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.