My favorite project!

At my mentorship (San Jose School) my mentor (Lourdes Gary) has the students draw a picture of themselves on the first day of class. She than also has hem draw a picture of themselves at the end of the year and you care able to see how different they look. What I mean by this is by looking at both pictures you can tell how the students have grown not just better drawing skills, but also as a student that's why this is my favorite project the students work on. Okay, in all honesty that's not the only reason its also because the pictures are so cute and make me laugh the funnier they look the better it really shows me what the students are like.

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement
What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
The thing I am most proud of  (besides making time ) is that I was able to keep my nerves to a minimum. I was actually not nerves until I started to present because I have never been good at introductions. Although I was nerves I was able to calm myself down by the encouraging smiles I got from the audience, therefore, I want to say thank you to the people who smiled at me during my presentation it truly helped.

(2) Questions to Consider
a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

For my senior presentation I would give myself a P+ because at the end I recieved positive feedback on how well I explain my content by including examples every time I explained a concept. I also had positive feedback on my how well my PowerPoint was done.

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?
For my overall senior project I would give myself an AE because I did extensive research. Throughout my project I aimed to go deeper into my essential question and answers in order to get a further understanding of teaching. I also networked with other teachers to be able to give me different perspectives on how they saw my answers.

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
What really worked for me was having a wonderful mentor who's name is Lourdes Garay. She helped me from the very beginning till the end. She even helped me create my essential question and answers and helped me understand how each answer applied. She also helped me network with other teachers in order to get a different point of view. This showed me how different teachers handle different situations. She was also the one who introduced me to a book called "Setting Limits in a Classroom" by Robert J. Mackenzie and Lisa Stanzione. Without this book I don't know what I would have done. It had very clear and useful information that helped me explain all three of my answers.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?
If I had a time machine I think I would go back right before I started my presentation and try not to second guess myself. Before my presentation I wasn't nervous. This scared me because usually ( every presentation)  I am always nerves, therefore, since I wasn't nervous I started to psych myself out, which didn't help me because it caused me to be unsure of myself.
(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.
My senior project is something that I will never forget. I want to be a teacher in the future because of the wonderful teachers I have had who have inspired me. Also the teachers who weren't the greatest have inspired me to want to be a better teacher hopefully at least half as good as the teachers who have been my inspiration. After that being said my project has helped me get a better understanding of my future career by doing extensive research and going to mentorship. My essential question has helped me get a better understanding on how a teacher could spend less time disciplining their classroom and more time teaching. Although throughout my project teachers would always ask me "Are you sure you still want to be a teacher?" the answer is yes. I know that teaching is a difficult career so in a way I got a head start on making it easier for me by doing the research and going to my  mentorship.

Blog 22: Mentorship

Content:

LIA Response to blog:

Literal

My mentor's name is Lourdes Garay and I have completed my hours at San Jose School in Pomona.

Interpretive

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to complete my mentorship with Lourdes Garay a wonderful mentor that allowed me an unforgettable experience. I was able to work with students as a whole class and one on one. This helped me grow as a future teacher and person. The most important thing that I learned from mentorship was to speak out when I knew something was wrong, such as a student misbehaving. One example of this is when my mentor and I were dismissing the students once they had cleaned up their desk. There was this one student who my mentor dismissed, but I didn't know that and he had a mess under his desk. I told him to clean it up and he said "no teacher already dismissed me", I than told okay, but after you clean up your mess. Although I told him that he still insisted on not cleaning up his desk, so I than told him more firmly and he listened and did as I told him to do. 

Applied

My mentorship has helped me with my essential question by allowing me to first-hand work with students and see how my mentor handles different situations. My essential question is "How does a teacher best set a learning environment where the majority of time is spent on teaching and learning rather than discipline?" As I have said before from the experience I have had with one of the students is that as a teacher part of having control of the classroom is having a firm "handle". In the end by having a firm "handle" there are less distractions and disruptions in the class.

Exit Interview

Content:

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

My essential question is : How does a teacher best set a learning environment where the majority time is spent on teaching and learning rather than discipline?
My answers are:  Structure which includes lesson plans, routines, seating arrangements, and being prepared.  My second answer is expectations such as classroom rules; and my third answer is parent communication. 
My best answer is: Structure, because a teacher who takes their time in planning an effective structure spends less time disciplining their classroom and more time teaching. All of my research and experience points to structure as my best answer without structure there would be chaos in the classroom.

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
I decided structure was my best answer out of all three of my answers because of my mentorship. I was able to see how different teachers handled different situations which in the end bottled down to structure, I like how Robert J. Mackenzie and Lisa Stanzione put it "Structure it the organizational foundation in a classroom" which I completely agree with, which my experience and research proves correct.

