Thank You!

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all of you during this course!  I thought it was truly amazing to learn so much for all of your personal stories, and see all of us grow and change personally as well as professionally.  I feel like I was able to learn about the type of communicator I am, and the "why" behind what I do and say.  Last week I mentioned that I will be taking a little break and then starting back up in September.  That is due to changing my specialization to Administration and Leadership.  I hope that some of you are also in that specialization because I would love to continue to work with some of you again!  Enjoy your summers, and best of wishes in your future courses!

Teamwork

The stage of adjourning is very interesting.  I look back on a few meaningful groups I have been a part of and how the adjournment played out.  I have been involved in school district and corporation meetings or staff development days with groups.  In this type of situation, adjourning is usually easy.  You wish people luck, and you know you will most likely see and work with them again since we have the commonality of work.  You have most likely made decisions during these meetings that involved follow-up steps or hard work in order to get them.  I feel that sometimes when you have a goal to work forward to, you adjourn in “task mode”.  

I have been involved in group work with individuals that I did not know prior to and will most likely never see them again, such as jury duty or professional development seminars.  These types of group adjournments can be a little awkward.  You aren’t sure what to say, since you know you will probably never see them again.  Yet you feel like you really got to know them over the course of the day.  

I have also been involved in groups that have been long-lasting.  I worked for 6 years as an elementary teacher.  I formed long-lasting friendships with my co-workers.  When it turned in my letter of resignation, it was the hardest thing I had ever done.  I still keep in touch with many of these former co-workers, and even remain close friends with a few.  It seems as if the groups that are close-knit, and have traveled many ups and downs together have a hard time adjourning.

It will be difficult to say good-bye to the group that I have traveled through this Master’s Program with.  One classmate already said goodbye when she decided to take some time off to give birth and spend time with her new baby.  I will have to say good-bye to many after this course, because I am taking the next class off and starting back up in September with a new specialization.  You feel like you really get to know your classmates, especially those who are very open to share their own personal stories.  I will say goodbye, wish everyone luck, and hope to stay in contact with a few who I feel I have really gotten to know.  Although this stage can be difficult, but it is an essential part to teamwork because I think it brings closure. 

Nonviolent Communication in Action

I am currently working as a developmental therapist.  I have a 2 year old set of twins on my caseload, who will be turning 3 in two months.  At three years old, the children age out of the program and will transition into preschool.  In recent sessions, I voiced my concern about some specific skills that I do not see the children progressing in, and am very concerned due to them starting school soon.  One of those skills is transitions.  These two boys have meltdown and fits when I try to transition from one activity to another.  This would definitely be a problem in preschool in a classroom of 15-20 students.  Mom explained that they don’t have tantrums when the speech therapist is present because she allows the first toy to stay out while she starts engaging them in the second and then puts away the first one when they forget about it.  Mom said that our methods are contradicting each other.  

What would you do in this situation?

My solution to this problem was to first initiate contact with the speech therapist.  We talked some through email, and then scheduled a time when we could meet together for a session to co-treat.  We did that today!  We sat down and discussed what each of our goals were from our specialty, and then planned a strategy that we could use to meet all those goals together.  She admitted that she doesn’t actively think about things like imaginative play, cooperative play, sharing, turn-taking, and transitions because she is so focused on what is going on with the mouth.  It was a great way to learn more about each other’s viewpoints and make a plan to move on from here in the right direction!

Even though there were only two of us, we used group decision making to create goals and plans for these two children.  This is something I learned this week when reading an article from the NVC website. 

Perceiving the Self and Others

My husband and my friend Kelli were the two people I chose to evaluate me.  I was surprised to see how much my husband and friend actually knew me.  Their scores were very similar to what I scored for myself.  When I talked with both of them about their answers they both told me that the most difficult questions concerned how I felt about talking in front of groups of people, mainly the question about my heart beating faster.  Interesting enough, they answered the same thing I did.  They have definitely “listened” to my voiced concerns in the past.

I was also very surprised that my friend Kelli perceived me as being a much more effective communicator than I perceived myself.  This says a lot about my self-concept.    

My Family

This week I have gained a few insights about communication.  I feel these two are the very important and can definitely affect our personal and professional lives.

