My Experience and Understanding of Adventure-Based Counselling Essay Example for Free

My Experience and Understanding of Adventure-Based Counselling Essay According to Neill (2004), ‘Adventure therapy is the use of adventure-based activities and/or adventure-based theory to provide people with emotional and/or behavioral problems with experiences which lead to positive change in their lives.’ Adventure therapy is also â€Å"programming aimed at changing [specified] dysfunctional behavior patterns, using adventure experiences as forms of habilitation and rehabilitation† (Priest Grass, 2005). The underlying philosophy of adventure-based counseling (ABC) is experiential education and it stresses on one’s personal improvement through full value contract, adventure wave and challenge by choice (Schoel, Prouty Radcliffe, 1988). After several lectures, different skills were explained and even applied on ourselves. In this essay, these theories and experience will be discussed. Adventure-based counseling is part of the means of experiential learning. Educational psychologists usually define learning as â€Å"a change in the individual caused by experience† (Slavin, 1986, p.104). Through various experiences, people can learn from them and gain personal growth. Kolb (1984) suggested an experiential learning cycle, pointing out four essential elements of experiential learning, which are experience, review, conclusion and planning. Applying to Adventure-based counseling, experience means some challenging activities for groups or individuals. Review means encouraging individuals to reflect, describe, communicate and learn from the experience. Conclusion means concluding past and present experiences and planning means applying new learning in the future. There are several learning theories explaining how experiences can lead to learning, which means behavioral changes or cognitive developments. Operant conditioning proposed by Skinner states that successes, praise, positive feedbacks or rewards can act as positive reinforcers so that the subjects would be reinforced to act the same way again. Similarly, failures, punishments or negative comments would act as negative reinforcers which deter the subjects to act again (Skinner, 1968). In adventure-based counseling, participants would face some challenges and act. Some actions would lead to positive results, which would further reinforce participants to act in the same way when they face similar situations again. Some actions lead to negative results, which make them aware and change their behaviors next time. This can be applied also to changing of personalities and problem-solving skills. Undesirable personalities will be discouraged by failures or negative feedbacks while desirable personalities will be reinforced. Bandura suggested social learning theory that people can learn through observational learning and modeling (Bandura, 1986). Through observational learning, people would imitate others’ behaviors and learn from others’ successes or failures. In adventure-based counseling, when participants face the challenges individually, they would imitate what other participants do, or take others’ successes and failures in dealing with the challenges as example. So when they face the challenges, participants would improve along the sequence. When encountering group challenges, participants would imitate the socially desirable behaviors of their group mates or remind themselves not to behave socially undesirably after observing their group mates’ failures. This can enhance participants’ social skills. In cognitive aspect, James Coleman (1977) differentiates between the information assimilation process of the regular classroom and the experiential learning process. In traditional classrooms, knowledge is taught to students through direct instruction and they simply memorize the knowledge. Through information assimilation, the learners are expected to move from cognitive and symbol-processing sphere to the sphere of action through applying the general principles learned into novel situations. Experiential learning is in a reversed order, which involves actions sufficiently repeated that the learner is able to generalize from the experience. However, it is more etched into the brain as the learning can be associated with concrete actions and events, not just abstract symbols or general principles (Mllre, Priest, 1990). There are some important principles of adventure-based counseling, namely â€Å"Full Value Contract† and â€Å"Challenge by Choice† (Schoel, Prouty Radcliffe, 1988). â€Å"Full Value Contract† means an agreement among group members to value one’s own ideas and needs without ignoring or discounting others. â€Å"Challenge by Choice† means ‘individuals can choose their level of participation in any activity.’ (Neill, 2007) During our lectures, our lecturer Lau Sir has explained different theories by involving us to play games. After playing games, Lau Sir would explain how the games worked, the meaning of different procedures, and what can we learn throughout them. In the first lecture, a game ‘throwing the chicken’ was played. It is an ice-breaking game, aim at knowing the names of group members. Although it is a very easy game, it has lots of micro-skills included. At the beginning, Lau Sir has asked did anyone feel afraid of the chicken, which could show his caring to the participants, in order to build up the relationship between the leader and the participants. After one round of the game, Lau Sir required the participants to repeat the process, but with a faster speed, the participants would then move their chairs towards the center. This is using indirect intervention method, helping them to get closer and involve more into it, without directly telling them to sit closer or involve more. The other micro-skill ‘Challenge by Choice’ was also frequently used during lectures. For example, the ‘throwing the chicken’ game in the first lecture, the ‘trust ladder’ in the second lecture and different games during the overnight camp. All of these may only be just simply asking the participants that whether they want to play, but it was vital as it shows the respect to the participants. These skills were the easiest thing being omitted, but without it, the counseling work may be affected or even have some adverse effects. Although half of the lectures have passed, there is one more High-event Challenge Day and several lectures. I am looking forward to learn more different skills in counseling and leading games. Reference List Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social-cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Coleman, J. A. (1977). Differences between experiential and classroom learning. In M. T. Keeton (Ed.), Experiential learning: Rationale characteristics, and assessment, pp. 49-61. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Mllre, J. C. Priest, S. (1990). Adventure education. State College, DA: Adventure Publishing. Neill, J. (2004). Adventure therapy definitions. Retrieved from http://www.wilderdom.com/adventuretherapy/adventuretherapydefinitions.html Neill, J. (2007). Adventure-based counseling (ABC). Retrieved from http://wilderdom.com/ABC/ Priest, S., Gass, M. (2005). Effective leadership in adventure programming (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Schoel, J., Prouty Radeliffe,P. (1988). Islands of healing. A guide to adventure based counseling. U.S.A: Project Adventure. Skinner, B. F. (1968). The technology of teaching. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Slavin, R. E. (1986). Educational psychology: theory into practice. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Essay --

