I have gained more insight that I truly dislike research methods
even more this time around than the first two times I took it in
undergrad. I can’t say that I can truly
apply the concepts without having to re-read a couple times and then hope that
I am doing correctly. I have been truly surprised
that I am getting an A. I simply think it’s
the grace of God that has gotten me thus far…
If I was to ever plan a research project I would have an outline
that would provide me the ability to follow.
I would have an idea about which methods I would follow and how I would
compile and analyze data. I think
conducting research is just as difficult as I conceptualized before and I would
never want to conduct a research study to this degree. I have learned that there are so many steps
to plan, think about, re-think about, plan again, variable, extraneous
variable, independent variables, validity, methodologies, sampling choices, ethics,
quantitative, qualitative and more and more and more… Truly enough to make one crazy.
I learned that it was possible to complete this class. I learned that I NEVER, EVER, EVER want to do
research methods and pray never to have to take this class again. Third time a charm. I was challenged each week to complete the assignments.
There were times where I did not understand concepts and relied on a friend to
assist me. I also would conduct research
online and look at kids websites that simplified the concepts on terms that I
could grasp, understand and then apply my knowledge to the assignments.
I have great admiration for those who have the patience and the
knowledge to put all these pieces of the puzzle together and make great sense
of it. There are many researchers that
have been successful and thus have further the field of early childhood
education. Many great studies like Perry
Project which is influential in parent participation, home-visits and
center-based care. I am grateful that I
chose direct service as my initial route in early childhood education.
I did learn most from the discussion post. Writing them and reading my colleagues
enhanced my knowledge in others viewpoints.
Thanks and good luck in your education journey. Much thanks to Dr. Parrish! You’re the first professor that took the
time not to cut and paste comments. You
actually read the work and your comments greatly assisted me in being a more
professional writer!
