Scholar Practitioners Who Impact Future Change

·         Explain your responsibility, as a scholar practitioner, to lead evaluation initiatives.

As a scholar practitioner, it is my duty to make sure all information that comes to me is accurate and correct. It is my duty to make sure that the information is given to the right individuals so they can perform their duties. The gather of information based on research is used to give a conclusion on certain cases or help to provide services.

·         Explain what might be your greatest barrier and/or most important downfall to avoid when leading program evaluations and why.

The greatest barrier I can see happening is obtaining false information in my research. Although it may seem that it doesn’t happen, when doing research you have to be careful of the sources you obtain, they can be false which will have you giving false information out to others. Another would be getting my audiences attention, the way you would present your findings to different groups of people.

·         Describe how you might minimize this barrier and/or downfall to ensure that evaluations are effective.

By making sure the information I obtain is truthful and reliable before I use it in my findings. Making the extra effort to make sure that what I have backs up what I’m trying to show is something that is very important to me. When addressing the stakeholders, I have to make sure my approach is appropriate for them. Each group has a certain tone, and approach that you have to find in order to make sure that your presentation is getting across to them.

Scholar Practitioners as Program Evaluators

What I hope to gain from this course is more knowledge on Early Childhood Programs. I want to become a trainer and being able to know as much information as possible about programs that help in the early childhood field will benefit me when I teach others what I know. As a lead teacher now, I have staff who look to me for information on how to become a lead, having this information and the skills I already have will prepare me for my next adventure in the early childhood field.

By doing this course I plan to be able to evaluate programs correctly, and see what works for all types of situations. I can't wait to continue learning more about program evaluations and how they help form the perfect program.

Policies and National Regulations and Standards for Early Childhood Education

In the state of Texas, our goal is for all children entering the school system have the foundational knowledge and skills to be confident and successful learners. With support from the families, schools, and communities providing aligned early learning opportunities, policies and programs that: Support a highly-skilled early learning workforce, providing resources that engage and support development of young children, provide access to high quality 3 and 4 year old prekindergarten. With NAYEC their standards are similar with making sure the curriculum that is used is challenging and developmentally appropriate. They make sure their programs are in place to help children transition to the school system.



With both standards, I think that the constant checking of how the program is running is a good thing. You want to make sure the things you put in place are working and that if at any time there is a issue you can replace what needs to be replaced. As the world moves towards the future trends, and changes come around and learning paths tend to shift and early childhood educators are finding out they need to do things to help accommodate these changes. With NBPTS teachers work with evolving dynamics when it comes to understanding how children develop and using that to make programs that will feed into the learning experience.


In the state of Texas there is room for more information to highlight their programs used to teach early childhood children. Even though their standards were similar to NAYEC, they didn’t go into more detail about the programs they use to help with children’s development. I just wished that they had more information about the importance of early childhood education.



Questions??

How often is programs reviewed?

How many assessments must be done to get a valid answer?

How will these assessments help with learning how children develop?



References

https://tea.texas.gov/academics/early-childhood-education

https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/CAPEexpand.pdf

Sharing Your Tracking Tool

    For tracking my goals, I have a traditional way of keeping up with what I'm accomplishing. I have a folder that has a list of goals that I want to complete by certain times. I like to look at my goals and see where I'm at with them. Some may like to have theirs on a electronic device but for me looking at a handwritten diagram of what I want to accomplish makes it more personal for me. I make sure to track my progress to my goal and able to add new things to the list. This keeps me accountable of the things I want to achieve and how close I am to them.

Sharing Your Annotated Bibliography Topic

For my annotated bibliography topic, I choose Effective Communication with parents. This is something that is extremely important in the work place no matter what profession you are. Some people think communicating shouldn't be an issue, but it can be for a lot of people who aren't use to be social. When working with children we use communication throughout the day, we also encounter their family, staff, and management. Having these effective communication skills in place will help build a solid foundation between you and everyone you encounter. I have found several articles that research why it is important to have open communication with parents.

