Ph.D.

in Psychology with a specialization in Social Psychology Michelle Alamudun

Personal and Professional Goals

I am a student interested in the doctoral social psychology program here at Walden University. I will receive my Master of Science degree this August 2011. My research focuses on the interplay between motivation and personality in the goal pursuit process especially in a classroom setting. I am interested in understanding how peoples individual personalities, as well as the situational constraints they operate in, influence success and failure at goal pursuit. I would like to conduct research in the areas of attitudes and social influence and in-group psychology. We will emphasize the importance of education each of these areas of research, as these are my areas of expertise and that which I find most interesting as an English as a Second Language teacher. Academic Experience Prior to attending Walden University, I received my Associates of Art from Collin College in McKinney, TX. Also, I received my Bachelors of Art from the University of Texas at El Paso. Work Experience I am an English as a Second Language Teacher/Department Head for the Little Elm ISD in Little Elm, Texas. I am motivated to pursue my doctorate in order to focus on motivation and personality in the goal pursuit process of learning a

second language and how learning styles are important in this process. Learning style may be the single most important key to improving student involvement in the classroom, which will carry through to their home and work environment. I have taught ESL for over ten years, and the majority of my student entered my class with the basic goal of learning English. This is especially true for English as Second Language learners because they are key to their familys survival in their new country. Many of the students are the translator, breadwinner and negotiator of the familys needs within the community. Research Experience I currently do not have any research experience. Personal Qualities As social psychologist and teacher, I quickly help my students establish other goals; including helping them determine their learning styles in order to achieve their primary goal. There are many ways to learn including seeing, hearing, and touching. Many students perform better on if they change habits to fit their own personal learning styles. Pursuing my doctorate will allow me to apply research and methodology to help teachers and students understand how to correlate the differences in styles of teaching and learning. When an attempt to define learning styles are made it allows for how students differ in the ways they learn. Understand and being sensitive to various learning styles of students on the part of teachers and principals is equal to how by employers are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their employees. They are better equipped to handle all aspects of the learning, working and living

environment. It is essential to identify learning styles and provide opportunities to capitalize on them. Finishing my MS in Psychology has helped me to know myself better. It has taught me skills I will take with me to my future courses. I know how to collect research, contact people through e-mail, and order books on-line. This degree will help me in my work-related goals as well. I am currently the department head for the ESL program, but I would like to eventually become our district coordinator. Until that position becomes a reality I will continue to teach ESL at the secondary and post-secondary level, but I will utilize my degree to teach tolerance and social acceptance of other races. I will start with language acquisition as a means of bridging the gap between cultures. I am hoping to be able to use my own classroom as an open access to learning and change. My classroom is diverse, but there underlying hints of micro-aggression and blatant racism during the year. I will use the research that I have read to create a diverse classroom that recognizes and understand that different does not equal a threat or that one race is better than another. As a social psychologist I can assist in addressing and resolving these problems, through research and application of research based methodology. Why Walden? Now that I have my masters behind me, I have found that I like on-line learning, and I know that I can achieve my goals if I work hard enough. Walden University was recommended to me by a fellow co-worker and I am now able to see that my strengths in the distance learning format is my ability to set goals and be disciplined enough to reach those goals by the deadline. Prior to starting the

masters degree, one of my weaknesses was disorganization. I have partially overcome this weakness because of the on-line format, the required APA formatting, and the need to present information that is orderly and precise. As I finish this journey I can say good-bye to another weakness I had, being afraid to ask for help. As this program progressed, however, I overcame that fear. I realized that my professors and classmate were the lifelines I needed to be a success in this program. I realized that everyone helps each other out if a classmate has a problem. This is one of the reasons why I have chosen Walden to continue my education. Also, the collaborative discussions and feedback mirrored my working environment. I have enjoyed this class because it opened my eyes to who I really am as a person. I have learned about my preferred learning style, which is visual. I have become more confident and goal-oriented. My organizational skills have improved greatly. I am looking forward to the rest of my college experience, and to being a social change agent.