Thank You

Thank you Dr. Hampshire and all of my colleagues,this course has been very informative and interesting. I think we all are thinking about communication in a whole new way. To everyone that is not moving on to Teaching Adults, it has been a pleasure working with you. To those moving on to Teaching Adults, I hope to see you soon!

Best of luck to everyone

Adjourning

In high-performance groups, you will probably have the hardest time leaving because these are the groups in which strong relationships and bonds are formed. Trust has been built and established. In these groups, you feel like a valued part of the team and will take pride in the work and accomplishments of the team. You would probably feel sad to leave this group. You will miss the time spent with the members of the group.

Groups with the clearest established norms are probably very hard to leave because in this stage you are really a well oiled machine. It has begun to feel very comfortable and there is a true group identity. Leaving this group may be difficult as you will feel a loss of that group and miss it.

It was very hard to leave my Leadership Training Group developed at the preschool where I work now. We met as a group once a month for two years. Everyone in the group bonded and became friends. We worked together so well as a group, it was hard to believe that after the two years were up, the group would be disbanded and this group of employees would never function in this capacity ever again.

When my children were small, I worked in a group of volunteer moms that met and organized to form a team that would go into the kindergarten classrooms for an enrichment science class. We were not the first group to ever participate in this program but the group of women that participated with lasted for one year with the same women. This group was very hard to leave. We became very close and worked extremely well together. Each member of the group loved the experience. We all worked really hard to keep the program running smoothly while our children were in Kindergarten.

There were rituals attached to the first group. We all went out for a closing lunch together and were all presented with a certificate of completion. At this lunch we were able to discuss the program. We talked about what went well, not so well and we were given the opportunity to have input on the direction of the group for the next group to partake in the program.

There was only one ritual in the second group. As a group, we met with the incoming moms to pass the torch. We had the opportunity to share our experiences with the new moms. We told them what went well and what future improvement could be made. As my family just moved to Orlando, it was a great opportunity to meet moms in my child’s grade. It gave me the opportunity to participate in an area that was a real strength of mine. I loved going into the classrooms to work with children and do science. The best part of the experience was making new friends for my kindergartener and me.

I have met wonderful women in my experience at Walden. We have had the opportunity to share insights, share experiences and build on each other’s knowledge. I have enjoyed having the opportunity to work with a community of people with the same passion for early childhood education. I hope to keep in touch with colleagues through email and blog posts. With each passing course, I look forward to the student lounge introductions to see familiar names. I know that some of us will be separated as we enter the focus part of our degree. One thing that I have done is to keep the blog links of previous classmates. I continue to read their blogs and will continue to comment on them.

Adjourning gives closure to a group experience. It allows for the opportunity to see what went well and what can be improved upon for the next time. Through termination rituals it allows members of a group to get together one last time. It is the culmination of good teamwork.

Disagreements and Conflicts

As the school year is just about to begin and camp is about to end, there are a lot of decisions to be made about the upcoming school year. Seemingly simple decisions and ideas about our classroom and how it will look for our new group of children. My teaching partner and I have had a few disagreements about room arrangement and classroom decorating. These appear to be very minor disagreements but they are just disagreements right now that we do not want to fester, become conflict and hurt our communication and eventually our working relationship.

There are many new strategies in which I am employing to help defuse the situation and help my partner and I communicate more efficiently in order to come up with solutions that will meet both of our needs and allow us to both feel good about the situation and each other.

Compromising is a great strategy for us as we find “middle ground” between our two opposing positions. We can both agree to give up a little bit of what we want to order to come to an understanding (O'Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, & Teven, 2015). 

We could also use a collaborative style. If I pick something out that I want for our room and my assistant says that she does not like it. I see her choice and do not like it, we can collaborate and keep looking until we find something that we both can live with and something that we mutually agree on together (O'Hair, Wiemann, Mullin, & Teven, 2015). 

The 3r’s will help us to resolve our conflict. The three principles are respect, response and relationship. My assistant and I must show mutual respect for each other as we work with each other every day. We will have a stronger relationship, if we are able to communicate. Room arrangement and decorating are small issues in the larger picture but if we cannot communicate to resolve these issues it will reveal much larger issues and breakdowns in communication. We need to work as a team for our children, colleagues and families. We need to be responsive to each other. We must each be aware of our verbal and nonverbal cues. When communicating we must be mindful and in the moment. Lastly, it always comes down to a good relationship. If we have a strong relationship we will be much more successful. If we are able to model a healthy relationship, it will benefit our entire class.  

I did not have an opportunity to speak this week with any colleagues about effective communication strategies but I did share this assignment with my husband who is a Manager of Engineering. He had many insights on conflict resolution and communication that he uses with his employees and colleagues. Here are some of his strategies:

·         Learn to listen

·         Not talk over and interrupt

·         Understand fully where they are coming from and their thought process

·         Allow them to express their ideas

·         Let them develop their ideas and ask questions

·         Treat with respect

·         Understand their perspective

·         Understand my perspective

·         Their way of thinking may not have been thoroughly thought out, give my insights on the missing pieces

We have had many interesting conversations about effective communication over the past five weeks. These new skills that we are all learning and practicing will benefit us both professionally and personally.

Reference

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.   

