learning Activities

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Unit 2, Learning activity 2.4

Book: Building happiness, resilience and motivation in adolescents: a positive curriculum for well-being 

http://library.twu.ca/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/?ps=hh2hGe1xEF/MAIN/44100069/9

Authors: Ruth MacConville, Tina Rae

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Date: 2012

Dr Ruth MacConville is an educational consultant and author. She had worked as head of the SEN specialist teaching teams in the London Borough of Ealing. She has published extensively on topics that promote well-being and motivation in young people, and she regularly contributes to national conferences (“Mental health and well-being”).

Dr Tina Rae specializes in social, emotional and behavioural disorders and difficulties. She is also a prolific author and has written extensively on topics such as wellbeing, attachment, emotional literacy, behavioural problems, anger and stress management, critical incidents, cognitive behavioural therapy and so on. Tina is a member of SEBDA’s council and executive, also a member of the European Network for Social and Emotional Competence (ENSEC) and a trustee of the Nurture Group Network (NGN) (“University of East London”)

This book is published in 2012, and it is the latest edition. The publisher, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, was founded in 1987 in London by Jessica Kingsley. It claims that “We publish books for professionals and general readers in a range of subjects. ” (“Jessica Kingsley Publishers”). Also, I believe that this book has been peer-reviewed because the Jessica Kingsley Publishers specifically requests the author to provide the names and contact details of at least two individuals qualified to peer review the manuscript before the publication of the book (“Jessica Kingsley Publishers”).

Both of the two authors are dedicating their effort to focusing on and trying to solve the mental issues of the youth. After a quick review of the book, I found out that not only has this book offered a set of pragmatic programme, but also it has thoroughly illustrated the various aspects which play as the underpinnings of the programme. I deemed that the authors wanted to introduce the notion “positive psychology” and demonstrate how to help adolescents apply the programme (or approach) to solving the mental issues and pursuing happiness. As far as I am concerned, this book is related to my research question “How to effectively help the students in the elementary school (or post-secondary school) manage their anxiety disorders and academic performance at the same time”. I think that anxiety disorders mostly derive from the negative thoughts, worries or self-aggression. Part two of this book has provided the knowledge of the components which are contributed to positive mental health. Especially chapter 4 love of learning, chapter 6 authenticity, and chapter 7 bravery are all perfect for me to analyze how to deal with anxiety disorders. So, besides the people who are interested in exploring this kind of topic, like me, the parents of the adolescents, other professors and scholars in this field should all be counted as the intended audience. And there is no obvious bias found in this book.

 

 

References

Jessica Kingsley Publishers. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.jkp.com/can/about-us/

MacConville, R., & Rae, T. (2012). Building happiness, resilience and motivation in adolescents: A positive psychology curriculum for well-being. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Mental health and well-being. (2017). Retrieved from http://healthinschoolsuk.com/speakers/175-ruth-macconville

University of East London. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.uel.ac.uk/Staff/r/tina-rae

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Unit Two, Learning activity 2.3

The journal article: Revealing the creative process in music psychotherapy by applying a test of creative thinking and clinical observational frames 

http://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:2097/ehost/results?vid=2&sid=03bd5a6e-f029-4d3e-8316-97faea86963e%40sessionmgr102&bquery=(music+AND+therapy+AND+rehabilitation+AND+psychology)&bdata=JmRiPWE5aCZ0eXBlPTAmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZl

The authors:

Myriam Scholer (Laboratory of Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, University of Lorraine, Research Unit 4360, Laboratory of Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology and Arts Therapies: PCSA, Centre  Hospitalier Kirchberg-Luxembourg, CHU University of Heidelberg-Germany)

Fabienne Lemétayer (Laboratory of Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology, University of Lorraine, Research Unit 4360)

Lony Schiltz (Laboratory of Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology and Arts Therapies: PCSA, Centre  Hospitalier Kirchberg-Luxembourg, CHU University of Heidelberg-Germany)

Date: this article was received on 26 Feb 2014, accepted  on 04 Dec 2014, and published online: 20 Apr 2015. Clearly, this is a relatively new journal article.

