When I think of Research

What insights have you gained about research from taking this course? This course truly taught me how hard a research project is and how in-depth the development is. The steps and detail that is necessary to ensure the validity and worthiness of the research study is of the upmost importance just as the safety and security of the children. A big insight I gained from taking this course is the understanding of a research project. I knew very little about the process and now I am knowledgeable and I feel I understand the meanings and definitions of the designs and details necessary for a credible research study. In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed? My ideas about the nature of doing a research changed a little. I feel unsure and scared when I think of doing a research project. With research as a whole I feel it is vital to truly understanding how children grow and develop. New research allows us to have new concepts and curriculum for teachers to use to ensure we help all children develop and grow. Research helps us understand what works and what doesn’t work; we need research to grow as a society. What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn? Planning is one of the biggest parts of a research study. Without planning you have not thought out your process or your reasoning for the research. Designing a research study is hard; it is one of the hardest parts for me to wrap my mind around. I feel both quantitative and qualitative are effective means for a research design but I also feel that the mixed method design is a good way to combine both designs for a more balanced research study. Conducting a research study in the early childhood field should concentrate heavily on the safety and security of the children. The study needs to be ethically balanced and that children are seen as individuals in a study not objects or subjects. One of the most important parts of conducting a research project is to ensure the consent form is informative and ethically equal to all families willing to participate. What were some of the challenges you encountered—and in what ways did you meet them? For me one of the biggest challenges was understanding what I was reading. It got a big confusing for me to distinguish the designs and why each one was important and for what they were designed to research. I had to read and reread the text and articles to ensure I truly understood why the designs were used and what details were involved or needed for the designs. Independent and dependent variables are backwards and that will always be a section of the research process that I will second guess myself on. This course was the hardest course so far for me in terms of understanding what I was learning. What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course? I did not realize how much research I actually did in my classroom. My observations and analysis of those observations along with the interviews I do with the children and parents are all details necessary for research. The way I collect data to complete my assessment tools in the classroom are all parts of a research project. I understand how all that data collection from a variety of sources is necessary to ensure the validity of a research study. I use that same means to prove the validity of my assessment on each child in my room. Awesome!!!!!! I never had connected the two by way of research. This class opened my eyes more on why it is so necessary to have all that data collection on the children.

Early Childhood in Australia

What are some of the current international research topics? The website I choose to discuss is called http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.; which is like our NAEYC here in the United States. One of the topics or links this website offers is a research in practice series. For me this is a wonderful way to keep up to date on new ideas and topics that have been researched and put into a series so I can pick and choose which one I want to learn more about. “The Research in Practice Series is a practical, easy-to-read resource, offering effective new approaches for those challenging issues which arise in the care and education of young children” (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/). The website lets you subscribe to the series and it also lets you search through the catalog to find the right research topic. The research in practice series is a great resource that offers amazing ideas and hands-on activities that help early childhood educators understand the information they are reading. What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website? I know that NAEYC is a national organization and I was unaware that there were other organizations that represent children in a national aspect as does Early Childhood Australia. The website offers so much for teachers and parents. The newsletter, Voice, and the magazine Every Child offer new resources and up to date information about children and their development. One of the key points to me was the Supporting Best Practice link that offers an array of topics “Emotional foundations for learning, Everyday learning and play, Feelings and behaviors, Learning about babies and toddlers, Learning about children 3 to 9 years, Learning and Teaching, and Children's rights”(http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.). They all represent great topics that give a lot of information in a manner that helps teachers bring those topics into the classroom. What other noteworthy information did you find on this website? One of the links on this webpage is the Position Statements for the website. In the United States and for NAEYC we have position statements but this position statement caught my eye. “ECA position statement: A statement of regret and commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families” (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org). This information is crucial to seeing and understanding how all children and families are important in the world today. References: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/