When I think research.....

When I think research...

The first thing that comes to mind is a white coat and mice in a cage.  I realize this seems odd, but that is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word research.  However, joking aside I know that is just one type of research and it is not necessarily the world of research when it comes to early childhood.

The insights I have gained in Building Research Competencies are amazing.  The resources provided throughout the class to assist with reading research and gaining greater understanding of research designs have been so helpful.  I was very concerned about this class initially and sitting here at the end of class feel very competent.  I know that I am still very much a novice on this topic, but I feel much more competent as a consumer and reader of research.

My idea about doing research has changed and I feel that I could design a study, but I still feel that I need more time to be able to conduct and analyze the data.

Completing the research simulation was very helpful in developing a deeper understanding of the planning, designing and conducting research in early childhood.  Each week as we explored different designs and had to take our research question and fit it into the framework of the new design helped me to realize that you can design your study a variety of ways to do your research, but the key it to determine if you have selected the correct design to provide the most robust data in the end.  I think for me getting a better understanding of triangulation and all the different methods of triangulation that exist was very insightful.

The greatest challenge for me in the beginning was just feeling competent in working with this content.  I was very scared of this class, but with the support of my classmates and Dr. Shephard I feel that I was able to overcome my perception that I was not capable of being successful in this content.  I think understanding early childhood at a deep level provided me the foundation necessary to layer research on top of my early childhood foundation. 

Early childhood professionals need to understand how to use research to support our work.  Whether you are in the classroom or working as a part of a professional development system research is a necessary part of our work.  Understanding how to be a good consumer of research is critical in our work.  The part of this class that I appreciate is the resource on reading research so that I can incorporate research into my daily work.

I have appreciated my classmates in this educational journey for sure, but this class I have leaned on my classmates through this learning process.  Thank you so much for your support and guidance for me through this class.