Evaluating Communication

The one thing that surprised me the most was the assessment done by my supervisor at work. She scored my communication anxiety inventory lower than my husband and me. My husband and I scored it fairly closely. I guess this means that my anxiety is hidden and I present myself better than I thought I did. My self-esteem and self concept do not exactly match how someone else sees me in my professional life. She does not know me on a personal level. She knows how I interact with children, parents, colleagues, her and the administration of the school. She also sees how I participate in staff meetings. In some of these cases, I do feel a bit of anxiety but I guess that she sees that I am well informed, articulate and confident. My self-concept is not quite as strong in my own head. In some cases, I feel as if my non verbal cues and body language give me away. I guess in her eyes, I present myself well in all interactions. I feel some self confidence boost.

This week I learned that the way we view ourselves may not always be how others view us. I learned that my behavior fits the situation that I am in at a given moment in time and in a particular context. In the aggressiveness scale, I rated myself the lowest of my husband and supervisor. My supervisor and husband rated me ten points higher. I rated myself low and they each rated me moderate. While moderate is still acceptable, I see that it is an area that I might want to look at for improvement and a goal. Our text was very interesting this week. I learned that how we communicate has a lot more to do with how we feel about ourselves than I ever realized. How we feel in any given situation will dictate how we communicate. Knowing ourselves will help us both professionally and personally.

I also learned that first impressions are very powerful. We cannot be too quick to judge a person just on an initial encounter. We come into every situation with a set of schemas. We have to engage in conversation, look for verbal and nonverbal cues, ask questions and be an effective listener. That will help us to know a person. This information will help everyone in their personal life and professional life as we are coming in contact everyday with children, families, colleagues, potential friends and others in the early childhood field. We are learning that we must truly learn and understand the people we communicate with. Competent communication will help us to be successful in all areas of our lives.

I learned through these assessments that our comfort level, our listening style and our verbal aggressiveness all contribute to being an effective communicator. Improving our skills in these areas will help us both in our professional and personal life. We will be able to make our points clearly, listen effectively and monitor our behavior while maintaining respect and consideration for other people and their points of view.

Cultural Diversity and Communication

I think you have to talk differently to different groups of people. There are ways to bridge the gap and there are strategies to improve interpersonal relationships. Cultural differences can interfere with the development of positive relationships (Beebe, Beebe &Redmond, 2011). I work with many different people every day. We are all women. We are different races, ethnicities, religions, languages and different ages. I also work with families that speak different languages and come from different home cultures.

 When I am communicating with the parents of the children in my classroom, I am professional and show empathy. When I am communicating with families that speak other languages/from other cultures, I speak slowly. I watch my verbal, my nonverbal cues and I watch theirs. When I speak with people that are individually different than me, I look for common ground. I keep the conversation to what we have in common. I pay attention to the relationship that I have with the person that I am talking to, the situation and the context of our communication.  I try to adapt my behaviors and speech to the person that I am talking to.

There are three strategies that I use in order to communicate more effectively. First, I will gain knowledge by seeking information about the person and/or culture. I must ask questions and listen effectively. If the person is from a completely different culture, I must try to understand the nuances of their culture. I like the idea of creating a third culture. A brand new culture created between me and my communication partner consisting of shared meanings and common ground (Beebe, Beebe &Redmond, 2011).

Second, I must have motivation to be other-oriented. I should not ignore our differences. I must not think that my culture and my perspective is the only right perspective. I do not let my own experiences cloud my perception of another’s reality. I would avoid cultural myopia. My reality is not everyone’s reality (Beebe, Beebe &Redmond, 2011). I try to remember the Platinum Rule. I treat others that I am speaking with respect and treat them as they want to be treated (O’hair, Wiemann, Mullin &Teven, 2015).  

Third, I must continue to develop skill in the conversation. I must learn in the moment of interaction. I should be able to adjust my behavior to meet the needs of the person that I am having a conversation with. This means being able to read verbal and nonverbal cues. I should be able to be creative and flexible. I must be empathetic and try to figure out how the person that I am speaking with is feeling (Beebe, Beebe &Redmond, 2011).

If I can employ these strategies, I would hope to be a more effective and competent communicator.

Reference

Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Chapter 4, "Interpersonal Communication and Diversity: Adapting to Others" (pp. 85–114)

O'Hair, D., Wiemann, M., Mullin, D. I., & Teven, J.  (2015). Real communication (3rd. ed). New York: Bedford/St. Martin's. Chapter 2, "Perceiving the Self and Others" (pp. 41-45)

Observing Communication

I watched an episode of Modern Family without and then with the sound. I see many relationships in the episode based on what I see without hearing the words. The show opens up and there are two people sitting on a sofa. They are talking into the camera but I do not know who they are talking to. They appear to be a married couple as I see they are in a home. They look at each other occasionally and smile. Based on their behavior they look like a loving, married couple.

The next scene I see the same couple with three teenagers. They are in the kitchen. I assume that these are their children. They are all engaged in conversation. There is eye contact and very quick conversations between all of the characters. Based on what I see, they look like a typical family in heated conversations. I see a very familiar place for a family to gather. They are in the kitchen. Based on what I see, the nonverbal communication is that of a family going about their normal morning routines.

