When I Think of Research...

I have gained a great deal from this course, from learning the ethics of research to the actual design research takes on, this course has opened my eyes in a different way to the concept of research.  I feel it has proved to be a crucial part of making early childhood education both successful and meaningful as well.

 

Before entering this course, I cringed at the idea of research.  I was so worried and nervous about taking this course and all that would come with it.  I have to admit, the course has changed my view of research.  While this was not an easy course by any means, the work I put into it made me feel more successful and confident in my ability to conduct research in meaningful ways.

 

When planning research, I learned it is important to narrow your ideas into one simple subtopic that will lead to many different outcomes with the same result.  Designing a research simulation takes a lot of time and planning to make sure it will be implemented correctly.  And conducting research has it limitations in reference to ethics, but as long as consents are there, conducting the research can be done in a variety of ways including observations and interviews.

 

One challenge that I encountered was gaining an understanding of the quantitative and qualitative aspects of design in research.  I found this challenging because understanding and applying the differences between the two was sometimes tricky since they are quite similar.  I found that last week, we really dug deep into these concepts and I gained better insight into what the meaning of each was and learned that they actually are very different and play an important role in research.  I also found that putting my thoughts about my own personal research simulation were sometimes challenging because I had so many ideas but many of them were not in the terms of what we were learning about.  Rereading course material really helped me overcome this challenge.

 

I learned that research is more than simply applying knowledge on a topic to a research paper or article.  It takes massive planning and implementing of the plan to make the research work.  From developing a topic (or hypothesis) to conducting the interviewing or observations, research is not an easy and quick task.  It takes passion of the topic and motivation of the researcher to make it successful and useful in the real world.

 

THANK YOU everyone for the input and insights you have given me throughout this course.  We have completed a task many fear and have learned a great deal from one another about research! 

Research Around the World

Some of the current research taking place internationally is the study simulation and interaction of low income single mother’s families.  Also, ways to involve fathers in early childhood care and development and curriculum development using community resources to just name a few research topics going on in Africa.  There are many

 

I was surprised about a lot of things that I seen and read on this website.  One of them being the many different areas they are currently researching and trying to improve in the early childhood classroom.  This whole website is aimed at bettering the lives of children and families and they are doing that through ample amounts of research based materials.  Another noteworthy section of this website would be the section titles “A Generative Curriculum Approach.”  This section outlines the many different approaches this program takes to learning about early childhood and then teaching it the young children of Africa.

 

References

 

Early Childhood Development: Virtual University. (n.d.)  Retrieved from http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php

Research that benefits children and families-uplifting stories

Imagine that you possess the means and the knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field. Imagine further that you are not restricted by the reality of the present. Imagine that your study will make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and/or their families. What topic would you choose? What can you imagine the positive contribution(s) would be?

 

If I could pick a topic to study without any restrictions, I would chose to study smaller class sizes at the early childhood level and the effects that it makes on a child’s learning.  I am sure this has been studied before but maybe not to the extent of actually making it happen.  I think this would bring about a huge positive contribution to the education field, not only for the children but for the teachers as well.  The teachers could focus more in on the needs of each individual student and then really dive deep to help them be more successful in the classroom.  The children would have their needs met better as well.  It seems today more than ever that classroom sizes are growing and growing and that has a negative impact on a child’s learning.  Teachers are put in classrooms with 25 plus kids and expected to make sure each child is as successful as the other when it comes to the end of the year.  That is not logical in this world because it is evident that some students need a little more help than others.  With a smaller class size, I feel that most if not all of the students could be very successful.

My personal research journey

The topic that I have chosen for my simulation research is how to effectively use technology in the early childhood classroom.  I have found that finding information on this is quite difficult.  There seem to be many different articles out there but not many of them pertain to just the early childhood classroom.  This was an easy topic for me to chose because it something that really perks my interest.  I love watching children learn through technology and I am eager to find some more research on the effective use of it in the classroom.

 

I have gained some new knowledge about research so far from this course and feel a little more confident in myself in relation to this class.  I still am worried about the time that it requires to conduct the actual research and report it.  Through the readings thus far, they seem to really break it down for us and help us find ways to maintain this task that is sometimes daunting.

 

If any of you have any advice on my topic or research in general please feel free to share and good luck to you all! J

Final Blog Assignment

Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field:

 

• I learned a different perspective to early childhood education and the rolls that this education does for a child in the future in different parts of the world.
• I learned about different ways diverse students learn the content we are teaching them.  This is a great thing for diverse students in our classrooms.
• I learned that education around the world is so different but all share a common goal, to make children successful.  The schools internationally teach a lot differently that I am use to but seeing and hearing about their lessons brought new ideas for my teaching.  Differentiation is important in the classroom and was evident internationally.

