Amanda Swartz
Author: Amanda Swartz | Major: Human Development and Family Sciences | Semester: Fall 2022
My name is Amanda Swartz, and I am in Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. I am a Human Development and Family Sciences major, mentored by Dr. Jackie Mosley in the Human Environmental Sciences department. I have just completed my Fall of 2022 research for my Honors creative project and plan to continue and implement my project in the Spring of 2023.
My research has been centered around what an inclusive playground could look like at the Jean Tyson Child Development Center. Outdoor play is very important to a child’s freedom of expression and imagination, so the purpose of this project is to help prosper that development for the infants and toddlers even further. I choose this topic after discovering that the Jean Tyson Center was going to be remodeling their outdoor space and really wanted to implement a project that the children would benefit from first-hand. Dr. Mosely was recommended to me as my mentor by my academic advisor, Ms. Timby because of both our passions for spreading inclusion. My research topic has shown me a lot about how there is a lack of inclusivity in many playgrounds. There was a lot of evidence that there is a demand for this sort of initiative and so that made me more confident that this could just be the start of something bigger. Something really important that I have learned about myself is that Honors is not unattainable though it seems intimidating. I always thought a thesis and being in the Honors College was so out of my league but through this past semester, I have really thrived and taken each step little by little, and I believe in myself to be successful now when before I had doubts I could do it. While researching many topics and getting lots of background information, it was challenging to know exactly what direction to go in and what was going to bring the best outcome. I just had to trust my instinct and to know that every research experiment is not always amazing the first time around. There are some “what ifs” with my project as far as how some of the materials will hold up in an Arkansas winter, but I just have to hope for the best and if it does not succeed, going back to the drawing board will only make my research better and more thorough.
Dr. Mosley has been a huge help in guiding me with how to conduct research and what is good to look for when it comes to adding inclusivity for all children. Ms. Timby, who is on my committee, has also provided a lot of knowledge when it comes to structures that the Jean Tyson Center could use. I also did inquire with some of the faculty at the center about their thoughts and opinions on some of the materials I am going to have. Going forward, Dr. Mosely and I are going to be ordering the materials for my area of the playground and hopefully implementing it sometime in the early spring. I am continuing to write my thesis and gaining more information for my research every time we meet so that my project is the best that it can be.