DISCUSSION 1

  Looking Back and Moving Forward

Congratulations! You have successfully completed the first course in your program. Now is the time to reflect on what you have learned and then look to the future. For this discussion: What are the three most important concepts or skills you learned? Were any comments by other learners particularly helpful or insightful? How, if at all, have your perspectives changed concerning your academic or professional aspirations as a result of this course? What do you see as the greatest challenges that lie ahead for you? How will you deal with those challenges? What are you most excited about academically or professionally? What is your vision for the impact you would like to make on the field of psychology? What is your vision for the impact you would like to make on your community as a professional psychologist?

RESPOND TO STUDENTS POST

Richild post

 I  have learned so much doing this course, and I plan to use these new skills to help boost my career in the future. I must say reading the feedback from my peers have been s helpful for me. My peers have taken the time to research my topics and answer me back in the discussion post with information that could very well help my dissertation continue to grow with key points and accurate evidence. My out look on this course has change, usually I will take two courses at a time but with the discussions, two responses, plus the assignments I personal think that taking one course at a time will be perfect fit for me since I am still working full time. Unit 9 assignment brought tears to my eyes because I started to get frustrated on trying to write the perfect literature review, I was almost to my breaking point to take a break from school. Long and behold the other two assignments from before I thought they were a breeze and I scored a “B” on both, but unit 9 assignment I score a perfect “A”. I say this to say that sometimes I put a lot of pressure on myself to do so good and I tend to second guess myself, when the entire time I was doing good. I am sure there will be many more challenges to come and I have to relax and just follow my fist instinct . I plan on crying many more times, but don’t worry they are tears of hard work and determination. I am looking forward to attending the first seminar for the dissertation in Atlanta, hoping to market myself and start building my contacts. My vision for the psychology field is to build more awareness to the anti social brain in children behavior and hopefully find evidence that can help detect deviant behavior before a child steps into adulthood and become a monster. Psychology is so amazing and I am hoping with time and knowledge I too one day can leave a great mark with in the psychology field. 

Jimmie post

As I reflect on the essential concepts and skills learned during this course, three things come to mind: critical thinking, scholarly, concise writing, and self-awareness. I was impressed by the level of critique my peers took the time to share in response to provide constructive feedback. One comment that stands out the most; in the first few units when discussing our unique specializations was a thought a peer shared that advised to narrow my focus to include a specific area I was looking to research. The feedback was helpful, which made me course correct and changed how to structure my thought process. 

My perspectives have changed in regards to how I will continue to utilize the resources available to help as I try and work towards becoming a scholar-practitioner. I have not given as much in-depth thought about my professional aspirations at the moment since I am trying to learn and understand the dynamics associated with the completion of the doctoral program. I will say this course was an introduction to how time management will be critical as the journey continue. Additionally, it was an introduction to helping me learn how to write and engage in the course room to build and engage with other peers. The greatest challenge that lies ahead is balancing work and life and learning how to research and write effectively. I will combat future upcoming problems by taking advantage of my professors, teaching assistants, and writing labs. These resources will help me with the writing portion and as for the research study how to effectively research to find literature relevant to the topic. I am most excited about the opportunity to be part of this doctoral process. Professionally the completion of the doctoral degree would open up future opportunities in the Industrial-Organizational Community as well as help me with the next chapter of my career options. Lastly, the vision I have in the psychology community is to further what is unknown and help contribute to the discussions regarding improving workplace health. Additionally, the opportunity to be credible in the field of psychology will be a vision most rewarding as I have a real passion for the science of people.