This week I spent some time researching the website of NAECTE
some more. I visited some new areas of their website and read through their
2012 fall conference schedule. One aspect that caught my attention because of
my current professional development was their use of ResearchNets. NAECTE
supports groups who are on scholarly pursuits to conduct collaborative research
projects, called ResearchNets. They provide a place to communicate with one
another, research evidence to support advocacy efforts, and opportunities for
professional development. I will keep this group in mind as I further my involvement
in the early childhood education field, because these groups could become a
great asset, or I may need to build one for conducting my own research.
“In this political
era, we all need to hang on to our
sense of humor and
our belief in creativity to solve problems” ~Sara Davis
“Ideas are the roots
of creation” ~Ernest Dimnet
These two quotes go together for me; we need to keep
generating new ideas so that our world can continue to change and in order to
generate new ideas we need to think in creative ways. This made me think of
including creative expression and play into early childhood programs even more.
If we truly want to keep moving forward in the same ways as we have in recent history
then we need to keep our kids thinking in out-of-the-box ways.
Input from economists, neuroscientists, and politicians was
evident when I was exploring the 2012 fall conference schedule. There were many
different presentations supporting different aspects of change within the early
childhood field. Some of these discussed evidence gleamed from neuroscientists,
others talked about new policies that would positively and/or negatively affect
the field, and some presentations were about advocating for investing in early
childhood education. I could not find more detailed information about these
presentations, but the conferences would be a great place to go for gaining
professional development in a variety of areas.
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! You mentioned that you will keep the group in mind because you may need to build one for conducting your own research. What type of research would you like to conduct??
I'm not exactly sure where my studies are taking me just yet, but I have always been very interested in helping children with special needs. I also have a strong interest in teaching young children sign language so they can communicate their needs before they can talk. I'm not sure how those two will fit together for me in the future, but I'm sure this website and organization will be helpful somehow. Thanks for asking!!
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