goodbye

As an undergrad I took a lot of research classes because my major was psychology. I did not like them at all! I even had to take one of them over again, so my love for research was just demolished right there. I really struggled with the concepts and how to apply them. I think that one of the reasons why I struggled so much is because the research classes I took were in huge lecture halls with 200+ under graduates, and the information was simply told to you with no explanation. What I like about this course is the fact that we have been able to apply our learning throughout the entire course, all leading up to the final research stimulation. By applying what we learn each week it has given me a greater understanding of research methods, and I feel like I have gained more knowledge about this subject in the last 8 weeks then in any of the classes I have previously taken. Through the research stimulation I have come to an understanding that conducting a research experiment is hard! There is so much that goes into it, and I give the people that do it a lot of credit. I am happy that I have learned more about this area because now I can take what I have learned and  carry it with me for life. I want to stay current with the research that is being conducted about early childhood, because I feel like so much can be applied to the classroom, and to how we as ECE professionals teach and help the children grow. I want to operate a center where my staff is encouraged to learn about research and for me as a director to provide them with research findings that can help them improve as teachers, and help their children grow as well. I think that as an early childhood professional we have to encourage the use of research more, and more childcare facilities should offer a training about research, and how it applies to ECE. Without research we wouldn't know half of the things we know now about children and learning.