When
I Think of Research…
Wow! This course
has opened an aspect of early childhood development I had really never
considered before - the process of research.
The whole concept was very new to me and overwhelming. However, it has been very informative. I never realized everything that had to be
considered. Beginning with finding
valid, professional articles to review, selecting a proper research topic,
choosing the research style, completing, and evaluating the information
gathered.
I have learned how to
review an article that has the proper format.
At the beginning of the course, the guidelines to review an article helped
me feel more comfortable in narrowing down what I actually needed to
absorb. I learned what areas to concentrate
on while reading an article. Collaboration
becomes a key aspect. Teachers,
children, and parents play an important role in research. The more information gathered helps make
valid decisions. Research - like
children, develop in a variety of ways. It
was interesting to learn that there are a wide variety of research designs. An educator may select what best suits their
needs.
One of the challenges
for me seemed to be deciding on the research topic and how to develop it into
an appropriate question or hypothesis.
With the assignment of each week, I was given wonderful feedback from
Dr. Dartt and step-by-step instructions to expand and organize my
simulation.
In the beginning, I did
not realize the important role educators play in research. We are great resources of information. As educators, we need to use our knowledge
and voices to help implement change in the field of early childhood
education. Unfortunately, some of the leaders
making decisions in our field may not have a current, working knowledge of
young children.
In conclusion, I think
I have only scratched the surface of learning about research. I can see this being a full-time job. It would not be something to take
lightly. It would take a strong desire
to help children and a strong commitment to the research project.
