Inside eLearning by Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.

Health Care Reform

2009-11-16T15:46:00Z

New Jobs, New Training

Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.

Dear Dr. Moppsie:

I've been hearing a lot about health care reform, and I'm confused. On the one hand, it seems that it will mean a lot of new jobs and opportunities. On the other hand, people are saying it might mean fewer jobs because there will be fewer services and health care providers will start shutting down.

What should I believe?

Thank you for your time,

Confused in Connecticut

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Dear Confused:

The need for lower cost and more efficient health care is already leading to big shifts in the health care landscape. Big, inefficient operations will be streamlined. Waste of all kinds will be reduced. An emphasis on green technologies will continue to change the way we look at operations.

So, where will the job loss occur? Where will the jobs be?

For everyone who's involved in a nursing program, especially one that leads to an RN, there's no need to panic. The Dept. of Labor projects that there will continue to be significant growth -- from 2.5 million to 3.0 million from 2006 to 2016 -- an increase of almost 24 percent.

However, everyone will need training. They will need to know the new approaches to medicine, there could be problems. You'll need to show you've had training in new legislation and in energy-efficient, environmentally friendly processes and procedures in order to keep your license. Those who do not get the training run the risk of having limited employment options.

What are the new trends?

The key to new, efficient health care is to bring it to the people. That means having more smaller clusters of primary care facilities, where, instead of doctors and expensive equipment and labs, there are nurse practitioners and very basic diagnostic equipment and lab facilities.

Nurse Practitioner-Level Primary Care / First Responder: They will be at the first level of contact. The result will be a large demand, especially in areas that have been underserved in the past. If you're working on becoming an RN, it is worthwhile to take the next step and become a nurse practitioner.

Home Health Care: As the population ages, and technology assists health care providers and allows them to remotely monitor conditions and also to be able to pay productive visits, there will be more of a shift to home health care. Nurses, home health care aides, physical therapists, and massage therapists will all benefit from these trends.

Green Health Care: Environmentally friendly health care practices are very important, along with energy efficiency. Green health care practices will require facilities management, waste practices audits and more. There will be a number of jobs available for individuals who can work with renewable energy for health care facilities, and who can install and maintain equipment that will fit in the "smart grid." Green health care also concerns itself with controlling emissions and avoiding harmful chemicals that could harm people and the environment.

Change is occurring quickly. You're right, Concerned, to be nervous.

Don't worry, though. There are ways to stay on top of the changes and to succeed. The key is to continue to take courses and to be willing to branch out. For example, you may not feel interested at first in green building standards, but once you start seeing how it fits into your future and your life, chances are, you'll appreciate having the knowledge.

Sincerely,

Dr. Moppsie

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Avoiding the "Yes, But..." Trap

2009-11-09T21:45:00Z

Overcoming Negative Self-Talk

Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.

How to Survive
Virtual Group Work

Dear Dr. Moppsie:

I was doing really well, on my way to my online degree, but something happened a few weeks ago, and I'm not quite sure what to do.

I was working on a group project, and I started to notice that we weren't able to make any kind of progress at all. Every time someone would suggest something, someone else would come up with some reason why it wouldn't work.

For example, I wanted to go out and take photos, put them on Flickr, and then link to them for illustrations for our group project. It seemed like a good idea to me, and easy to do -- but that was shot down. It wasn't just my suggestion -- everyone else got shot down, too.

What could be happening? We get together quite well online, and no one is rude -- it's just that we're at a total impasse.

Sincerely,
Stuck in St. Simeon

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Dear Stuck:

Even though it is a polite atmosphere, and everyone seems to be getting along quite well, there is something insidious going on. You're starting to see negative self-talk in all your group members.

Negative self-talk is very serious and you have to act quickly before this behavior spreads to your online academic career and your life in general.

The "Yes, but..." game essentially states "I can't do it" or even worse, "You can't do it!" to all who care to listen. There is a feeling of resistance and a kind of stubborn refusal to be solution-centered, which is very disturbing.

Chances are, you and your group members are not even aware of what you're doing. You may not know that you're not only blocking each other, you're blocking yourselves by not even trying the different suggestions.

The "Yes, but...." game is just one of many ways to engage in negative self-talk. There are many ways to sabotage yourself. The key is to learn how to pull yourself out of the tailspin.