 

A goal for our field in relation to international awareness would be to continue our education through more research and talking with professionals internationally.  I never realized the impact this would have on my teaching and my classroom.  It is true we learn from others and gaining perspective from international professionals would be a great goal to continue throughout our teaching.

Getting to know your International Contacts-Part 3 (Week 7)

I have not received any communication for the podcast professionals so I went to http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood  and did some exploring on the content of this website.

 

One new insight that I gained from this website was that this website offers a wide range of information about equity in education. One interesting fact that I read about this concept what the role of the central government in making this issue less of a deal in the classroom.  The central government must ensure a equitable distribution of resources throughout all the population and especially those that live in struggling areas.

 

Another idea that I read on this website that I have known about but was reassured about was the idea of lack of resources in the classroom.  The lack of investment and funds in schools causes less resources and tools for students and in turn effects their learning greatly.  It was mentioned this is especially true for struggling regions across the world and the negative impact on children it is making.

 

The last thing I found on this website to be interesting was an article about Singapore and their policy on early childhood education.  They have partnered with non public actors to make a difference in the education in this region.  The government gave up ownership do to lack of funds and the costly aspect of education which gave the non public actor to take control.  They introduced a cost recovery option and saw immediate improvement in the overall education system.

Sharing Web Resources-Week 6

http://www.naecte.org/

 

As I explored some of the outside links they lead me to many different sites.  Many of these sites were linked to different early childhood organizations and other resources.  Some of the links were about teachers in different countries who offer insight on what they are doing with their early childhood students.   Another link was about the requirements for the fifty different states in relation to early childhood education.

 

One early of the site that I thoroughly looked through this week was the link to the online journal. This link took me to loads of information from real teachers around the world.  Anyone who teaches can add to this journal and gives positive ideas and feedbacks for other teachers.  This could be a great resource for new teachers and teachers who are struggling with teaching something or reaching a student.

 

I have no received a newsletter recently but went back and looked into older newsletters on their website.  One new insight that I learned was that this organization put together small tours to go to New Zealand to look at the astonishing teaching of early childhood.  Teachers from around the Untied States get to go to this country and bring back wonderful resources and tools for other early childhood educators.

 

I did not see anything relating to this week learning about equity and excellence in education besides the fact that many states are now requiring the same thing for early childhood as they would in older grades.  This is to assure that everyone is getting quality education and experiencing high level learning.

 

Another trend that I found through my research of the website this week was about research for the early childhood educator.  There was a section in one of the recent newsletters about the importance of this in teaching.  It goes on to show that through research current and past teachers will find much information they may have not thought was available.  This organization promotes its members to do research and provides links and resources to encourage teachers to research while teaching to make their teaching more effective and motivating.

Getting to know contacts-part 2 (week 5)

From the podcast this week I listened to the podcast featuring Barbara Jones.  She founded a school in Maine and is celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the opening.  This is a Monsey school.  She knew that this school was of something different and decided to try it out.  She was excited about the challenge but nervous about the new adventure.  After working in a few schools, she found a vacant building and decided to buy it.  She opened up a private child development program in this building.  After renovating the building and getting it prepared for children, she felt at home and ready.

 

From the Harvard website, I found there to be a lot of information available.  One new insight I found was that this program works outside of the United States and focuses on the science of child health and development to guide stronger policies and larger investments to benefit and families and children in Brazil.  Another insight that I gained was that this program has a plan in place that focuses on building the capabilities of caregivers and strengthening the communities that in turn with benefit the children learning, health, and behavior.  The last insight that I learned was that this program is dedicated to the why and what of why investment matter in early childhood education. They have a whole section outlining this with many resources available to look at.

 

 

World Forum Foundation:  World Forum Radio.   Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/

 

Center on the Developing Child:  Harvard University.  Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/topics/understanding_intervention/

Sharing Web Resources-Week 4

I found that the section that contained a link to journals written by members of the NAECTE to be relevant to my current professional development.  This is because the current journals offer a variety of information about the current issues and trends in Early Childhood Education along with current research based practices to use in the classrooms.  Some of the journals are from the perspective of a current teacher as she explores teaching.

