Blog 18 : Answer 2

Are We Done Yet With Senior Project?

1. What is your EQ?
• What techniques can an elementary special education teacher use to ensure that each child is learning?
2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
• The best technique that an elementary special education teacher can use to ensure that each child is learning is to have one teacher design and teach the, but then to also have more teachers that tour the classroom, providing support by answering questions, re-explaining key concepts, and assisting with behavior management.
3. What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
• The best technique to ensure that each child is learning is to have good communication / contact with the student's parent.
4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.
• Without talking to the student's parents the parents wouldn't know what is going on with their child at school.
• At my mentorship we had a class party and each student brought in something except for one student, because the parent didn't know we were having a party. 
• Sending out updated classroom handouts to parents. 
• Each parent should know how the classroom, that their child, is in is going. There should be updated schedule and important dates so the parents are up to date with everything that is happening.
•  My classroom sends out a handout to the parents every Monday to let the parent know what is going to happen in the class that week. 
• Talking to the Parents face-to-face. Conference meetings
• Each parent should come and speak with the teacher at least once a week. Each student have different needs and because of this each student needs different type of care. 
• Student in my class has a teacher aid with him 24/7 and at the end of the day the aid writes down what the student did throughout the day. The parent should always read what the aid said because the parents should help their child at home too when the teachers aren't around to help.
• Parents should know how to take care and help their children when they are at home so the student won't forget what they are learning and keep the same behavior at home and school. 
5. What printed sources best supports your answer?
• http://www.specialeducationguide.com/pre-k-12/the-parent-teacher-partnership/making-a-smooth-transition-to-school/
• http://www.specialeducationguide.com/pre-k-12/the-parent-teacher-partnership/where-to-turn-when-you-have-concerns/
• http://www.specialeducationguide.com/pre-k-12/the-parent-teacher-partnership/consistency-between-the-classroom-and-home/
• http://theparentacademy.dadeschools.net/pdfs/Effective_Communication.pdf
• http://center.serve.org/tt/Comm_SpecialNeeds.pdf
6. What other source supports your answer?
• Another source that really helps my answer is my mentorship. I see a lot of interaction with the parents and teachers. I'm also one of the people who create the week schedule, prints them out, and makes sure each student has one in his or her backpack. 
7. Tie this together with a concluding thought.
• This answer is an important to my EQ because without communication between a teacher and parent there is no way the student is doing better with his or her need. The student shouldn't be learning just at school, the learning should continue at home or else the student will only behave at school and not home. There should always be repetition so the student understands a concept and it can only work if the parents repeat the concept at home too. 

*note to self*

On Friday, 2/26 for Advisory, you will be presenting what you have from this blog.  The presentation is more like a share-out and should not last longer than 2 minutes. You don't need a visual, and you should not read what you have written. 

Blog 17 : Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  
• The most important thing I learned from my interview, was a possible answer to my EQ. My interviewer gave me a possible answer and also gave me lots of background information so I can do more research and have more information to support the answer. 
2. How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?
• My approach to interviewing has changed a lot. I feel a lot more confident when it comes to interviewing anyone. It has also become a lot easier for me to come up with follow up questions, and it has also helped me in my other classes, such as in Yearbook. In Yearbook we do lots of interviews in order to create a story, and now I can say that I'm a lot more confident and feel comfortable with giving interviews. (I still feel nervous when getting interviewed though, especially for a job)

Blog 16 : Independent Component 2 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
• What I plan on doing for my 30 hours is to teach my own lesson to the students. I had originally planned to do this for independent component one but there was a problem with me getting to my mentorship. I plan on doing a followup lesson from whatever the teacher is teaching and so I will need to get creative and come up with activities and ways to teach the students.  
2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
• To meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence, I plan to take pictures of me teaching the students and the students working on the worksheets that I provide them. Also upload the worksheets that I create and perhaps upload a couple of pictures of the student's work. 
3. Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.
• This component will help with my topic because it will help me to see what technique is best way to teach and help the students. It will also help me to see how each student is learning differently and find more ways to help the students learn. It will prove to me how my answers really work and help me to find my last answers and figure out which is my best answer. 
4. Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.
• Done. 

Note to Self:
Please review the component contract in the senior project packet.   The Independent Component 2 is an opportunity for you to add a dimension of creativity and/or an additional outlet for research.  The goal of the component is for you to explore your answers in more depth.  On Friday, April 22, 2014, you will be turning in the following to your blog to prove completion of this component:

• Blog post answering specific questions posted by senior team
• Log of hours clearly delineated as Independent Component 2 on the senior project hours spreadsheet (with total number of hours included)
• Evidence of the 30 hours of work (e.g. transcript, essays, tests, art work, photographs) as digital artifacts   

Your answers to the questions should be supported with details and examples for the senior team to understand what you plan to do. Once we review your Blog Post 16, your house teacher will discuss with you the approval of your plan.  If it is approved, please start working on it.  If it is not approved, your house teacher will explain why. It is your job to address the concerns so you can get your component approved.  Additionally, any changes requested must be addressed to your house teacher well in advance of the completion date for full credit on the assignment.

Blog 15 : Independent Component 1

LITERAL

• (a) Write: “I, Pauline Miramontes, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 33 hours of work.”
• (b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
• My mentor and mentorship helped me complete my independent component. 
• (c) Update your hours in your Senior Project Hours link. Make sure it is clearly labeled with hours for individual sessions as well as total hours.
• Up on Senior Project Hours link.
• (d) Explain what you completed.    
• Since my first plan of independent component one didn't go as plan. I just did extra hours at my mentorship. 

INTERPRETIVE 

• Defend your work and explain its significance to your project and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  
• What I did for my 30 hours was the same thing as what I did everyday at my mentorship. I helped with the students, made copies, helped around the school, and just offered my assistance to anyone who needed it. 



The classroom that I spend most of my time.



The rest of the students that I spend most of my time with. 



Some of the students that I watched over during an assembly.  



Students watching a movie celebrating it being Friday!

APPLIED

• How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?  Please include specific examples to illustrate this. 
• This component helped me to understand the foundation of my topic because it gave me more time with the students. I believe that the students are more comfortable with me because they refer to me as a teacher.  I'm also the youngest within the staff and so I'm able to do more fun activities with the students because I don't get tired as quickly like others. Doing these extra hours made me feel more welcomed into the staff and I believe I'm well known around the school to the point where everyone is comfortable to ask me for any help that they may need.

Grading Criteria 

• Updated log in Senior Project Hours Link 
• Evidence of 30 hours of work 
• LIA submitted to blog

Lesson 2 Reflection

FOR NOW! ):

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
• What I'm most proud of in my lesson two presentation is the fact that I know my topic so well. My senior is very important to me because of my younger brother. Ever since my brother was born I was always so interested in why he was born the way he is, and how I can help him to make "life easier". 
2. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

               AE       P          AP       CR       NC

• I would give myself a P.

• Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
• I personally believe that I did all the points on the contract in order to get a P. And so this is why I think I deserve a P! haha.

1. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
• I believed a lot worked well in my lesson. I liked how the class was interested into my activity and hook. That showed me that they were willing to participate.
2. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
• I think my speaking skills could've gone better. I would go back in time to change the way I talked because I got nervous and spoke to fast, and somewhat stuttered at some points.  
3. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
• I think my answer two will focus more on the behaviors that the children have and how the teachers can help and how the behaviors affect their ability to learn.