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Week 8 - Implicit Bias Test Result #1 and Reflection

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Week 8 - Implicit Bias Test Result #1 and Reflection

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The result of this implicit bias test revealed that I had a moderate automatic association for male with career and female with family. This result surprised me and I was a little disappointed with it at first as I like to think of myself as more of a modern thinker, meaning I reject the belief that women should stay home to raise a family and not have a career. However, as I continued to process the test, I recognized that my results were not necessarily indicating that I was stuck in the past. It is possible that many different things influenced them. I may have automatically associated women with family just because I was mostly raised by a stay at home mom. I may have automatically associated men with careers because my father works. There are many different possibilities to explain these results.

This test did allow me to learn a bit about myself and allowed for some self-discovery. I was able to examine more about why I may have this implicit bias towards gender roles. Because of this, I can say that I did enjoy the process of taking these tests and exploring the results.

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Week 8 - Implicit Bias Test Result #2 and Reflection

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Week 8 - Implicit Bias Test Result #2 and Reflection

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This was an interesting test to take and I was curious of what the results would be. I am not entirely surprised by how it turned out. I feel as if I have a stronger automatic preference for Joe Biden over Bill Clinton for several reasons.  First, when Bill Clinton was president, I was a baby and any knowledge I have about his presidency was told to me. I was not old enough to really form my own opinions about it so all I have to go on is the opinions of others, which are largely negative. Secondly, it is likely that I have a stronger preference for Joe Biden due to the fact that I am old enough to form my own opinions and feelings towards his presidency. I also believe that social media plays a role in my results as there is not a day that goes by that there is not some news story about the president, so his name is familiar to me. This could have likely impacted the results of my test.

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Week 5 - Peer-Reviewed Article and Reflection

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Week 5 - Peer-Reviewed Article and Reflection

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I selected this particular article because of the interventions that were used. The researchers utilized social-emotional learning and mindfulness-based techniques. I am particularly interested in learning more about mindfulness techniques and how they can be utilized in a school-based setting to improve student outcomes.

The researchers were interested to learn whether participation in these interventions would improve executive functioning and student achievement. Six classrooms within two middle schools were selected to participate, wherein the intervention was to be delivered to students and their teachers by school counselors. The results indicated that students who participated in the intervention experienced an increase in stress tolerance, executive functioning, as well as social curiosity. Lastly, the results showed that students who participated in the study experienced an improvement in their academic achievement.

This study introduced interventions to students that improved their “attentional, relational, and expressive skills,” (Lemberger-Truelove, et. al., 2021). I believe that teaching students these skills can lead to improvements in other areas such as academic achievement, increased self-esteem, etc. I did not have such an experience during my time in school, however I believe that I would have certainly benefitted from it.

Lemberger-Truelove, M.E., Ceballos, P.L., Molina, C.E., & Carbonneau, K.J. (2021). Growth in middle school students’ curiosity, executive functioning, and academic achievement: Results from a theory-informed SEL and MBI school counseling intervention. Professional School Counseling, 24(1b), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X211007654

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My Personal Philosophy of School Statement

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My Personal Philosophy of School Statement

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My personal vision statement is that I will work with all students to become the best versions of themselves that they can be. I will support them, in collaboration with the community and their families, in their academic achievement, positive and prosocial social-emotional development, and their eventual readiness for post-secondary education or careers. I believe that all students can have a bright future and may just need extra guidance along the way. My goal, as a school counselor, is to advocate for my students and support them in achieving their goals.

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Week 7 - Reflection of my School Counselor Competency Assessment Results

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Week 7 - Reflection of my School Counselor Competency Assessment Results

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In reviewing the School Counselor Competency Assessment, I discovered that I scored relatively well in the professional foundation portion. I was not entirely surprised by this as I have some experience in a lot of these areas already. I am excited that I will be able to utilize some of the knowledge I already have regarding counseling theories, polices, ethics, and the various influences on individuals in a school setting. When evaluating my comfort level in direct and indirect student services, I felt that I had some knowledge of the skills required. I feel as if I would be comfortable providing short-term counseling, making referrals to appropriate services, supporting student achievement, and collaboration. The areas in which I feel I need to improve include implementing the ASCA mindsets and behaviors, as well as working in the classroom. I think this is most likely due to not having a lot of experiencing working in a school yet, and I feel that I will be more comfortable performing these duties after I have spent some time working in a classroom. Lastly, when reviewing the planning and assessment section, I felt that I relatively prepared for some of the requirements such as identifying gaps and collaborating with the principal and other administrators. This section seemed to be my biggest weakness, which was not entirely surprising to be either as it seems to include a lot of data collection, assessments, and completing reports. I feel that I will become more comfortable doing these tasks as I continue my education in school counseling.