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Student Research Q&A Jennifer, a human services major, was planning to become a teacher when she came to Elon. Now she wants to go into guidance counseling. Here's how research in the social sciences helped her focus in on a career. Why did you decide to major in the social sciences field? I came to Elon expecting to major in elementary education. I had done work with elementary students in the schools and thought that I would enjoy teaching. As a freshman, I met an upperclassman whose major was Human Services, and she shared with me what it encompassed as well as what the different classes were like. I soon realized that I enjoyed working one-on-one and in small groups with children. I also really enjoyed empowering kids and helping them help themselves. What are your career goals? I will be attending graduate school next fall in order to obtain my master's degree in education, specifically in school counseling. I look forward to working with the children and becoming a part of the educational team that makes a difference in children's lives. I hope that I will have the opportunity to continue to work on different research projects relating to children as well. What are the benefits of studying the social sciences at Elon? I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on a research project for two and a half years here at Elon. Being able to participate in a research project that looked specifically at the scaffolding techniques used in buddy relationships between third grade students and preschoolers; completely reinforced my love and desire to work with children. I also learned so much about research and that I truly enjoyed it -- research really can be fun! I had the opportunity to present at The National Conference on Undergraduate Research as well as at SURF (Student Undergraduate Research Forum) here at Elon. These experiences allowed me to improve my public speaking abilities and as a result, I now feel comfortable speaking in front of a large group of people. What is your original research project? Vygotsky's theories suggest that social interaction facilitates cognitive development especially when "experts" assist "novices" in completing a task. The process of scaffolding takes place when the "expert" aids the "novice" in going beyond his or her present capabilities. In our research, we observed and videotaped third-grade children helping younger children (ages 4 and 5) make crafts. Videotapes were coded for scaffolding behaviors. Additionally, interviews were conducted with the third graders about their experiences. The third graders also wrote in journals after each visit. Analyses examined the relationship between scaffolding behaviors and rate of engagement. Findings illustrated that when the expert explained the activity to the novice, he or she ultimately modeled the activity for the novice as well. Conversing between the expert and novice increased when the novice was actively engaged with the expert. |
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