1.  Self-concept can shape our communication skills with others.  Other may perceive you as a great communicator, but your lack of confidence can have an impact on your life.
2. Our backgrounds and personal cultures can cause us to make assumptions about others, and can often affect our communication with those individuals.  We should resist to make assumptions of individuals until we have had the opportunity to meet and converse with them.      

Communication Changes

Since starting this course, I have found myself communicating differently with all people in my life including family, colleagues, friends, clients, and my own children.  I have found myself thinking before I speak, mainly in terms of interruptions.  When discussing interrupting with fellow classmates last week I found it very interesting that many of us who were shy as a child now often have issues with interrupting others.  I am working at being a better listener when talking with people personally and professionally.  I feel having effectively listening skills can help in all aspects of my life.

This week’s Platinum Rule really hit home with me.  For so long many of us have taken the statement, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”, to heart.  Now realizing that that statement really doesn’t apply to most situations is eye opening.  The Platinum Rule has really made me look at my behaviors to others in a whole new light, and I am now often thinking about how that person would want to be treated instead of myself. 

When communicating with colleagues, parents, or individuals from different cultures I think it is important to implement these three strategies:

1. Try to view the situation by placing myself in the other person’s shoes. 
2. Be more aware of my own patterns of communication.
3. Talk less and listen more. 

"Community"

First I watched the show with no sound.

For this blog assignment I watched a show on NBC called “Community”.  First of all, it is very difficult to watch a show without the sound.  There were times when I felt lost.  What I could tell was that these were all a group of co-workers.  In the opening scene, there was no one who seemed to show power so I could not tell if there was a boss present or not.  Later one man entered another man’s office.  He appeared to startle the man who was not working.  He wore a suit and commanded attention.  In my opinion, this might be the boss in the office. 

There were many different scenes throughout the episode of different sets of co-workers outside of work together.  Five of the co-workers hung out together at an apartment, and seemed to be conversing and interacting like friends.  They appeared to be having casual talks and laughing.  They even seemed to be discussing a personal matter of one of the women in which they were all trying to help her with. 

Two other sets of co-workers are seen out at a carnival.  One set are two men, one older and one younger.  The other set are a man and a woman about the same age.  The two men seem happy together, and the other two don’t seem to be having a good time.  The woman seems bothered by the fact that the other two are having such a great time.  The woman keeps giving her male friend frustrated looks while playing a game, and notices when the other two men walk by laughing with each other.  After playing the game, they get into an argument.  They almost seem as if they are trying too hard to have fun to prove a point or something.  In another area of the carnival, the two men get into an argument on the bench, and one leaves.  The one who remains plays back their happy moments in his head.  It seems like they are friends, but the one who left got up and stormed off for what appeared to be no reason.  That makes me think they aren’t as close as they appeared.

Later in the episode, all these different co-workers end up back at the apartment together in which one of the men from the carnival says something to the woman who is having a personal issue.  This seems to make her realize something.  He appears to come off as a concerned friend, and she respects him, listens, and takes his advice.  Later they all sit down together to watch the television.  The close friend of the woman and the man who helped her look for a long time at each other and smile.  Their relationship seems closer than that of just two friends.

I could see happiness and friendship expressed through their eye contact and laughter.  I could also sense frustration in the woman with the problem due to her vivid actions with her arms when she talked and her facial expressions.  I could sense the seriousness in the conversation between her and the man due to his serious facial expressions and her expression that showed understanding of her issue.

Then I watched the show with sound.

I was surprised to see that I was very wrong with my assumptions about the basis for their friendships.  These were not co-workers at all, but they were all classmates at a community college (hence the name “Community”).  The man who walked into the office did have some authority; he is a professor at the college.  Although, I was wrong about his relationship with the other man, he was not the other man’s boss.   They are both employees at the college.

I was correct to assume they were all friends though.  The one woman was struggling with a person problem of wanting to call a man who was not nice.  Her friends were trying to keep her from her cell phone so she could not call him.      

The female and male friends who went to the carnival together were only there to spy on the man the woman was trying to call.  The game they spent many minutes at was this man’s carnival game.  They did this so they could talk to him.  The frustration the woman had was because she wanted to ride the rides.  I also discovered that the two men who were there were only there because the older man was trying to prove to his friends that he could have friends outside of their circle.

