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!