I also will be researching what happens when there is no communication between both parties. This could result in a lot of missed information getting told, children's development not being properly reported, etc.


I will also be very happy to see your insight, and suggestions on what I'm doing my paper on. Being able to share some pages, or research I should consider in order to write a great paper on my topic.

Fostering Classroom Communities

Title of Dissertation: Analyzing parental involvement dimensions in early childhood education

Author: Zeynep Kurtulmus


Kurtulums(2016) Believed that parent involvement with their children’s education also helped with their social skills. There has been a wide spread of research that supports his beliefs. Studies have shown positive effects on a child’s development as well as their academic achievement. Research was done to show the positive side of parent involvement versus no parent involvement. With the research it is able to show why it is important for parents to be involved with their children’s education. Kurtumuls study focused on two parts parents involvement  and parents education. It also involves home visits and school based activities.  The focus of the study was how to increase parent involvement and its quality, For this, dimensions of involvement needs to be known, and parents’ behavior in these dimensions needs to be analyzed ( Kurtulums, 2016).  The dimensions are development based dimension, activity based dimension and involvement based dimension.





The study was conducted in a Turkish early childhood program, about 300 parents with 5 year old’s. Fathers were excluded due to not contributing. The children picked for the study were from independent preschools and public kindergarten. Each parent was given a letter explaining the study One part of the study parents were given a study to obtain their parental involvement. Other parents were interviewed with questions pertaining to activities they do at home and school with their child. After compiling the data it was sent off to be reviewed and the results were given back to the researchers. The data revealed parents scored high when they closely follow what their children learn in school. Praising children when they accomplish a good job was second, followed by talking to their children about their interests. The lowest involvement involved redirecting school based activities to do at home. Parents also scored highest when encouraging children to change an activity when they lost interest. Study showed that while parental involvement was moderate for all three dimensions, the highest involvement was observed for the involvement based dimension ( Kurtulums, 2016). When it involves activity based behaviors parents involvement declines, this is where parents may need assistance on how to remain involved with their children’s activities.



After the readings of this week lesson, it is important that parents are involved with their children’s development and education. During this study it showed that in some areas parents aren’t that involved and suggests developing more research to help parents remain involved in all aspects of their child’s learning process. In my classroom now I make sure to have open communication about what their child is learning in my class. Monthly I do newsletters for the families so they can see what were doing in class and encourage them to do the same at home with their child. By doing this the parents have a blueprint on what their child is learning and encouraging them to continue with the learning and development process.



Reference

Kurtulmus, Z. (2016). Analyzing Parental Involvement Dimensions in Early Childhood Education. Educational Research and Reviews, 11(12), 1149–1153. Retrieved from https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1104563&site=eds-live&scope=site

Introduction

Hello everyone, I'm Shakira I live currently in El Paso TX. We are a military family and have been here for 2 years now. We have 6 children and one grandson, we are a blended family. I'm currently completeing the post Masters certificate deciding if I want to continue after it is finished. I currently work at the CDC on post with toddlers, and I was recently promoted to lead teacher of another toddler room. I've worked with children for over 14 years. My main goal is to have my own childcare center when my husband retires in 10 years.

Sharing Your Thoughts

Healthy Prenatal Development

It is important to me to make sure women I encounter know how important it is to be healthy during their pregnancy. Doing the research for the last discussion question had me finding new programs and learning about different resources that are out here for women.

As an Early childhood professional it is my job to make sure I can provide women I see in need this valuable information. Don't be afraid to offer over resources to families because you feel they may not take it. Working in childcare I have encountered numerous families who aren't aware of the many resources out here for them.

Food is a major part of a healthy pregnancy but their is also making sure your stress free and not feel like your alone. When it comes to these issues there is also resources for them to check out to make sure they're not alone and feel like someone is in their corner. Also maintain healthy exercises can prepare you for labor later.

