Blog 24: Last Presentation Reflection

Mario and I at the end of my final presentation.

(1) Positive Statement

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

I am most proud of my activities because I got people to particapate and they weren't as bored as they were when I did my second lesson.
(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 believe that I deserve a P because I hit every mark on the contract just like I had done the other times except that Holt didn't pay attention. So, hopefully he heard everything I had said while he was on his phone.
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 that I deserve more than a P but not an AE, so P+. I completed every blog assignment, interview and research check on time, and I had done more than the required hours for our mentorship and independent components.
(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

What worked best for me was that I was on top of everything. I made sure that my work was completed on time and done to the best of my ability.
(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?

I would choose a different topic. I didn't realize that I wanted to do somethig different until I had actually got into model assembly. Even though I had time to think about what I wanted to do I wish that the margin to change our senior topic was a little longer. If I had changed my topc then I would have been more excited and enthusiastic about it.
(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

My senior project helped me realize that teaching isn't for me. Of course I made it seem so that the audience would be excited about what I was about to say. I now realize that teaching is not for me.

blog 23- Exit interview preperation

(1) What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

• What is the most effective method for a high school teacher to ensure that her students comprehend the material? 
• My three answers were to understand the adolescent brain, to adapt lesson plans to the students learning abilities, and to organize the classroom.

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

• I arrived to this answer through the research I've done for this project and through the observations I've made of the class during mentor ship.

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

• Problems I faced were narrowing down my answers because there are so many general answers as to how a teacher can best ensure that their students understood what they were learning.

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

• Resource #16, #37, #57, #64

• These sources each had valuable information that helped me narrow down to my three main answers 

Blog 22: Independent Component 2

This isn't the brains that I have made, it is a real human brain.

(A) I, Perla Navarro, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 36.5 hours of work.

(B) Sources:

http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/ss/multiple-intell.htm
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm
Lambert, Mark. The Brain and Nervous System Macmillan Education, 1988 

Steve Franklin Watts, The Brain and Nervous System by Parker, 1990 

Encyclopedia Britannica by Britannica, Encyclopedia Inc. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 1986 

The Incredible Machine by National Geographic Society, 1992

(C) Updated Senior Project Hours link: Updated Link

(D) Explain what you completed.

• For my Independent Component 2 I made three models of the human brain in three sections of it's life. I made one more adulthood, adolescence, and childhood. I also wrote an essay on the human brain as well as the learning intelligence that correspond with certain areas of the brain.

Independent Component Paper

This is a really bad picture but this was when I started to make the first brain.

Here is the beginning of carving one of the brains.

(E) Defend your work and explain the components significance and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.(Evidence)

• This demonstrates 30 hours or work because there was so much effort, revision, and planning that went into the creation of my Independent Component. The brain models were extremely hard to make but they helped me understand the details and the functions of the brain. The brain is so delicate and hard to make, I don't doubt that the actual human brain is any different. The essay that I had written has many details and information about the human brain, it took me hours to write and revise so I hope that it is good enough for what it is.

(F) How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped.

• The component helped me answer my essential question because it game me more information on my topic and it gave me a larger outlook on what actually happens within the brain. When I was creating the brain I didn't really realize that the model may have been a replica but some peoples brain's are that size and they function.

Blog 17 - Interview 4 Reflection

This is the woman that I interviewed, Ms. Healy.

Interview #4

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?
• When conducting my interview I learned that into every person that I interview will give as much information as I like and that if I really need an answer to my questions then I need to be persistent. Besides that, I learned that the school district is heavily involved in the hiring of new teachers as well as the disciplinary action that takes place against students.
2. How will what I learned affect my final lesson?
• The information that I got from this interview will affect my final lesson because this has given me another answer to my essential question. I know that for out final lesson we are required to present three answers but I am now able to show that I have developed another answer. 

Blog 20: Interview 4 Prep

Ready for this interview!!! (Kinda, not really.)

