Welcome back to my blog! This week I mainly worked at home, updating the curriculum with any research information that may be useful or relevant. While reading the textbook, I remember learning these topics while I took the course HD 1150: Infancy and Childhood with Professor Karin Sternberg. However, I have also been learning new pieces of information about child development as well. We generally understand that the way a parent interacts with their child influences the child’s development. However, I did not realize how small of a change could make a huge difference. A study by Catalina Suarez Rivera and colleagues (2022) demonstrated that when parents interacted with toddler-manipulated objects, the infants were more likely to understand and spontaneously name those objects compared to objects the parent or another individual manipulated instead. Learning about this content really allowed me to reflect how I interact with children. I am involved in a lab called the Child Witness and Cognition Lab that requires me to spend a lot of time with children during outreach events. We often have toys and blocks during this event, and I plan on playing with them in accordance with this study.
Besides finishing the textbook review and curriculum updates, this week I plan to start working on the evaluation survey. I hope to interview a few parents who have taken the course in the next few weeks to see how they have enjoyed and whether the curriculum has helped their child’s development. I’m excited about this opportunity to connect with our community and hear their perspective and experiences after taking the curriculum. Make sure to stay tuned for any updates!