Time Well Spent

These last 8 weeks seem to have flown by, I can't believe we are at the end of our journey. I've learned so much as each week went by.


From the development of my challenge it has made me want to see my plans come together to bridge the gap in communication when it comes to staff and families. I learned many tips and activities to get people engaged when it comes to communication.


Feedback from my fellow classmates taught me to take effective criticism. I'm very thankful for their suggestions and advice to make my capstone more effective.

Developing my Community of Practice was very informative and helped me seek outside resources to help achieve my vision and goals of effective communication within my center.

My long term goal is to continue to help with communication between staff and families, and continue to give quality care to the children in my care. I want to advance in my current center and continue to learn new skills in early childhood that I can take with me and use when I open my own center.

Good Luck to my fellow classmates, and Thank you Dr E. for your feedback as well!

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

I have always liked UNICEF ( https://www.unicef.org/), their mission to save children's lives, defend their rights, and help fulfill their potential ( Unicef.org 2018). They offer lots of services to help children in need and have several other organizations that back them. Current job opening is for a Nutrtion Officer ( https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=513156) in Asia, the responsibilities are  The Deployment Officer will work closely with local Government authorities, Ministry of Health and partners in Kurigram. The officer will serve as a bridge between the project and district level by providing technical oversight, coordination, quality, uptake, and sustainability of the project as a key component of broader nutrition and health programming in the district context. Education requirements: University Degree or higher in Informational Technology, Statistics, Economics, Bioinformatics, or a related field is required. This sounds like a great job opportunity to be involved with making sure children get the proper nutrition they need to develop. 


Save the children ( https://www.savethechildren.org/) is another organization I'm fond of. Their mission is to help children around the world in need who suffer from poverty, and not getting the proper education they need. Current job offer is for a global 
Team Leader, Humanitarian Surge Team ( https://recruiting.ultipro.com/SAV1002STCF/JobBoard/7d92e82b-af74-464d-859b-c5b8cba6e92e/OpportunityDetail?opportunityId=9a586f37-2570-4654-9f37-969e11bf4bb6) The duties for this job, 

• Assume overall oversight of country-wide or regional emergency response in collaboration with the Country Director.
• Manage large number of multiple grants (across up to 10 sectors), ensuring strict compliance of program activities with Save the Children national and global policies and procedures and with relevant donor regulations and agreements, SPHERE guidelines and the NGO code of conduct.

Education requirements, 

• You have a minimum 7-10 years' experience in area of expertise
• Bachelor’s degree
• Extensive experience of working within a senior management role within a complex  country program in an emergency response or fragile state

This job is very interesting, I don't know how I would do working in a fragile state, I get emotionally attached easily and this could be hard for me. 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ( http://www.oecd.org/about/), Their mission  is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Current job opening, Project Co-ordinator, Partnerships and Networks Unit ( https://oecd.taleo.net/careersection/ext/jobdetail.ftl) responsibilities for this position

• Assist the Head of PNU in ensuring smooth and efficient co-ordination of the activities of the Unit related to communications issues and to the timely delivery of network activities.
• Work closely with the PNU assistant, to ensure co-ordinated follow-up on actions (e.g. requests for inputs from the Director’s Office) and ensure deadlines are met.  
• Ensure backup for the PNU assistant in her/his absence.  
• Contribute to the preparation of reference documents (e.g. Work Programmes).

Education requirements, A university degree in business administration, communications, finance, or related field. This sounds like a fun job, developing activities to help with communication issues is something that caught my attention since my capstone topic is about effective communication.  

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

There have been several organizations that I've found that have held my interest and I wanted to learn more about them. The first organization I'm happy I found out about is Autism Speaks. With the recent diagnosis of my youngest son with Autism I have done countless hours of research on how to make things more comfortable for him. This website is the best I have come across, it has so much information and good advice that I recommend it to anyone I cross paths with. They do currently have an opening for a Autism Response Coordinator
The purpose of this position is to provide Autism Response Team (ART) information and referral services to Autism Speaks’ constituents in a designated geographic region, and to support the Family Services Department in delivering the mission of Autism Speaks. This position works closely with the Autism Response Team Manager and Autism Response Team Coordinators to ensure that Autism Speaks’ information, tools and resources are promoted efficiently and widely throughout the autism community. The requirements for this position:

Education: Minimum Bachelor Degree.