1.3 Rationale for Research Topic Employee engagement is a relatively new concept which has been heavily marketed and publicised by management consultancies. The reason for this is because many of these management consultancy firms suggest that employee engagement can affect the bottom line, increase business performance, profitability and customer service Macey & Schieder (2008 P:). Increasing levels of engagement is becoming more important to an organisation because the outcome of employee engagement has been reported to correlate with performance. The CIPD through their research into employee engagement have identified that engaged employees are more likely to deliver business performance (CIPD 2010) Research into engagement has unveiled that individuals who are engaged are more likely to show enthusiasm for the work they do, show willingness to do well and are likely to be engaged by the values of the organisation. To understand what this can look like engagement can be determined by measuring its characteristic (vigor, dedication and absorption) and when measured can be found to be positively related to an individual’s job performance (Bakker et al 2008) Although ‘engagement' can be seen as a buzz word it has also been identified that for such a well-used term there is little associated research in the field of engagement (Robinson et al, 2004). Several of the key concepts of employee engagement derive from social psychology, drawing upon theories that are concerned with motivation, organisational behaviours and attitudes. Some academics argue that employee engagement is basically old wine in new bottles because key concepts by theorists such as Hertzberg, Maslow and Alderfer underpin the notion of employee engagement (Rob... ...ent and sustain it, you must approach it at three different layers of the organisation - the individual, the manager and the executive. Individuals must own their engagement. They cannot expect HR or the organisation to provide a blanket formula that will fit their unique needs. Managers cannot make employees engaged, but they can act as coaches to facilitate their team members' engagement journeys. Managers need to understand the unique interests, talents and aspirations of their employees, and then align these with specific organisational priorities and projects. Executives also have a specific and important role to play. Their focus must be on creating a culture that fuels engagement and business results. Senior teams must 'walk the talk' by demonstrating their own engagement, sharing their passion in candid, consistent communications† (HR Magazine 2013)