1. Who do you plan to interview? What is this person's area of expertise?
1. For my fourth interview I plan to interview the superintendent of the Rowland Unified School District, Ms. Teresa Healy. She is obviously experienced because she has been the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Rowland and Barstow School district, she has  worker as the Coordinated Curriculum of Instruction and Technology for the Hesperia Unified School District. She specializes in the management of the schools in the entire Rowland area. If I am unable to interview her then I will interview a middle school principal or an elementary principal. 
2. Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. 
1. How did you become a superintendent?
2. What is something you have learned from each step in your career?
3. What makes this job interesting to  you?
4. What is the most important skill a superintendent must have?
5. What is you philosophy of on delegating authority?
6. How do you maintain authority?
7. What influence does a school district have on the standards that will be taught to students?
8. What is used to indicate that a teacher is not properly meeting the expectations set?
9. How are the results from the standardized test used?
10. What effect do they have on a student?
11. If any standards are not met then how does the school district ensure that the students are being taught proper standards?
12. What plans have you implemented to improve the graduation rate for students that come form a lower socioeconomic background and for students with disabilities?
13. In the area of student discipline, what is your position on zero tolerance policies?
14. Do you believe a school district has responsibility for improving the instructional effectiveness of its teachers?
15. How are teacher normally hired for their position?
16. How would you orient new administrative staff members, teachers, and board members to the position?
17. In the hiring procedure what is the role of the teaching staff, principals, and superintendent?
18. Is there anything special that the interviewers look for in a possible teacher besides their education and credentials?
19.  How do you oversee the entire Rowland Unified School District?(What does you position entail?)
20. Have you ever used the Robert's Rule for the conduction of meetings and decision making, and if so, when or what did you use it for?
21. What is the most important grade during a students academic career?

Blog 19: Answer 3

1. What is your EQ?
• What is the most effective method for a high school teacher to ensure that her students comprehend the material?
2. What is your third answer?
• A teacher must utilize the amount of space and keep an aesthetically pleasing classroom in order for students to have to ability to comprehend the material without distractions.
3. List three reasons why your answer is true with real-world application for each.
1. Students are more likely to learn in an environment where they feel comfortable and safe in rather than a classroom that is dirty.
2. The colors in a classroom has an effect on a students likeliness to pay attention.
3. Most classrooms are set up so that the custodial staff will have easier access to the class room which means that the students will be individualized and placed in rows. Studies have shown that students learn best in groups and it would be okay to sacrifice the custodians time rather than the students education.
4. What printed sources best supports your answer?
• Basic Color Theory
• Creating an Effective Physical Classroom
• A Place for Learning: The Physical Environment of Classrooms
• School Design, Classroom Layout Can Heavily Affect Student Grades, Learning: Study
5. Tie this together with a concluding thought.
• In various sources a contributing factor to  a student's ability to focus has always been based on the type of classroom set up and the colors that were in the room. In one of the sources below it was directly stated that the students who had the opportunity to influence their environment were more likely to pay attention and to focus on what they were doing. Most of the classrooms that students were in had a dull color and were no set up so that they could socialize in a group. Instead of altering an environment for the sake of custodians, the desks should be arranged in a group set-up. It was also said that the classroom environment will be most effective if it is clean and well lit.

Blog 18- Answer 2

1. What is your EQ?
• What is the most effective method for a high school teacher to ensure that her students comprehend the material?
2. What is your first answer? 
• A high school teacher can best ensure that her students comprehend the material by altering lesson plans so that every students leaning abilities are used.
3. What is your second answer?
• In order for students to comprehend the material being taught to them, teachers must first understand how the brain processes information and reacts to certain stimuli.
4. List three reasons why your answer is true with a real-world application for each.
1. My answer is true because if a teacher doesn't know how the brain works then they won't be able to understand why a student is not processing the material being taught to them and they won't be able to fix the problem.
2. Because the teenage brain is sensitive it will react and make impulsive decisions without fully thinking through the situation.
3. There are some student who have learning disabilities and it can hinder the speed in which they grasp specific concepts. A teacher will not be able to accommodate their needs unless they understand how their brain works, until that happens they will not be able to help the student further their education. 
5. What printed source best supports your answer?
• What Teachers Think About the Brain
• Nine Things Educators Need to Know About the Brain
6. Tie this together with a concluding thought.
1. The teenage brain is so unique in terms of the processing of information. People around the world have studied and worked with the most important organ so those who are influencing the most powerful part of the human abody need to understadn how it works. Educators need to have the knowledge and understanding necessary to aid young adults on their pathway to a higher education.