The authors are intended to observe the patients’ creative acts during music therapy sessions within long-term psychiatric rehabilitation. In another word, the authors would like to test how music therapy is going to work on opening channels of communication, nurturing relationships, and helping the patients return to a balanced state. This article is closely related to one of my research questions: “how important is the role of music therapy playing in the process of psychological counselling?”. I want to explore my research question to offer a useful approach for psychological counsellors to adopt; raise hope for the patients and their families; and expand a different way of considering the methods for other researchers who are willing to devote to this kind of project. I believe all three categories of the readers are also the intended audience of the authors of this journal article.

This journal article was published by Routledge, which is the world’s leading academic publisher (“Routledge”). And the journal article was contained in Nordic Journal of Music Therapy (NJMT), which is a peer-reviewed journal published in collaboration with GAMUT (“Nordic Journal of Music Therapy”). It means this journal article was evidently peer reviewed.

The authors made a proclamation at the end of the article saying that they have no conflicts of interest in relation to this article. I believe that they have no biases after reviewing the entire content of the article by myself.

 

 

References

Nordic Journal of Music Therapy. (2008). Retrieved from  http://www.njmt.no

Routledge. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com

Scholer, M., Lemétayer, F., & Schiltz, L. (2016). Revealing the creative process in music psychotherapy by applying a test of creative thinking and clinical observational frames. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 25(3), 229-247.

 

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-2-learning-activities/

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Assignment 1-Layla’s Concept Map

As depicted in my concept map, listening to the music, reading, learning psychology, and teaching are the four principal interests of myself. I listen to all kinds of music, especially like country music, R&B, and opera. I also prefer to listen to music when reading a novel on the couch. Actually, not only novel, I read a wide range of books, including arts and photography, children’s books, education and teaching, history, and parenting and relationships. I always deem that reading can help build my knowledge reservoir, which provides a sound basis for analyzing problems, making decisions, and reflecting on my conducts to improve myself. Furthermore, I love psychology, although it requires an advanced level of professional knowledge. Psychology has helped me genuinely know myself. With the knowledge gained from psychology, I found out that due to the issues of my family I have several psychological problems. I could finally face my temper issues and anxiety issues, stop pushing myself so hard and blaming myself. Especially the very first moment when I saw my own son, I decided to bring up him with both physical health and mental health. At last, I would like to be a teacher one day. I like teaching, not only because I am willing to pass the knowledge to all the students to help them become better versions of themselves, but also teacher embodies servant leadership which I highly respect and admire.

Considering the interconnections between different aspects and the correlations among them, I conclude three potential research questions that can better represent my preferences of the direction of the future research.

  • Research Question 1. As a teacher in an elementary school or a secondary school, how to well manage the mental issues of the children and pass the professional knowledge to them at the same time?
  • Research Question 2. What kind of role is music playing in the process of psychological counselling and how important is it?
  • Research Question 3. As a psychological counsellor, how to genuinely diagnose his or her own mental issues and handle them in a rational way?

I would select Research Question 1 as the strongest one to pursue a future research paper. According to the visible and invisible features of the question, I would search literature from the fields of education, psychology, relationships, and leadership.

There are two main reasons that I choose Question 1. First of all, mental health is as important as physical health, yet has been underestimated by most of the people in the world. In my observation of the other people and my experience, a mental health person will evidently perceive far more happiness, peace, and sense of security than other ones. Secondly, it is better for a person to be aware of his or her mental issues and repair the psychological trauma in his or her early age (Greven, 1990). I suppose that it would be terrific if the teachers equipped with the psychological knowledge could notice the mental issues of the students in time and give them the proper guidance during the school time.

 

 

References

Greven, P. (1990). Spare the child: The religious roots of punishment and the psychological impact of physical abuse. Alfred A. Knopf.

 

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/clarifying-your-research-interest-2/