Languages: Bilingual: English/Spanish required.

Experience: Minimum 2+ years’ information and referral, service coordination, counseling, or customer service related background; knowledge of autism and systems of services required.

The second organization I always go back to for ideas, advice, etc is Zero to Three. Being a toddler caregiver there are so many things that I need to understand and have the proper solutions when it comes to caring for the child. They have a listing for Assistant teacher at a childcare center. The job Assists the teacher in providing effective education to students. The requirements: 

1. High school diploma or equivalent required. Bachelor's degree in education or child development is preferred.

2. Proper understanding of field specific terminology

3. Previous experience working with children.

4. Must be skilled in the use of Microsoft Office software. 

The third organization that I love is Paso Del Norte Children's Development Center. They provide lots of resources and classes as well have their own childcare center for special needs children. My son currently goes here for speech and he has had so much improvement. A current opening below 

Paso del Norte Children’s Development Center is a non-profit agency, serving children with special needs. We are accepting applications for:

JOB TITLE:  Registered Behavior Technician DEPARTMENT: ABA Program, Community Resource Center STATUS:  Part-time, hourly SCHEDULE:  Monday to Friday from 1:00pm – 6:00pm

MINIMUM JOB REQUIREMENTS:  Must have a high school diploma;  Must be 18 years of age; and  Must meet one of the following educational requirements: o Completed minimum of 12 semester hours of college coursework in psychology, education, social work, behavioral sciences, human development or related fields, AND is currently enrolled in a course of study leading to an associate’s or bachelor’s degree by an accredited college or university; o Completed a minimum of 48 semester hours of college courses in an accredited college or university;   Must have a minimum of one year’s experience providing services to children diagnosed with autism and/or developmental delays. 
 

JOB SUMMARY: Provide applied behavior analysis therapy to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The RBT will implement individualized treatment plans; teach language, social, and adaptive skills; manage problem behaviors and ensure child’s safety at all times; conduct preference assessments; provide parent training; participate in individual/group supervision; provide feedback to supervisor; and collect treatment data. 

https://www.autismspeaks.org/about-us
https://www.zerotothree.org/
https://pdnchildrens.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

Here in Texas there are several organizations that have caught my eye, the first Paso Del Norte, caters to children with special needs. My son goes here for speech therapy they also have other services that they provide to all income based families. This center has been a life saver for my family because we didn't know how to handle my son's recent diagnosis to Autism. The staff has helped us out tremendously and we are forever grateful for them. They currently have openings for Speech-Language Pathologist, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, or Early Intervention Specialist with a local ECI program.
https://pdnchildrens.org/


The second organization is Parent Coordination Network, it helps families who are searching for special education resources within the community. The Parent Coordination Network is committed to ensuring that parents of students with disabilities receive accurate and timely information to assist them in making informed choices in their children's education. They currently do not have any openings for employment at this time.
https://www.texasparent.org/contact


The third organization is Ft Bliss MWR, It is a network that provides all kinds of services for the military families. They have so many programs its hard to list them all, The MWR has many openings, from their CDC, to the post exchange stores. I currently work for the MWR and couldn't be any happier, it is a great company to work for and I can't wait to move up within the company.
https://global.armymwr.com/us

Thank You

This class has been awesome to be apart of, we all helped each other by sharing our opinions and feedback each week on our assignments. I enjoyed reading everyone's opinion and I like interacting with them during our discussion questions. As I continue on my professional journey I will look back on the interaction and be very pleased I was apart of effective communication. I wish you all good luck on the rest of your educational journey as well as your professional journey.