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

The only problem I faced was the lack of resources to my answers. Most of the information online was extremely repetitive because once one thing works really well in the classroom it spreads like wildfire. Therefore looking for articles and resources to support my answers soon became a tedious task. I tried looking for books to do research on, but I was only able to find one book that had useful information that my mentor recommended. The other books that I found had information that would only work in a perfect world such as, if you talk to the student that is  misbehaving they won't misbehave ever misbehave again. What I did to resolve this problem was to look for articles that were parent child based not teacher child based, since parents are the students first teacher the articles that I found were actually extremely helpful.

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

My best source that helped me answer my essential question was no other than my mentor, Lourdes Garay. She is an incredible mentor, that I don't even know how I could possibly thank her. She truly helped me with my whole senior project.  She helped me construct a essential question and answers, figure out why the answers we created answered my essential question, offered ideas for my Independent Components and gave me other resources I could use. For my essential question she helped me network with other teachers to see how they taught differently from her this helped me gather  valuable information that helped me answer my essential question. Which leads me to my second best source my mentor let me borrow a book called Setting Limits in a Classroom by Robert J. Mackenzie and Lisa Stanzonie. This book was very resourceful it had information for all my answers. This book was so informative and useful that I would recommend it to all teachers.  Mackenzie  and Stanzonie are remarkably well authors in the book they provide me ideas, examples that I have included to explain not only my best answer but also my other answers.

Reach for the stars!

 

Today I helped students create this because they are learning about the planets, stars and constellations. This was a simple project that they were able to do, a hands on project to learn about The Great Bear constellation.  

Independent Component 2

Content:  
LITERAL
(a) I, Stephanie Marin affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) I completed my Independent Component Two hours by doing extra hours at my mentorship which is at San Jose School with Lourdes Garay my mentor.
(c)  Independent Component Two hours
(d) By completing my hours at my mentorship I was able to get more experience with working with students. I was able to learn from my mentor how to handle different situations for example, what to do when a student doesn't want to put any effort in participating in class. I  also got to work with another third grade teacher, Mrs. Anderson which was refreshing. I saw how she handled different situations and taught differently form my mentor. I was able to work with groups of students that needed extra help in understanding a certain problem or on a concept. Although the pictures I have included not show me working with students since I am not allowed to take pictures of them I included pictures of other tasks I did such as help prepare for different activities or simply showcase students work.
INTERPERTIVE
As I said before I was able to work with two teachers who helped me by allowing me to work with the students and experience first hand how to handle various situations.
APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. This Component helped me answer my EQ because I am able to use my experience at my mentorship to explain my answers for example, expatiations is one of them. It's important to make sure the students know what you expect of them. My mentor hands tickets as a reward for staying on task which they could use to gets prizes; my mentor gave me the ability to give students these which showed me that students who are rewarded or even thanked for staying on task helps them follow directions which decreases disruptions.



This a project I helped prepare for Dr. Seuss Day.



This is a Spelling Test I graded.

This is a math classwork worksheet that I helped hang up. 

This is a close up from the picture to the right.

This is a classroom project that I hung up.



This is a tree graph that the students worked on and I hanged up.

This a writing assignment that I helped the students with and hanged up on the wall.

This is a story summary that the students worked on that I hung up.

 

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

 

For Dr. Seuss's day the students did a project in which I pre-cut all the construction paper before hand; for this project the students wrote three of their goals on a paper arrow for example going to New York, keeping their room clean or passing their AR goal. After they finished doing their project I posted them all up on the wall and door.
 

Fourth Interview Questions

I will be interviewing Mr. Harper a teacher who is well respected by both his colleges and students.

Questions:

1.      How do you keep parents involve in their child’s academics?

2.      Do you use parents for support? Why or why not?

3.      How do you deal with difficult parents?

4.      Do you ever make good phone calls home? Why or why not?

5.      If you had to choose from only structure, expectations or parent communication for getting the students attention which one would you choose and why?

6.      When you explain your classroom rules how do explain them?

7.      Do you write down your classroom rules for the students to see them on a daily bias? Why or why not?

8.      How do you handle a disruptive student?

9.      When do you decide when you know a student is not going to listen to you anymore and you need to take action?

10.  How many distractions do you have on a regular bias?

11.  If you send a student out of the classroom for misbehavior do you talk about their actions and what they can do differently when they come back? Why or why not?

12.  Do you think that attention getters actually work for example, “hands on top, everybody stop”?

13.  Do you ever ask for your student’s feedback after you taught a lesson or at the end of the year on what worked and what didn’t?

