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Undergraduate Studies ePortfolio

Amanda BainB.A. Psychology, 2010

Personal StatementWhen I began my bachelor's degree in 2002, my major was addiction studies. Though I never personally experienced a drug or alcohol addiction, a friend close to my heart struggled with drugs for many years. By the end of my second course in the major, I felt like I would never be as good of an addictions counselor as someone who lived through it. I switched my major to psychology, because I knew ultimately my desire was to work in a field that helped others.

As a teenage rape survivor, I spent over 5 years volunteering and facilitating in youth organizations that focused on peer education surrounding both sexual assault and domestic violence. In 2004, I was chosen by the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault to be the keynote speaker at their annual peer education conference. It was an honor to receive such esteemed recognition for the volunteer work that I helped shape who I am as a person, helper, and educator.

Currently, I am the Director and Preschool Teacher at ABC Daycare & Preschool. I have been an educator at this facility for over four years. I have worked with children and families from very diverse backgrounds. My goal in my current position is to ensure a smooth and effective communication between the staff and parents. This cohesiveness strengthens the co-parenting relationship that is necessary to help the children flourish both academically and socially.

Sexual assault prevention, education, addictions, children and teens these are my professional interests. I have had both professional experience and education in relation to all of these fields. Though I am not sure which one is ultimately the best choice for me, I do believe I would be happy working in any of these fields. For this reason, I believe I would be an ideal candidate for a Family Services Advocate position. My short term professional goal is to obtain this position.

I do foresee myself returning to school to obtain my master's degree in the future. I have been described by previous professors as an excellent candidate for Graduate School, because of my analytic and critical thinking skills and cumulative G.P.A of 3.70.

ResumeAMANDA M. BAIN

Email: committed84@hotmail.com_________________________________________________________________________________________

OBJECTIVETo obtain a position working with families to educate, empower, and promote health and safety within the home.WORK HISTORY

Oct 2009 Director, Lead Preschool Teacher to ABC Daycare and PreschoolPresent East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

Serve as on-site supervisor for 12 staff & 65 children aged 4 weeks -12 years Design and oversee execution of educational curriculum for 5 classrooms Strive to build a solid co-parenting relationship between clients and staff

Mar 2006 Assistant Group Supervisor, Lead Teacher to ABC Daycare and PreschoolOct 2009 East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

Develop positive relationship with children and parents Supervise and care for children Plan and execute lessons and activities.

VOUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Nov 1999 Women's Resources of Monroe County to Delaware Water Gap, PAMay 2003 Students Together for Outreach & Prevention of Abuse Volunteer

Completed 40 hour domestic violence and rape crisis training Served as President for 2 years Regularly conducted peer education trainings and events

Oct 2003 Survivor's Resources of Pike County to Milford, PAApril 2004 Crisis Intervention Hotline Volunteer

Completed 70 hour training Helped create state-wide peer education program

Feb 2008 Argosy University Online to Chicago, ILCurrent B.A. Psychology

Expected date of graduation August 2010 Current GPA 3.7

Sep 1998 Pocono Mountain High School to Swiftwater, PAMay 2002 General Education

Diploma Awarded Graduated 64 th out of 729

REFERENCESReferences Available Upon Request.

Reflection

My academic experiences with Argosy University have well prepared me for an entry level position within the human services field. I excel during opportunities where I can flex my analytical skills and relate textbook foundations to everyday use.

One area of psychology where I feel I do not excel is in using statistics to analyze and decipher research. I prefer learning and teaching in a hands on environment where I can utilize my interpersonal and communication skills as well.

Table of Contents Work Samples

Cognitive Abilities: Critical Thinking and Information Literacy

Research SkillsCommunication Skills: Oral and WrittenEthics and Diversity AwarenessFoundations of PsychologyApplied PsychologyInterpersonal Effectiveness

Cognitive Abilities Critical Thinking and Information Literacy

Develop a strategy that includes three action points for implementing a nationwide program to

address the issue of child abuse and substance abuse...

The first step I would take towards implementing a nationwide program to address the issue of child abuse and

substance abuse is to create a non-profit organization specifically for this cause. The organization's mission would be to

educate others on the relationship between substance abuse and child abuse with the goal of prevention. This

organization should have a toll free hotline number that anyone could call to either report abuse, get information, or be

given referrals for help. One way to draw attention to the organization is to create both television and radio public service

announcements. The announcements should be attention getting and have a few statistics on the prevalence of child

abuse among substance abusing caregivers. It would also help if the organization had a well known endorser, such as a

popular celebrity.