The next scene, I see two men. They are in a kitchen. One man is wearing a bathrobe and the other man is in a suit. The man in the suit is pouring coffee. They are in conversation. The man in the suit appeared to be going to work while the other man appeared to be staying at home. I assumed this because he was not dressed. There is eye contact. In walks a small child, a little girl from another room. This is probably a family. As the child is not Caucasian child, I assume she is their adopted daughter. They appear to be partners in a same sex couple. In the next scene, I see the same camera shoot as the last couple. They are sitting next to each other and looking into the camera. I do not know who they are talking to at this moment. They occasionally look at each other and smile. At one point, the man on the left touches the arm of the man on the right. There appears to be a strong connection between the two men.

The next scene shows the same man from the kitchen walking with one of the teenagers onto a school campus. They are having a conversation. The man tries to hug the boy and the boy pulls away. The man looks very sad and confused by the action of the son. Based on what I see, the father is having a hard time separating from his son.

A woman and teenage boy walk onto the same school campus. They are walking close together and having a conversation. The woman tries to hug the teenager and he pulls away. I assume that this is mother and son. Based on what I see, the mom is having a hard time separating from her son.

After the children leave, the mom and dad come together, say hello and leave the campus together. From their nonverbal communication, I can tell that they already know each other. This was not a first time meeting.

The next scene is the same woman from the kitchen scene. She walks into an office. There is an older gentleman behind the desk. She walks in and is wearing a suit and carrying a brief case. She puts down a plate of cookies and sits down on the opposite side of the desk. My assumption is that he is the boss and she is his employee. Based on what I see, this is a boss and employee and she is trying to win him over with cookies. He is clearly the one with the control in this scene.

The next scene is the same lady from the previous scene. She walks into what looks like a break room. I see many employees. Some are standing by a water cooler. Some are sitting at a table. All people are in conversation. They appear to be speaking pleasantly with each other. The conversations appear relaxed. When the lady walks in, she begins to talk. It appears that she is trying to become friendly. The expressions on the faces of the employees begin to change. I see crossed arms, I see scowls and I see eyes rolling. There is clearly a shift in the mood of the room. I do not know why this has happened. I do not know the nature of the employee’s relationship with this woman. Based on the non-verbal communication in this scene, the employee’s are clearly not happen with this employee. She may be a new boss. They may have had previous experience with her. It really appears as if they do not like her. She is not fitting into this group. She is smiling and doing most of the talking but the actions of the other employees says a lot.

When I watched the episode with sound, I realized that some of the assumptions that I made about the characters and the plot based on the ways in which I interpreted the communication were correct. The first two characters were husband and wife. The next scene introduced the family in their kitchen as they were communicating and listening to each other. Based on what I saw and heard they were a family that was open with each other and had lively conversation. From these initial conversations, I was able to learn the attributes and about the current lives of each of these characters.

The next family that I observed was the two men and little girl in their kitchen. Once again my assumption about this group was correct. They were a same sex couple with an adopted daughter. The one man that was not dressed was going to work as a substitute teacher. Their conversation was about who was going to take the girl to her first day of school. I could not tell any of that from the nonverbal communication.

The scene with the man and his son and the mom and her son where right on track. Each child was starting their first day of high school. Each boy feeling embarrassed to have their parents hold them and give them each hugs.

The man and woman leaving school together went for coffee to commiserate with each other about their sadness because their children are growing up. I assumed that these two people knew each other before this meeting at the school and they have some sort of relationship. I still do not know what their relationship is at this point. Are they just friends or are they a couple? I already know that this man is married to someone else. Their body language in the restaurant shows comfort and familiarity with each other.

I now know that the boss and employee are father and daughter. This was her first day at his closet company. She was to be the new manager. The scene in the break room now makes sense as these employees see the boss’s daughter coming in to manage them and they are most definitely not happy about it. I could tell that the employee’s were upset but I did not know why.

If I knew the show well, I would know that the two people in the coffee shop are actually related by marriage. The woman is married to the boss in the closet company. The man is married to the daughter. That makes them mother and son-in-law. She is young and beautiful. She is much younger than her husband.

I could see that there is a lot to communication. Both verbal and nonverbal communication is important. Watching a television show with the sound off was an enlightening experience. I was only able to make assumptions based on what I saw. I was only privy to nonverbal communication and appearances. I had many new insights when I was able to listen to the conversations to learn about characters and plot. I also learned that having prior knowledge of a situation allows for greater understanding. With prior knowledge, attention to nonverbal clues and attention to verbal clues you will better be able to understand any situation. An “aha” moment for me was to realize that I may not have any prior information about a situation that I am in and I need to pay close attention to my nonverbal behavior and communication and the nonverbal and verbal communication of those I am in communication with at any moment. 

Examples of Competent Communication

When I think of a competent communicator, I think of my supervisor, Marcy. She just retired but I worked for her for ten years. She was such an effective communicator. She knew just how to communicate with children, staff, colleagues and parents. She listened to what was being communicated to her. She thought before she responded and always knew her audience. Her body language conveyed that she was listening. She maintained eye contact. When talking with children she would acknowledge what they said at times by repeating it back. Her staff knew that her door was always open and that she would listen to us. If we had a problem, she was always there to help problem solve. She taught me that what I have to say is important. She continually pushed me in the right direction as communicating with parents was hard for me. She was always there to encourage. She helped me to see that I could accomplish anything, including obtaining a Master’s Degree.

