Blog 24 - Last Presentation Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

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

I am most proud of putting the whole presentation together and how I executed it well. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I really enjoyed talking about it. 

(2) Questions to Consider

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

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

I would give myself an AE because I did meet every requirement on the component contract. I thought my presentation went really well. I wouldn't do anything differently. 
b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

I would give myself an P. I was always on time with every single deadline. I didn't always put in my 100% effort but I was never lazy either. It was an enjoyable experience for me and I'm glad we had the opportunity to do this.

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

My mentorship worked really well in my project, as well as my topic in general. There was always endless amount of sources I could go after for information.
(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?

I wouldn't have changed anything besides maybe choosing a different second independent component. I was hoping that babysitting would have counted(I don't get paid) because that gives me a lot of valuable experience.

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

My senior project has kind of led me towards what I want as a career path. I now really enjoy spending time with kids and learning more about them, so I would hopefully like to become a social worker. 

Blog 22 - Exit Interview

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

My essential question is, "How can a caretaker best ensure the proper development of a child under the age of 5?" My answers are, by using visual and verbal communication, nurture and understand the child to ensure that they're receiving the best possible guidance, and give the child affection and attention for their emotional and behavioral development. My best answer is to nurture and understand the child. A child needs to be nurtured starting from a very young age. That is the base of the foundation for them to develop in a happy and healthy life. My second and third answer sort of go hand in hand, but my second answer is the best. Nurturing and understanding the child requires building a healthy relationship with them. One you have that connection with them, ensuring their development will not be as difficult. 

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

The process that it took for me to arrive with this answer was definitely doing a lot of research and being at mentorship as well. From reading different articles and books I have read a repetitiveness of forming a bond with a child as a caretaker. So nurturing and understanding the child is what I got most from that. Being at the daycare as well made me realize that caretakers always see different kids and different moods everyday. Being able to form a bond with a child or even understanding them and their moods will make it a lot easier to ensure their development and happiness. 

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

There weren't many problems besides almost running out of sources to find. There are many books that have a lot of information about child development and research papers that just need a little more digging to find. Being more specific in what I was searching for definitely gave me the answers to my problems. 

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

The two most significant sources I used to answer my EQ was the book "The Whole Brain Child" by Tina Payne Bryson and Daniel. J Siegel and the article, "Disciplining Your Toddler." The book has a lot of information about child development on the physical, emotional, and behavioral development. The article has information about the proper way to discipline a child and how it can be best effective. Of course, a parents form of discipline is different from a caretakers, that's why this article gives advice on how to best effectively discipline a child. 

Blog 22 - Independent Component 2

(a) “I, Elizabeth Plascencia, 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.

Two things helped me completed my independent component. That would be my mentor and teachers at the daycare along with the kids as well. An article about kinesthetic learning also helped me learn several tips on how to teach kids with physical activities. Link to article


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

(d) Explain what you completed.  

I have completed 30 hours of my independent component by observing and participating in learning activities with the kids at the daycare. I helped conduct activities that involve kinesthetic and visual learning which is what kids learn best by at their young ages. Kinesthetic and visual learning is learning with physical and hands on activities. Kids that are so young and curious and want to explore everything around them that grabs their attention. So what way to teach them best by using what they are most attracted to? 
  
(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.  

My independent component two has helped me realize that kids at a young age are willing to explore things that are new to them. Whether they realized that they are learning or not, they are always learning something new everyday. When they're at a daycare they learn what the teachers provide for them. For my component I took advantage of the fact that the daycare actually has a routine similar to a common core education. The activities they have for the kids throughout the day consist of subjects such as art, math, science, some history, and language. I would observe and participate with the kids to see their progression and to help teach them a few new things. This couldn't just be done within a day. It took time to track how well they do and how well they memorize certain things such as the alphabet or their numbers. Over time I noticed that the more the activities are repeated the better that they grasp the lesson. 
 
(f)How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

This component helped helped me answer my EQ which is, How can a caretaker best ensure the proper development of a child under the age of five? There are several ways the a caretaker can help ensure a child's proper development. In this case the component actually taught me that a caretaker can ensure that by providing educational activities that aren't necessarily "strict" on the education but that the kids are learning something in the most fun way possible. Keeping them entertained while they're doing the educational activities is what really benefits them. For example, when trying to teach a kid to count up to number ten repetition and communication is essential. As a caretaker you have to say it slowly enough for them to follow along so they know how to enunciate the number correctly. You can also do this in a fun way by having them count objects such as toy insects or legos.

Blog 21 - Interview 4 Reflection

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

The most important thing I learned from my interview is that communication is key. When it comes to dealing with kids, you need to have a proper method of communication with them. Actions aren't enough when it comes to discipline. Talk to them as much as possible.

