When I think of Research

1.  What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
Research is important to every aspect of our lives.  "Research should challenge habitual ways of doing things, and provide reasons to modify, refocus or change" (Naughton, Rolfe & Siraj-Blatchfold, 2010).  

2.  In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
Research takes time and there are many key factors including ethics.  Ethics is an important piece of the puzzle for research.  

3.  What lessons about planning, designing and conducting research in the early childhood field did you learn?
Research reminded me of teachers and how planning a research study takes time, just like planning activities for children can take time to meet their needs.  Research is not easy and there are many steps that need to be taken to make sure the research study is valid and reliable.  

4.  What were some of the challenges you encountered and in what ways did you meet the
One challenge I did encounter was learning the different designs including qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods.  I had difficulty understanding the difference of each and what data collections is best for each design.  To overcome this challenge I had to use math skills and remember the differences through math.  In my head, quantitative means numbers and qualitative is observation.  

5.  What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professionals have been modified as a result of this course?
As an early childhood professional I believe that research is important to my career.  As an educator I will now read more studies to learn best developmental practices for my classroom.  I will gain more knowledge and understanding of developmental appropriate activities for my children through research and put these ideas to use.  Also, as an educator I must now keep in mind "without research, we would know less about children's points of view, their wants and needs and their possibilities" (Naughton, Rolfe & Siraj-Blatchfold, 2010). 

Reference

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S.A., & Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research:      International perspectives on theory and practice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.