Research Skills

Methods

Because the goal of our research is to determine whether or not peer education is an effective method for teaching behavioral health information to teenagers, we need

to find out if these two factors are correlated. I propose the following research plan. I will utilize the pre-test and post-test method, with two treatment groups. Participants will

be randomly assigned to their treatment group to prevent researcher bias. The sample participants will be two groups of teenagers with approximate ages of 14-19 from local

high schools and colleges. The target population is all teenagers ages 14-19 in the United States.

Our variable of focus, is peer education. Peer education can be defined as a method of education delivered by a trained educator to one's peer. In this study, the control

group of participants will receive traditional health and sexual education from their school facilitator. The experimental group will receive health and sexual education from a

trained peer educator. Both groups of teens will be given the same exam which will test their behavioral health knowledge and also collect data on their related behaviors at the

beginning of their treatment plans. At the end of their six months of classes, both groups will be retested with the same exam and questionnaire.

By running t-tests on the mean scores of both treatment groups, I can determine if any progress was made by the peer education group. I will be able to determine the

likelihood of a relationship between these variables by determining the correlation coefficient. The closer the coefficient is to 1, the most likely the variables are related. I would

then check to see if the relationship was due to more than just chance by determining the statistical significance of the data.

Communication Skills: Oral and Written

Process loss occurs when the amount of work output by a group is less than what would be expected from each individual collectively (Argosy,

2010). Sometimes individuals are more productive on their own, rather than in a group, because they do not wish to “rock the boat” and challenge

ideas that are popular by the group, but not necessarily what is best for the assignment. This is called groupthink (Argosy, 2010). Similarly, social

loafing can occur; this is when one or more members of the group put forth less effort than they would if working alone (Riggio, 2008). All of these

things hinder the group's productivity by limiting the creative flow of ideas and the balance of judgment on them (Riggio, 2008).

It is important to discover what stage of development each group is in to help them reach their greatest productivity potential. I would assess

each group by observing a portion of their work sessions to determine their current stage. I would then make constructive suggestions to Li on how

we can help them best move forward towards their end goal.

As Li's consultant, I would suggest to him that he utilizes electronic brainstorming. Electronic brainstorming is more effective than face-to-face

group brainstorming, because there is less social politics hindering the creative flow of ideas (Riggio, 2008). If Li would not like to utilize this new

technique, then I would strongly suggest he stress the importance of all ideas given within the brainstorming process, and verbalize his dissatisfaction

with any negative group politics that might intimidate or belittle any member of the group.

Ethics and Diversity Awareness

As a counselor, your client is relying on you to provide them a safe place to express themselves and work out their issues (Argosy, 2010a). Joe did not

ever do that for Jill. He shut her down when she mentioned her attraction to women, because his personal religious beliefs were against it. He did so

again when she discussed family issues related to her culture, because he was not Asian. Jill was suffering from depression and anxiety. Joe's

unprofessional attitudes towards her problems could have given her less confidence to discuss the issues that were important to her. Joe also pushed

Jill to try an experimental rebirthing technique, and continued along with the process despite her clear lack of consent. Joe is violating Jill by exerting a

control over her, that she refused consent to.

When Jill begins to talk about her depression and loneliness she comes on to Joe, by mentioning she wants a more intimate relationship with

him. Instead of clearly defining the boundaries, which prohibit counselor-client relationships, Joe expresses his desire for Jill and offers to refer her to a

new counselor so that they can begin an intimate relationship. When Jill recontacted Joe she said it was to renew counseling and discuss her referral.

They should have met in the office, but met at a restaurant instead. They began a sexual relationship and Joe never provided Jill with the referral

information he promised her. They continued their sexual relationship for a month, until Joe ending things, because he felt they were unethical. Joe

thought about seeking assistance from his supervisor, but did not, because he was engaging in a sexual relationship with her as well and did not want

the information to jeopardize their intimacy. Joe's guilt over the end of his relationships with Jill lead him to unethically breach their confidentiality as he

called her boss to inquire about her well being. On top of all of that, Joe breached Jill's right to confidentiality, by discussing her counseling with her

boss.