2. How will what I learned affect my lesson?

What I learned will benefit my lesson because I have once emphasized that communication is key and this interview proved that point along with some examples from inside a classroom.

Link to Fourth Interview

Blog 20 - Fourth Interview Preparations

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

I plan on interviewing Mrs. Denise from Montessori of West Covina. She is a daycare teacher.

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.

1. How can a caretaker best ensure the proper development of a child under the age of five?
2. There are many ways to go about on shaping the best development for a child. What ways do you find most helpful and necessary to their education and development?
3. What educational activities do you find most helpful for a child in a classroom?
4. What are some ways to best ensure the proper development for a toddler?
5. What are the best ways to get a toddlers attention when they are misbehaving?
6. How would you address them when they’re misbehaving?
7. Would it be too early to start teaching common core subjects such as math, history, science, etc. to kids under the age of five?
8. How can a caretaker best teach those subjects to such young kids?
9. Do you think that exposing toddlers to technology is more of a benefit or a negative effect on their development?
10. How can one get a kid out of their shell if they're not being social or talking much?
11. What kinds of activities help kids be more social?
12. Is there or should there be a difference on how caretakers vs. parents discipline the kids?
13. What are the best forms of discipline on a young child?
14. Does the child's meals throughout the day affect their mood or participation?
15. Is it imperative to have a routine for a child at such a young age?
16. Should parents or caretakers treat a child with disabilities differently?
17. Should the caretakers or teachers slow down the learning pace for them?
18. What are the best ways to deal with a tantrum in public?
19. Do problems at home reflect on the child's attitude in public places?
20. What is the most valuable thing you've learned about your experience with children?

Blog 19 - Third Answer

• My essential question is, "How can a caretaker best ensure the proper development of a child under the age five?"

• Give the child affection and attention for their emotional and behavioral development.

1. their minds develop rapidly when they are talked to and cuddled
2. they respond quickly to familiar voices and faces
3. feel secure and interact more with people they are comfortable with

• Click this link for the source that supports my answer

• Giving a child affection and attention is essential to their development. Most importantly helps with their emotional and behavioral development. Making a positive connection and creating a relationship with the child makes them more comfortable towards you. Then they are willing to cooperate and feel secure with the caretaker.

Blog 18 - Answer 2

1. What is your EQ?

My EQ is, "How can a caretaker best ensure the proper development of a child under the age of five?"

2. What is your first answer?

One of the best ways to educate a child is by using visual and verbal communication.

3. What is your second answer?

Nurture and understand the child to ensure they're receiving the best possible guidance.

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

• The toddler ages(2-5) is when it is imperative for them to receive the most attention and care.

• Don't just meet the child's needs when they're missing something. Provide them with different opportunities for learning.

• Help them reach their milestones by providing the resources necessary. Get on their level so they don't feel alone and give them guidance.

5. What printed source best supports your answer?

• This article: Planning for Positive Guidance: Powerful Interactions Make a Difference

6. What other source support your answer?

There are many sources from research check that have helped me come to this answer, then there's also some influence from my Interview 3.

7. Tie this together with a concluding thought.

My second answer, Nurture and understand the child to ensure they're receiving the best possible guidance, was influenced from my interview, research, and experience. Toddlers need guidance but also need to be allowed the freedom to explore for themselves. There isn't always a right or wrong way on how to do certain things, but the best things a caretaker can do to help with their development will be answered in the final presentation.

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

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

The most important thing I learned from the interview is that in order to provide the best type of education to a child for their development is to get to know them. Interact with the kids one on one and meet their needs.

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

I've learned how to phrase interview questions better over time and just how to phrase open ended questions. I don't get so nervous because I know what I'm asking most of the time.


Link to interview: https://soundcloud.com/elizabeth-195/interview-with-miriam

Blog 16 - Independent Component 2 Approval

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

For my 30 hours, I plan on continuing something similar to my previous Independent Component 1. I evaluated that the kids learn most from kinesthetic and visual learning. For this component, I will be doing different activities that involve kinesthetic and visual learning but under different subject areas such as science, history, math, art, and language. I will not be conducting this by myself because I need approval from my mentor and daycare teachers, but with their help I will be able to complete this component. 

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

I will be taking pictures, possibly video as well and logging my hours.

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

This component ties into my component one, but acts more of a part two on it. I know the kids under 5 are more of kinesthetic learners, so with the activities based on different subject areas it will be a beneficial experience for the children and for me.
4.  Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

Independent Component 1

• Literal
(a) "I, Elizabeth Plascencia, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work."

(b) What helped me complete my independent component was of course my mentor, Mrs. Martha, the kids at the daycare (simply their cooperation) and the daycare teachers at Montessori Academy of West Covina.

