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...)
From the few times that I have been able to go to mentorship, I usually shadow or help organize the classroom and clean up. I don't really get to spend a lot of time with the kids which is kind of disappointing, but hopefully, in time, I will. The tasks that I perform are related to my topic, but they're small tasks that are not nearly as important as working with the students.
2. How did you find your mentor? How did you convince this person to help you?
I was able to find my mentor through an IPoly student. Their mother is a preschool teacher. He told me that if I was interested in mentoring with her then I could simply ask. So I did. It didn't take much convincing. I explained my situation and she seemed happy to help me out, and happy to get some help around the classroom.
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?
On a scale of one to ten, I'd rate my comfort level as an eight (1 being the least comfortable and 10 being the most comfortable). My mentor is a very approachable and outgoing person, so I always felt comfortable around her. At the beginning I was a bit shy and awkward but as time went on, my level of comfort increased. This definitely makes the time I spend with my mentor a lot more enjoyable and a lot less awkward.
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?
The fact that my mentor connected her answers to her most recent experiences. After answering a question, my mentor would usually tell me about an incident that relates to her answer. Not only is the information helpful for the senior project in general, but they also help me in making a decision. Is teaching the right path for me? If there's one thing I can improve on, it would be having more follow-up questions so that I can learn more and hear additional details. While listening over my interview, I found myself asking a lot of questions. In order to improve, I'll just have to listen extra carefully and not be afraid to ask more questions or butt into her answer.
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).
At this current state, I do have a mentor. I am looking into switching mentors due to scheduling and transportation issues, which my mentor is aware of. I have not completed the interview. I am hoping that I will be able to conduct it with my new mentor (if that happens by the time it's due). If worse comes to worse, I will complete the interview with my old/current mentor.
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.
After conducting research for these last couple of months, I have found some specific areas in my topic that interest me to pursue further. These include managing behavioral problems in students and how to become a successful preschool teacher (as in teaching students effectively and preparing them for kindergarten). I am interested in challenging behaviors because I want to learn how to deal with these things while doing mentorship and my future (as of now I am leaning towards teaching children). I feel like this would be a major problem in a classroom fool of toddlers or little kids so I want to know how that can best be handled. I am also captivated in how to become a successful preschool teacher because I want to make a difference in children's lives and prepare them for the years to come. As a possible future teacher, that will be my main goal.
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 as though research articles and books will best help me gain more in depth knowledge and research. The internet is always available so I can get articles from there and maybe e-books as well. As for books in general, I will most likely get them at the Cal Poly Library or even my local library if they hold books that pertain to my topic.
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 effective way in which a preschool teacher can manage problematic behavior in his/her students?
How can a preschool teacher best prepare his/her students for kindergarten?
1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
For my 30 hours, I plan on serving more volunteer hours. This includes, but is not limited to, reading to the children, helping them with activities, gathering and cleaning up materials, interacting with the children during playtime, and generally being involved and having a presence in the classroom.
2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
To show that I have done my 30 hours of work, I plan to keep a log of my hours. This log will be similar to my senior project hours log. It will show what day I volunteered, how many hours I volunteered, and what made up my experience that day. I would have liked to show pictures of myself helping out in the classroom, but for confidentiality and liability reasons, I am not allowed to do so. So I will just be documenting about what I did throughout the day.
3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
More mentorship hours will help me explore my topic more in depth because I'll be completing some of the teacher's duties, therefore getting a feel for what it's like to teach preschool. Having such a constant presence will hopefully help me think of more possible research to look for and help me finally decide on an essential question.
4. Update your Senior Project Hours log.
Done! There's basically nothing there though because I am still trying to find a new mentor that is closer to where I live :( I'm hoping to volunteer at the children's center at CalPoly but the only problem is that I have to be 18. I plan on speaking to someone there this week about working a way around that rule. There is also another center a few blocks away from my home and I plan on visiting tomorrow. Hopefully all goes well and I can soon add more hours to my log!
