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.

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

• That Technology is always changing, but the use of communication within the student is a really important factor. You cant use technology to teach children if you don't have communication. So both communication and technology are key factors to each other. Once you can make use of them two then the outcome becomes effective. Then on making it a really effective way of teaching.

2.  How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

• I guess I'd have to say preparing beforehand instead of the day before. I also am more focused on answering my essential question rather then just asking questions out of the blue. I am actually getting answers i need and that help me now. I now use these interviews as a reference for my future lessons and for the research i look up in the future.

Click HERE for my Interview

Blog 16: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• I am still unsure, I plan on talking to teachers on what I could do to better this Independent component. Right now I am planning to do lesson plans.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• So research and make like a book well like 2 different types of books. One book with lesson plans for teachers that are teaching kindergarten. And another book with like activities that would teach kids new things and basically like packets they get regularly at school to fit with their topic. I will show evidence by linking my sources and formatting them correctly.I will show pictures or add links to my finished component so you can see where I am at and how my books or packets are going. I also plan to give some packets to my mentor Karen Lopez so she can review them and give me tips on what I can fix.

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

• I think this component will help me explore my topic by giving me an actual sense of how it is to do lesson plans. And also will guide me and help me find out more what the kids are learning and how teachers are explaining the information to the students. 

4.  Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

• Fin.

Independent Component 1

• 
  
• LITERAL
  (a) Write: “I, Anthony Gomez,  affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
  (b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
• None, Just my mentor Karen Lopez experience of 25 years and still going.
  (c) Update your hours in your Senior Project Hours link. Make sure it is clearly labeled with hours for individual sessions as well as total hours.
• Done
• (d) Explain what you completed.    
• Done
• INTERPRETIVE 
  Defend your work and explain its significance to your project and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  
  
• I added a link on my hours log that has all the pictures I took for each day i went in or when i did something different.
• APPLIED
  How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?  Please include specific examples to illustrate this. 
• Didn't help much. I guess just talking to my mentor each time I went in. I would get input on what she thought about my answers or id ask her questions and she'd always provide me with information. It was always good and useful information that she gave me.Some information like when she talked ot me about how technology was being implemented in kindergarten. that helped since I related other articles to what she said and found a  correlation between them.

Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

• I am most proud on how well I presented because I had enough information that if I wanted to I could've spoken for longer than the time given. 

2. a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

• I honestly think I did well enough to deserve an AE. I felt like I hit all the points necessary.

     b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

• I felt like I hit all the points necessary. I had an appropriate volume/enunciation, appropriate body language/eye contact, and even engaged with the audience. I used my time effectively, I always had something to teach and say. I had many props and a powerpoint. The research was clear and justified, referenced my mentorship, and had good sources of research. My activity went well and was great, it helped everyone learn my answer, and the game was pretty self-explanatory but I still gave directions.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

• The way I explained everything and used gestures. I really liked how the class responded and participated when I asked questions. My activity also seemed to grab the attention of the class. The class seemed to enjoy it more than I thought they would.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

• I would probably change my hook because I think it took a little too long and seemed to bore the class and bore me as well. I'd probably make it more creative next time.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

• I believe my answer 2 will either have to do with technology or common core. I am leaning more towards technology. So for my answer #2 I'd say. A kindergarten teacher can prepare his student for our quickly changing world by using technology to expand the minds of kindergarteners.

Blog 14: Third Interview Preparation

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

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
I plan to interview my mentor again, Karen Lopez. She has been teaching over 25 years.
2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 
I will be interviewing her Tuesday, January 19th at 3 PM.
3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.
What strategies can I use to find the research for my topic? What sources do you get information from?
4.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).
What do you consider the best method of teaching? Can you tell me a little about how you've noticed education change in the past 20-25 years? What technology has been most useful to you?
5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ. 
What do you think about innovations in education? Is it better or worse?
Do you think technology makes it harder to teach students or easier? If so why?What type of programs are used at this school? Is it well funded or did someone have to look for an alternative and find a cheap program. Since a lot of the money goes towards the free and reduced lunch program?

Blog 13: 10 Hour Mentorship Check-In

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
I am doing my mentorship at Arroyo Elementry School
2.   Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?
Ms.Lopez is my contact and she is an expert because she has been teaching for around 25 years.
3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right-hand side of your blog).
During the summer, I did 15 summer mentorship hours and  throughout the year I did 25 Mentorship Hours. 
4.   Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.
Well for the most part, I usually cleaned, reorganize materials. But I also helped with her lesson plans and made packets for the kids. Some days I get to learn more than others a lot of  my topic. She's let me use materials from her classroom to use for my lesson plan and I think we a have a good connection. To complete my remaining hours I will be coming in like usual but I talked ot her about giving me things to do at home. So I'm also going to be doing tat towards my mentorship.

Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

• I did not do anything regarding my senior project.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

• I learned to check the blog more and that I should've probably did stuff regarding my senior project.

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

• I might talk to my mentor again since we had a really good interview the first time and she knows her stuff.
• But I'm most likely going to talk to one of the other teachers on campus who is also a kindergarten teacher (one of my mentors teacher friend).