This course has taught me much about research especially in
the early childhood field. From this course I have come to an understanding
about the importance of research in the early childhood field. Research helps
us understand past and current trends in the field. Research explains issues in
the field we may have little or no understanding of. From this course I have
also gained an understanding of the steps taken to design a research project. I
have learned about the different types of research designs as well as different
research methods.
My ideas about the nature of doing research have changed in
a few ways. Before this class, I did not know how much time, thinking and
planning goes into conducting research. I thought research was much simpler
than I came to realize.
When it comes to planning, designing and conducting a
research I learned a lot. I have learned the importance of developing a research
question. I have learned different instances where you may or may not need to
use random sampling when selecting participants. I have learned what it takes
to make a research valid. I have also gained a better understanding on the
importance of consent especially concerning research with children.
The most challenging part of this research journey was
choosing a subtopic and research question. From the beginning of the course, I knew
which topic I wanted to research; however, the difficulty came after selecting
subtopics. My general topic was autism. I then decided to focus on different development
skills in Autism. When I finally selected a subtopic I had to narrow it further
down; which I decided to be cognitive skills. My next challenge came in
deciding what about cognitive skills which drew me to language development and sentence
formation. Once I figured this all out, I thought I had a good research
question based on what I have learned. However, my research question was too basic.
I changed it a few times but it was still not great. I met this challenge by
taking suggestions by Dr. Dartt and re-reading how to form a research question.
Dr Dartt helped me greatly with this challenge.
From this course, as an early childhood professional I will
look to research, but not conduct research. I have come to understand that research
is not for me. I know that it is important to know what research is being done
in the early childhood field and use research when needed. However, in the
future I do not plan on conducting any research projects.
Lastly, I am grateful for this experience. It was a
challenge at times, but I have learned a lot especially from my peers. Thank
you everyone and I wish you the best as you continue this journey in obtaining
your Masters in Early Childhood Studies.
Dorcas,
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way, that I wll never conduct research but will use research to stay up to date with currents research in early childhood. This class was a struggle for me as well in knowing how to write up the simulation projects. Good luck with your future classes and how to see familiar names in the next class.
Dorcas- I agree with you that this class has helped break down how the research process works. It is still kind of confusing for me, but I understand the process much better now than I did before taking this class. Good luck with your future classes as you make your way down the road to a Master's Degree.
ReplyDeleteDonna
We have all grown in different ways. We have learned and changed. Like you, I have seen research in a different way. The approach to the course has helped me in a tremendous way. I must commend my colleagues, they have really helped me along.
ReplyDeleteDorcas,
ReplyDeleteI was very overwhelmed at the beginning of this course because I was looking at the big picture, rather than small steps. I was not familiar with the research process and I found it to be very daunting. However, I think this course has given me a much better understanding of the research process. Once I broke it down into smaller steps, it wasn't so bad. Like you, I understand the importance of research and plan to continue to use it to guide my teaching, but I don't think I will be conducting research in the future. However, never say never! :)
Dorcas,
ReplyDeleteI look research very differently now. Its very consuming and unfortunately it's still not my favorite thing; but I feel like I can accomplish it a little more sucessfully now. Happy Learning!