One of the best approaches is to incorporate strategies from self-regulation. Here are a few great ways to get started:

Keep social opportunities open. Make sure everyone feels they are contributing something and that it's being recognized and acknowledged. Give people a chance to go out on a limb and be creative.
Set goals that can be measured. When your group starts mapping out its project, be sure to ask people to do something that can be measured. Usually that translates into something that can be produced. For example, a mini-report could be part of it. Another could be feedback on each other's contributions.
Be sure to include deadlines. Nothing's worse than having a lot of things to do, but no sense of when to do them. The lack of deadlines is a great way to get people stuck in a procrastination trap.
Make sure challenges are at the right level of difficulty. If you ask your team members to do something that's too easy, they'll become bored and will stop being engaged. On the other hand, if it's too difficult, it can be demotivating. After all, no one likes to feel as though they'll most likely fail at what they've been asked to do.
Make sure the tasks are relevant. Help people see the potential transfer implications in what they're doing, and how they can apply what they're doing.

So, Stuck, please don't give up — there are a lot of things that you can do.

Sincerely,
Dr. Moppsie

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Looking for an Income Boost? Try a Certificate Program

2009-11-03T17:58:00Z

Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.

A good certificate program led to an immediate $15,000 per year boost in income. That is what more than one person has found out after returning to school to obtain a certificate on top of their associate's degree.

After Marriya graduated with her associate's degree in general studies, she was able to get a job at a document processing center where her job was to scan checks, receipts, deposit slips, and other items from a local credit union. It was not a bad job, but there was not much opportunity for advancement. Someone mentioned to her that a good way to get a boost in her career and find a job with a future was to finish a certificate program.

After looking at several different certificate programs, Marriya decided on a certificate in sustainable business. It seemed a bit vague at first, but after Marriya looked more closely, she began to realize what a positive program it really was.

"It's great, Mom," she remarked as she and her mother were drinking coffee at a local bookstore and perusing a stack of books in the section entitled "Careers for the Future."

"What I like about the certificate program is that it covers so many areas. Sustainability has to do with new regulations, new technologies, and "green" planning -- across the board. For example, the place where I do scanning also has a copying and printing business. They need people who know the laws governing environmental issues and also they need to find ways to conserve energy and reduce costs," said Marriya.

"What did your certificate program require you to do?" asked her mom.

"I took all five courses online. At the end, I had to do a project as well as a brief internship. It was rigorous, but I was able to finish it in one semester," Marriya told her mom.

What Marriya found at her workplace was that her employer had an opening for someone with the kind of credentials that Marriya now had. While Marriya was considering applying for that position, she found another company that managed hotels. They needed a person to help them develop sustainability plans for the hotels they were updating and refurbishing. They loved Marriya's educational background in sustainable business practices and were willing to give her a $5,000 signing bonus, which essentially paid for Maria's certificate program. After deliberating, Marriya accepted the job. She now had a job with potential, as well as immediate benefits. Her new salary was $15,000 higher than before.

Marriya was delighted. She was not alone, however. Two separate studies that tracked the earnings of individuals after college found that for a quick boost to earnings, the best and quickest approach was to obtain a certificate in a program that is in demand.

According to one report, Changing the fortunes of America's workforce: A human capital challenge, certificate programs are key elements in helping workers make the transition from a manufacturing-based to a service-based economy (McKinsey & Company, 2009).

Another study, Pathways to Boosting the Earnings of Low-Income Students by Increasing Their Educational Attainment, found the biggest gains in social mobility were found in individuals from at-risk backgrounds who obtained funding to go to a career college and completed a certificate program centered on a specific job category (The Hudson Institute, 2009).

Marriya sat quietly as her mother leaned forward. She could tell her mother was very moved.

"Marriya, I am so proud of you. You have had a tough time, with the kinds of lives we've had. But, you're fearless and persistent. You are a true leader."