In the end, even with sound, I could not get a sense of the relationship between the woman and the man due to their look.  I think I saw the same thing both times because there was no verbal dialogue between the two.  If I had seen this show before, I would already have a basis for the understanding of the show, and my assumptions would have been very different.  I would’ve known the background of the shows concept and the character development which would’ve given me better understanding of their relationships that already existed.  This really gave me some insight into communication simply based on nonverbal characteristics and communication with someone or a situation that you are not familiar with.  It can definitely affect your perception of the event and individuals involved.    

My Communication Role Model

This week I was asked to think about someone who demonstrates competent communication.  The first person that popped into my mind was my friend Kim.  Eight years ago Kim came into my life as my first grade partner teacher.  Not only were Kim and I teaching together, but soon after we both became pregnant, and little did we know would face many medical challenges involving our newborn daughters.  These things all bonded Kim and I together with a friendship that has continued even though we currently live in different states. 

Kim exhibits many characteristics that I believe make her a very effective communicator.  Kim listens closely when having a conversation.  She accepts the differences of other who she is communicating with, and even accepts what she hears even though it may not be something she personally practices or believes in.  Kim has also always been completely honest and offers reasoning behind her messages.  She has a way of making people feel comfortable, safe, and not afraid to share their emotions. 

Our Kids (our oldest are 4 months apart, and the youngest are 6 days apart)

These characteristics that Kim possesses are something I strive for.  I often have to remind myself to listen to others in the way that Kim has always done.  There is a difference between listening, and actively listening and truly listening.  I would like to believe her caring disposition has rubbed off on my over the years.  It is fantastic to have such a close friend to look up to and learn from!

Thank you!

When starting this course I was excited to see many familiar names and others who I had never met before.  Over the last 8 weeks we have all explored many topics in diversity and equity.  Many of these topics led to many deep discoveries of hidden biases, personal beliefs, childhoods, and hopes for the future. 

My hope, when I think about working with children and families who come from diverse backgrounds, is that as educators we remain open-minded, maintain open communication, and show flexibility with children and families. 

If I had to choose one goal for the early childhood field, related to diversity, equity, and social justice, it would be:

Continue to seek opportunities to educate teachers, families, and children about the many aspects of diversity, equity, social justice, and culture.  Allow many opportunities for teachers, families, and children to share their own personal experiences openly in order to allow for open communications about diversity, equity, and social justice. 

I want to thank all of my fellow classmates for sharing so many personal experiences, knowledge, and insights about diversity and equity.  Working together has allowed me to discover many of my personal beliefs, values, and culture.  I have greatly benefited through our discussions and blog posts.  As you continue this journey through your master’s program, I hope that you continue to discover yourself and learn all the necessary skills to foster positive development and learning in the children that you teach.  Thanks so much for being such caring early childhood educators!

Welcoming Families From Around the World

The new “family” that I am going to be working with as a developmental therapist is from the country of Estonia.  I know nothing about Estonia.  In preparation for this family I have decided to do 5 things that will prepare me to be culturally responsive toward this family.

1.  Locate geographical information on the country, including population and way of living (homes, food, etc).
2. Discover information regarding dominant culture (race, age, family structure, economic class, religious beliefs and language usage).
3. Locate information regarding current educational practices.
4. Gain information regarding medical practices and what resources are available to families in Estonia such as therapies.
5. Research local resources for the families that may be helpful when immigrating into The United States such as local cultural groups, translators, education, medical care, etc).

I believe knowing this information will benefit me and the family by knowing more about the background of the culture to help ease the child into therapy by being able to relate more.  I also think this will allow the family to see that I am a dedicated therapist who strives for what is best for their child. 

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

It seems that biased beliefs, prejudice, and oppression can be seen on a daily basis, in the news, on television, in conversations, in music, and on the internet.  I have personally been right in the middle of a very heated debate on the internet.  During this debate, I definitely felt oppressed due to my gender. 

A family member of mine posted a link about San Francisco possibly passing a law against circumcision.  He was a strong supporter of this.  Even though I have an opinion in the subject, I did not comment, until I noticed many strong supporters ganging up on a non-supporter.  I simply made the comment that as parents we are allowed to make many decisions for our children when they are infants.  We often choose whether we have our children baptized, whether to formula feed or breast feed, and whether or not to immunize them.  These are decisions that have been delegated to parents according to the parents beliefs according to what they belief is the best for their children, usually in regards to their health.  I have had to make many medical choices for my daughter in regards to what I believe is in her best interest.  Some people agreed with some of the specifics I said, but still didn’t agree with the right to choose circumcision stating that it was mutilation.  Then my family member stated that I had no right to enter into this conversation because I “do not have a penis”. 