Analyse an Advert and Prequel to it in Depth Essay

Advertising is one of the world’s foremost businesses. Companies use this media to communicate their ideas, products and messages to the general public. This is one type of advert, which is used to draw people to donate to a cause. It is called an appeal. This appeal is from Help The Aged, a fairly large charity, dedicated to helping the older and less able people. This particular advert is for the SeniorLink pendant, a small telephone pendant that helps people when they get into trouble where they can’t reach the phone, because they are immobilised. I will analyse this form of the appeal and elaborate the techniques and tricks used to convince people to part with their money. This form of the appeal is a leaflet. Leaflets can be specially designed to appeal to a particular audience or aspect of society; this leaflet is aimed at anyone who has money. The purpose of it is to convince these people that their product is: reliable; fast acting; state-of-the-art; easy-to-use and most of all, lifesaving. If it succeeds than Help The Aged will get their reward of a donation that, in theory, should then be spent on the pensioners. The advert uses several conventions to convey their tricks and tactics to the target audience. I will elaborate these as I examine the advert. On the first part of the leaflet (The ‘Front’) we see Vera alive and well, along with a caption to the picture that, arguably, could be seen as the title to the leaflet. The photograph of Vera depicts her as smiling, cheerful and in good health. From this, empathy is drawn from the audience, giving the advert a good note from which to begin with. It can also be seen as a pointer to what the outcome of the event is, in a similar way to the introduction to Romeo and Juliet. The caption or ‘title’ of the leaflet is in large, white, bold, capitalised text, which is mapped on a black background. This is to make the text stand out considerably, as there is no bigger contrast than black and white. At the end of the text is an ellipsis. This adds to the beckoning feel of the text that makes the audience want to read on. The second part of the advert or â€Å"Middle of the leaflet† is a transcript of the conversation between Lyn, a SeniorLink operator, and Vera Smith, an old woman in distress. The sheet is in four parts: A quotation, used as a title An introduction to the transcript The telephone conversation, recorded as a transcript And an epilogue to the piece. The quotation to the page is in a similar style to the original caption, in the first part. It shares the same bold, white on black style, however it is not all in capitals. This is because it is a quotation from Vera, presumably from after her ordeal. This is to show again that she recovered and that she owes her life to the SeniorLink pendant. Next is an introduction to the transcript. It starts with an introductory sentence that uses simple adjectives and sentence structure to describe the characters. Next comes the setting of the scene, where Vera’s predicament takes shape. One sentence is underlined, this sentence: ‘To her horror†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is highlighted to make it stand out more, as it is shocking and important. The intro ends with another ellipsis, opening the way for the transcript. Just before the transcript is a picture of both Lyn and Vera, depicted as happy, this is showing: how good the receiving staff is and how pleased Vera is to be alive. The transcript itself is 16 lines long, combining playscript style speech and bold typed event explanations. The playscript reads like normal speech, Vera pauses and the text is punctuated appropriately, â€Å"Please†¦ Help me!† The language is different for Vera and Lyn, Vera sounds helpless and afraid, while Lyn sounds calm and efficient. At three intervals the scripting cuts into a short explanatory line, distinguished by its bold enhancement. These explain what is happening, like directors notes. We are expected to give the appeal some trust and believe that the conversation really happened. Finally there is an epilogue where, using reassuring text, they bring this ordeal to an end. They finish this section by emphasising that the SeniorLink saves lives. The final part of the advert, the back, is the possibly the most important. It is the advert in full, the appeal or the explanation section. It is nine paragraphs that encompass all of the emotion, drawn from before and add to it, then channel it into giving a donation. The title of the piece is large, bold and eye-catching. It is presumably a joke to suggest that she could, ‘hear voices’ as some old people develop insanity. Otherwise the comment that she is alive because she could hear voices is a stupid one and not thought out. The first paragraph is an assurance that Vera made a full recovery, thanks to the SeniorLink system. This is to put worried minds at rest. Then in clear bold text it says: â€Å"But many other elderly people aren’t so lucky†, This shows that next the appeal will give information, possibly facts on old people that didn’t make it through their ordeals. Paragraph 2 is apparently a factual one, where they give you shocking statistics on how many people don’t survive each week. This is supposed to appeal to your human nature and lull you into wanting to help decrease this statistic. Next comes another single line of text that prepares you for upcoming information. It is underlined and utilises an emphasising adverb, which is describing an adjective, ‘tragic’. This is used to change it from being tragic to really tragic, emphasis. The next two paragraphs are two cases, which are utilised to shock you further, and again to appeal to your ‘Human side’. The fifth paragraph is in bold text and is designed to be reliving after the heavy emotion carrying paragraphs. It is positive and righteous. It opens with a statement of good, â€Å"Yet tragedy can be avoided† This is showing the gold horizon, while saying that our cause is the most important cause. Then in the second sentence it uses the mysterious inference again: ‘Hearing Voices’ In the sixth paragraph the appeal itself surfaces and they make their quick request for money, while surrounding it with ideas of stopping unnecessary deaths and the strange ‘voice’ inference again. The donation request itself is only five words long, out of the whole advert. It is short and enveloped to try to mask their intentions, while making it stand out in your mind. Also in this paragraph two words are underlined to add emphasis on their aims. The next paragraph is a short direct paragraph and adds a little more emphasis on the pendant itself. Paragraph eight is the technical element, it explains exactly what the pendant is, wrapped in technical terms to show that this is cutting edge technology and is really effective. The text ends with a warm climax ands shows one last time that the pendant is an amazing thing. The logo of Help The Aged is a rising sun, symbolising that there is dawning hope and always a light for old people. In conclusion, the advert uses most of the persuasive techniques in the handbook, from simple adjectives and bold text to psychological hints and shocking ‘facts’. However I would say that the advert has been worked at: psychologically wise, everything is in the right place, and the things that should stand out do stand out. At every step of the way they have used persuasive writing, showing that: Vera survived because of the pendant, The pendant is efficient and will always work, Pensioners without a pendant die frequently, Preventing the deaths is easy: donate money. On a personal level I wasn’t convinced, I saw the IT tricks and psychological hints as insults, and saw right through them. Perhaps I’m wrong, and I just am not human enough to see that they really are doing good in the world. But, most people would or should give money as it is fairly well thought through and has pretty shocking facts, if they’re true. I have learned that advertising is a crooked business and has many ways of persuasion. It does take a lot of thought.

5 Time Management Tips for Busy Students