REFERENCES

Jacobson, L. and Mokher, C. (2009). Pathways to Boosting the Earnings of Low-Income Students by Increasing their Educational Attainment. The Hudson Institute and CNA. http://www.hudson.org

McKinsey & Company. (2009) Changing the Fortunes of America's Workforce: A Human Capital Challenge. McKinsey Global Institute. http://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/reports/pdfs/changing_fortunes/Changing_fortunes_of_Americas_workforce.pdf

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Levers in Persuasive Writing

2009-10-29T19:36:00Z

Changing Minds (Your Own and Others)

Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.

Chances are, you're going to have to write a number of persuasive papers in any given semester. Even if you're not required to write a paper, you'll probably have to post items in a discussion forum, and you're going to have to be able to defend your position. You'll need to be able to help people change their minds. Further, you may need to change your mind about things you always took for granted. You'll be asked to take another look and to consider things from a different point of view.

For example, you may be taking a sociology course, and you're asked to discuss gender roles, expectations, and behaviors. In one discussion forum, you're asked to comment on a current case in the news where a woman who was jogging in the park at night was attacked and raped. You posted something in the discussion board to the effect that she was "asking for it" and "what did she expect?" To your dismay, your classmates vehemently dispute your assumptions that the woman's dress, behavior, and location made her deserving of attack.

Your first instinct is to defend yourself. You are not in a mood to be bullied, you tell yourself. However, your instructor reminds you that the goal of the course is to learn to see things from new lenses, and to gain new perspectives, and then to describe them.

So, you step back a moment and analyze what is happening. Why are you starting to be receptive to a different point of view?

Howard Gardner, an educational psychologist and researcher famous for his book, Multiple Intelligences, has discussed the process of cognitive accommodation, which, simply stated, is how we start to change our minds. In Changing Minds (2004), Gardner provides examples of how and when minds are changed, and how groups and individuals are persuaded to think in a new way.

He looks at certain elements as "levers" that move one from one place to another. Cognitive levers are what help us change our minds.

Reason

Individuals often have a self-concept in which they think of themselves as "reasonable" people. For them, it's important to think of themselves as rational and reasonable. They say that they're reasonable as they're ranting about some sort of political issue, and are verbally condemning everyone who disagrees with them to a ghastly and painful demise. How can such "reasonable" individuals be persuaded? One way is to ask them to consider the pro's and con's of certain viewpoints. Chances are, once they've come up with their own list of pro's and con's, they can be persuaded.

Research

Another way to persuade your obdurate friend of something they are dead-set against is to present them with clear, uncontrovertible evidence. Do the research. Better yet, let them do research and come up with the facts. For example, one might be convinced that measles vaccinations cause measles. If that is their belief, ask them to do research to support their premise. Chances are, the research will support the converse. Measles vaccinations prevent measles. They do not cause the disease.

Resonance

Appeal to your audience's emotions. Or, conversely, find a way to get emotionally connected to the topic at hand. For example, one might assume that a woman jogging in a park at night is "asking for" sexual assault until it happens to their own sister. Then, instead of getting on their moral high horse, they're feeling sadness and anger. Empathy reigns. Suddenly there is a certain resonance when one asks one to have compassion for the individual who was attacked in the park.

Representational Redescriptions

Can you redescribe the problem? Can you put in other words? If you do, chances are you'll disarm your audience, or at least slow them down enough to reconsider the issue and see it from a new point of view. So, the tactic of "representational redescription" can be quite effective.

Resources and Rewards

Carrot and stick. You can try to punish people for their viewpoints, but it is likely that you'll just make them angry and they'll rebel. They'll just become hardened in their mindsets and won't even think of considering your views. So, it's much better to reward them. There are often tangible rewards for adopting a new point of view. You might look at it as "selling out" -- or, alternatively, it's just a matter of practical realities. Either way, rewarding people can be a way to encourage them to think of things in a new way.

Real World Events

Sometimes a person's life causes them to stop, check their beliefs, and turn them upside down. For example, someone might be impatient with a person who is getting older and unable to move around in the same way as before. That person might have been even aggressive in their treatment of an elderly person using a walker and having difficulty seeing things. However, something might happen to them and they start to lose their own mobility. Suddenly, real-world circumstances give new meaning to the condition. The person changes her mind about the elderly.