This comment left me with the feeling that he felt I was not equal to him, and that he was superior to me due to gender.  I did not respond to his comment because I was not going to participate in a discussion that was obviously sexist.  I wanted to respond that I have just as much say in MY OWN OPINION.  He made me feel as if my own person opinion did not matter!  Not only is that my opinion, but I am a parent, and although I have two daughters, I have the ability of having a son.  My opinion is that my husband and I should be able to decide what we feel is the best decision for our son when it comes to this topic. 

If the discussion was about circumcision deemed as mutilation, the topic of gender rights should have never come up. I believe this family member was frustrated, and knew that oppressing me would be the best way to make me feel inferior to the discussion.  I feel that this family member obviously knew this sexist comment was not appropriate, but did it anyway.  It’s similar to saying that men have no say whether their child should be breast fed or not.  In my household this was a collective discussion between my husband and I when we found out we were expecting.  Sexism still occurs, whether it is deliberate or oppressed feeling or beliefs from the past.  Recognizing them is the first key to overcoming them!    

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

I experienced a microaggression just last weekend.  I was talking with a friend about redecorating my house, and trying to bring a soft touch to my husband’s den.  Knowing that I have a male family member who is gay, my friend jokingly said, “Just ask (family member’s name)”.  I laughed it off because I wasn’t sure how to respond.  This was very hurtful to me, because it made me wonder what she thought of this family member of mine that I am very close to.  This same friend and her husband also tried to introduce this family member of mine to their only gay friend.  Not because they had and similar interests or beliefs, but because they were gay.  I am now realizing that I should probably say something the next time one of these microaggressions occur.  My guess is that she is not only doing this with me.   
     

This week has really made me look deeply into discrimination, prejudices and stereotypes on people.  It’s amazing to me how often they truly occur.  What is even more surprising is that the most damaging microaggressions can occur when they are not intended.  Many biased beliefs are far below the surface, and can surface surprisingly.  “Studies show people can be consciously committed to egalitarianism, and deliberately work to behave without prejudice, yet still possess hidden negative prejudices and stereotypes” (Teaching Tolerance, n.d.).  As suggested in many of this week’s readings, the first step can often be to admit and become aware of our hidden biases.  Knowing that we have some hidden biased beliefs allow us to better control them and attempt to eliminate them.  This week has allowed me to look very deeply at myself, and has revealed some things about my actions and personal beliefs that I was unaware of.    

References

Teaching Tolerance. (n.d.). Test yourself for hidden bias. Retrieved May 25, 2011, from http://www.tolerance.org/activity/test-yourself-hidden-bias

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

I talked with 2 family member, all of various ages about their ideas of culture and diversity.  Here are the answers they shared with me.

Jeremy (Age 32)

Culture is beliefs and core values that you are brought up in.

Diversity is different backgrounds such as backgrounds, race, sexual orientation, religion, gender, and age.

Kelli (Age 52) 

Culture is the many different ways that people live. Their religions, food, dress, living conditions, and beliefs.

Diversity is being able to understand that everyone is different and accepting that people do things differently. Diversity would mean accepting differences from different cultures.

Wayne (Age 79)

Culture to me is the beliefs, social forms and traits of a social group.

Diversity is balancing the various racial groups in a group such as college students.

When looking at the statements that my three family members made in regards to culture and diversity, I saw many of the aspects we have studied in this course so far.  In Week 2's video, Julie Benavides, Louise Derman-Sparks, and Nadiyah Taylor sat down to discuss the aspects of culture.  Julie's first definition was very similar to Jeremy's definition of diversity, covering the basics of race, ethnicity, age, gender, language, etc.  Nadiyah and Kelli went on to take it further stating that it is how we percieve the world, it's very personal, and it's how individuals choose to live.  Kelli was right on in her definition of diverisity, when talking discussing other differences, and learning to accept differences.  Wayne discussed social forms and groups, as well as beliefs.   

To me, culture goes very deeply.  It's not only the items we see on the outside that are very apparent to us such as gender, race, age, etc., but there is so much more below the surface that makes up one's culture such as values and beliefs. Diversity encompasses the differences between individuals.  The social identities that all individuals hold vary from one person to another, and this framework makes up each individual and allows for much diversity in our world. 

