R10

Question: The job I do as a school psychologist expects me to be able to multi-task. For example, I will be working on a report, and then am required to respond to email, while also having to be available to consult with teachers that stop in my office. I feel as though multitasking is the only that school psychologist are able to successfully do the job, for there are so many different tasks that must be done in a day of work. If Rosen argues that multitasking is not an effective strategy to use, what would he suggest a typical day look like for a school psychologist?

Passage: In the article Rosen quotes Dr. Edward Hallowell. He states his ideas
about multitasking by stating, “Never in history has the human brain been asked to track
so many data points . . . and this challenge can be controlled only by reatively engineering one’s environment and one’s emotional and physical health. Limiting multitasking is essential” (p. 106).

Connection: During a typical day as a school psychologist, there are many tasks that I am required to do: testing children, consulting with teachers, writing reports, answering email, planning for counseling sessions, conducting counseling sessions, and attending ARC meetings. While at practicum, I will have a report on my laptop that I am writing, talking with other staff in the room, and have my email account open to answer questions and consult with teachers. I think that there are certain places and times that multitasking is relevant, for I would probably not have a job if I was not able to multitask. Rosen (2008) does have a good argument in stating that multitasking can affect learning. For example, this past week I tried to listen to the power point for this course again in order to master the information. When trying to do so, the television was on and my phone was next to me. When I first attempted the task of learning the material on the power point, my brain could not focus and grasp all of the information the power point presented because I was also checking my cell phone. I became much more effective when I turned my phone on silent and put it on the charger, in addition to also turning off the television.

Outside Connection: In the article, Rosen (2008) discusses Meyer’s thoughts, which Rosen summarizes that “with training, the brain can learn to task switch more effectively, and there is some evidence that certain simple tasks are amenable to such practice” (p. 107). Most students in our school are taught to not multitask, but I think that students should be taught appropriate ways to multitask. For example, I think an important skill to be taught is organization. If students are more organized and receive actual study skills training, then they will be able to switch topics more quickly and to multitask. If taught right, students would be able to be more efficient by learning proper ways to study and to learn appropriate ways to multitask.