Honors student, Reagan Bernskoetter

Author: Reagan Bernskoetter | Major: Human Development and Family Sciences | Semester: Fall 2022

Reagan Bernskoetter is an Honors College senior at the University of Arkansas, enrolled in the Dale Bumpers College of Agriculture, Food, and Life Sciences.  She is majoring in Human Development and Family Sciences, as well as minoring in Psychology.  Reagan’s mentor is Mrs. Donia Timby, faculty member of the School of Human Environmental Sciences. Reagan submitted a proposal and has been accepted to present at the Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA) conference in March 2023.  

When I began thinking about a research topic, I knew I wanted to focus on children. The Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center seemed to be the best place for me to conduct my research study, as it a lab school and my current place of employment. Donia has been my teacher and advisor since I was a freshman at the University of Arkansas. She also goes to the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center often, so I knew she could give me more of an educator insight. I met with her to discuss topics that would be interesting and beneficial to research. Eventually, we came across outdoor play spaces and the importance of the intentionality behind them because she and I both share an interest in outdoor and nature-based play.

At the beginning of my research, I sent out consent forms to the families of the Jean Tyson Child Development Study Center in order to gain approval for their children to participate in my research. When the email was sent out initially, I was not getting the number of consent forms I had hoped to receive. To fix this issue, I set up a table at the entrance of the building and explained my research. By doing this, I gained almost 100% participation from the families. Another obstacle I faced was classrooms not going outside during their scheduled time. Because of this, I was not able to collect data for those classrooms on those days. To overcome this, I made sure to collect as much data as possible through photographs and anecdotal notes when each classroom was outside.  Through these challenges, I learned that I could overcome difficulties whether by myself or with a team. Most of the time, I just needed to talk about it and discuss different ideas.

My faculty mentor, Mrs. Donia Timby, was with me almost every week to help me collect data. While I was observing and taking anecdotal notes, Mrs. Timby was taking pictures of the children’s interactions. Once the data was collected, Mrs. Timby assisted me in analyzing it and constructing a results section. She worked alongside me when challenges arose and aided in helping me get past them.

During the fall months of August, September, and October 2022, I began analyzing the data I had collected and preparing for my thesis defense in November. Mrs. Timby and I met each Thursday to discuss the sections of my paper, what they included, and how to put it all together. We started making graphs and looking at frequencies throughout the data to ensure the results could be easily read and understood. Once my paper was finished, I defended my thesis in front of my committee members. My committee included Mrs. Donia Timby, Dr. Shelley McNally, and Dr. Jacquelyn Mosley. They listened, asked questions, and provided me with a passing grade. I submitted my research to Scholarworks and have officially completed my honors thesis.

I will graduate December 2022 and then continue school. I plan to pursue a master’s degree in speech-language pathology and continue working with children. In March 2023, I will present my research at the SECA conference.