Your Personal Research Journey

I chose to focus on the subject of teaching social skills in early childhood classrooms. I believe social/ emotional health and processing is essential at this age. We need to learn these skills when we are young to build on for our future. One of the biggest challenges a teacher has is supporting children who have behavior issues beyond what would be considered normal at this age. Many times behavior will become problematic until the child learns the “rules” of the classroom and what is expected. The bigger challenge comes when a teacher needs to meet the needs of a child who does not respond to positive behavior management. In the classroom a teacher needs to have a plan in place that promotes social and emotional development of all children built on the premise of positive relationships. In my Head Start classroom we use a variety of social skills programs. We use Second Steps, Talking About Touching, and Tucker the Turtle. We also use PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies) and books such as Hands are Not for Hitting. Many of the children I work with do not learn coping techniques at home and come to school unaware of how to function in a social setting. I am very interested to learn more about what research has been done in regard to this topic in early childhood, and also find new ways to teach this subject to the children I work with. Through this course so far I have realized how important it is for research to be reliable and credible. In the information age it is easy to read something and take it as truth. I will be much more skeptical in my own studies and take the time to make sure I am getting accurate information. If any of my classmates have advice or knowledge to share on this subject please share.