           

I would and do model her communication behavior. When Marcy communicated with children, parents and staff, she gave them her undivided attention. She really listened. She knew exactly who she was talking to and what she needed to do to meet their needs. The children knew that she loved and respected them. The parents knew that she was there to help in any way that she could and the teachers and staff knew that she cared about them and wanted what was best for them. I will miss her every day. Marcy taught me that good communication is important in our field. In order to maintain excellence and the well-being of everyone, good communication is vital. I try to communicate effectively with children, colleagues and families. I am so excited to be taking this course as I am sure that there is so much more to learn about good communication. I hope that what I learn will help me achieve my goals in the early childhood field.

Professional Hopes and Goals

I hope that when I work with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, I will be better able to just listen. I want to know about children and families to understand their uniqueness. I do not want to make the families that I come in contact with to feel in any way invisible, marginalized and not respected. I will do my best to learn about their culture and incorporate what I can into the classroom including home language  bridging the gap between home and school eliminating discontinuity. I will be an advocate for children and families by creating equity and social justice.

I would like to set one goal for the early childhood field related to issues of diversity, equity and social justice. The field needs to continue the journey. Diversity, equity and social justice have come far but there is so much more work to be done. All children and families need to be respected. Diversity needs to be seen as a wonderful part of all of our lives.

I would first like to thank Dr. Myers for continually challenging us to think and to grow. I would like to thank my colleagues for sharing their stories and experiences as they have added so much to our conversations and learning. 

Welcoming Families From Around The World

The family coming into my classroom is from Spain.

In order to prepare myself to be culturally responsive towards this family

·         I will have to do research to learn about the culture of Spain. I will have to learn key words in Spanish. As there are many people in my school that speak Spanish and we do teach Spanish to our children. We have a Spanish specialist that comes into our classroom 2x every week. I probably already know some key words but I have resources within my school as I have colleagues that speak Spanish. I will make sure that I have help to converse with the parents. I will make sure that all important information in my classroom will be in English and in Spanish. I will allow the child to feel free to use Spanish in the classroom while learning English at the same time.

·         I will be culturally responsive by including pictures, posters, books and other items that are representative of his culture. I will include photographs of the child’s family in our classroom in order for the child to feel included.

·         I will make sure that my classroom library contains books both fiction and nonfiction that depict families from Spain.

·         As I understand that there is more to culture than just what is on the surface, I will have conversations with the family in order to find out what is important to them. I will be respectful of the family culture and include any aspects of the culture that the family feels comfortable sharing with us. I will invite the family into my classroom to introduce their culture to the classroom if that is something the family is comfortable doing.

·         I will have a map, photographs and information about Spain to include in my lesson planning when the child starts so that the children in the classroom will have a wonderful opportunity to learn about a place they may have never learned about before.

I would hope that these preparations will begin a strong relationship between the family and me. I want to make this family feel respected, welcomed and included. I would want this family to feel visible. As I know that coming to a brand new country must be so scary. I want to bridge the gap between home and school. These preparations would benefit me because I would be prepared to welcome this family into our school family and hopefully help them in some small way to make their transition to a brand new country a bit easier just knowing that their child is in a warm, nurturing, loving and inclusive environment. I would build trust and help their entire family. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

There is one experience that I remember that happened to a family at the preschool where I work. I know this happens all of the time.  I heard it from a family in my classroom. While having a conversation with one of the two moms in this same sex relationship, she shared with me that it is obvious that they are targets of oppression. Lesbian and gay couples are not represented in any application forms and school paperwork. The paperwork asks you to fill in information regarding mom and dad. What if there are two dads or two moms? What if the family makeup is not the norm? It may seem like a small thing but it does show bias, prejudice and oppression.  

This specific incident diminished equity for lesbian and gay families as they are the victims of invisibility. It makes families feel not included and not recognized. They are not being respected and not being seen. The paperwork makes the assumption that all families consist of a mom and a dad. It sends a negative message to any family that does not fall into the norm.

Before this incident, it would have never occurred to me. It is part of a much larger problem. It made me feel sad that any family would feel discriminated against. I felt empathy for this family as I know that there are so many issues that same sex couples have to deal with that heterosexual couples do not even have to think about. There are so many diverse and unique families. It is not just about ethnicity, language, income level and religion. It is also about family makeup. All families want and should feel included and not made to feel invisible.

In this situation, in order to make a change that would be equitable, the school enrollment forms and paperwork would have to reflect a growing and diverse population. In this case, what would need to happen is that the school administration would have to be willing to reflect a changing population by saying Parent One and Parent Two. The school would need to make an effort to include all families. 

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

I can remember a time when I was the recipient of a microaggression. The comment made to me was “that was really very generous; you are not stingy with money at all”. The comment was made when we were collecting money for a group gift for a coworker that was leaving our school. I guess I must have given more than she thought I would have being Jewish.  I was a little shocked to hear her say that. She never made any stereotypical remarks before this incident. The hidden message to me was that Jews are all cheap.

The experience made me feel very uncomfortable and hurt. I felt that I was being stereotyped based on my religion as I have heard these type of comments before.  People do not necessarily mean to intentionally stereotype.  They are not trying to hurt feelings but these comments are very upsetting. This experience is not even close to how it must feel to be the victim of prejudice or discrimination but I did get a glimpse into the negative feelings about yourself when you are lumped into a category and stereotyped because of any one of a number of your social identities.