 

The newsletters made me think of the early childhood field in different ways because sometimes as a teacher we forget the details that go into making early childhood successful and thrive in all areas.  We do our jobs as teachers but the newsletters for this organization made me feel like these people are working hard to make it more successful for everyone involved.  They are constantly holding conferences and fundraisers to help the education in general.  This is an issue many districts are facing, shortage of money and organizations like this are trying to help these districts.  This also adds to my understanding of economists in relation to the education.  I think it also deepens my understanding of the way politicians relate to the education field because some of the newsletters talk about the mayor of the cities and other politicians and their impact for this organization.

 

I also learned from this site that there are many teachers world wide trying to make a difference in education.  From shortage of supplies to larger classroom sizes, these teachers are working together to come up with the best solutions possible.  This site even has a forum for teachers to communicate in about current issues and trends in the field and this alone has taught me the wide amount of issues that take place world wide in education.

Getting to know international contact

to listen to the podcast featuring Delfana Mitchell from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/.  She discussed her work with her organization housing children and how the area she is from; Belize City is the number one area for child abuse. Her organization houses these children.  She discussed a child who came to her after not talking for a year from the physical and mental abuse he faced.  They began by home schooling him and finding things he likes even though it was difficult for him to understand what they were doing.  One day while they were horse back riding he started talking about the abuse he faced as a child.  This was the beginning of him starting to talk again.  Although he would go in and out of talking throughout this time, he eventually was starting to talk non stop!

 

The country from the website that I picked was India.  I found out that India has the second largest population in the world and out of that population, 260.2 million people are living in poverty.  Of these people in poverty, many of them are children and sadly they live very rough lives.  It states, Almost half of all children (about 62 million) under the age of five are malnourished and 34 percent of new-borns are significantly underweight.⁸ Important achievements have been made in health and education” (Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre).  There are programs in place that are run by the local government.  They are based on food needs, employment, and children needs.  These focus on getting the children the nutrition and living needs that they need to survive better in this struggling country.

 

These issues go along with the overall consensus that children are the ones who are truly struggling when it comes to poverty.  They come from families that live in poverty and are being malnutrition and are struggling with their everyday life.  Their futures are impacted greatly by the negative effects poverty has on one individual.  It is true that poverty is everywhere and especially evident in countries outside of the United States where a dollar is a lot of money to some of those people.

 

 

World Forum Foundation.  (n.d.).  Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/.

 

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre (CHIP). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

Sharing Web Resources

I subscribed to the newsletter for the organization that I picked, National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.  The newsletter starts by giving an award to the teacher educator for the month, someone who made a difference or did something remarkable for their organization.  The president of the organization then gives details on ways to become more active in the association.  One topic or issue they bring up in the newsletter is that of a fund raiser to help the children in education.  They talk about needing more fund to be able to bring more people into the organization to make that difference.  It then lists four tasks that were thought to need more work in the coming months.  Those included more research based practices, establish the NAECTC as an expert source for educators, highlight highly effective teachers, and revising a position statement to include more.

 

I don’t think that this newsletter touches on the diversity and demographics this week but I do think it touches on the idea.  The idea behind the fund raising event is to recognize those people that may not have a lot or need more in terms of education.  I think this could include many that are diverse and struggling in life.  They have 47 members and have a goal to get up to 60 for this event.

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

I have chosen to do the alternative assignment because I could not gain access in order to communicate with someone else.  Although, I feel the insight from someone else from a different part of the world would have been great I also feel I can learn a great deal from the podcasts as well as my other group members who may be communicating with someone else.

 

When going about picking the early childhood website it was a bit overwhelming at first since there was so many.  I began by clicking on each link and trying to find something that immediately caught my attention.  The one that I ended up choosing was the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators which can be located at http://www.naecte.org/.  I chose this because it combines teachers from the United and States and all over the world with one common interest, early childhood teaching education.   It promotes growth of their teacher members through current issues and trends and provides ample discussions for educators to learn and grow with one another. I am hoping that I can learn about other organizations through my group members and be able to pick up some helpful tips from them about their organizations.

My Supports

Describe factors within your daily environment that are supportive to you, including the ways in which these factors provide support. Describe what you see as the benefits of these supports. How difficult would it be to exist without these supports? What impact would they have on your life if they were gone?

One huge support that I have in my daily life is my husband.  He encourages me when needed and a shoulder to cry on if needed.  He pushes me to try new things and makes me believe in what I want in life.  He is such a benefit to my life, from just listening to me to me knowing he will always be there.  Without his support, I would not be where I am today.  He is my rock in life and keeps me being me.

