Tuesday, January 25, 2011
ECT’s Final Days?
There are a few things I really love discussing with students...mostly because of their fresh perspective on old topics in psychology and partly because they have a great way of cutting through the BS that gets built up around older ideas.
ECT - electro-convulsive therapy, is one of those topics. I find it particularly reassuring that each time I explain that yes, we are talking about administering electricity directly to the brain, I'm met with looks of horror and shock (no pun intended...okay, maybe a little pun). When I get that reaction, I know that there is still some good in the world *phew*. I think it is perfectly normal to react this way when you first hear about ECT.
If you're interested in the topic, you should duck over to the PsychCentral blog. JOHN M GROHOL reports on a FDA investigation into how ECT is classified in the United States. If you read through this entry you'll get a very interesting (and potentially upsetting) insight into how business, profits and health services can collide.
I wonder what minimum standards of evidence you would want if it was your brain receiving ECT? How would you like to see a professional body (like the APA, who made this statement) involved? Although psychologists in Australia are not responsible for administering ECT, as a treatment that is still used and accepted in the treatment of mental health, this is an issue worth discussing.
ECT - electro-convulsive therapy, is one of those topics. I find it particularly reassuring that each time I explain that yes, we are talking about administering electricity directly to the brain, I'm met with looks of horror and shock (no pun intended...okay, maybe a little pun). When I get that reaction, I know that there is still some good in the world *phew*. I think it is perfectly normal to react this way when you first hear about ECT.
If you're interested in the topic, you should duck over to the PsychCentral blog. JOHN M GROHOL reports on a FDA investigation into how ECT is classified in the United States. If you read through this entry you'll get a very interesting (and potentially upsetting) insight into how business, profits and health services can collide.
I wonder what minimum standards of evidence you would want if it was your brain receiving ECT? How would you like to see a professional body (like the APA, who made this statement) involved? Although psychologists in Australia are not responsible for administering ECT, as a treatment that is still used and accepted in the treatment of mental health, this is an issue worth discussing.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
What are you really learning?
Ok, so it is the start of the academic year in Australia, so I probably shouldn't be this cynical yet. I just happen to think that it is important to really think about what students are really learning and what teachers are really doing. A recent Chronicle of Higher Ed article
The authors reported that:
"While higher education is expected to accomplish many tasks—and contemporary colleges and universities have indeed contributed to society in ways as diverse as producing pharmaceutical patents as well as prime-time athletic games—existing organizational cultures and practices too often do not put a high priority on undergraduate learning. Faculty and administrators, working to meet multiple and at times competing demands, too rarely focus on either improving instruction or demonstrating gains in student learning."
These questions aren't new. Event the comedian Father Guido has had a go at universities for being ineffective:
While I think I certainly gained more from my education than you might in Guido's 5 minute university, I do wonder why we keep piling on the content. We know that no one will remember all that detail 2 days after the final exam but we keep doing it. I know that the things I learnt and remembered were taught in interactive classes, with case studies or examples. AND they weren't those awful forced, boring case studies. They were interesting and got me thinking why I was really studying psychology. These activities made me stop and think about the fact that someday, I would be applying these skills and someone's education, happiness, or health would depend on me doing a good job.
When universities are being pressured to focus more and more on research, what can be done to insure teaching quality? I'm not suggesting that research isn't important. It is. So much of our society progresses because there are passionate scientists and researchers using their amazing analytical and creative skills to cure disease, explore frontiers of knowledge, and innovate beyond boundaries. I just think that there is no future for research or any other profession if we aren't prioritizing teaching.
I wonder what kind of staffing models we should have for Higher education. What would happen if we allowed some academics/faculty to nominate research as their main interest and lightened their teaching load? What if we allowed academics who want to teach to pick up more classes and lighten their research load? Would we be making the most of people's passions? Or would this be a recipe for disaster?
The authors reported that:
"While higher education is expected to accomplish many tasks—and contemporary colleges and universities have indeed contributed to society in ways as diverse as producing pharmaceutical patents as well as prime-time athletic games—existing organizational cultures and practices too often do not put a high priority on undergraduate learning. Faculty and administrators, working to meet multiple and at times competing demands, too rarely focus on either improving instruction or demonstrating gains in student learning."