Team Development

When I worked for Capital One we all had teams with managers. My team and manager were great! we helped each other out whenever we may not have known something new, or if we got a stressful call. Everyone had each other's back and we always participated in any group outings or projects we had coming up. When my husband got stationed in Texas I was devastated, I met so many wonderful people and I didn't want to leave them.

Adjourning is important to because it gives a chance to wish each other well as they continue with their careers. It isn't a goodbye but more of a see you later type of thing. Its always good to leave on good terms with employers, and colleagues because you never know when you may encounter them again. I will always have a position at Capital One whenever I move to a state they have a call center. This is all because I was a valuable team player and reliable worker for the company for 2 years.

Nonviolent Communication

A recent incident with scheduling came up between my classroom and another. The issue was a coworker was tired of staying to close because she have been doing it for the last three months. I recently joined the other classroom and wasn't aware of her issue until I was put on the schedule at an earlier time.













Instead of approaching management about her concern she started talking amongst other coworkers and it got back to my classroom and started an argument between her and the lead in my room.


How this all could have been prevented if the coworker could have spoke to management, or even asked our room if someone could switch with her. In the end I agreed to be the closer, because I didn't mind, and I wanted to keep the peace. In the future I suggested we all talk to each other first if we have an issue with scheduling, that way it wouldn't cause confusion and everyone wouldn't be upset about hearing things from other people. 

Communicator

I wasn't surprised at the results because I've always been told I'm friendly and great to be around. Whether it's in the professional field or personal my bubbly personality is the same. I'm happy to meet new people and happy to work with others in the community. I gained more information on how communication can be improved by taking the time to get to know other's and how they respond to you during communication. Also appearances don't give us much information on the person we are communicating with, the exercise where we had to answer questions based on a picture was the perfect example of not knowing a person and assuming that you know about them.

Cultural Diversity

Being that my family is very mixed with different cultures, I don’t find myself talking differently to others with different backgrounds or cultures. I’ve always talked to everyone respectfully and acknowledge everyone’s culture and beliefs. I love meeting new people and learning about them because it makes me aware of people who are different from me and my family and I take it as a learning experience.

Nonverbal Communication

The show I used for this post was the Big Bang Theory with the sound off. The interaction I saw with the characters are they're friends judging by the laughter and expressions on their faces while they talked during the scene. They all seem to be happy and enjoying being in each other's presence. With the sound on my assumptions were correct they were all friends and enjoy talking with each other. Their expressions were the same in a joking friendly manner. Since this is my first time watching this show I did judge my responses off their body language and facial expressions. If this was a show I regularly watched my answers would have been the same. What I learned from this assignment is that expressions and body language do tell a story, you can tell when a person is happy, sad, or mad by their facial expressions and body language. It's something I've looked at whenever I'm talking to someone that way I can judge what type of mood they're in and if their happy with the conversation or not.

Blog Assignment

A person I picked for this post is my mother. I admire her ways of speaking to people no matter the situations. I've witness her being yelled at and threatened and she still talked to the person with so much respect and peaceful with no anger at all, Having that kind of composure is very important because regardless of how that person is talking to you, you want to remain professional. I definitely would like to model this behavior, because I want to remain professional at all times. Being in the childcare field you do encounter people who may be upset and they tend to lash out at you, you still want to remain respectful at all times. This is something I've been working on and I know one day I will face this and I want to be prepared.

Professional Hopes and Goals

The hope I have when working with children and their families is that I can remain professional and respectful at all times. No passing judgments and respecting their culture's and beliefs. I've enjoyed my years working with children and their families and plan to continue in my career with making sure they are well taken care of.






















A goal I would like to see set is having workshop that introduce us to these issues so that we will be better prepared when we encounter them while working with children and their family. I think its important to be on the same page because it provides a united front.


Thank you classmates its' been very enjoyable reading everyone's response' and interacting with each other. We have all learned from each other and I look forward to seeing and interacting with you'll in the upcoming classes.