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Summer Internship: Read about Hanna’s US adventure!

Our very own Hannah Arhinful has won an International Travel bursary and will be keeping us up to date on her Summer Internship!

Hannah will be spending the summer in Boston, and will be posting regularly to keep us up to date with her US adventure.

Follow Hannah’s updates and get inspired here.

For more information on the International Travel Bursaries see here: http://www.careers.salford.ac.uk/funded_opportunity

 

 

Why are internships important? Read some of the reasons why it is important to make time for internships here http://www.whatispsychology.biz/internships-psychology-degree-programs

 

 

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psychology reading summer

Psychology Summer Reading

By Ashley Weinberg

I recently discovered that Charles Darwin dropped out of his first university course (in medicine) and found fame following his childhood hobby of collecting things and that the great painter Thomas Gainsborough didn’t enjoy school half as much as the countryside so forged his father’s signature so he could head off to paint instead.  Perhaps the message is that doing what we enjoy is important.

musicophiliaSo if reading about psychology, but not reading textbooks about psychology is what you had in mind this summer, then ‘Musicchimpophilia’ by Oliver Sacks is a fascinating insight into how music is processed by more places in our brains than language to produce astounding effects – including the capacity to bring back memories for those with dementia (see Nordoff-Robbins website for therapeutic examples).  For those who are enjoying this summer of sport – or if you are simply seeking motivation for your next challenge – then the psychiatrist Steve Peters’ ‘Chimp Paradox’ is heralded as a must-read.

However for those who are looking for a meaty book to test those little grey cells – or to carry around something which will look good – then ‘The War Inside’ by Michal Shapira examines how psychoanalysis in Britain after the Second World War has helped to shape our society.  Its historical approach brings together the concepts of rebuilding society after conflict with a positive contribution from psychology – themes likely to be uppermost in our minds in 2014.

Whatever you choose it’s important to read something you enjoy – have a great summer!

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applied psychology conferences engaging people graduate stories learning Level 6 psych and counselling psychology summer

Educational Psychology: Creating a seminar for teachers

By Jenna Condie

In the final year of our undergraduate programmes (BSc Hons Psychology, BSc Hons Psychology and Counselling, BSc Hons Psychology and Criminology), one of the option modules that students can chose to take is Educational Psychology.  Educational Psychology can be “…loosely defined here as the application of psychological theories, research and techniques to the educational development of young people in the context of the home, school and community” Holliman (2013, p. xxii).  More broadly, educational psychology also considers how people can learn better, how teaching and learning practice can be improved, whether different people should be taught differently, and how learning can transform the person and impact upon their lives.

For the assessment, students taking this module propose a seminar for teachers, selecting a topic from the field of educational psychology that they consider is both current and of practical use in the training of teachers.  The emphasis is on the application of theory to teaching practice.  Last year, BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling student (now graduate!), Jessica Tomes created a seminar for teachers that focused on mental health stigma and how teachers can educate students to reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues in the school environment.  You can read her work below.

Educational psychology seminar assignment: Jessica Tomes from SalfordPsych

Jessica also presented her work as a poster ‘Reducing Mental Health Stigma Through Educational Seminars’ at the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Conference which took place at The University of Northampton (3-5 July, 2013).

Jessica Tomes Educational Psychology Poster Presentation at CAMHS, 3-5 July 2013 from SalfordPsych

It is fantastic to see how an assignment can be taken further to embrace opportunities such as presenting at conferences and sharing your ideas and work beyond the module.

For more information about the Educational Psychology module, please contact Jenna Condie, j.m.condie@salford.ac.uk , Twitter: @jennacondie

 

 

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reading summer

Summer Reading

By Ashley Weinberg

If you’re looking for something to re-engage your mind with studying psychology before the new semester begins and you haven’t quite got to the point of feeling you need to read the recommended core texts yet, then I highly recommend any of the following as popular classics about some aspect of the human condition.  Below, I’ve also included a talk from each author to give you a flavour of their work.

Susan Cain’s book ‘Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking’ is a reminder that there is more than one manifestation of an effective personality, with some pretty memorable examples.

Daniel Kahneman’s ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ seems to have swept the boards of book awards and gives an accessible insight into our everyday experience of cognitive processing.

Meanwhile Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks is a particularly enlightening and diverting insight into our brain’s relationship with music.

There’s plenty more out there, and thanks to online shopping these should be pretty accessible too. Enjoy!