14.  Do give out incentives? Why or why not?

15.  Do you have classroom routines? Why or why not? If you do how do you feel they help you stay on task?

16.  Do you ever change up how you teach for example; do you start the day differently like asking a question to get the students attention?

17.  What do you do when you know you’re losing the students attention?

18.  Have you ever considered giving thank you note or compliment notes? Why or why not? Do you think they would work?

19.   How would you answer the question “How does a teacher set a learning environment where the majority time is spent on teaching and learning rather than disciplining?” and why?

20.   Do you know of anyone I that you think I could interview or learn more from?

Blog 17: Third Answer

Content:

1. My Essential Question is “How does a teacher set a learning environment where the majority time is spent on teaching and learning rather than disciplining?”

2. By having a line of communication with parents teachers spend less time disciplining their classroom and more time teaching.

3. Parents are the students first teachers in which if the child misbehaves the students know that their parents will be contacted. Teachers are able to have the parents as a support, lets be honest when a third grader is messing around and the teacher tells him to stop and they don't, but when they say they will be contacting their parents they will stop. By staying in contact with parents are able to reinforce the teachers rules and habits that are used in class.

4. My best source is Setting Limits in a Classroom by Robert Mackenzie and Lisa Stanzonie. Another source is my mentor because I see first hand how a lot of parents offer their assistance to her because she always try's to keep the parents update by creating a newsletter which is sent out every two weeks.

5. All in all parents are a key element in making sure students are less disruptive in the classroom.

 

 

My Thank You Experiment

I have started my experiment which is on making sure the students are encouraged to do simple tasks for example, keeping their desks clean and will receive a thank you card to see if thanking them will encourage them to do those tasks more often; so far the experiment is going okay I haven't received a lot of response from the students, but I believe it's going to take a little more time for the experiment to work.
 

Answer 2

1. My essential question is "How can a teacher best set a learning environment where the majority time is spent on teaching and learning rather than discipline?"
2. My first answer is a teacher who takes their time in planning an effective structure spends less time disciplining their classroom and more time teaching.
3.  My second answer is a teacher who sets their expectations clear and precise to understand spends less time disciplining their classroom and more time teaching.
4.  My three reasons why this answer is true is: By setting expectations in the classroom the students know what you expect from them for example, raising their hand before speaking. Also having expectations creates its own structure allowing the day to flow smoothly which saves time instead of spending 5 minutes on a disruptive student. Also expectations are important to keep the classroom on task.   
5. The printed source that best supports my answer is Setting Limits in the Classroom by Robert J. Mackenzie and Lisa Stanzonie because if talks about "real" situations and solutions.
6. Another source that supports my answer is my mentor, Mrs. Garay because I see how she sets her classroom expectations and how she enforces them which she gives out incentives which work in her benefit.
7. That’s why for my essential question’s second answer I would like to answer it with expectations because without expectations the students don’t know what you want from them for example, learn instead of talking or study instead of playing around.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

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

• What I plan to do for my Independent  Component 2 is do an extra 30 hours of mentoring at my mentorship which is at San Jose School.  What I will be doing there is answering students questions and concerns, make sure students are staying on task, help put up students classwork up on the classroom walls, help my mentor grade and input grades.

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

• I will be taking pictures of what I do, filling out my Independent Component 2 Hours Log and writing a brief description of what I did that day.

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

• By doing more hours at my mentorship I will get more experience overall in my topic which is teaching 3rd grade and be able to use my experience to answer my essential quesstion.

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

• Independent Component 2 Hours

Independent Component 1

   

Content:  

LITERAL (a)  “I, Stephanie Marin, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 31 hours and 30 minutes of work.”

(b)  I did my hours at my mentorship which is at San Jose School with Lourdes Garay. I also used a website called Conerstone to help me with my Independent Component.

Watson, Angela. The Cornerstone RSS. Thecornerstoneforteachers, n.d. Web.  Jan. 2015.

Other helpful resources I read:

1) Mackenzie, Robert, Stanzione, Lisa. "Creating Structure That Works." Setting Limits in the Classroom. By Robert J. Mackenzie. Rocklin, CA: Prima Pub., 2003. N. 1-27. Print.

2) Escobar, Lindia, Kate Ortolano, Roslyn Duffy, and Deborah Owen-Sohocki. "Encouragement & Mistaken Goals." Positive Discipline A Teacher's A-Z Guide. By Jane Nelsen. 2nd ed. New York: Three Rivers, 2001. 1-14. Print.

3) Mackenzie, Robert, Stanzione, Lisa. "How Students Learn your Rules." Setting Limits in the Classroom. . Rocklin, CA: Prima Pub., 2003. N. 84-103. Print.

