Remembering vividly the expression on my face when being told about the workload revolving around the program itself amuses me as the program comes to an end. The program came with a lot of hard work and knowledge to gain. This was due to so many steps incorporated into one another which required more attention and familiarity. The project outlining the program gave me a better understanding of what parental involvement actually does for a child. The relationship of a parent and child goes far beyond just seeking attention. The children have different attachments toward their parents depending on the type of involvement they provide. These attachments go far beyond the first few years of the children’s lives. They cause issues for the child in their later teens because of how their parents cared for them. The overall project mandated research of parental involvement effecting children. These studies all showed a negative connection when a parent is not involved in their child’s life. Through our early research we were able to develop an activity through several steps that would benefit parental involvement.
Program development sounded pretty simple, until learning that there were boundaries to the development in general. The boundaries were known as smart objectives which were obtainable, measurable, and time framed around the children. The programs weren’t just selected, because research had to be done on what programs were effective among three to five-year olds. The development process was the overall toughest part of the program; because it involved research on what was applicable to the targeted population. The research allowed my team to select the proper and most effective program to adhere to the population being three to five-year olds. The implementation portion of the program was easy to grasp; because it only had to be put into action. The development process allowed the program to be successful, because prior research was looked over to allow for fewer errors to arise.
After the meeting with the methods students discussing the findings of the program; it is safe to say that the program was successful. As stated from the methods, student’s analysis of the data the program succeeded overall; but there were some things that could have been fixed such as the program had some activities that were favored more than others. This particular weakness could lie upon the factor that some children might enjoy some fine motor skills over others. Another view could be that the parent didn’t like the activity and spoke for the child as well. Other than the weakness of favoriting, some activities just need to be rearranged with different supplies and reconsidered. Above the weaknesses the program assessment stated that the overall program had a bright future. The bright future came from a handful of strengths embedded into the program’s walls. These strengths were built from necessary phases through the development process of the program. Another strength is the effective research done covering the needs and learning requirements of the target population.
The assessment portion gave me a better understanding of the program’s success when involved with the children and their parents. Overall my knowledge and understanding of the elements of a program are substantially higher than when first beginning the semester.
The project brought some major strengths out of me that I could’ve never imagined. I felt that throughout the semester being a leader of my team went very successful. I distributed the workload evenly and held everyone accountable of the integrity of our program. As a team we all gained knowledge about ourselves and the program weekly by pushing each other to higher levels. Research has never been my strong suit, but as the program concluded it now stands as one of my strengths. I feel as if the only area of improvement could be to be thoughtful of the targeted populations age. This improvement stems from providing materials in the program that ultimately was edible for young children. Being mindful of the materials in the future, will allow the program to be held to a high standard and ultimately build upon past years.
The program didn’t just reward me with knowledge or better understanding of the stages of a program; but professional skills as well. To begin, I could carry my experience of developing a program that could be around for years to come. The experience within itself is a critical skill I could use to my advantage; because I could assist a professional company in either developing, implementing or assessing a program. Secondly, the understanding of what the targeted population is in need for is another big factor that affects the success of a program. Obtaining the skill of being able to do effective and proper research could be very needed someday. Proper research intel’s reading over countless studies that have been written prior to a specific program being developed. The research is critical because the strengths and weaknesses can all be avoided, and the study replicated.