I have enjoyed going on this journey with all of you and am thankful for the conversations we have had!!
What insights have you gained about research from taking this course?
Appreciation for the time and effort a researcher puts into a study. There are many factors (good and bad) that contribute to a study, so the researcher needs to be prepared for anything.
In what ways have your ideas about the nature of doing research changed?
This course has helped me overcome my fear of doing research. Even though I had previous experience with conducting a research study I was hesitant to start this course. There are so many steps involved but taking it a little at a time made my simulation seem manageable.
What lessons about planning, designing, and conducting research in early childhood did you learn?
The main lesson I learned throughout this course was planning, which includes the research question, participants, method, etc. I tend to be a detail oriented person so I had my participants thought out before my research question (the big picture).
What were some of the challenges you encountered - and in what ways did you meet them?
A challenge I encountered, which I stated in the beginning of this course, was my understanding of the text. I re-read the course materials multiple times and even researched specific ideas/theories further to gain a better understanding.
What are some of the ways your perceptions of an early childhood professional have been modified as a result of this course?
This course has made me realize that even as an early childhood educator I need to participate in the research world. I have discussed conducting some sort of research experiment at my work based on my simulation this course, so I am excited to see how that plays out in the future.
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI think that for many of us, our biggest takeaway from this course will be the importance of planning. How nice was it that we were able to spend eight weeks designing a research project with intentionality as we worked through step by step. I hope that if any of us go on to do early childhood research we remember the benefit of taking that careful time to plan the research design in detail. There are so many hurdles to think through and so many decisions to make as the project is designed!
Amy