"More troubling still, the limited learning we have observed in terms of the absence of growth in CLA performance is largely consistent with the accounts of many students, who report that they spend increasing numbers of hours on nonacademic activities, including working, rather than on studying. They enroll in courses that do not require substantial reading or writing assignments; they interact with their professors outside of classrooms rarely, if ever; and they define and understand their college experiences as being focused more on social than on academic development."
- Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, 18 Jan, 2011
These questions aren't new. Event the comedian Father Guido has had a go at universities for being ineffective:
While I think I certainly gained more from my education than you might in Guido's 5 minute university, I do wonder why we keep piling on the content. We know that no one will remember all that detail 2 days after the final exam but we keep doing it. I know that the things I learnt and remembered were taught in interactive classes, with case studies or examples. AND they weren't those awful forced, boring case studies. They were interesting and got me thinking why I was really studying psychology. These activities made me stop and think about the fact that someday, I would be applying these skills and someone's education, happiness, or health would depend on me doing a good job.
When universities are being pressured to focus more and more on research, what can be done to insure teaching quality? I'm not suggesting that research isn't important. It is. So much of our society progresses because there are passionate scientists and researchers using their amazing analytical and creative skills to cure disease, explore frontiers of knowledge, and innovate beyond boundaries. I just think that there is no future for research or any other profession if we aren't prioritizing teaching.
I wonder what kind of staffing models we should have for Higher education. What would happen if we allowed some academics/faculty to nominate research as their main interest and lightened their teaching load? What if we allowed academics who want to teach to pick up more classes and lighten their research load? Would we be making the most of people's passions? Or would this be a recipe for disaster?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Getting started in psychology - Part 1
Hi there,
This is a quick post to anyone interested in starting a course in Psychology. When you are thinking about starting study, it is important to make sure that you are informed about a few things like:
This is a quick post to anyone interested in starting a course in Psychology. When you are thinking about starting study, it is important to make sure that you are informed about a few things like:
- What the course will require. How many hours a week will you be expected to study? What types of things will you be studying...do you really know what the topic is about? Will you have to travel? What expenses are you likely to encounter including course fees, study materials, and other costs?
- What does this course prepare you for? It helps to have a very clear idea about what careers the course leads to and what types of salary and working conditions you should expect. Also, in most countries, a Bachelor's degree is only the first step of many to becoming a Psychologist. If your goal is to be a registered Psychologist, make sure you know how many years of training and the full cost of this career goal will be.
- Are the skills and knowledge you'll gain transferable and do they suit your interests? Many people explore more than one career path over their lifetime. Spend some time finding out about the skills that you might gain in this course that could be useful if you decide to get creative with your career. For example, if you study Psychology you could become a Psychologist but you might also become an advertising executive, a social researcher, a life coach, a disability support worker, an audiologist...there are a lot of possibilities!
- Will this study really fit your lifestyle? Study will take time and commitment. Make sure you take a good look at your current responsibilities and work out how study will fit into your existing life. Many people find that before taking on study, they need to reduce their commitment to something else in their life.
- The Australian Psychological Society: http://www.psychology.org.au/
- The Americal Psychological Association: http://www.apa.org/
- Psychology Today Magazine: http://www.psychologytoday.com/
- The Graduate Careers (Australia) report for Psychology: http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/CareerPlanningandResources/careerprofiles/Psychology/index.htm
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What is this all about?
Hi all,
I wanted a place to post information, links, comments, debates, ideas and other general 'stuff' about psychology. I'm hoping that this can be a resource for students in my classes (currently PYB000 and PYB207) and an interesting meeting point on the web any past students who are interested in keeping in contact.
I imagine that some posts will be very academic and some will be just a bit of fun.
Time to get started!!
Erin
I wanted a place to post information, links, comments, debates, ideas and other general 'stuff' about psychology. I'm hoping that this can be a resource for students in my classes (currently PYB000 and PYB207) and an interesting meeting point on the web any past students who are interested in keeping in contact.
I imagine that some posts will be very academic and some will be just a bit of fun.
Time to get started!!
Erin
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