Finally (:

After months of preparing for Senior Project I'm finally done. I didn't think I'd feel such relief but also a bit of sadness. The end is so close. 

Now I worry about college and how I'll be attending Cal State San Bernardino this fall. I'm very excited because I got into their Nursing Program and I can't wait to purse a career in really into. No one has said that it would be easy but in the end iPoly was worth all of the tears. 

I feel more than prepared to embark on this new adventure. The hard work has all paid off. 

Blog 23: Senior Project 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 being able to explain each of my answers to fullest capability and being able to relate personal mentorship experience to all of them. When I was practicing at home for my presentation I was hitting about 7 minutes on my answer one and another 7 minutes on my answer two. During my lesson though all of the information that I gathered up over the year seemed to flow out of me at all the right times and I started hitting over 10 minutes per answer. I felt like that was a great accomplishment. 


(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

I would give my myself a P or P+ because I met all of the requirements stated on the contract as well as went a bit beyond into accommodating my room in order to transform it into something that would look more like my mentorship. I feel like I presented myself well and get through my presentation pretty smoothly. 

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE       P         AP       CR       NC

P or P+

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

What worked for me in my senior project way was that I had a solid idea of what I wanted to focus on and I had two mentored that were able to answer any questions I had. I feel like I had an advantage to others with their project just because of that fact. I also knew that these teachers were experts in their field because I remember them since I was in diet grade. They have a lot of experience and it made my senior project flow smoothly. 

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

If I could go back the only think I would change would be the amount of days I spent at mentorship. I wish I could've gone more often because I would learn so much on the days that I did go and I regret not finding out what I could've learned from those kids. 

(5) Finding Value

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

My senior project was helpful because it helped me see that I would not be able to follow my career path of being a teacher because I have little patience when left alone with a class of 35 kids. I learned that although you can make great bonds with students you take a lot of their stories home and I felt like the responsibility to help them learn was entirely on me. It really was an eye opener to what could happen and what would happen if I chose this as a career, so I am now focusing on becoming a nurse. 

Blog 22: Mentorship

Content:


Literal
· Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties updated on the right hand side of your blog

(This is seen on my blog)

· Traci Johnson- E.J. Marshall Elementary School

Interpretive
What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing that I gained from my Senior Project was learning how to work for others and not just for myself. When I was put in charge of a class or lesson it was really my responsibility to help others learn without trying to assume they knew the obvious. I had to learn that it didn't matter how easy the topic was, I had to repeat how to get an answer multiple times without getting frustrated. I really learned to work for others because all the lessons I prepared were for students of a way younger age so I new I wouldn't benefit as much as they did.

Applied
How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ? Please explain.

I think what I've done helped me answer my EQ because I made sure to back up my research as well as asked about my researched when I had time with my mentor. I also implemented all the techniques I thought were useful from my research in a real class setting to see which worked, if they proved to be successful they were turned into my answers if there was enough evidence to support them. Nothing I did in my time there was done without a further explanation, I always asked my mentor why other authors and experts had strong opinions about topics, she would help explain why as well as show me in class how all those methods worked.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content:

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

My essential question is, What is the most effective teaching method to raise standardized test scores? 

My three answers to raise test scores are, do not teach to the test, allow a creative outlet and implement a routine and alignment. 

My best answer would have to be to not teach to the test. The reason being that most articles and teachers try to implement this. It seems to be the most effective because it allows for all students to learn every step of the lesson all the time. Without missing steps it is easier for students to be involved and caught up in all classroom activities. 

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

Most of the reasoning behind me choosing it, was because of my mentorship and independent components. I really saw what it was like to implement this action myself when I taught lessons, and I was also able to catch it when either of my mentors did this during their class sessions. It seemed like the most important part to ensure your students were fully prepared and capable to take a cumulative test at the end of their year. 

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

The only problem I really faced was trying to compare how I was used to testing and teaching to the ways common core changed it. My mentors were being trained on the spot as well as the year went along, so I had to step in and educate myself on what these new changes would mean to the instructor and to the students. Trying to teach in a way I wasn't taught or used to made it hard to answer students questions of "why?"

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

The most significant sources I used were my mentors and my personal research that was only based around my best answer. Asking questions to my mentors would bring up new perspectives that I would later read about in my research and that allowed me to be able to apply this to my whole project while I was set to be in charge of a classroom. 

Be prepared with evidence and specific examples to support any response.  It is also significant to cite sources as you explain.

April Blog

Independent Component II:

ALL of April I was dedicated to my Independent Component. At first I didn't think it would be so much work, but all the small details are what made the research portion harder. Taking in the interest of every student made the project more complicated but also more personal. Each student was heard through this second time around compared to the first one where all I did was prepare a lesson. What made this part of my Senior Project special was the fact that I grew a lot closer to my students, even though it seemed to drag at parts I feel like it helped everyone all around.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Content:

LITERAL

(a) Include this statement: “I, Daisy Torres, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 31.5 hours of work.”

(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.

"Sixth Grade Math Worksheets." Free Printable Sixth Grade Math Worksheets. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 

Apr. 2015.

"Everyday Mathematics." Everyday Mathematics. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2015.

Another very helpful source was my second mentor Mr. Ball. I've been spending most/almost all of my hours in his classroom. He taught me how to manage the class and helped me plan my lesson and survey.

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

You can look at these hours on my blog. 

(d) Explain what you completed. 

With my independent component I did service hours helping with many lessons in class as well as helping the students learn. I was able to take a survey with abstract answers and turn it into a lesson that would help the students in the long run. 

 
INTERPRETIVE
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. 

This senior project component was significant because it is based around most of my best answer. I was trying to prove that by relating a lesson or subject with things that the students like then they will be able to enjoy the process and remember it for a longer period of time. Since I was a bit more experienced this time around I was able to handle a class on my own for longer lessons which helped me get the feel of how I had to teach my own lesson. I also learned a lot just by volunteering so often to get my hours done, by getting to know my students I was able to create a very personalized lesson because of the survey. That was a key part to this project, I learned so much from the prerequisites I gave myself that I realized what I needed for my actual lesson. 

(Below are pictures of the environment I worked in as well as screenshots of my created survey and worksheets.)

 
APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

This component helped me answer my EQ because I revolved it around the evidence I had found. I had controlled groups to see if relating the review sheet to what students liked would actually help, versus traditional numbers. I also took into account what students were interested in prior to trying to teach them a new topic. I feel like my results really proved what a teacher must do in order to help with long term memory for the end of the year tests. most students had said that lessons weren't fun and that they crammed to study for things like the CST, I tried to eliminate all the negative aspects of what they thought and applied my answers to them, and I have to say that even my mentor was impressed by how fast students were grasping the mini lessons I taught.

March Madness

This month at mentorship was a bit slower than others. Prep for testing has now begun and even though my best answer is to not teach to the test, this is what I am seeing most in class. The students seem to react normal to this because it's what they have been taught in years prior but I think if my mentor tried to teach her own way the students would find it more fun and would remember everything better than they do now. I hope that once everyone is back from spring break, the students also come back with the enthusiasm to learn everyday until summer.