My son is another support system in my life.  Granted, he is only four months old but he is the light of my life.  He pushes me to be a better person, especially a mom.  When he smiles at me, I feel like my life has finally shown its true purpose.  Without him in my life, I would feel sad.  I never knew what it was like to be a mom before I had him but would always envy those mothers around me who had babies so easily.  He is a miracle baby that has brought my husband and I closer and happier than we have ever been. 

 Another supportive factor in my life is my job.  My job offers support from the people within my job to the actual job I carry out daily.  It supports me by allowing me to make a difference in children’s lives every day.  It would be hard to exist without this support because I would be at a loss on what I would do with my life.  I wake up every day eager to see what the day holds and ready to watch the students I work with grow.  If I did not have this job, I would not know what it would feel like to make a difference.

The challenge I chose was something I do currently have but have had recently and needed support more than anything.   That challenge is getting pregnant. I imagine having to go through it again and the level of support I would need.  It would be emotionally and physically draining and I would need my family close by to help me get through.  I imagine my husband being my hugest supporter because he too is directly affected by the result.  I would need my family and his parents as a support system too.  They would keep me focused and remind me all the time about the end goal.  Without their support during a difficult time like this, I am sure it would not be successful.

My Connections to Play

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” Kay Redfield Jamison (professor of psychiatry)

 

Tarry a moment to watch the chaos of a playground, crayola-colored shirts of running children, all trying out their wings. ~Dr. SunWolf, professorsunwolf.com

 

Three essential play items:

 

 

Ball

 

 

 Doll

 

 

 

 

                         

 Dress-up accessories

 

The people in my life supported play when I was younger but letting me play all the time.  They were an active part of my play time as well and allowed me to explore new things on my own and develop a love of certain things in my life.  My grandma was a big part of my support system in play, whenever I was with her she was always playing with me.  Sometimes this play included singing to me and laughing with me.

 

I think play today is seen as more meaningful and essential in children’s life then it was when I was younger. I also think there are way more learning based play items than before.  I feel children have a stronger grasp of meaningful play in the classroom.  I especially see this when using the Ipad.  You would think a piece of technology like this would be only used for senseless play but there are so many education apps that students love to play.  I hope that young children now see the importance of play but also play in a way to build upon something.  I would hope the children are engaged throughout play time as well.

 

I think play was very important in my life and allowed be to explore what I thought was important at the time and acquire a love of things in my life today.  Without the chance to play, I would not be who I am today.  If one is not allowed to play they because part of the “norm” and are seen just as someone else may be seen.  Playing allows the chance to become your own person and develop your own beliefs and love of life.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because without them I wouldn’t be anybody.  I would not have any one to talk to or count on or confide in.  I love the relationships that I have and have built these relationships with strong will.  I feel that the strongest most confident people are those with positive relationships.

 

My first relationship that is the strongest is with my husband.  We have been together for over 8 years and married for over 3 years.  We have worked hard to have the relationship we do and have been through a lot together.  From a major car accident to our first child coming with much work and dedication, our relationship has only grown stronger throughout the years.  We have built our relationship around love and commitment to one another.

 

Another relationship I have is with my son.  He is my first born and is three months old right now.  We tried for many years for him and it resulted in us having to do IVF to have him.  My pregnancy was very complicated from the beginning and resulted in a two week hospital stay before he was born which is turn resulted in him being born 9 weeks early.  He spent 4 long weeks in the NICU but is thriving today!  He has brought the most joy and love to my life that I could ever imagine.

 

 

The relationship that I have with my guardian is another big one in my life.  My mother died in a car accident when I was 5 years old and she adopted me.  She was my babysitter when I was younger and has loved me like her own ever since.  She has been by side through thick and thin and continues to be a huge part of my life and now my son’s life.  Our relationship began when I was young but has becomes a deep friendship on top of the relationship we already had.

 

Relationships do not come easy.  There are going to be times when you fight or don’t get along or just need some time apart from one another.  But I believe that those things make the relationship stronger and more sustained to be successful for life.  Nobody is perfect and that is something you have to realize before any relationship is going to be life long.  Love and dedication is what makes a relationship a partnership.  I have these in all of my relationships and this love and dedication grow stronger and stronger everyday. 

 

I think all my relationships impact my career in the early childhood education field.  I especially feel that way based on my life experience with losing my mom and then the complications I went through to have my son.  Nothing in life is easy and all you need is a good support system to get you through.  This holds especially true in the classroom as students start to learn and grow with you.