Blog 11: Lesson 1 Reflection

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

• I am most proud of being able to remain calm while presenting and not losing my train of thought. I had not cards up there with me just in case I lost my place. For the most part my note cards didn't have word for word what I was saying, they were more like bullet points to help me remember what I was supposed to cover. 

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

• I believe that I deserve a P for my first lesson. My volume was always constant and I had no issues with my enunciation. My body language was professional with a little nervousness, I always had eye contact to peoples foreheads and not always on my note cards. I had engagement with the audience with my story telling and by inserting jokes. My research had been properly cited and I went into clear detail about what I do at my mentorship.

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?

• If I could change something about my lesson I would have loved to bring in more props. The ones I had were good but they could have been better. I can use this knowledge to help me with my lesson two by making it a bit more interesting and more engaging for my peers. 

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...)

• I am spending my mentorship time in the same place but doing two things at once. I go volunteer about two days a week and four hours every week. When I go in i arrive fifteen minutes before his class of the day begins. Once class starts I am able to sit in and watch how he teaches. My mentor teaches both math and science. After class is over my mentor usually stays after school to help kids who feel they need more help in homework or school work in general. During this time I am able to work with the kids and tutor them with homework, while also getting experience on reinforcing what they learned in class. 

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

• My mentor was actually my seventh grade math and science teacher. He was the one that told my parents and I about Ipoly. Unfortunately after seventh grade he got moved to another school. But he came back to Sparks a few years ago and I was able to visit him. I convinced him to be my mentor when I mentioned what it was I was doing for my senior project and what Ipoly's senior project consisted off.

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

• If I would rate my comfort from 1-10 with my mentor I would say it would be a good 6. We have been around each other long enough to talk professionally and non professionally. This relates to the time I've spent with my mentor because I get to see them both inside and outside the classroom. And by having this comfort with my mentor, it gives us the chance to talk about his teaching and if there was anything I would change, add, or have done differently. And I think this is the most important aspect I have regarding my mentorship. 

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?

• My interview went well, it was about the same length as my last one and we were able to talk about things in between. I still need to improve on my small talk in between questions but I am slowly improving on it. I think I can fix my skills on small talk by getting to know my mentor a little better. 

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 have a mentor, I have been working with him since the second week of school. Regarding the status of my interview with my mentor I have scheduled our interview for this coming Tuesday, giving me enough time to type up everything I need to. 

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 two areas that I find most promising are that of classroom management and ways that students benefit most when being taught a subject. In my personal experience with my mentor he has a great grasp of classroom management, he could actually loosen a tiny bit, but overall his class is well behaved. I have seen how the same class gets with a teacher without a different grasp of classroom management. The other area I find most promising is finding some good ways that students benefit the most from when being taught.

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?

• I feel like sources out of a book or from experienced teachers can benefit my research the most. I can go to several places for these two things. I can visit the library, public or from the college. I can ask my mentor what he thinks and ask him for recommendations on books that he has read on teaching middle schoolers. I can also ask other teachers on the middle school campus for their advise. 

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.

• What is the most beneficial way of teaching that helps students process what they learned in class?

Blog 8: Independent Component 1 Proposal

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

• For my first independent component I plan to help my mentor with tutoring some of his students after school. I cannot technically help during class since I am there by a site choice, but since my tutoring sessions would be after school I should be just fine.

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

• I am planning to add an extra 30 hours to my mentorship hours. And my mentor would be able to vouch for me for these hours.

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

• My topic is figuring out what I think is the best way to teach/reinforce what a middle schooler learns. By tutoring I get to see what the students learn in class and help teach it in a different way if at first they did not understand it.

4.  Update your Senior Project Hours log.

• Soon

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 Mr. Roberto Alvarado and he works at Sparks Middle School in La Puente, Ca. He teaches seventh grade Math, Science, and Speech and Debate. He has been working as a teacher for about 12 years. He used to teach elementary but now teaches middle school seventh grade. 

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

• How has working as a teacher changed over time?
• Was becoming a teacher something you always knew you wanted to be, or did you figure it out in college?
• Where did you go to college, how did you choose it, and for how long did you attend?
• Looking back at your career is there anything you would change? How come?
• What has been the most rewarding experience you've had working as a teacher?

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 worked well for me so far is research checks and my mentorship. The research checks help me with organizing my time for just senior project. As for my mentorship, it has been wonderful. I have been able to work one on one with the kids and my mentor is very welcoming and has me sit in his class so that I can see how he teaches. 

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 am finding difficult this year is keeping my mentorship hours log updated and knowing what to do when I am sitting in my mentor's class during service learning. What I can do regarding my log, I can set time aside to work on it and update it whenever I can, or download the google sheets app onto my phone. As for the working during the service learning I can ask senior team and also ask my mentor. I can ask the senior team what they recommend me to do, whether it be take notes, work on other school work, or something else. 

