Blog 24: Last Presentation Reflection

IT'S DONE I'M SO HAPPY

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of the fact that I was able to make time, almost 10 minutes over in fact. Presenting in general did not make me worry, it was the fact that I had to have 30 minutes of quality research time. I had plenty of information to talk for that half hour, but when I present I have a habit of talking fast, tripping over my words, and skipping over information due to all the pressure. I was worried that I would do those things and not make time in the end. I noticed that when I was talking about my first answer, I was talking pretty quickly, so when it came to my second and third answers I calmed down, breathed, and did better. Still fast I'll admit, but not as much as before. 

I am also proud of my second activity, Name Bingo. When I revealed to the class what the activity would be almost everyone in the room got excited. During the process of it all they were all very enthusiastic yet focused. I had a good time and so did the students, which really took the pressure off. 

(2) Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation?  Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

I'm stuck between giving myself a P or an AE. I felt that I made the requirements on the component contract, making my presentation worthy of a P. But after presenting and talking with seniors and juniors I heard comments like "This is the best presentation I've seen so far," "Wow you never made it boring," or "I really enjoyed your hook and activities, they were so fun," I realized that I did better than okay. I engaged my audience well throughout my presentation, my two activities better explained how preschoolers/kindergartners learn and were still very fun, and I also gave out awards to those who would answer my questions, which really kept the students involved. After reflecting I feel that I deserve a more than a P. I feel like my presentation is worthy of a an AE.

b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.

AE      P         AP       CR       NC

I think I deserve a P overall in my senior project. Besides my presentation, nothing was extraordinary or anything like that. I completed all the work I needed to do and I did this on time. The only thing that was late was my IC#2 out of plain forgetfulness. Not my proudest moment, but I feel as though the fact that I've always done my work with proficiency on time, it should make up for that. 

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

The incentives I had. Throughout my presentation I would ask my audience questions about what I talked about and when they answered correctly I would hand them an award with their name that said "Congratulations!" and "You're out of this world!" This really excited them and made a good portion of the class raise their hands when I asked a question. It kept them involved during my presentation, which I'm glad I did. While watching presentations I liked when presenters let their audience get involved, and not just in the activity. This incentive made them pay attention to what I had to say and them constantly participating. 

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

As much as my audience and I liked the Bingo activity, I felt that too much time was spent on it. A lot of the names and numbers I would call would not always be on the card. So that was a bit of a time waster. It was not as well executed as I would have liked it to be. 

(5) Finding Value

Working with kids is something that I want to do. Senior Project was a good way of letting myself get hands on experience and seeing if this is really what I wanted to do. After completing it, I now know that I would still very much like to work with kids, but not at the preschool age. I have found that I'm not as patient as a preschool teacher should be, so a different and older age would be best for me. I have realized that I would very much like to go into the education field; senior project solidified that for me. 

Exit Interview

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 important skill a preschool teacher can teach her students to best prepare them for kindergarten. My three answers are social skills, motor skills, and letter and alphanumeric skills. In my opinion, the best answer is social skills. I consider this the best answer because of the large emphasis there has been on cooperation and collaboration for young kids in school. This is also my best answer because social skills aren't as easy to pick up on. Children need to be around a group of people to help develop this skills. Unlike motor and alphanumeric skills, it cannot be learned at home as easily. The best way to teach and learn it is a school environment when they are surrounded by others like themselves. 

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

I first came to this answer by research. When gathering research for assignments, I noticed that social skills were highly stressed in the sources that I read. It was later confirmed to me during my Interview 3 with Bonnie Avalos. After asking her my EQ, she responded with social skills without a second thought. In her transitional kindergarten class, a grade meant to prepare students for kindergarten, she tries to teach them as many skills as possible, the biggest among those being social skills. 

3. What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

When researching about social skills, I noticed that the information seemed to get repetitive. Though there were some minor differences that did help, a big problem for me was knowing that I was not getting anywhere further with my answer. I was able to resolve this by simply talking with other teachers about why they think social skills are so vitally important to a preschooler. They gave me lots of personal examples that explained to me why they were so important and how it applies to students.

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

One of my most significant sources I used to answer my essential question was Bonnie Avalos. She was able to explain to me why social skills were imperative to the life of a preschooler entering kindergarten and also helped my find my third answer. Whenever I had a question she was always there to answer. I probably wouldn't have gotten here without her. My other most significant source was Renee Ambrovitz. A source I found online, Ambrovitz proved to be an excellent source through her many years as a childhood educator and the detailed articles she would write online for her viewers. Ambrovitz goes in depth with each topic she writes about which I found to be incredibly helpful to my project.