After learning about microagressions this week, I learned that we must be aware of what we say and how we say it. I am really now thinking differently about prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination. Little comments and slights are cumulative in nature and cause harm and damage to the recipient. We should not make anyone feel offended by our words or actions. There can be unintentional hidden messages behind every seemingly benign comment and compliment. As early childhood educators working everyday with children and families, it is our responsibility to ensure that we do not marginalize anyone.

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I chose to interview four people on culture and diversity.

Culture is what you define yourself as. It is what naturally resonates with you. Diversity is the presence or representation of numerous and unique subjects or people. Diversity is group that defines itself in a certain way. Jonathan-age 22

Culture is something you are born with and what your parents are developing in you. It includes your language, beliefs, clothing, food and different components of what is taught to you by your family. Diversity is different groups of people who have their own religious beliefs and own identities. Marilyn-age 68

Culture is the way your local society reacts to different things- your neighborhood way of doing things. Diversity is different ethnic groups with different opinions. Michael-age 52

Culture is the way people function in everyday life. The way they dress and the food they eat. Diversity is various types of groups in one area. Hannah age 16

There were many aspects of culture and diversity that I have studiedin this course that are included in the answers I received.

Jonathan said that culture is how you define yourself and what resonates with you. The example comes to mind is our social identity. Our social identity is a part of our individual culture and it is very much how you define yourself and what resonates and is important to you. Diversity as being a group that defines itself in a certain way would be people that affiliate with a certain religion. People that speak the same language, people that live in the same country, state or town.

Marilyn mentions culture as what your parents are developing in you. This relates to what we have learned about culture coming from the relationships and connections with the people in your life. We learned that language, clothing and food are taught by your family. This entails your surface culture. I also like that she said your beliefs. This is looking at deep culture. She stated that different groups of people that share common religious beliefs and identities. This is definitely a part of what makes people diverse.

Michael talks about a neighborhood way of doing things and how groups of people react to things. This may relate to a culture of a community of people as they may be a part of a dominant culture. Diversity is stated as different ethnic groups and having different ethnic groups in one area. This means that a particular place is diverse. It could mean a neighborhood, a school setting, a work environment.

Hannah said that culture is the way people function in their everyday life. It is the way people function is culture. The way they dress and the food they eat. This is a part of surface culture. She states that diversity is various types of groups in one area. This is a part of diversity in a given area.

What was omitted?

This was an interesting exercise. What was omitted was looking at diversity on an individual basis. The four people that I interviewed looked at diversity in terms of groups of people. No one looked at diversity on an individual basis as each one of us is a unique person. No one talked about diversity in terms of family culture. Everyone looked at ethnicity. No one was able to look at the make-up of a family as being unique and diverse.

What have I learned?

I have learned that my understanding of culture and diversity has broadened. I was so interested in what everyone had to say on the topics. I find that I now have a whole new area of interest. The topics of culture and diversity are so much more interesting to me now. There is so much more to culture and diversity than people actually think about. It goes so much deeper than ethnicity, language and religion.

My Family Culture

If I had evacuate to a different country and I had to choose only three small items to take that represented my family culture, I would choose a family photo album, my Shabbat candle sticks and my mom’s box of index card recipes.

The photo album contains pictures that I have put together of my immediate family and pictures of both of my parents families. I would explain that each picture contains wonderful memories and wonderful stories that I have been told about generations of people in my family that I have never even met. I have had wonderful relationships with so many of these people and those that were part of my family culture. All of these people contribute to my story and my culture.

My Shabbat candlesticks are very important to me as they represent my Jewish religion. In my family culture we celebrate our Sabbath every Friday night. We may not light candles and go to temple every week but lighting candles on Shabbat will keep me in touch with my religion which is very much a part of my family culture.

The recipes have been handed down from my great grandmother. The recipes contain dishes that were prepared on all of the different Jewish holidays. There are also wonderful recipes that I just remember eating as a kid. My great grandmother made them, my grandmother and my mom. My mom just moved to Florida from NY and now we prepare these same dishes together. These recipes are very important to me as they are a link to my relatives and very much a part of my family culture.

I would feel very sad if I had to give up one of these items as they are all so important to me and each one has equal value in my eyes.  Each of these items contains memories and links to my family history, my family culture and my family uniqueness.

From doing this exercise, the insights that I gained about myself and my family culture is that I can see now that my religion is important to me. By taking with me the photos, the candlesticks and the recipes, I see what is really important and what I wish to preserve about my family, my culture and my diversity. I am also now beginning to feel what it must be like for a family that comes to a different country. It must be so scary and difficult to leave behind so much and try to start all over again trying to hold on to your home culture while assimilating into the new culture in order to survive. 

When I think of research

I think one of the most important insights for me came at the very beginning of this course as we learned how to efficiently read research. We learned the key areas to read in order to gain a complete understanding of the research study. It has already saved me so much time in reviewing articles and understanding. I can see that this new found skill will be invaluable as I continue on at Walden and for the rest of my career in the field of early childhood. I also now have an understanding of the types of research including both quantitative and qualitative. I now understand the process of conducting research from start to finish as I have learned all of the steps. I understand that conducting research is a great task but worth the undertaking. What has truly amazed me the most is that over the course of eight weeks we have been able to construct a research simulation.

My ideas about the nature of research have changed as I can now completely see what goes into research. Through this program, I have read numerous studies but I was not familiar with the complexities and steps necessary to conduct research. I have learned that there are steps that need to be carried out in order establish, design and conduct research. There is a specific method and approach that needs to be considered before and during any research study. I hope to now be a much better consumer of research. There are many complexities to research but it is well worth delving into and maybe someday expanded my own participation as a researcher.

