Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I have chosen to study is the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). At this stage in my professional development, the section that seemed most relevant is the research section. This conclusion is based on the fact that this section highlights a wide cross section of topics that I have been recently exposed to and that are critical in the area of early education. Topics such as quality and curriculum, access, assessment, English language learners, and special education to name a few are available for reading. It is important to be informed on the latest research-based practices that are producing positive yields in the early learning classroom. With this information, educators can make choices that will offer the best opportunities for the children in their classroom.

 One statement that I found to be quite controversial on the website came in an article under the ‘What’s New’ section. It covered a report on a study by Vanderbilt University that followed pre-kindergarten students in Tennessee and found that the students showed only initial academic achievement compared to their peers, but that this faded out by third grade when these students were seen to perform worse than the same peers. The short-lived impact on the children is now the cause of many persons questioning the quality of the programs. This study is shedding quite a controversial spin on the idea of early childhood education benefitting our children and having a long lasting effect on their formal school years.

Within the website’s research window a section is devoted to economics and finance. As a result, I was able to gather information on how economists and politicians support the early childhood field. A report entitled ‘The Economics of Early Childhood: Lasting Benefits and Large Returns’ gave detailed information on the effects of a quality early childhood education throughout the nation when compared with children who were not privileged to receive an early childhood education. Also included was a report on investing in early childhood from a global perspective. There were more than 9 pages of different reports and articles under the umbrella of supporting early childhood education from a political or economic point of view.

            As I browsed through the website there seemed to be a recurring theme of children maximizing their learning in the outdoors. Listed was an upcoming conference entitled, ‘Nature at Play’ which promised to inform attendees about the growing research about the connection between the time a child spends in nature and his developing brain.

There was also a report on workshops given at NAEYC’s annual conference on ‘using gardens to grow early physics and engineering thinking skills and understanding’. This put a different spin on the idea of play incorporating being outdoors in nature along with time for free play.   

Children Learning in Nature

World Forum Radio seeks to bring an international community together to exchange ideas about early childhood education. I will share what I have learned listening to an interesting podcast by Irma Allen who is the chairperson of the Swaziland Development Authority and also a member of the Nature Action Collaborative for Children of The World Forum. Mrs. Allen shares her experience in Swaziland where a program in Early Childhood Education is based totally in the environment. I have always heard, and I believe that the environment of a classroom should be inviting and welcoming to children utilizing bright warm colors and aspects of nature. Well, this program has taken that to a whole new level with the environment for learning consisting of nature itself and all that it entails. The grass, the trees, water, if it had rained previously, the dew in the morning, and even the web of a garden spider are all used as tools and materials for the children to learn from (Allen, n.d.).

As we seek to conserve our critical natural resources, we teach our children not to be wasteful. As I listened to Mrs. Allen speak the focus of this ‘natural environment’ program made so much sense to me. We would not find it difficult to teach our communities to care for the environment if we introduced them to it as little children. If our children learned to love and respect the environment and to appreciate how one thing affected so many others in nature itself, then as adults they would likely be more concerned about conserving the environment and taking care of what we have.

As I heard about the young man who paid his respects to his former Early Learning teacher it cemented my belief that a solid foundation built in a child, will help him to grow to be a strong, well-rounded adult. The young man confirmed that the acceptance and love for learning that was cultivated in him as a young child, helped him to persevere as an adult going through adversity.  This encourages me to reach out to each of my students individually, to show them that they are loved and accepted. This foundation if built in children can help them to be successful in later life.

 I also feel empowered to cultivate in my students a love for nature and for learning. What I have heard compels me to ensure that my children experience the joy and wonder of nature and its many cycles on a first-hand basis. I feel that children should have the opportunity to get outside and feel the warmth of the sun caressing their cheeks, the texture of the grass and leaves under their feet, the tickle of a caterpillar crawling in their palm. Even as I write this it brings a smile to my face as I recall the excitement of my childhood exploring outside in my back yard.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the podcast with Mrs. Irma Allen and reflecting on the wonders that are still to be found in nature.

References

Allen, I. (n.d.) World Radio Forum, Retrieved from http://www.viaway.com/view/1331859/world-forum-radio-irma-allen

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I selected to learn about and research is the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The link for NIEER is http://nieer.org/ 

The Mission of NIEER is:

The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducts and communicates research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for all young children. Such education enhances their physical, cognitive, and social development, and subsequent success in school and later life (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2016).

The aims of the Institute are to:

·         Provide a vision of early education excellence in terms that are usable by policy makers and understandable to the general public

·         Monitor and evaluate national and state progress toward early educational excellence

·         Develop and analyze model legislation, standards, regulations and other policies required to improve quality and increase access to good preschool programs

·         Explain the costs, outcomes and economic benefits of alternative policies (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2016).

                                                                                                                                                       

We are discussing the effects of changing demographics and diversity as this week’s topic. One article from the website of NIEER that caught my attention was on one of the effects of this trend. “How one program is helping English learners succeed starting in preschool.” The article informs us about the Sobrato Early Academic Language (SEAL) which seeks to help English learners starting in preschool so that they don’t struggle in school later. SEAL classes stress vocabulary, talking and role-playing among students, while their teachers undergo extensive training and their parents are encouraged to get involved. The Sobrato foundation evaluated the program and found that although the children began preschool with limited skills in both their native languages and English they were able to advance to achieve scores that were equal to and sometimes higher than many of their English speaking peers in language, literacy and mathematics tests (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2016).

References

National Institute for Early Education Research (2016). Retrieved from

https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_14660205_1&content_id=_33893372_1&mode=reset

 

Professional Contacts

Part One—Establishing Professional Contacts

Initially, for the Blog assignment I felt stumped. I tried to contact individuals from the resources to no avail. It then came to my mind that I had just spent the Christmas holidays on South Andros an island in The Bahamas with a couple who lived in Guam. Both of them worked at a High School one as a nurse and the other as a principal. I still had the contact for them and called immediately. Mr. Mark, the high school principal and has confirmed that he will introduce me to at least two professionals in the early childhood field that I can contact and communicate with. For the second professional, I spoke with a teacher I knew who was from Jamaica. She has promised to contact two early childhood professionals living in Jamaica. I am looking forward to communicating with any of these three professionals.

Part Two—Expanding Resources

For the second part of this assignment I initially chose the Zero to Three Organization. After subscribing for their newsletter and browsing the website I found many of their web pages down or not updated. Also, the newsletter was distributed monthly with the next one due on the first of April. As a result, I decided to look at another organization. The NIEER (National Institute for Early Education Research) had a user-friendly website which was up to date and had a number of interesting topics for me to research. Therefore, I will use the NIEER organization for research. The web address for NIEER is http://nieer.org