Effective Communication

     When leading policy change, it is essential to be able to effectively communicate to your intended audience. I believe it is most important to be able to clearly communicate your message when leading policy change. As a writer or speaker, you must know who your audience is, and have well organized goals to clearly communicate your message. Your audience will need to grasp your most important topics and concepts to maximize your policy change. The easiest way to do this is to present short ideas with big meaning for your audience. This presents a clear message the audience can understand. In addition to providing a clear message, your presentation must also be concrete. Your short ideas with big meaning also help your concrete message. Your intended audience needs to know why your policy change is important for young children and families. By providing a concrete message with vivid images to your audience, they are more likely to accept and agree with your policy change.

Strengths

     When presenting information to an audience I do tend to be clear. I am efficient at providing a well organized message that captures the attention of the audience. I do not mind speaking in front of small groups or speaking to someone for the first time. According to the Communication Anxiety Index, I have a mild level of anxiety when it comes to communication, and it is not something that I worry a great deal about.

Improvements

     We are not always passionate about every topic we present. This is an area of improvement for me. No matter what the topic, being passionate and providing vivid images to your audience will only help support your policy change. Additionally, drilling down and focusing on more specific short goals will help my presentation be more successful. While I don't mind speaking in front of small groups, I do tend to get slightly nervous before presenting. I think having clear and concrete goals, in addition to being prepared, will help relieve this nervousness. 

Social Media's Influence on Policy Issues

          Early childhood professionals enacting positive social change benefit from the digital age, especially when leveraging social media. I would use two types of social media to communicate my policy issue. First I would include a micro-blog, such as Twitter. Twitter can be used to initiate campaigns and gain public support through brief messages. Second, I would choose to leverage Facebook by creating a page dedicated to early childhood mental health. Connecting with the general public, professionals in the medical field, and politicians would be beneficial for the policy issue. From here, private groups could be created to collaborate on specifics of the policy issue. 

Benefits & Challenges of Social Media

          One benefit of social media is the connection between users of social media. Social media has made it easier to introduce social issues, exchange opinions, and share news in real time to a wide audience (Hong, June, & Sung-Min, 2011). A challenge is ensuring my policy issue stands out and isn't lost in translation among the millions of content submissions in the social media scene. This is going to require networking and collaboration in order to be successful. 

Dynamics of Early Childhood Policies and Systems

Course Goals

I find exploring the policies and systems of early childhood to be motivating as they do shape the foundation of the early childhood field. I understand that policies and systems will impact not only my role as an early childhood professional, but the children and families in my care as well. Early childhood advocacy plays an important role in creating positive social change for young children and families. I have not had experience with constructing policy definitions or policy plans. I believe this course will give me exposure to this important element of becoming a scholarly early childhood professional. 

Professional Goals

1. Promote Pre-K for PA to gain access to high quality early childhood programs which are publicly funded for Pennsylvania's children. 
2. Better understand other state's systems for access to high quality early childhood care, and what makes them successful or unsuccessful. 
3. Create a policy that will impact early childhood services at the state level. 

Current Professional Initiative

I am a board member for the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children, which is my local NAEYC affiliate. A lot of the current focus at PAEYC surrounds Pre-K for PA Ready to Succeed. In Pennsylvania, an unacceptable amount of 3 and 4 year old children have access to high quality early childhood programs that are publicly funded. During this election year in Pennsylvania, I want to be a part of ensuring that Pennsylvania children have access to high quality care and education. The work in this course will help support this important advocacy movement. 

Influences of Family, Culture, and Society in Early Childhood

       

          It is hard to believe that another semester is coming to an end so soon! My overall experience in EDUC 8853 has been positive. I have gained knowledge and perspectives from my peers that have helped me grow as an early childhood scholar and practitioner. I have also had the chance to explore various media, and create a presentation through Kaltura for the first time. This experience was both frustrating and rewarding! 

Course Material

          There are 3 specific topics covered in the course material that I have most enjoyed. The first topic is identity development. I enjoyed exploring contextual factors that influenced who I am today. I have a better understanding of how contextual factors influence young children's identity development after examining my own identity development. Young children who are trying to create their own identity face the challenge of being influenced by "isms." When children are faced with misinformation about who they are and what they should do, it creates difficulty for the child's identity development (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). 

          The second topic involves overcoming bias and recognizing unintentional microagressions. Bias occurs in the early childhood setting both intentionally and unintentionally. Bias influences identity development and interactions in early childhood. Unfortunately, many early childhood programs and our education system as a whole, both reinforce and reproduce bias (Duke & McCarthy, 2009). The reinforcement and reproduction of these biases emerge through internalized privileges and oppression (Derman-Sparks & Edwards, 2010). I was intrigued how unintentional microagressions occur on a daily basis. People on the receiving end of microagressions must deal with psychological stressors. According to Dr. Dearld Wing Sue, microagressions are not usually meant to offend or insult a person, but the hidden messages that are communicated cause psychological stress to a person (Laureate Education, 2011). 

          The third topic I most enjoyed was building reciprocal relationships with families. I believe the most important step in building reciprocal relationships with families is getting to know each individual family. This would include finding out which cultural group the family identifies with, what language they speak at home, what language they prefer, as well as what type of communication they are most comfortable with, and most importantly, if the family is in need of an interpreter (Hanson & Lynch, 2013). These would be important details to inquire about prior to the start of the school year, and I believe a short orientation meeting would be most beneficial for determining this information.  

