Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

I would say that the most important thing I learned from my interview was what skills are most important to bring into kindergarten. My interviewee, Bonnie, had mentioned that social skills are one of the most essential skills a child entering kindergarten can have. This was one of my answers to my EQ, and though I've researched on this for a while, I was able to get more insight on it. I also learned that coming into kindergarten knowing the letters of the alphabet and numbers has great significance as well. 
 
2.  How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

I'm definitely a lot more comfortable during interviews now. At first, I treated it like it was just that, an interview. Not a conversation. I would ask my questions, maybe a few follow up questions, say thank you, and leave. It's a lot different now. I still, of course, ask my questions, but now I'm not nervous asking those follow ups and actually enjoy the conversation. After the interview, I stay a little longer to chat, whether it be about my senior topic or just anything. I go into my interviews now to have conversation, not just listen to what the person has to say. 

Audio:

https://soundcloud.com/kimramos56/interview-3

Transcript: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pZvpXe0ZT0wnBc2amTtXhhSNfsRdV5b0Ouxt6ewH8eE/edit?usp=sharing

Blog 16: Independent Component 2 Approval

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

I plan on volunteering for 30 hours. Instead of volunteering in a preschool classroom like I did on my first independent component, I plan on working these hours in a transitional kindergarten classroom instead to further my knowledge. 

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

I will post a log of my hours and also photos of my experience. These photos however, will not be able to show the students (unless you can't see their faces) due to confidentiality and liability issues. So, these photos can consist of the classroom and students' work. 

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

My EQ is, "What is the most important skill a preschool teacher can teach her students to best prepare them students for kindergarten?" I feel that in order to help better my answers for this question, I will need a hands on approach. So, volunteering in a transitional kindergarten classroom will help me see what it is like in a real classroom. Research and interviews do help with exploring answers, but I feel that the best way to answer my question is to get out there, observe, and gain experience. 

4.  Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

Done

Independent Component 1

Independent component is done! 

• LITERAL
  (a) Write: “I, Kimberly Ramos, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
  (b) My independent component involved me coming into the classroom and completing extra hours, so there isn't a source that I can site that helped me complete it. Everything I did to complete it was done by physically being there in the classroom. If anything you can email my mentor Bonnie at bonnie.e.avalos@gmail.com to confirm that I have done my 30 hours worth of work. 
• (c) Blog updated. 
• (d) Over the course of 2 and a half weeks, I came into the classroom whenever I could for about 3-4 hours a day. For the first week I would mainly observe what the children were doing in class and just clean. After that first week I became more involved in the classroom and began helping out the kids with assignments and problems here and there. I had more of a presence in the classroom and got more comfortable with the kids and they got more comfortable with me. I did a lot of cleaning and office work (like making copies). 
• INTERPRETIVE 
  My work was extremely significant in regards to my project because it really gave me the idea of what it's like to play teacher and student. It let me know about what typical things you see in a classroom and how children learn and act. It demonstrates 30 hours of work because thats the amount of time I took to help out in the class. You can access my log, which shows 30 hours or work, here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1F1AFBqeQn_IbC2zvGoswvhPwuPLNCh15sebWG3NPYWk/edit?usp=sharing
• APPLIED
  This component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better by getting a fuller understanding of how the typical day in preschool is. Even though I was only there for the second half of the day, I know how the first half went through discussion with my mentor. The day was separated into sections which included music, arts and crafts, reading, writing, play, nap time, story time, circle time, etc. The routine really helps out the kids by making learning easier and getting the students to feel more comfortable. 

Lesson 2 Reflection

Me after finishing my presentation.

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I am most proud of making time. I witnessed some of my peers falling short on time and it made me worried about not making it myself. I feared that out of nervousness I would talk too fast and be under time. Fortunately, I was able to keep calm, speak at a normal rate, and make time at the end. Once I realized that keeping up with the clock wasn't an obstacle anymore, I became more confident in myself and my presentation.

2.a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-
       assessment)?

P

   b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component
       contract.

I think I deserve a P on my presentation for Lesson 2 because I met all the requirements necessary to earn a P. I feel that I worked to the best of my ability and for that I would give myself a P. 

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

I think what really worked in my Lesson 2 Presentation was talking talk about experiences from mentorship. That was able to grab a better hold of the audience's attention and keep them engaged. It also gave me a bit of comfort being up in front of the class knowing that my audience was interested in what I had to say. 

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

What didn't work as well as I could have liked it to be was my activity debrief. I said what I wanted to say but I completely forgot to make the class present on what they did/learned in the activity. So if I could go back, I would change that little detail that way my audience could get a better understanding of my activity. 

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

At the moment, I feel that my answer #2 will be that the most important skill a preschool teacher can teach her students to best prepare them for kindergarten are fine motor skills. But that answer could change after completing more hours and working on my independent component 2. 

Blog 14: Third Interview Preparation

What is the most important skill a preschool teacher can teach her students to best prepare them for kindergarten?

1. Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

I plan on interviewing a family friend, Bonnie Avalos, for this next interview. She holds a master's degree and has been in the field for over 20 years. Not only has she taught preschool, but kindergarten too. This helps me get better insight on my EQ.

2. Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 

I have scheduled this interview for Monday February 15 at around 3:00 PM. 

3. Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.

Besides working in a preschool and kindergarten classroom, how else might I find an answer to my EQ? What makes that justifiable? 

4. Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).

How would you go about effectively teaching your students the essential skills needed for kindergarten? How do you ensure that each and every child will understand the material?

5. Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ. 

In what ways have you seen kindergartners struggle in your years of teaching? Do these struggles affect their relationships with their classmates or their academic performance? What do you expect kindergartners to know when they enter your classroom?

Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

1. It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school. What did you do over the break with your senior project?

There's not much you can do over break when your topic regards school. The same time you're on break, so is everyone else. Hours were definitely off the list, so instead I just did some new research on my topic to restrict myself from falling back and to learn new things. 
2. What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

I would say the most important thing I learned over break is that is that in order to see your students succeed and improve at school, you have to be very observant of them by paying attention to their actions, behaviors, and personalities.

3. Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

For my third interview, I plan on talking to a family friend. She has been teaching preschool for over ten years now. Her experience in the field draws my attention towards her. 

Blog 11: Lesson 1 Reflection

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

I am most proud of the fact that I was energetic during my presentation. Some of peers' presentations were not engaging due to the fact that they displayed a monotone voice or seem uninterested about their topic. I am proud that I was able to catch most of my audience's attention.  

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

I would give myself a P on my lesson. I completed everything on the component contract but didn't really do anything to go "above and beyond." It went smoothly so the assessment I give myself is a P.

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 go back, I would change my hook (circle time). Though I was proud of my hook and I enjoyed how it was interactive and grabbed the attention of my audience, it was a bit too long. I was hoping that it would be 2 minutes maximum. It ended up affecting me in the end because I was not able to go through each and every one of my points. From this knowledge, I can make sure that Lesson 2 is better by choosing a hook that will be shorter or if not, keeping an eye on the timer and cutting the hook short so that I will be able to present all of my information.