Jobs in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

The first organization I chose is zero to three because of their dedication to the younger early childhood field specifically of babies and toddlers. This stage of development is critical to the healthy growth in all aspects of young children and issues related to younger developing children must be addressed and is equally important to the early childhood education field. I found one job opportunity that interested me called a Content Specialist that would be responsible for helping to develop and maintain consistency of the voice of the organization for all aspects of online and print marketing and communications. In order to fulfill this position I would need to have a minimum of 3-6 years of experience in a related field, exceptional writing and organizational storytelling skills and experience a strong understanding of digital content.

The next organization I chose is the Center for Child Care Workforce that advocates for public policy to restructure the early care and education delivery system to better address the issues of workforce recruitment. I think this organization to improve the quality of early care education, and its educators is an important endeavor to tackle, especially in the field of wage increases. I did not find any job opportunities on this site.

The last organization I chose is the National Child Care Association, which I selected due to their advocate work towards improving the regulation methods with in early child care regardless of private or public affiliations. I think that this is an important issue as many states have various regulations across the board instead of one that is unified. I did not find an employment page or any job opportunities within this organizations website.

I did find one position on Indeed.com that interested me with the company Child Trends that called for an assistant research coordinator in early childhood. This position requires a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of two (2) years of experience in sales, marketing, recruitment, communications, or public relations OR, at least two (2) years of college coursework and at least 7 years of experience. In addition to having a high degree of comfort performing extensive work over the phone and advanced experience with Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint required.

References

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2011). http://www.zerotothree.org/

Center for Child Care Workforce. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30, 2015 from http://www.ccw.org/

National Child Care Association. (n.d.). Retrieved May 30 2015, from http://www.nccanet.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

All of the organizations I chose are from the Maryland learning links website, which is a resource for educators developed under federal funding through a State Improvement Grant.  It is co-owned by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education and Early Intervention Services (MSDE), and the Johns Hopkins University, School of Education, Center for Technology in Education (JHU CTE).  

The first community of practice organization I chose is the Early Learning Network which is a forum dialogue among local birth through 5 program leaders to exchange ideas and information, engage in shared problem solving, and to post locally developed resources and other. I chose this particular COP due to the exclusive dialogue that occurs in their forum with other early child hood professionals.

The next organization I chose is the Early Learning Professional Learning Institute, which is a community space available for educators to share thoughts and resources from The Power of Strategic Implementation conferences that occur each year. I thought this COP was very specific, and would be helpful to anyone who was interested in networking with other people who had attended the same conference and wanted to discuss the components of it in greater detail.

The last organization I chose is the Making Access Happen in Harford County MD. This COP is a collaborative professional learning network designed to increase the participation of 3-5 year old children with disabilities in public and private community based early and development programs. I chose this network due to the locality of it within my own school, and their dedication towards enhancing special needs children in early childhood programs.

I found two particular job opportunities that interested me, the first is an opportunity with the head start collaboration through ICF international. This position is responsible for e-wide Quality Rating Systems and State Early Learning Standards and collaboration with ECE entities involved in State and local planning to better meet the needs of low-income children from birth to school entry, and their families. Specialized skills needed to fulfill this job are:

• Master’s Degree in early childhood education, child development or related degree.
• Knowledge of Head Start performance standards and all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations.
• Experience with content knowledge related to child care licensing, subsidy administration, Quality Rating and Improvement Systems

The next job is Child Care Specialist in Fairfax VA, this position requires its applicants to 

• Have Comprehensive knowledge of the principles, concepts, and methodology of assigned area of accountability; 
• Knowledge of county budget/fiscal policies and procedures; 
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; 
• Ability to perform short- and long-range planning and monitor effectiveness of programs; 
• Ability to keep current on the latest theories of early childhood development and education

I think that both positions would be a great opportunity to learn many of the skills I've acquired during the course of this degree program.

Collaborative Learning Community

During these past 8 weeks I feel like my collegues have greatly supported me, through their constructive comments, and criticism as they have analyzed my work in all of the assignments. I too hope that I have helped in supporting and assisting their own growth during assignments by providing questions, dialogue, and new insights on thier work throughout the course. By collaborating together on assignments we have provided additional unique perspectives beyond just the professors commentary that I know for me personally has given me a broader view on the issues and concepts in this course.

It is my wish for my collegues as they entered into their specializations and continue down their professional path to truly incorporate all of the vital knowledge throughout these courses into thier lives and careers. Concepts of communication, collaboration and cultural competency skills are needed in our profession and in our world more then ever, so utilizing what we have learned and teaching others is so important.

Good luck to everyone in their future endeavors both personally and professionally!

I wish to keep in contact so here is my personal email ashav11@msn.com

The Adjourning Phase

Several groups that I have had the opportunity to be involved have a bittersweet aftermath when it comes to adjourning. The majority of my classmates that were within my major when I was completing my B.S, had accomplished success in umany projects together including the full operations of a mentoring program with a neighboring inner city high school and fashion shows for inner city youth. One of the hardest parts about saying goodbye upon graduation was knowing that many of the friendships I had made and people I had seen on a daily basis would be lessened. Fortunately, I was able to maintain many of the friendships that I had made, and continue to do so today. "Members may also opt yo maintain friendships even if they will no longer be working together. " (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012 p.258) I think that high performance groups are definitely harder to leave as the positive cohesion of the group, and efficiency in accomplishment can create a comfortable climate, in which the group members may feel wary about leaving such a functional group. "Cohesion is a important factor in generating a positive group temperament or climate in which members take pride in the group, treat each other with respect, feel confident about their abilities and achieve higher success in accomplishing goals." (O’Hair & Wiemann, 2012 p.269) The Closing rituals I have been a part of include, graduations, dinners, and even parties that were celebratory towards the successful end of an endeavor. I would imagine the adjourning of this particular group of collegues to end via our blogs due to the online capacity of this school. However, I would like to think that I may meet some of my fellow collegues during the final graduation ceremony for those who are in the same state as me, and would be a perfect finish to the program.