Foundations of Psychology

Create a plan for a community-intervention program for violent youth like Rocco who are perpetrators of gang violence.

I think it would be helpful if violent youth like Rocco had the opportunity to meet with former gang members who turned their lives around. The

former violent youth could speak to them about what circumstances led up to them joining the gang, things they did while active in the gang, how

they got out, why it was a mistake, and what they have learned from it. This would give these angry youth a sense that they are not alone, and that it

doesn't have to be this way. They could see that then can make something out of themselves, and find a healthy support system. These youth should

also undergo individual counseling to work on their anger management, problem solving skills, assertiveness training, and conflict mediation

(Glicken, 2004). Once they have undergone individual counseling, it may be helpful for them to join a support group for reform violent youth. This

gives them access to an understanding support system, making their recovery easier to manage (Glicken, 2004).

How will you foster victim empathy as part of the intervention plan?

It is important that these violent youth understand how their actions effected their victims, or else they may find no reason to change their

violent ways (Glicken, 2004). By increasing the youth's problem solving skills, we are asking them to find alternatives to achieve what they want

while increasing their empathy for others (Glicken, 2004). It may help the violent youth to speak to some of his/her victims, in a safe counseling

setting, to truly understand how their personal actions effected others. Violence effects the whole community; members from all over who are

effected by the violence may volunteer to speak out with the hope of creating a change within the perpetrator (Argosy, 2010).

Applied Psychology

Maria can apply classical conditioning to help her students with behavior management. Every time the students begin to bicker, Maria could

count to 3 saying something along with the numbers, such as: one take a deep breath, two let it out, three now you've calmed down. Eventually,

Maria will be able to just count to 3 and her riled up students should feel calmer.

Operant conditioning is another technique Maria can use to help with behavior management within her classroom. Operant conditioning is the

concept that the introduction of consequences can change the frequency of behavior (Argosy, 2010). Maria can introduce positive and negative

punishment in her classroom. If the students continue to act disruptively, Maria can use positive punishment by giving them detention. Positive

punishment works to decrease a negative behavior by “rewarding it” with a negative experience (Argosy, 2010). Maria can also use Negative

punishment, by taking away the students recess for being disorderly. Negative punishment works to decrease negative behavior by taking away a

pleasant experience, because of the behavior (Argosy, 2010).

Social learning theory is the belief that behaviors can change through observation and imitation (Argosy, 2010). Maria can model for her

students how she would like them to conduct themselves towards their classmates. She could choose to do a role play or sociodrama type exercise

with the entire class involved in labeling what are good, healthy ways to deal with bullying, two strongly differing opinions, feeling very frustrated,

and other relevant topics. By having their peers stating and imitating the acceptable behaviors, the boys at the core of the behavioral issues, will have

the opportunity to observe, imitate, and hopefully learn new ways to behave in class (Argosy, 2010).

Interpersonal Effectiveness

I have ten years of experience working with children and their families. As a dedicated volunteer for three Pennsylvania non-

profit organizations that promote awareness of sexual assault and domestic violence, I am well educated and experienced in these

areas. I had the honor of delivering the keynote address at the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault 2004 Peer Educator's

conference. My 6 years experience in peer education movements engrained a passion within me for the education and empowerment

of children and teenagers. As a youth adviser for Monroe County Children and Youth, I used my prior knowledge to assist two young

girls in overcoming their family dysfunction to become well adjusted citizens. While studying at East Stroudsburg University, I

utilized skills from all of these experiences in my role as a Resident Adviser. Teaching at a daycare and preschool over the last four

years has also provided me the opportunity to work with infants through school aged children. In each of these roles that I have been

able to serve my community by educating and supporting children and their families. Through challenging leadership positions, I have

developed a strong sense of responsibility, effective interpersonal skills and the ability to contribute to teamwork, even in high-

pressure environments.

My Future in Learning

I taught myself how to read when I was four years old. In Kindergarten, I told my family I planned on going to college. I have always loved learning. It is this passion for learning that has helped me excel in my studies.

Learning is not just about academics, either. Life is full of valuable life lessons. I cherish the fact that I will continue to grow and learn various new things in the future. I look forward to returning to school for my MSW and eventually my P.h.D in a human services field.

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Contact Me

Thank you for viewing my ePortfolio.For further information, please contact me at the e-mail address below. committed84@hotmail.com