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. 

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

The most important thing I learned from the interview is to value patience. Asking Mrs. Denise questions about Child Development and the answers that she gave me all revolved around informing myself about the topic and developing patience when working with kids. For other interviews I would like to ask questions that are more into depth.

2. Did I get additional resources and contacts?  What is the most useful?  Why?

The additional resources and contacts I got was to look into a class at Mt.Sac called child 10. Mrs. Denise told me it is a difficult class but it really teaches about the development of children from embryo to birth and so on. Also, she told me to interview Mrs. Nina who is the director of the Montessori daycare. 

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

My interviewee was qualified to help me because she has the experience of what I am looking for. She's had children of her own so she has the experience as a parent. Also, she is a daycare teacher so that alone gives her a different perspective on how to deal with certain children. 

Interview 1