I learned many lessons about planning, designing and conducting research in the early childhood field. I learned that all of these steps are important and need to be carefully thought out. A research study needs to be carefully planned, designed and conducted. There are so many factors to be taken into consideration and thought about prior to beginning and while implementing a study. When planning, designing and conducting research in the early childhood field there are many decisions and choices that need to be made to best meet the needs of your study and also the needs of your participants. Care needs to be taken in order to conduct ethical and equitable research while at the same time collect data that will yield valid information that will benefit the participants and the early childhood field.

I think my greatest challenge was the fear of research going into this course. I have read research but never attempted to understand and learn how to be a researcher. A challenge for me was grasping all of the new ideas and vocabulary of research. I now can think of research in a whole new way. I think that the research charts helped a lot. Through these assignments, we were able to review our textbook, review and define vocabulary, state and respond to an issue and answer a reflection question. I really feel that these assignments helped and I was able to use them throughout the course to assist with each research simulation. Now that we have compiled these charts, we will have them always at our fingertips for review.  Another challenge was narrowing down my topic into one very specific question. Dr Dartt was able to help me through this challenge. I read through one of the articles related to the topic I was interested in studying and I was able to find a key word and that key word helped me to narrow my question down to one manageable question to study.

I have learned that it is so important for early childhood professionals to keep doing research. I have an even greater respect for the hard work and dedication of professional that undertake research as research continues to add to an increasing body of knowledge that helps our field in so many ways.

I have learned that as early childhood professionals working in early childhood settings, we are conducting research with our children every day.

I have learned that we can never stop being consumers of research. Early childhood professionals need to continue to read the current research. Research from all fields related to early childhood will help to further the knowledge that those in the field are professionals. Early childhood is a very important field that needs to be continuously studied.

Research Around The World

The website that I chose to review is

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

What are some of the current international research topics?

There are many current research topics on this website. One that caught my attention was research on asthma. I found this section under the subheading Learning Hub. Under that section was a drop down menu and it brought me to Educator Sources. The first research was titled “Asthma and Asthma Management”.  At this point, I was able to access the Asthma Australia website which provided further research and very informative information.

There is also a subheading for parents. This section is called “Parent Resources” with links to very informative research/information regard the health and wellbeing of children. This section included links to information on health and nutrition, physical activity and quick links for even more information.

There is a section called “Kids Matter”. In this section, I found information and research related to current issues in the social and emotional and mental health and wellbeing issues for young children and families. This is such a current topic in Early Childhood Education and an initiative being put into practice in Australia.

I found a whole section regarding flexibility of care for early childhood settings. One research topic being discussed was flexibility in service as far as hours of operation for preschools. This would include schools providing care exceeding eight hours and nighttime care to better serve children and families.

All of these topics are international topics. They are universal for the entire field of early childhood. These are not issues solely in Australia.

What surprising facts/insights/new ideas about early childhood did you gain from exploring this international early childhood website?

It was surprising to see how easy it was to manipulate this website. I learned that many of the same issues and concerns face children and families. I understand that the issues in early childhood are universal.

The idea of flexibility in care as far as really extended hours of operation is a new idea for me. I see that this type of care may very well be the next trend in early education. As this may help families gain access to the kind of quality care they really need for their children. I find this information surprising. I cannot imagine such care here where I live in Orlando, Florida.

The Kids Matter section of this website was very interesting and intriguing. I would be very interested to do further research into this area. There are so many children in our programs with varying abilities and special needs many of which are rooted in social emotional as well as in mental health.

What other noteworthy information did you find on this website?

This website uses evidence based research to advocate for children and families in Australia. I enjoyed going through the website and look forward to continue to use the valuable information.

I found it noteworthy that there was so much information for parents as well as early childhood professionals and people that care for young children. There is so much information on this website for practitioners, parents and anyone interested in the early childhood field.

I was very impressed with the Publications Section. There are so many opportunities to acquire information. There is so much to be gained that can be applied to classrooms and information for families. Very easily spotted was the topic discussion of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Early Childhood Australia’s vision is that every young child thrives and learns. Their work is guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). They see their role in achieving this vision is to be an effective advocate for young children and a champion for quality outcomes in early childhood education and care.

Reference:

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

Research that Benefits Children and Families

If I possessed the means and knowledge to conduct research studies about any topic in the early childhood field and I was not restricted by the reality of the present. I would choose the topic of physical activity in early education. I feel that this study would make a major positive contribution to the well-being of children and their families.

By studying the amount of physical activity of children, I would hope to be some part of improving the lives of children and families. I would want to research how increased physical activity could lower the likelihood of childhood obesity. I would ask the question, does physical activity have an impact on children’s increased attention span in school? I see how physical activity helps the children in my own classroom. If my children are given the opportunity for free uninterrupted movement on the playground, they are better able to engage in structured in the classroom learning. I also notice that in circle time, if my children are given the opportunity for movement, they are better able to engage in stories and learning. The findings could contribute to a body of research and have a positive effect on policy makers and practitioner’s decisions to cut play time and recess time out of the daily schedule in early childhood settings. Families would benefit from this research as they would see the need to limit the amount of screen time and get their children moving. I would conduct my research guided by explicit ethics guidelines and hope to be an example of high quality research that benefit children and families. 