Applicable Practices

          I believe building reciprocal relationships with families while practicing anti-bias education is the most applicable to my work as an early childhood professional. Early childhood professionals must place an emphasis on cultural sensitivity within their programs, as well as changing needs. Knopf and Swick (2008), examined the changing needs of families in our society and provided research based practices for implementing positive family involvement. Early childhood professionals must be tuned in to families changing dynamics, and understand the challenges of these changes. These topics would also have a big impact on creating positive social change for children and families. 

References

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J.O. (2010. Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. 

          Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Duke, T.S., & McCarthy, K.W. (2009). Homophobia, sexism, and early childhood education: A 

          review of the literature. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 30, 385-405. 

Hanson, M.J., & Lynch, E.W. (2013). Understanding families: Approaches to diversity, disability, 

          and risk. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. 

Knopf, H., & Swick, K. (2008). Using our understanding of families to strengthen family

          involvement. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35, 419-427. 

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microagressions in everyday life. [Video file]. Retrieved 

          November 15, 2013, from https://www.class.waldenu.edu. 

Trauma Exposure During the Early Years

Everyone experiences stress at certain points in their life, and some stressors can actually be healthy. However, children perceive and react to stressful situations differently than adults. 

A child's environment and relationships are potentially impacted when children are exposed to trauma at an early age. 

          Early childhood professionals have the responsibility of recognizing when a child is under extreme amounts of stress, as well as understanding the negative implications stress can have on young children. I am interested in understanding how a child's development is impacted when they experience a close family member being critically injured or ill. More importantly, I want to understand how to best support young children and families who experience the trauma of having a close family member become critically injured or ill to avoid the negative developmental implications. Feeling intrigued? Watch a short video from The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University on how young children's experiences build their brain architecture. Experiences Shape Brain Architecture 

Critical Questions

• Which areas of a young child's brain are impacted from excessive stress?
• How is brain development impacted by excessive stress?
• What mental health services are available for young children who experience trauma at an early age?
• What type of support systems can early childhood professionals provide for families? 

Technology Predicament

"Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important" 

- Bill Gates

I've had the opportunity over the past 4 months to explore the role of technology in the lives of young children. What I have found most thought-provoking is that there simply isn't enough research out there to determine how much of an impact technology can have on early childhood programs. Current research has challenged my thinking to become cautious about what software and programs are being used with technology. This has inspired me to educate families on the importance of really knowing exactly what we are exposing our children to. Just because technology is marketed as educational, does not mean that it actually provides positive developmental benefits for children. What the field would truly benefit from is more research, and additional professional development for early childhood educators. I believe that technology should be used as a tool in the early childhood setting, but not as a replacement for interactions. Just as with any activity, technology must be developmentally appropriate, intentional, and interactive. 

"There can be infinite uses of new age technology, but if teachers themselves are not able to bring it into the classroom and make it work, then it fails."

- Nancy Kassebaum

For additional reading, check out the links below!

"Facing the Screen Dilemma: Young Children, Technology, and Education" @ http://www.allianceforchildhood.org

The Create Lab at CMU @ http://www.cmucreatelab.org

Advice for Parents in the Digital Age @ http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/media/resources/Elearticle_041712.pdf

Ele Early Learning Environment @

http://ele.fredrogerscenter.org

Tech For a Global Early Childhood @

http://globalearlyed.wordpress.com

"We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher's hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world." - David Warlick

Exploration Through Virtual Field Trips

         Looking for an innovative way to extend learning experiences in your early childhood classroom without breaking your budget? Virtual field trips are an innovative and inspiring approach to fostering learning during early childhood, and a great way to integrate technology as a tool into your curriculum. With an internet connection and a form of interactive technology, early childhood educators can embark on numerous journeys outside of the classroom with their students while never leaving the classroom! 

To learn more about virtual field trips and options available for educators, visit http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech071.shtml. Education World provides an overview for virtual field trips as well as links for available virtual field trips. You can also subscribe to receive free newsletters from Education World. 

Link to a real-life website so colleagues can learn more about it. 

Virtual field trips have influenced my thoughts on effective learning experiences for young children, and practices that early childhood educators can apply towards promoting learning based on child development. When used appropriately, virtual field trips provide positive learning experiences for children (Kirchen, 2011). Virtual field trips are motivational for children, and a great way to incorporate interactive technology into the curriculum. They are also a great option for visual learners. Virtual field trips provide children with experiences that they may not be able to experience otherwise. Trips to museums and community businesses can be expensive. Many times families as well as early childhood programs cannot afford transportation and admission for trips. Virtual field trips allow children to experience field trips at no cost. Virtual field trips also allow children to experience places outside of their local communities in different states or all around the world. What a great way to incorporate diversity and multicultural education in your early childhood program! It is important to note that interactive technology should be used intentionally and in a developmentally appropriate way. The same applies with virtual field trips. They should not be replace interactions or be used as an isolated activity, instead they should be integrated into the curriculum (Kirchen, 2011). 

Have you ever embarked on a virtual field trip with your students? If so, can you provide any suggestions for interactive virtual field trips? What best practices can you share regarding virtual field trips? I will be conducting a virtual field trip with Kindergarten children over the next week, and I look forward to sharing feedback and best practices! 

References

Kirchen, D.J. (2011). Making and taking virtual field trips in pre-k and the primary grades. Young Children, 66(6), 22-26.