I found it interesting that Jeremy's definitions for culture and diversity went hand in hand.  His ideas of culture looked at the surface of culture, while his definition of diversity looked under the culture of diversity describing values and beliefs.  He omitted the fact that diversity is describing individuals differences.  I feel Kelli was definitely looking further in depth at both, and omitted some of the basic surface aspects of culture such as gender, race, age, etc.  Wayne also looked deeper under the surface when it came to his idea of culture.  I thought it was very interesting how he looked at diversity as a balance of races in particular groups. 


What this tells me is that once again, everyone is very diverse.  We are all diverse in our thinking and understanding of our and others cultures.  Some of us are more aware of the surface culture, while other's take a deeper understanding.  This will allow me to have a deeper understanding of other's behaviors in regarding to their personal understanding of culture.  For example, I often come across families who will discuss certain culture groups in a very assuming manner.  This tells me that this person may not purposefully being biased, but it could be due to a lack of knowledge or using visual images to make determinations in their beliefs. 

My Family Culture

Following a catastrophe in The United States, I am told that my family will be relocated in another country.  In addition to a change of clothes, I am allowed to bring 3 personal items with me.  I have chosen to bring 3 items that represent my family culture.  They are a photo album, The Holy Bible, and my family recipe book.

The reason in choosing a photo album would be due to memories and events holding so much value in our lives.  We have had many special events as a family such as our wedding day, the birth of our children, our weekly trips to the lake, and our vacations to Florida or Gatlinburg.  Our photo albums are also full of all of the important people in our lives.  With my girls being so young, I would not want them to forget about all of the important people who have impacted our lives.  Having images of these events and people give our daughters a picture to put with the story. 

The reason I would bring The Holy Bible is because I was raised in a Christian household, and am also raising my children in a Christian household.  Having this bible allows gives us a guide to stories that represent moral and values that we have built our family on.  I feel this is currently important to share with my children, and would continue to be important as they learn and grow, no matter what country we are in.

My final item is my family recipe book.  At my bridal shower, my grandmother presented me with a cookbook that contained all her favorite family recipes.  Some of them were passed down from her mother and grandmother, and others were obtained over the years.  These were all recipes that she made for my mother, my mother made for me, and I make for my children.  Over the last 10 years, I have added additional recipes to this book and plan on passing it on to my oldest daughter when she gets married someday.  This book not only represents our cultural food, but is a book that binds generations of women in my family. 

If I arrived in the country and was told to dispose of two of these items and only keep one, I would have to choose to keep the photo album.  Family is the most important aspect of my life!  Having these images to help with memories of events and family members would mean the most to me, as well as my children. 

When I first started exploring the personal cultural items that would be options for me, I have to admit my list was short.   As discussed in this week’s video and in this week’s text, we often have a hard time recognizing our own culture because it is our normal.  I was struggling with this as well.  After discussions with my husband and my mother, I was able to get a better idea of items that were truly important to me! 

When I Think of Research...

I have learned an abundance of information in this course due to the resources and research simulations.  Putting together a research study requires many steps, and certain portions should be completed before others.  This course has caused me to take a close look at ethical situations and the effect research can have on the participants involved. 

Before starting this course, I had no idea how professional and intricate the process of research is.  I have participating in professional research, but never conducted or planned any research on my own.  I knew research was a lot of work, but I had no idea how many different concepts went into the planning, and how many factors you must consider when doing this planning.    

I have learned that when planning research, it is essential to plan one part at a time, while keeping the whole research project in consideration.  It is also essential to revisit previously developed sections to determine if changes need to be made. 

Some of my challenges involved participant selection and ethical issues.  Choosing participants is a struggle because the participants have to meet specific requirements.  They must be parents who are currently anticipating enrollment or changes in childcare or early childhood education programs.  One challenge may be if the participant makes the change prior to the completion of the data collection.  If this happens, the family will not be able to participate in the study.  My goal is to obtain more volunteers than necessary due specific participant requirements.   

I often find myself looking at behaviors, relationships, and certain topics as possible research studies.  I can now look at specific situations/topics and determine how more information regarding them could be very beneficial to the early childhood field.  Knowing how to plan, design, and conduct research is a powerful tool to have as an early childhood educator, and I now feel confident in my ability to do this. 

