Blog 24: Last Presentation Reflection

Still alive but I'm barely breathing

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I would say that I am most proud of how much i spoke and how fluently everything came out as well as how my whole presentation flowed as a whole.

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?  Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE or E if possible. I hit every box for P consideration and I feel that I executed my lesson very greatly. I had professionalism, organization, and creativity, Justification to all my answers, as well as constant audience involvement.

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project?Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE/P. I did everything asked of me on time. Tried to make things go far and beyond and never really had any problems.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

That I had a reliable mentor that helped a lot throughout this project and also the different activities I did.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?

 I would have tried to get permission from the principal to work with the kids earlier, rather then later as I did.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.
It's been helpful because It challenged me to get out there and find a mentor for something I was interested. If this project wasn't an option, I would have gone to college with no experience of what it would be like being a teacher except by the way they are played out to be in the movies. It got me to really understand what I wanted to be and if i still wanted to be it. As for me I will still pursue this unless something else interests me, but for now this is my route.

Exit Interview

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

What is the most effective way for a kindergarten teacher to best prepare his students for our quickly changing world?

1. Teaching children how to communicate in ways that ready their minds for complex thought
2. Introducing and using technology as a key tool for a child's future
3. Understanding and meeting the standards set by common core

Teaching children in ways that ready their minds for complex thought is my best answer since a lot of methods used by teachers requires the use of interaction with the students.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

I reviewed my lesson plans and took what I understood the most. From that, I decided that communication was the best thing to be used since it can teach kids in several different ways.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

The only problem i faced was when i was trying to look up research for technology. I was looking for more of the history instead of how it was actually being implemented in today's society.

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

The two most significant sources I used would have to be articles since there was so much information on my topic and where I was going with this. I also would have to say my mentorship had a lot to do with it. I gained a lot of information from the interviews I had with her and her co-worker, but most of it would be when we had one on one time and I'd shoot questions at her.

Blog 22: Independent Component 2

Me after I finished thiss Component

LITERAL
(a) Include this statement: “I, Anthony Gomez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 35 hours and 30 minutes of work.”
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.

• My mentor helped me complete this, Ms. Lopez.

• Done

(d) Explain what you completed.    

• I completed my hours and my writing information of activities.

(e) Defend your work and explain the component's significance and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.

• I did 25 hours of working with the kids in class on activities and also did 10 hours of finding activities and also explained them in 3 different ways on docs. You can find my 10 horus of activity work on here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/15M_gal-tqKeTHaRtm51feMIbCUGf1lzQSYgR0Ts1EkI/edit?usp=sharing\

• You can find my 25hours of proof here with pictures here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Sk1wsxFXGoS8VgYC5rM6GKR4PkrlMYhqUuGthcpaheA/edit?usp=sharing

(f)How did the component help you answer your EQ? 

• This component helped because my answers where communication, technology,and common core.Being that I got to work with the kid's and see my mentor teaching a way to keep everything based on the common core standards helped very much. Each of my answer related to what I was doing int hat classroom and therefore helping my with my EQ.

(c) Update your Independent Component 2 Log (which should be under your Senior Project Hours link)

Blog 21 - Interview 4 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  
That common core is not as bad as it seems to other teachers. Ms. Jones explained ot me her way of thinking and her thoughts on the standards. She explained how remarkable it is that they can learn so much especially at there age.

2.  How will what I learned affect my final lesson?
I think now i am going to be more pro for the common core standards rather then con. So if anythign I might chage my answer a bit and explain the beauty in what Kindergartners can learn.

Click HERE for Interview 4 

Blog 20: Fourth Interview Questions

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

• I plan to interview my mentors co-worker which has been teaching for about 10 years or more.

2.  Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers to your EQ.

Communication

• What do you consider the best method of teaching?
• How do you effectively teach students and make sure they don't fall back.
• How do you understand that you are getting results and that your way of teaching is helping them or not?
• How do you use communication as a factor in your teaching. What type of activities, worksheets, or games do you play to help the children communicate better and gain skills out of it.
• What methods do you see other Kindergarten teachers use that seem to help children in their communication skills, that can help them for the future?

Technology

• What do you think about innovations in education? Is it better or worse?
• How do you use technology within your lessons?
• Do you use it often or do you think the use of communication and old school teaching methods help children understand topics easier?
• If you could choose to be a school with no technology would you change it? Or would you keep the technology as it is now. What do you think the children would gain more knowledge from
• Do you see technology as a necessity to be taught since our world is quickly advancing to a  technological world. Do you think teaching them early about computers and skills will help them in the future or do you think it is just a waste of effective learning time?

Common Core

• How has common core changed in your eyes over the past years? Better or worse?
• Do you think common core is preparing our youth for the future or just making it harder and more stressful for them?
• How much did No Child Left Behind affect education? Did it make it better or worse?
• If you could change anything what would you change in terms of common core?
• How has common core affected you personally as well as your co-workers?

Starting Questions

• In general, what could you tell me about your education experience from k-12 grade
• What is the most effective way a Kindergarten teacher can prepare his students for our quickly changing world?

Ending Questions

• How do you effectively teach children and keep them up in the world we live in.
• Is there anyone in particular, you know that would be a great help towards my future interviews?
• As a teacher now, would you prefer to keep teaching in this period of time to teach how it used to be 10 years ago?

Blog 19: Third Answer

• EQ 

• What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher can prepare his students for our quickly changing world?

• Answer #3 (Write in a complete sentence like a thesis statement)*

• A kindergarten teacher can prepare his students for our quickly changing world by understanding and meeting the standards set by common core

• 3 details to support the answer

• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Know number names and the count sequence.

•  Representing and comparing whole numbers, initially with sets of objects

• Describing shapes and space. More learning time in Kindergarten should be devoted to number than to other topics.

• The research source(s) to support your details and answer

• "Kindergarten » Introduction." Kindergarten » Introduction. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.

• "‘This Really Isn't Kindergarten Anymore’." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.

• "The Thomas B. Fordham Institute." Is Common Core Too Hard for Kindergarten? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.

• Concluding Sentence
• Having teachers meet the standards that need to be met by common core will increase the creativity and will educate the children and a quicker and faster rate. A long as they are kept on track and are taught everything they need to be, they will be prepared for what is to come.

Blog:18 Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?

• What is the most effective way for a kindergarten teacher to prepare his students for our quickly changing world?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• Teaching children how to communicate in ways that ready their minds for complex thought

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• Introducing and using technology as a key tool for a child's future success

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• Students gain technology skills
• It helps them understand lessons in a  different and quicker way.
• Also keeps them doing hands on activities weather it be on a smart board or iPads.

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?

• "How Can Technology Be Beneficial in a Kindergarten Class?" Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2016.

6.  What other source supports your answer?

• "Your Child and Technology: What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know." GreatSchools. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2016.

7.  Tie this together with a  concluding thought.

• Technology is everywhere in the world. It is used each and everyday by millions of people. Technology is advancing each and every day, it is only right if we begin to teach basic skills to students at an early age and help them understand how a computer is used or iPad so later they understand how to use these resources for benefit int he future. We can use it as a tool to help children understand lessons and get their minds to think in a more creative and complex way.