Brock graduate Ramanpreet Kaur Bains (BECE \u201924, MEd \u201926) is determined to help children, and future generations, thrive through education.<\/p>\n
Working in early childhood education (ECE) inspired Bains to further her own education and develop research that advocates for meaningful change in ECE settings.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day when I work with young children, I think about how their education now will set them up for their future learning \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s a huge responsibility,\u201d said Bains, who graduated with Master of Education on Oct. 16 during Brock’s 120th Convocation.<\/p>\n
Her undergraduate research in Brock\u2019s online Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (BECE) program explored the role of technology in early learning environments. She continued to work as a full-time early childhood educator while studying, which allowed her to leverage her professional experience to inform her research.<\/p>\n
Under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Educational Studies Jaime Barratt, Bains focused her master’s research on how technology can support physical activity and gross motor development in young children.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to learn more about how technology \u2014 often viewed as ‘negative’ in early childhood learning environments, especially by families \u2014\u00a0can be leveraged as an engaging tool through movement videos, dance instructions and yoga demonstrations, for example,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her research found that 90 per cent of early childhood educators surveyed wanted to use technology to enhance the classroom experience for children but needed further training and resources.<\/p>\n
Bains said the use of technology with young learners should always be intentional.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can learn and expand our teaching practice by observing how engagement goes up when children watch a colourful, exciting video on a big screen and harness that engagement to enhance the learning that is occurring,\u201d Bains said.<\/p>\n
Bains plans to pursue a PhD to create a step-by-step resource to guide early childhood educators through the process of integrating technology into their classrooms in healthy, intentional and impactful ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy enhancing professional development tools and providing a roadmap for training and best practices, we can harness the learning benefits of technology for children. We can also begin the work of advocating for stronger, equitable policies related to technological use in the field that empower educators to try new approaches in their classrooms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n