I have greatly enjoyed exploring topics and having in-depth discussion with all of you over the course of this class.  I especially want to thank Dr. Davis for providing many thought provoking questions and very usable feedback with my work.  I hope to see many familiar faces in our next course!

Research Around the World

I chose to take a closer look at Early Childhood in Australia.  From an article I located on the Early Childhood Australia website, titled “Implementing children’s rights in early education”, written by Sarah Te One of University of Wellington, student rights seems to be a current topic researched.  In this article, the author discusses research done using individual and group interviews, observations, notes, and photographs as a means of data collection.  This research focused on under two-year olds.  It concluded that the physical environment (setting, rules, and routine) can have a direct effect on the children’s rights. 
Some of the other current international research topics include:

·         Inclusion

·         Play-based Learning

·         Social Development

·         Transitions

As I explored the current news releases, it was very exciting to see some of their newest celebrations for Australia’s early childhood field.  A few things I learned when looking through these news releases were:

1. New quality reforms are taking place in 2012. 

2. Childcare refunds to families are now going to be given every 2 weeks instead of the previous quarterly refunds.  This will allow parents to be able to better pay for childcare.

3.  A new law was passed that mandates one staff member to every 4 children (under 24 months) in daycares. 
Overall, I was very intrigued to see that many of the current issues and research topics are very similar to those that we are currently facing in The U.S. 

Resources

Te One, Sarah (2009).  Implementing children’s rights in early education.  Retrieved from: http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/australian_journal_of_early_childhood/ajec_index_abstracts/implementing_childrens_rights_in_early_education.html

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Andrew's Success Story

I have talked with many parents over the years who all have very unique success stories to share about their children.  Some of those success stories are medical, some involve academics, and others surround other disorders.  Autism Spectrum Disorder is a wide range of disorders that can affect a child's communication, socialization, and behavior.

Alison, a parent of a child with autism, has chosen to share her child's success story with the National Autism Center.  Without the knowledge from research and early intervention, Alison feels that her son would not be where he is today due to his diagnosis of autism. 

Here is her story:

"Imagine this scenario: It’s obvious something is wrong with your child, but you don’t know what it is. A doctor tells you your 2-year old child has cancer. He tells you it won’t be fatal, but beyond that can't give you any prognosis. A thousand questions flood your mind, but the biggest one is, "What's the treatment protocol?" He doesn’t have an answer — the best he can do is give you the names of some books to buy. It’s up to you, as the parent, to learn about it. It’s up to you to try, on your own, some of the treatments others have tried. 

This goes on for two or more years. Your child is not improving. Then, you learn that there is one place in the state that has expertise in his disorder. For the first time in years, the weight of the unknown becomes bearable.

This was Andrew’s story — except substitute the word “autism” for “cancer.“

Our lives turned around when we became involved in an intensive early intervention program. When he began the program, at age 5, he had little ability to communicate. He could not sit at a table for more than a few minutes. He showed little interest in any toys except trains. Today, at age 7, he is completing first grade at a local public school. His math and reading skills are above grade level. He likes to make kids in his class laugh with his imitation of Sponge Bob. There is a long road ahead, but the most important thing we have been given by the program is the knowledge of how to work with him and continue his progress."

—Alison, Parent

For more information you can view the National Autism Center Website.

http://www.nationalautismcenter.org/index.php

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I have chose is something that I feel very passionate about.  As a Developmental Therapist working for Indiana's Early Intervention System, I see many families enter and exit the program.  My hope is that when they exit, the child will continue with some form of quality early childhood program before starting Kindergarten.  I see many benefits, especially for children with developmental delays, from being in a quality program with other children and quality educators.  The challenge I have found is that many parents are not properly educated or informed about the programs available for their children. 

For my topic, I have chosen to take a closer look at the knowledge parents have regarding their early childhood education options, and how they are informed.  I have discovered that this is a hot topic, yet little literature through articles and research papers.  I have found that one of most helpful strategies when searching for literature was to search multiple databases at one, and open up my search up by searhcing other fields and not limiting myself to just educational databases.  The other strategy that I have found very helpful was to jot down some key words and phrases that I could use to search this specific topic.  Using these strategies have allowed me to find a few great articles that are relevent to my topic of parent educational awareness. 

What strategies are working for you?  What have you found helpful?  What have you found challenging?