I had stated in my first discussion post about how I was not interested in conducting research at any point in my career. I don't find any intrinsic motivation or passion for it- unless it had to do with the professional development of early childhood educators...
And then...
I attended the Virtual Lab School (VLS) training in Ohio this week. I realized that, those directly responsible for the development and implementation of the innovative, research-based, on-line training format for early educators, were researchers as well. This was eye opening and had me thinking about my future in research. It opened up new avenues for my career in the early childhood field.
In other news...
After going back and forth and trying to figure out a topic for the mock research project, I decided upon the Effects of Play in Child Development. I narrowed it down to these three subtopics:
Social Development
Physical Development
Cognitive Development
I was advised to be even more specific and narrow it down to a certain aspect of one of the subtopics... which is not very easy to do. So ultimately, I came to focus on...
The Effects of Play on Social Competence
I chose to highlight the positive and negative factors of social competence on children's later social and academic outcomes. I noted how a better understanding of the effects of play on social development is essential for families and early childhood educators to know because it will allow them to provide the appropriate learning experiences children need to build the foundation needed to succeed later in life.
At first I thought I found three pretty good articles... of course, after I've completed 3/4 of the paper, I found two EVEN BETTER articles that offered MORE SPECIFIC information that I needed. So obviously, I had to rearrange and rewrite most of my paper.
At first I thought I found three pretty good articles... of course, after I've completed 3/4 of the paper, I found two EVEN BETTER articles that offered MORE SPECIFIC information that I needed. So obviously, I had to rearrange and rewrite most of my paper.
Hopefully...
My topic is narrowed enough to proceed with the next step- but I fear it's still too broad and that I have to narrow it down even more... which is not an easy thing for me to do. (Another reason research is not easy or of interest for me- it's hard for me to narrow in on a topic that can bring you in soooooo many different directions.)
Is anyone else running into this issues?
If so, how are you going about narrowing it down?
Does anyone have an suggestions on how I can narrow it down, or on my topic in general?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!
Hey Amy,
ReplyDeleteI saw something about VSL training at The Ohio State University. That sounds interesting. Especially if it would spark my interest in research lol.
I would love to swap some information with you. My topic is play and its effect on attending skills. I'm not quiet sure what it will entail yet, as it seems to give me some anxiety right now. :) It was hard for me to find articles specifically on play and attending or focusing skills, I found many more on its effect and impact on cognitive abilities.
I look forward to hearing how you narrow your topic even further.
Thanks for sharing,
Allison Giles
E-mail me through Blackboard and we can talk! I can share my resources as well- I'm not positive if it's narrowed down enough but I didn't get much feedback in regards to that aspects so I'm thinking it may be....? :)
DeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteI was very positive coming into this course, but now it seems I am reading and rereading every assignment. First I have to understand what is being asked, and then do it. So I have lost some of my enthusiasm but I hope in time I find it. The topic I selected was emotional intelligence, Dr. Dartt said I needed to bring it in to a more personal research. So I kept it because that is where my passion lies and tried to single out a topic What effect does family have on emotional intelligence in early childhood is one subtopic. I am not sure if this topic will suffice. Best of luck to you on your quest this course.
Hello Amy,
ReplyDeleteI am also doing my research on play. My topic that I choose the benefits of play and learning and how they are connected. I think play is a great topic to research because there is a lot of great information out there. It was hard to narrow the information down to just one topic. I'm about like Trahlyta seems like I am reading and rereading every assignment. Best of luck with the rest of the class and I look forward to reading more of your blogs!