The aspect of adjourning provides an opportunity for closure and the ability for the group to be able to reflect on positive accompliments, or mishaps that may have occurred.  Although bittersweet, it gives everyone in the group to be positive in their reflections, as well as their own contributions that had been made to the group.

References

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Conflict Resolution

I can think of many conflicts that could be resolved with strategies learned this week towards solving issues more effectively. Recently, I had a small disagreement with a parent regarding their behavior in my classroom, humoursly the mom had an issue with her 4 year old son, playing in housekeeping with dolls, and barbies. She preceded to yell at him and take the toy from him each time she entered the classroom. Upon speaking with her after school privately she stated that she did not want her child playing with "girl toys", and became angry that I replied that all children including boys play with many different gender toys/roles as they explore the world around them. The conversation was not really resolved at the end and although she refrained from the yelling and aggression within the classroom, I could still tell she was upset by the situation. One strategy that might be helpful in this situation is to take some tips from the "third side" in viewing other's perspectives. I think that listening from the "third side" would be helpful towards really understanding and considering the mothers point of view. "Listening allows us on opportunity to see from multiple vantage points and allows us to see the whole. Listening is a simple way to show respect. Watch your intention in your listening. If your intention to listen is to find a way to convince them of "your way" , to prove them "wrong" or "convert the right side," you will not create an opportunity for a solution that supports each side and the surrounding community." (The Third Side. nd.)

Another strategy that could have been helpful is to seek understanding first before relaying my own point of view. "If we encourage others to explain their side first, they will be more apt to listen to ours."(Billikopf, G. 2009)

References

Billikopf, G. (2009, August). Conflict management skills. Retrieved from http://cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/13.htm

Website: The Third Side. (n.d.). The third side. Retrieved from http://www.thirdside.org/

Who am I as a Communicator: Evaulations

As I reflect on this week’s communication evaluation exercise, I was extremely intrigued by the own results in comparison to others who were in my relational network. I never realized that although I may deem myself a competent communicator, others may not share my views and their perceptions of my communication abilities can have a totally different evaluation through our interpersonal interactions.

There were many similarities and variances between the results, between the two evaluations. For example, on the communication anxiety inventory I scored a moderate level, which reflected that I do have some communication anxiety depending on the situation. I regard that being nervous is actually a normal thing given certain situations some people excel in some circumstances more than others, to me that is a characteristic that a competent communicator should have. "Competent communication is about figuring out the most effective and appropriate ways of interacting in given situation." (O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. 2012 p.117). In contrast my colleague, scored a low level showing that I was comfortable and confident in interactions and encounters. In discussion about these results she revealed that it is her perception that come off confident, calm, cool, and collected when interacting in a group work environment. I was surprised to find that many of my husband’s perceptions of me to be quite accurate, at times we tend to butt heads when comes to communicating effectively, but we do share a very intimate communication relationship. For example on the listening style profile both of us scored in group 1, referencing that my style is empathetic and people orientated. I think this is very true to my personality and is displayed throughout my personal and professional life. "When we engage in empathetic listening we are attempting to know how another person feels; it involves listening to people with openness, sensitivity, and caring." (O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. 2012 p.163).

This week I gained the true insight of other's perceptions of me in terms of communication, and I realized that many of my own insecurities in public speaking for example, are perceived by others in a completely different fashion.

References

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Rubin, R. B., Palmgreen, P., & Sypher, H. E. (2009). Communication research measures: Communication Anxiety Inventory & Verbal Aggressiveness Scale. A sourcebook. New York: Routledge.

Rubin, R. B., Rubin, A. M., Graham, E. E., Perse, E. M., & Seibold, D. R. (Eds.) (2009). Communication research measures II: Listening Styles Profile a sourcebook. New York: Routledge

 

 

 

Communication Differences

Upon first reading this assignment I thought that I communicated in a general manner with everyone, but upon closer examination I realized that I in fact do communicate differently with different groups in terms of language, situational context, professional/family relationship ,and even culture. A great example of this would be when I communicate and interact with family members or even people from the same ethnicity as me. I tend to use more slang, and vocabulary from our country, along with references to things that are relevant to our culture. On a professional level, I most definitely use high lanague, in order to communicate in a more formal way.

3 Ways to Communicate More Effectivley with Identified Groups

1) Try to decipher and be mindful of other's verbal and non verbal communication code that may cause barriers like culture, language, and even gestures. Appropriate knowledge must be obtained.
2) Do not assume similarities within the same cultural groups. Be mindful that cultural differences and variations occur even from people that may share the same social group or class as you.
3) Develop social decentering, in order to better cognitively, individuals perceptions and thoughts even if they share a commonality with you.

References
Beebe, S. A., Beebe, S. J., & Redmond, M. V. (2011). Interpersonal communication: Relating to others (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon

O'Hair, D., & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.