4)Escobar, Lindia, Kate Ortolano, Roslyn Duffy, and Deborah Owen-Sohocki. ""Good" Students." Postive Discipline A Teacher's A-Z Guide. By Jane Nelsen. 2nd ed. New York: Three Rivers, 2001. 156-158. Print.

5) Mackenzie, Robert, Stanzione, Lisa. ʺHow Teachers Teach Their Rules.ʺ Setting Limits in the Classroom. . Rocklin, CA: Prima Pub., 2003. N. 104-134. Print.

6) Foley, Dave. "6 Classroom Management Tips Every Teacher Can Use .ʺ  National Education Association. .  2010. Web.

7) Bart, Mary. "Dealing with Difficult Students and Other Classroom Disruptions." Faculty Focus Dealing with Difficult Students and Other Classroom Disruptions Comments. Magna Publications, 4 June 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

8) Watson, Angela. "How to Create Class Rules." Thecornerstoneforteachers. N.p., 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.

9) Watson, Angela. "Ideas for Classroom Seating Arrangements." The Cornerstone RSS. N.p., 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

10) Watson, Angela. "10 Ways to Calm a Class after Lunch or Recess." The Cornerstone RSS. N.p., 2 Dec. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

(c)  You can find my updated Independent Component One Hours here or on the side of my blog under links called "Senior Project Hours".

(d) I have done 30 hours and 30 minutes of  doing more research, mentorship experience, seeing other teachers teach and creating my own syllabus and I will explain more below in the "Interpretive" section.

INTERPRETIVE 

For my Independent Component One I volunteered at my mentorship with my mentor, Lourdes Gary. I helped answer questions students had and assisted them on their classwork. I also gave them tickets for good behavior which could later be used for a prize. I also sat in with other teachers to see how they taught and disciplined in their classroom for example, I went to a fourth and fifth combo classroom and to be honest it was difficult to watch the teacher put on a brave face when trying to get both grade levels to listen and learn. I saw how she would quiet one side of the room and while that was happening the other side would start talking and disrupting the class. The way I saw she had an advantage was a promise of a pizza party for good behavior this helped me see how she disciplined her classroom differently from the other teachers I have seen. I also did a lot of research using Cornerstone to create my syllabus. Creating my syllabus was difficult because I had to make it clear and precise to for both parent and student to understand. Another factor that I needed to decide was what rules would I have from all the research I have done it would be best if I only choose five rules, which was not an easy thing to narrow down.

Classroom Rules

1. Raise your hand to speak
2. Do not speak when someone else is speaking
3. Treat all students and adults with respect
4. Follow rules and directions the first time
5. Always try your best!

I have to say I know see syllabus's different than before, I know see all the handwork a teacher puts into making one.

APPLIED

This component helped me understand my senior project more because I have a better understanding of how to answer my essential question since my second answer is expectation in which I was able to create my own syllabus. By creating my own slabs I was able to do extensive research on what actually works in a classroom and what doesn't which as I said before made it hard to create my rules and also my four expectations.

Classroom Expectations

Be Respectful:

• Be Kind                             

• Keep hands/feet to yourself

• Be Responsible:

• Be on time  

• Follow classroom rules              

Be Prepared:  

• Bring materials/supplies daily        

Be a Learner:

• Pay Attention

• Think

• Ask questions

Also by going into other classrooms it gave me another perspective on how to explain my second answer for example, my mentor offers incentives for her third grade class and it actually works, but by going to higher grade levels I saw that it didn't have the same effect, some students wanted the incentive, but the majority of students could care less. Also my continuing to do hours at my mentorship I am growing to what I call as being "mean" which is really not being mean it's just part of what a teacher is suppose to do for example, when the students are talking or off task I am becoming more confident in quickly redirecting them to be back on task. Overall my Independent Component has help me grow into a stronger future teacher, have more knowledge on what works and what doesn't when it comes to having rules and expectations and hopefully when I become a teacher I won't have to teach a combo class (fingers crossed).

 

P.S. Sorry that my syllabus is a bit plain I couldn't add all of my other "fun" stuff on a google docs since I didn't know how to add a Word document on here.

 

 

 

 

 

What do teachers make?

Since I have started volunteering with my mentor many teachers or others say " Oh, you want to be a teacher" like its a bad thing, but every time I go and volunteer at my mentorship I  experience the opposite of that. When I read this I was astonished because what Barbra says its like taking the words from me that I could never but together when others tell me " Oh, you want to be a teacher".

 

"The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CFO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?” To stress his point he said to another guest, “You’re a teacher Barbra. Be honest. What do you make?” (She paused for a second, and then began…) “Well, I , make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental. You want to know what I make. (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table) I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything. I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator. I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America. Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life. (Barbara paused one last time and then continued.) