EDUC6165 Week 2 Blog Entry - Relationship Assumptions: Without and With Sound

            I recorded and watched an episode of Malcolm in the Middle to base my communication entry for this week’s blog.  Without sound I assumed that the man and woman are a couple, the three boys at home their sons and the one away at school/camp was an older son.  The man staying with them I thought might be an uncle.  Based upon non-verbal behaviors, I assumed that the couple is happy, the boys displayed the type of relationship one might expect of three brothers, get into mischief together, fight a little with each other-this continues throughout the episode.  The boys’ thoughts and feelings were quite easy to read through exaggerated facial expression, body movements, and gestures.

            I could basically follow the story line; the boys found a mini-bike, the mom did not approve, and the man living with them was viewed as a nuisance.  The dad and older brother had an up and down relationship.  You could see hope, disappointment, anger, and then pride at different points being felt by the dad throughout the episode being expressed in regard to the son’s actions.  You can see that the three boys finally found a way to convince the mom of letting them keep the mini-bike.  They used a photo of her horse-back riding without safety equipment as a tool to convince her.

            One of the boys snuck the bike out and got hurt.  They were upset; how would they keep the mom from finding out?  The next thing you see is one boy in the truck with the man staying with them getting a ride somewhere and the one with the injured leg and the youngest on the ground, pretending that he ran over the older boy’s leg.  The neighbor is beside himself thinking he hit the boy. 

            The mom comes in checks on the boys, she looks serious, the boys look happy (they think the plan worked.  The man comes in with his suitcase in one hand and cat in the other-leaving.

            When I watched the episode with sound, I found most of my assumptions to be true; except the man who I thought might be an uncle or relative.  He was someone who they had burned his house down.   But he was a nuisance; that was correct.  Most of the rest was very close to what I had thought - the relationship between the three boys, the dad and older son, and the parents.  At the end the mom was aware of the mini-bike accident but decided they could call it even since they managed to get the man to leave the house.

            A more familiar show might have been easier to predict in most cases, but this one had very dramatic acting involved on the parts of the boys and the story line was quite predictable.  I think some people are naturally very animated in their communication and some are harder to read.  I feel it is very important to be observant when either talking or listening to key in on valuable information gained from non-verbal cues.  I have spent the last eight years working with infants who communicate mainly through non-verbal and limited verbal capabilities.  This has enhanced by ability to look for and read non-verbal cues and body reactions which has proven valuable in my work with children, families, and co-workers.

EDUC 6164 - Week 2: Blog: My Family Culture

            If forced to evacuate to another country, the three items that I would choose to take with me and my immediate family that are representative of my family culture and that would mean the most to me are:  the ornaments that my children have made over the years that hang on our tree every year at Christmas, my rings (engagement, wedding band, and mother’s ring) and family photos.

            I have saved all of the ornaments that my three sons have made over the years and each year they go on the tree first.          There is an angel made from glue, a piece of white muslin, glue, a silver pipe cleaner, and a cardboard cone that sits on top of the tree.  These ornaments represent things that my children have made for me and the memories that I have of them growing up and changing.  As a child growing up and even now the holidays do not represent getting and receiving presents, but the time you spend with family-talking, eating, enjoying each others company.

            What my rings represent and mean to me are some of the most important events in my life:  my marriage and the birth of my children.  I have spent the last thirty years living away from my place of birth, from my parents, siblings and extended family.   My husband was in the military when we married and that took us away from our childhood homes and all that we knew.  What I have found is that where my husband and children are is my home and life.

            My family photos are a way to go back and jog the memory of events that get all jumbled up in day-to-day living.  These are an item that all of my family could look at and get an idea of the experiences that have been shared; events have taken place and had meaning to our family.  Future generations could look at them and form an idea of our history and culture.

            If upon arrival and I was told that I could only keep one item, it would be very upsetting considering what we had already experienced, had given up and lost already.  But after the initial shock and upset I hope that I would hold onto what is most important and that is that possessions can be lost and replaced; but memories are our forever and if we share them, will not be lost.  The insight gained from this exercise will further reinforce what I already feel; it is the moments that we live, share, learn and grow from that are the foundations of our families, histories, and culture.  These are what are important and should be valued.

An Effective Communicator

            As we all know and have also read in the text (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012), we all must communicate in one way or another-life depends upon it; although some of us are more skilled at it than others.  This week we were to choose and discuss an example of an effective communicator.  I have chosen a woman that I have known and worked with for over nine years.  She has been my trainer and even my director for a short period of time.  Her name is Chelley Correa.

            Some of the qualities that I feel make her an effective communicator are her abilities to speak at a level of understanding that fits the audience; she speaks in varying levels and puts energy into her words and actions.  She is able to keep the interest of her audience and gauge when she is starting to lose the attention of some and bring them back to the present situation either through verbal or nonverbal means.  She is completely at ease when speaking in front of a small audience or large.  She makes sure that she is prepared by being knowledgeable of the subject matter which she is speaking of and is able to translate her knowledge in a way that the audience will understand.  She involves her audience in the communication process, she is able and willing to listen as well as speak.

            I think if I could model any communication behaviors after her, I would choose the feeling of ease that she has when in front of an audience that has several people.  I am quite comfortable speaking in front of a few people, but still find it challenging to get up in front of a larger group and not feel nervous.  I hope that with the added knowledge from this course and with practice, I will reach a level of comfort in this area.

Reference

O’Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication:  An introduction.New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Blog Assignment: When I Think of Research...

The past eight weeks in this class we have increased our knowledge of the research process, piece by piece.  We have not only gained a basic understanding of the pieces involved but have chosen certain aspects each week to learn about more in-depth.  I began this class with very little working knowledge of the overall process that a research study entails and am ending with a much broader knowledge base and with confidence that research can be done by each of us if we break it down into a system of steps and manageable pieces. 

Prior to this course, I would not have viewed myself as someone interested in conducting research.  The few research studies that I had attempted to read would go from understandable in the beginning to completely confusing when I would reach the methods and statistical portions.  The text for this class was very helpful in clarifying and defining the parts of research, the steps of the research process, and giving examples of many types (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  Research was described as a tool for learning about and understanding (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  Over and over the importance of ethics and the role it plays in research was described and reinforced.  Our own world-view and ideas which we may not have previously realized, impact all of our thoughts and actions and decisions we make throughout the research process.  Awareness of this will decrease the incidence of bias impacting our research.

As for the importance of planning, designing, and conducting research – the lessons learned were many and I am sure that there are many more to learn.  One of the most important things I learned is the importance of taking the time to construct a well-thought out plan (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  Having to stop or redo may not be possible once the research process begins and if possible can take valuable time and fund resources that may not be available.  The design will be dependent upon what you are hoping to do - are you trying to explain or understand with the research (Mac Naughton, Rolfe, & Siraj-Blatchford, 2010).  While conducting the actual research, it is critical to keep track of your data, focus upon unbiased collection and analysis, remain open to whatever the results may be.

My biggest challenge was the formation of my research question and reducing it to a manageable size.  There are so many avenues that one can take when thinking about the possibilities for research topics.  Once you have a topic of interest it must be one that can be reduced to a size that is manageable in regard to time, funding and availability of participants (to name just a few).

My previous view of an early childhood professional was more focused on one who works with children and families directly in the classroom or services provided.  I had not really thought about them in regards to those who do the actual research or even so much of the role they might play in the research process as a participant.  This class has brought a whole new side of an early childhood professional to the foreground in regards to research to my view or thoughts of what the profession entails.  I can see a link between my interactions, observations, and planning for children, families and the environment with the role of a researcher.  In order to best facilitate learning, services and set up an environment I have to do a limited amount of basic research in order to have the information necessary to individualize for one child or best serve the needs of the group as a whole.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of my classmates and Dr. Pickens for the positive experience this class has been.  As with each class prior to this one, the weeks have flown by and been filled with new knowledge and shared experiences; growth as an early childhood professional has occurred as a result of both.  The information and insight gained through the learning resources, interactions and feedback from classmates and Dr. Pickens have been a direct positive factor throughout the entire learning process.  I look forward to continuing to learn with and from each of you in the upcoming classes we may have together.

Reference

Mac Naughton, G., Rolfe, S. A., & Siral-Blatchford, I. (2010). Doing early childhood research: International perspectives on theory & practice. New York, NY: Open University Press.

Research Around the World

            For this week’s blog assignment I have chosen the website Early Childhood Development Virtual University (ECDVU) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) www.ecdvu.org/ssa/index.php to explore and report on.  The programs offered consist of a Master’s degree (three-years), a Professional Specialization Certificate program (one-year), and a Graduate Diploma program (one-year).  Candidates are nominated by committee and must be seen as potential leaders in the field and with the ability to promote early childhood on their countries behalf at the local, regional and international level.  The courses are based out of University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.  The knowledge and skills gained from the classes all can lead to positive growth and impact upon early childhood practices, policies, and research for Africa.

            There are several areas of relevant research that I had access to on the www.ecdvu.org/ssa/major_reports.php site which has links to several final major projects and theses of ECDVU students.  They cover a very wide range of subject matter to include training models; quality of existing programs; inclusion and importance of indigenous knowledge; programs and initiatives to enhance parent, grandparent, and caregiver skills; teacher and leadership training; and curriculum development.  They share many of the same types of concerns with the United States, but with variations of levels and also concerns which are also specific to their own country, cultures and customs.

            Agorsah (2004) describes a training model that was developed to help educate the people who are in positions to care for children in both formal and informal childcare settings.  The approach looks at the child from a holistic view and addresses the assessment of current knowledge and the delivery of an education model that will enhance current practices and knowledge in all areas of child development to include nutrition, health, education, protection and psychosocial issues and concerns.  The intent is to take this model and spread it throughout Ghana, if successful.

            Habtom (2004) addresses two major concerns within this paper which are parent enrichment and training the trainers that will work with the parents.  The holistic approach to development of children is used in this instance also.  The government of Eritrea is very involved and interested in the outcome of this project; viewing children as key contributors to the future success of their nation.  The need to shift priority to children’s needs is becoming a realization and ways to ensure this are being investigated.  A very detailed guide is given as to how to address each step of the training process in order to ensure coverage and inclusion of the major aspects seen as necessary to ensure successful implementation of these programs.

            In all corners of the world children are suffering at different levels, many types of physical, emotional and educational deprivation.  There seems to be a changing view that this is no longer acceptable or something to be ignored.  Many initiatives are being researched, but as yet there is not enough widespread support and actual implementation across the world to feel that we are out of danger as yet.  I feel that there is hope for the future only if we make sure that the research is taken and used to promote and ensure the best chance for a future for children, regardless of initial cost.  Action must replace discussion for us to be successful in giving children the opportunity that is rightfully theirs to learn, grow, and develop to their true potential.

                                                            References

Agorsah, F. W. (2004). The development of an integrated early childhood development urban model training program for informal minders and community volunteers in Ghana. Retrieved from http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/documents/major_projects/Agorsah%20-%20MP%20Final%20-%20Uvic%20LP.pdf

Habtom, A. (2004). Improving the quality of childcare through parenting enrichment and training of trainers: The Eritrean model. Retrieved from http://www.ecdvu.org/ssa/documents/major_projects/Habtom%20-%20MP%20Final%20-%20UVic%20LP.pdf