My Personal Research Journey

The topic that I have chosen to research for my simulation is the development of self-regulation in 3 and 4 year olds by use of scaffolding. The title of this research is improved preschool social and emotional development by use of scaffolding. I chose this topic because I am very interested in this topic. I know that I will enjoy delving into the subject. In my classroom of 3 and 4 year olds, I am helping to scaffold skills in all domains but the social and emotional domain is what I am the most interested in as I feel that there must be a strong foundation for children to succeed as they continue their educational journey and in life.

My personal experience with this simulation process that it has been a real challenge as research to this degree is something brand new to me. I look forward to becoming a better consumer of research and learning how to do research. I am sure that as the weeks in this course progress, my comfort level with this process will continue to grow.

The insights that I have gained so far from constructing the research chart is that it is designed to help us hone in on and have in one place important information from each chapter of our text book. I read the text and highlight important areas as I go, but having the chart will help to have one resource to use throughout the course for key terms. The second part of the chart will help us to formulate our own visions for future research topics. As we are choosing highlights from our learning resources, this will give us insight into areas of individual interest.  The third part of our chart will help us to think about what we have just read in the chapter for the week and extend our thinking. My overall insight for these assignments is that it will at a glance summarize the weeks learning. It reminds me of the assignments for the Child Development course. We did a chart of the different stages of development and we will have this resource to go back to and use whenever we need it.

The insight that I have gained from this course so far is that there is so much research out there at our fingertips. As early childhood educators, it is important to understand the research and be able to conduct our own research. I understand that this is just the beginning and we have a long way to go. I am excited and quite honestly a bit nervous about research. It is my hope that by the end of this course, I will feel more confident and become a more independent researcher.

If anyone is researching a similar topic to mine, I would love to hear from you as maybe we can share insights and resources. If anyone has any advice regarding research and this course, I would welcome it. My advice to my colleagues is if you have any questions, please contact Dr. Dartt. She has been a wonderful resource. She has offered her insight and knowledge to help me further understand how to narrow down a topic and even find resources for the literature review. Do not be afraid to use Goggle. I put in my topic and topics related to it and came up with the first article for my literature review. As it is a NAEYC article, I know this is a credible source. This may seem like a daunting task now, but I think it will be worth the journey. Good luck to everyone!

Consequences and Goals

I thoroughly enjoyed and learned so much from having the opportunity to explore and find international contacts. It was so far outside my box. I truly did not think that I was going to get any responses. It has been amazing to me that these two people that I have never met before and probably never will were so generous with their time and answered so many questions in order to help someone they do not know. I gained insight from two completely different early childhood professionals.

The first consequence for my professional and personal development of learning about the international early childhood field is that I realized that I can move outside of my own little world here in Orlando, Florida. It has opened my eyes to the importance of learning about other areas. Learning about current trends and issues can extend beyond my own neighborhood. I used to think that I could only make a difference one child at a time and maybe one family at a time. I am now thinking more globally about issues and trends. I may at some point in my career be able to make a difference on a larger scale. I would like to become part of the conversations and debates on the bigger issues and trends. For me, I think that means becoming a more active member of the professional organization that I belong to, NAEYC. Of course I mean after graduation. As I have a lot on my plate right now.

The second consequence that contributed to my professional and personal development is from my contact in Bangladesh. I hope to hear from him again soon as I am so interested and encouraged by his work. He is not a traditional early childhood teacher but he is an advocate for children and families in the poorest and most poverty stricken slums in Bangladesh. He is a creative thinker. He is working to make life more equitable for these families. I learned that I can be an advocate in some small way. I can make a difference in the early childhood field. It takes creative thinking and a willingness to get involved. I am even more passionate now about this field.

The third consequence that I learned that has and will continue to affect my professional and personal growth is that the issues and trends that we face here in the US and in our own communities exist all over the world. We are all facing similar issues. The conversations and debates happening here and happening in other regions of the world and we all need to have a voice and have conversations regarding these issues to find solutions.

My one goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations. We must continue to do research on current issues and trends in the field here in our communities and elsewhere. We must continue to be open to working with, contributing and collaborating with fellow early childhood professionals. I have enjoyed working with my colleagues in this course and I feel as if I have learned a tremendous amount from each one of them as they spoke through their blogs and discussions. It is my hope that we cross paths again in future courses here at Walden. We all are learning and growing with each passing course. I wish everyone the best of luck as you move forward on this journey.  

Getting to Know Your International Contacts Part 3

I have been having continued conversations with my international contact Michael Hibbeln. He is one of the principals of the American School in Milan, Italy. He is currently the principal of the Elementary School EC-5^th grade. I asked him all of the questions for this week and here are his answers.

The issues regarding quality and early childhood that professionals are discussing where he works and lives are related to skills. “How many skills to bring down to preschool? What about the importance of play...are we expecting too much academic content from our youngest learners?  When should we introduce technology?  Is EC too early for laptops?”

What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

“Our school belongs to a professional organization called ECIS (European Council of International Schools).  They provide two conferences annually where teachers can attend.  Next month they are specifically sponsoring an Early Childhood conference at the Zurich International School in Zurich.  Our EC teachers will attend this conference for example.  Teachers also attend conferences in various other cities in Europe”.