(c) refer to senior project hours link

(d) What I have done for my Independent Component 1 is observe and interact with the children on what ways they learn best. There are four different ways of learning; visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. What mostly applied to the kids under the age of five were visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. By following the routine at the daycare with their lesson plan and some ideas that I had for input, such as working on puzzle pieces with different objects on it, I had gathered enough information based on observing the kids on which ways they learned best. 

• Interpretive
In the collage below you can see several pictures of the kids doing different activities. For safety reason I will not disclose any of the kids names nor have I tried to get any facial shots of their identities. With the activities that they have around them they learn through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. They are very hands-on learning children. The two pictures in the center are the crafts that they have made themselves. They learn new things such as their colors and different words. Also, when they play with different objects such as toy house-hold supplies, they learn what those supplies are called and how to properly use them. It's activities such as these that may seem so simple but are imperative for their education and development at such a young age.

• Applied

What I did for my independent component helped me understand the foundation of my topic just by being around the kids. The daycare has a routine and lesson plans for the kids everyday, so being able to observe the different types of learning the kids go through helps me understand how they learn best. Making an observation like this and also interacting with the kids doesn't just take a days work. It takes several days and several hours, which is why I saw it best fit for my independent component one. Just how my mentor once told me, every kid has their own personality and their own flaws. You'll see something different in them everyday. Hardly anything at the daycare will seem repeated because as a caretaker there will always be something different to handle everyday. Now how it applies to my independent component; kids learn new words best when people say it to them repeatedly. And it's a big plus when you show them what the object of the word is. For example, if you are teaching them the word caterpillar you should also show them what it looks like. That way whenever they look at a caterpillar they'll know what it is and vice versa. This is an example visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning. 

This is an example of one weeks lesson plan

Lesson 2 Reflection

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

I am most proud of my whole lesson in general. The hook went better than I expected, as well as the activity. Everyone seemed to be really into it. I felt like I did a good job at projecting myself.

2. a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation?

I would give myself an AE

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

I believe I deserve an AE because I have met all of the P requirements. I used a lot of examples from my mentorship and from research. I don't think I had a problem with presenting, my speaking time was around 12 minutes and from the feedback I've gotten from my peers everyone heard me clearly. My activity really engaged everyone into working effectively and it related to my Answer 1.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

What really worked for me in my Lesson 2 was the feedback from my Lesson 1. It taught me what to do properly and what not to do. I didn't have a hard time with my enunciation and I didn't get as nervous.

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

I don't think I would have changed anything. Everything went as planned and I was very proud of it.

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

I don't have any sort of thought put into it right now, but as I do more research and talk to several people that I know have studied Child Development I will have a solid answer.

Blog 14 - Third Interview Preparation

EQ: How can a care taker best ensure the proper development of a child under the age of 5?

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

I plan on interviewing a family friend who also works at a Montessori center. She works at the Montessori of San Dimas. She has been working their for several years, and before that she had a daycare in her own home. She even has two daughters of her own, one of which is a high school student and the other is attending elementary school.                       

2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview?

Next Friday at 5 p.m. My sister tutors her daughter so I will be going with her to interview Miriam, the family friend.

3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.

There are many ways to go about on shaping the best development for a child. What ways do you find most helpful and necessary to their education and development?

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 educational activities do you find most helpful for a child in a classroom?

5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.

• What are some ways to best ensure the proper development for a toddler?
• What are the best ways to get a toddlers attention when they are misbehaving?

Blog 13 - 10 Hour Mentorship Check-In

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentorship at Montessori Academy and Day Care of West Covina. 

2. Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?

My mentor is Mrs. Martha. She is an expert because she has been teaching there for a few years now and has the experience of a mother and working with kids. She has taken the required courses and classes on Child Development to prepare her for what she is doing now. 

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).

Including my summer mentorship hours with the hours I have done throughout the school year I now have a total of 32 hours done. 

4. Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.

I have been going to the Montessori Academy and Day Care since the middle of my junior year. I've known my mentor for a little over a year now just by doing my hours there. I do a routine of what other teachers would do there, but not changing diapers. Going there has taught me a lot of things, especially patience. We deal with a lot of different kids and personalities, and as a teacher(or student as I am one) we learn how to adapt to their needs while being able to educate them and use the proper forms of discipline and structure. My mentor and I work really well together, and I work well with the other teachers too. We coordinate what to do and who does what while following the routine the kids have. I plan on completing the remaining hours by continuing my mentorship and possibly exploring other classrooms of older age groups. 

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?

Over break I went to mentorship. I also talked to a woman that studied Child Development. She told me about her experience of taking the classes and how she had to quit school because she was expecting a baby. I also found an article in a magazine at the hospital talking about how technology now-a-days actually helps a child learn faster.