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 my interview was how my teacher saw teaching as a career for others to take on. He wouldn't recommend it for just anyone, he sees it as a hard career for someone to take considering the pay vs. the amount of schooling required. For other interviews I would ask that the person I interview have a set time for me to do the interview. 

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

• I did get additional resources and contacts. My mentor gave me several books and authors that cover my topic. Regarding contacts he gave me two names of teachers that would be willing to let me interview them. Both of the resources and contacts are equally useful to me and I am using both of them. They're useful to me research wise and useful to me as other possible places I can use for mentorship hours.

3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me? 

• My interviewee was my mentor Mr. Roberto Alvarado. He is qualified to help me because of the eight and plus years he has been teaching. 

House Advisory Prep 1

What I'm hoping to accomplish through my senior project topic is understanding what it is like being a middle school teacher. Through this project I'm hoping to see what to do or how to deal with students who need extra help or don't seem to understand the presented lesson. I chose this topic for my senior project because I see teaching as a career option for when I get out of college. 

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview?  Why?
• I plan on interviewing my current mentor, Mr. Alvarado, he is currently a teacher at Sparks Middle School. I plan on interviewing him because he has been teaching for about 12 years, and he was my seventh grade pre-algebra and science teacher. So he has experience with teaching middle schoolers. 
2. Five questions will be assigned to all seniors to ask.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?
• What is one of the most memorable moments you have had while you have worked in this school? What about in other schools?
• Do you feel that you have made an impact on any students? How so?
• How has working as a teacher affected your life?
• How much would you recommend someone come into this field of work?
• Can you give me a general view of what is to be expected on a regular day in your classroom? 

Blog 2 - Summer Mentorship

1. List the contact name, phone number, and organization of the person with whom you volunteered.

• Kristen Prater
• (310) 821-0963 (not her number, it's the organization's # just ask for her and she will gladly speak to you.)
• Leaps n Boundz

2. What qualified this person as an expert in your topic choice?

• She has received her masters degree in Child Psychology from The Sage Colleges and is now aiming for her doctorate. Mrs. Prater has also been with Leaps for about seven years. She works as the gymnastics coach and social skills facilitator.

3. List three questions for further exploration now that you've completed your summer hours.

• What can be done to make a child's way of learning easier?
• What can be done to ensure that a child learns and retains what they learn in class?
• How can we make sure that a child gets the best experience learning when in the classrooms setting?

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

• The most important thing I gained from this experience is how important it is for a child to gain social skills. The children I worked with were between the ages of five and seven. Around this time in a child's life they are preparing to go to school for the first time. Some children become social butterflies and others have a bit of a harder time adjusting. This experience means a lot to me because when I was little I was this unbelievably shy little girl and would have appreciated this program. 

5. What is your senior project topic going to be?  How did mentorship help you make your decision?  Please explain.

• My senior project topic is going to be on education in middle school. Mentorship has shown me how parent see education in elementary And education in high school is seen as very important because it is the last step of education before college. But education in middle school is sort of brushed to the side. So my senior project will be on education in middle school and getting it to be seen as just as important.  

Senior Project Hours

Blog 1 – Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

1.  What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?

• The three lessons that were the most helpful for me to see, were the Thai Restaurant Management, Teaching Elementary, and No-Kill Animal Shelters. I found all of these helpful in different ways. With the Thai Restaurant Management presentation I learned just how much people deal with in the culinary business. Also I learned about some of the benefits that can come from my mentor. With the presentation on teaching elementary, I learned how I can and want to set up my activity. Lastly, what I learned in the no-kill animal shelters presentation was how I can set up my actual presentation and an option for what I can do for my topic.  

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?

• I asked several questions to my seniors about the project. All of their responses were very helpful. But the one that helped me is the question I had about finding and volunteering with my mentor. I learned that while it is important to keep in contact with my mentor, it is not a problem if I cannot see my mentor very often. I need to gather the fifty hours of community service but it is in the amount of nine months or until I start the project which is actually this summer. So I know that I can start off early and even though it doesn't count toward the time during the year I know it can add a boost in the final grade. 

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

• I'm considering two topics, education and something in the field of an obstetrician. I got interested in the field of education because of my middle school math teacher. I enjoyed the way he taught and I learned a lot from him and still use some of the methods he taught me. I would like to go back and visit him to understand how and why he teaches the way he does. I would like to take a look in the field of an obstetrician because I have always had a soft spot for babies and children. And it is also a possible career interest. I would like to learn about it and become familiar with field. 

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? (Please don't worry about any sort of formula...we want this question to come from your genuine interest).

• What is the most efficient way of getting students to retain what they learned?
• What is the best way to ensure a safe development and delivery for a mother to be?

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship

• I have several connections that can help me find a mentor this summer. I have talked with my old teacher and asked if he would be willing to be my mentor for when he begins to go back to school and set up his lesson plans and classroom. His school year starts about a month before I-poly's school year begins. And if I were to choose to mentor with an obstetrician I could ask my aunt (who is a nurse) if I could help around in her clinic and if I could mentor with her doctor. I would have to get the permission of both of them of course.