Resistances (Overcoming)

Finally, if you're developing a persuasive paper, or are trying to persuade people of a certain position, then you may have to overcome the person's own resistances. Succinctly put, they've become hardened over the years. How can you overcome the resistances they've developed? You're going to have to do some research into what is going on in their minds and their hearts. What are their beliefs? Their values? Their life experiences? The more you know, the more you'll be able to appeal to your audience.

A Final Thought

Persuasion is often thought as a dark art, something lurking between hypnosis and enchantment. In reality, it's more of a science. If you know exactly how "levers" work, you can move seemingly impossible-to-budge objects, as well as opinions. It just takes persistence, tact, and a calm, well-reasoned approach.

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Long Term Memory & E-Learning

2009-10-28T17:30:00Z

Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.

"How am I ever going to remember everything for my timed exam?" asked Renata. She had just completed a practice quiz and had not done very well. For some reason, she just could not seem to put the information she was studying in a coherent form. Everything seemed clear when she read it, but when it came time for the quiz, her mind felt utterly empty. She drew a blank.

"Renata, don't panic. I can help you. I've got a few memory tricks up my sleeve, thanks to my work with individuals with traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer's," said Renata's mother. Renata's mom was a clinical psychologist, and her work often took her in interesting and quite helpful directions.

"Thanks, Mom." Renata opened up her textbook and showed her mom the biology chapter she had been studying. It contained vertebrates and and also a food web. "Mom, there's too much to try to remember."

"You probably think so now, dear, but let's work on a few encoding and retrieval tactics. First, let's look at remembering the names of people you meet. How do you do that now, Renata?"

Renata sighed.

"Mom. You know I'm horrible with names. I never can remember people's names and it is very embarrassing!"

Renata's mom took out a stack of photographs. They were ones she used with combat veterans who had memory issues.

She went on to explain that there were several ways to remember names, and both were very effective.

1. Remember their salient features.

Renata's mom pointed to a picture of a man with a tattoo of barbed wire around his bicep. "Renata, what is the first thing you notice?"

"The barbed wire tattoo, of course," she said.

"Excellent." She paused. She looked at the card. "Now, if I were to tell you the man's name is Dave, how would you remember?"

Renata sighed again. "I don't know."

"Barbed wire Dave," said Renata's mom. "Repeat it, envision it, think it."

They went through the entire stack of cards -- about 20 cards -- and developed system. Later, when quizzed, Renata was able to remember 12 of them.

"That's 12 more than you could remember before!" said Renata's mom. "Now I'm going to put this with an even more powerful technique."

2. Create a rhyme that includes their name.

"Wave to Dave!" said Renata's mom.

"What?" asked Renata

Renata's mom held up the card of Dave and his tattoo. "Wave to Dave!"

Renata waved reluctantly.

"I feel like such a child," she said. "But, I do see that this will help me remember. I will remember waving and then I'll search my mind for a name that rhymes with "wave." Naturally, I'll come up with Dave."

"You've got it!" said Renata's mom. "That will work."

3. Connect the person to an event in your life or prior knowledge.

"Renata, if you're studying for a test and you need to remember information, sometimes a great way to remember is to relate it to prior knowledge. Ideally, it's something that happened in your life. You'll find it will help you."

Renata looked at her mom and thought of the people her mom worked with.

"What if the person you're working with does not want to remember things in the past? What if they can't?" she asked.

"Well, then, this technique will not work as well as it could," she said.

"But, when it comes to an exam, it's much better for me to remember my own experiences with the activity. You're so right about that!"

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

As Renata and her mom continued to discuss the issue of long-term memory, they also looked at forgetting. Renata was surprised to learn that things could be forgotten simply by means of "proactive overlay" which is to say that an idea or concept could be generated to interfere with one's authentic experience and memories. It was one way to explain the idea of false memories, particularly as they related to such things as people who claimed to remember being abducted by aliens, or traumatic events early in their lives. "Suggested memory" could be a kind of forgetting, said Renata's mom.

"How does that relate to online learning?" asked Renata.

"It relates to discussion forums. If you read something erroneous in the discussion forum, or something erroneous as you're doing online research, you need to make sure that you return to the correct information. Otherwise, it is possible that one memory will be replaced by another."

Renata paused, then looked at her mom. "All the more reason to encode well and when I retreive, be sure to do a reality check."

"That's right," said her mom. "So go out there and ace your test!"

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