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

The most important thing I learned was probably the experience that the woman told me about. She seemed really passionate about taking courses for Child Development so it was an inspiration for me. It pushed me to look more in depth about child development and the different stages kids go through. 

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 plan on talking to my mom's friend who is also a daycare teacher at Montessori Academy but at a different center. She has 2 kids of her own and she is a full time teacher. Her house is almost set up like a daycare itself because she used to take care of children in her own home. I feel like she would have enough experience and knowledge to tell me about Child Development. 

Blog 11 - Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your lesson, and why?

I am most proud of my hook activity because it really engaged the audience into the lesson.

2. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson? Explain why you earned that grade using evidence from the component contract.

I would give myself an AE. I felt like I did a good job at presenting the topic and I didn't stutter too much how I normally would. The hook activity was well within the two minutes and my lecture had enough content with real life scenarios about Child Development.

3. If you could go back, what would you change about your lesson?  How can you use that knowledge to give a better Lesson 2?

I would probably bring in more props that the audience can interact with. That would help my Lesson 2 in keeping the audience more interested. 

Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else?  Are you shadowing?  Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic?  If so, what?  Are there other people who are experts in the location?  Etc...)

At my mentorship I am at a daycare. I get to have one-on-one experience with the kids as if I were a teacher there, but only under supervision of the other teachers there. I get to do activities with the kids and watch over them with the other teachers. There are many teachers there that are experts for my topic, so I will always have more than one person to rely on for information.

2.  How did you find your mentor?  How did you convince this person to help you?   

I found my mentor through my sister. She used to babysit a kid that went to that daycare and Mrs. Martha was his teacher. I just told her about my senior project and she said yes to being my mentor. 

3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship?  How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person

I am comfortable with my mentor to the point where I don't feel the need to hesitate to ask any questions. I have been working with her since last year in November. 

4. What went well in this interview?  Why do you think so?  What do you still need to improve?  How do you know?  How will you go about it?

I liked that I didn't have to ask her so many follow up questions to get information. She answered the questions with a bit of reasoning which was good. I still need to improve on making the interviews longer because this one was only about two minutes. For the next few interviews I will ask more questions that are long response.

Interview 2

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

I currently do have a mentor. I have scheduled the interview for next week on Monday. 

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons.  

My research has guided me more towards the educational side of Child Development. By the educational side, I mean on how to best educate a child at such a young age and what to expect throughout those ages.
 
3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

The sources that will help me in the next month to gain more research depth will definitely be books. I will hopefully be getting them from local libraries or I will purchase them online. 

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

A possible EQ could be: What are the best ways to educate a child under the age of 5?

Blog 8 - Independent Component 1 Proposal

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

For the thirty hours of independent component one I'd like to conduct several activities with the kids at the day care. Each activity will be based on a core subject such as science, literature, math, or history. My mentor told me that at the day care there are already similar activities that they do with the kids that are educational but instead I will be coming up with ones of my own and "taking over the class." I will then be seeing what activity works best for the kids in every subject and be able to interpret how they learn best. 

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

To meet the expectations of showing 30 hours of evidence I will be taking picture (with the permission of the parents allowing their kids to be photographed) and also possibly taking videos of the kids doing the activities. 

3.  Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

The activities will help me explore my topic more in the sense of seeing how kids around the ages of 2-3 learn best given that this is the age where they start getting more control of their own bodies and more verbal control. 

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert? 

My mentor is Mrs. Martha. She works at Montessori Academy of West Covina as a teacher for children ages 2-3 years old. My topic is Child Development, so I feel that she best suits the position as my mentor because she has the experience of working with different kids of a variety of ages and also has children of her own.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

The five questions I will ask them about their background are:

1. How long have you been working at Montessori Academy of West Covina?

2. Did you have to go through any training/classes to be at the position you are here?

3. What interested you in becoming a daycare teacher? Have you always had an interest in working with kids?

4. Did you raise your kids the same way you are teaching here at Montessori? Is there anything you would have done differently?

5. What is the most difficult position you've been in while working here?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year?  What has made it a positive experience for you?   

What has definitely worked well for me concerning the senior project this year is the experience I am getting at my mentorship. Though the schedule we follow may be repetitive, there is always some different situation that we deal with that teaches us something. What has made it such a positive experience is the people I get to work with. Not only the kids but the teachers there. They are always open to helping me with the senior project. 

2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project?  How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you?  How might the senior team help?

What I'm finding difficult concerning the senior project is trying to find ideas for the independent components. Taking a college class about the topic is something I'm not leaning towards because I want to be more hands on with the component. I will turn to my classmates to help me find ideas and also talk to my house teacher about an independent component I had in mind.