I asked him what his professional goals are and his reply was:

“My professional goal is to lead an international school similar to the American School of Milan at the Director level.  This will not be at another school in Italy, but another country.  In our school we have a Principal for the Upper school (6-12) and Elementary EC -5th grade. Then there is our director who acts like a Superintendent/Director or sometimes called Head of School”.

I asked him about his hopes, dreams and challenges.

“Hopes - that our school inspires our students in more ways than just academics - that it inspires them to be world citizens”.

Dreams - Similar to my hopes

Challenges - having the knowledge and ability to rally everyone in the organization around a common theme (Hibblen, M. personal communication, February 18, 2015)”.

An insight that I gained is that furthering his career is important to him. He will not be satisfied staying in his current position. He has a passion and drive to grow in his chosen field and make a difference in the lives of children. I loved what he said about inspiring students to be world citizens. As I thought about that statement, it seemed very much in line with Walden’s mission of educating its students to affect change in the world and I see that as also being world citizens.

Another insight that I gained from his answer is that we are facing the same exact issues here in the United States. This is an issue and trend probably in many countries and communities around the world. The push down of skills to younger and younger children maybe a threat to positive outcomes and losing play is a continuing and growing problem where he lives and works. He and his colleagues are asking the same questions that we are here in the US. I also hear from him that these are not easy questions to answer and debate is continuous in the early childhood field.

The insight that I gained from his answer to this question is that maintaining high-quality in part is related to highly trained teachers. An ongoing commitment to further education and growth in the field is imperative to a quality teaching staff. Schools inside and outside of the US recognize this to be true. His school is accredited which means it meets a higher level of standards.

The last thing I would like to talk about is how much I have enjoyed communicating with Michael Hibbeln and getting a perspective from somewhere other than the US. It has been a wonderful experience. I am still amazed that this man who does not know me at all would be so kind as to take up his valuable time to participate in this ongoing correspondence. I wish there was a way to thank him even further. I have thanked him through SKYPE and email. I think I will send him a thank you card in the mail.

I have not yet heard back from Gem Munro in Bangladesh in the last two weeks. As he said in his last email to me that email availability is scarce. I hope to hear from him soon and continue our correspondence. Again, I am amazed that he has emailed me two times already as he is founder of the Amorak Society. He did not ask someone else to email me or not respond at all.

I am glad to have had this opportunity.

Sharing Web Resources

I have chosen to study the NIEER website and this week I have explored even further. I went into the Research section. This section contained an area called Access. It brought me to a section with links to various articles about access to high-quality early education.

This article stated the importance and evidence that supports the fact that local, state, and federal governments should expand access to quality pre-k and other enhancements of early education, especially for low income families as these children benefit the most from high quality education and will close achievement gaps for these children. Policy makers need to invest in policies that enable all children, especially those in low-income families, to access quality pre-k.

http://nieer.org/publications/nieer-working-papers/expanding-access-quality-pre-k-sound-public-policy

Children that are African-American may experience opportunity gaps from limited access to high quality early education. This may cause achievement gaps. These gaps are hard to close but can be preventable if more access to early education were available. Equity and excellence can only be achieved if access to high quality programs increases.

The recommendations in this article are:

·         Increase public support for high quality care and education along with support from the federal government to improve quality

·         Offer high quality programs to families living 200 percent below the poverty level

·         Federal incentives for states to expand access to state funded Pre-k

·         Improve data collection on specific income and ethnicities

http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/Equity%20and%20Excellence%20African-American%20Children%E2%80%99s%20Access%20to%20Quality%20Preschool_0.pdf

I looked at the most recent newsletter on NIEER’s website and found much information related to the topics we are studying. The first part of the newsletter was called Hot Topics. Under this section the very first article addressed a topic we are discussing. It was the federal budget proposal as stated Obama’s State of the Union address. Obama is putting forth initiatives to simplify childcare for families. It also tells Obama’s plan for expanding funding for preschool development grants and also add funding for childhood and expansion of the Child and Development tax credit.

http://nieer.org/publications/online-newsletters/volume-14-issue-3

  

I next went to Resources. That brought me to a wealth of information. I found a link to Wonder What’s Happening in Your State. I then went to Early Education in the News, next Pre-K funding across states, and lastly Preschool Yearbook. You can go there and find your specific state. It addresses all of the trends and issues we are studying. You can find out information on access, state spending and quality.

http://nieer.org/sites/nieer/files/yearbook2013.pdf

The website and the newsletter both contain information that adds to my understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education. The research is clear high quality education is so important for good outcomes for children and families. Children in low income families need high quality education the most. Quality early education needs to be attainable for all but most importantly for children living in low income families. The website and newsletter offer ample information about equity. I can see from the NIEER website that early education is at the forefront of conversation and debate.

The other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field that I gained this week from exploring the website and /or the e-newsletter is that these are current issues and trends for a reason. More and more families are looking for help in acquiring the very best for their children and family. The issues of early childhood are happening in all of our communities and going all the way up to the president and the federal government. All of these issues and trends go hand in hand. Children and families need access to quality programs. Expansion needs to happen to allow for more slots in early childhood care. There needs to be increased government funding to support these programs. Programs need to be assessed for high quality. We learned this week that responsiveness is part of equity. The NIEER website offered many resources for programs to access their own responsiveness to culture and language. There are many mentions to Head Start and Early Head Start. One insight that I have gained is that programs need to look at Head Start as a role model for equity in the early childhood field.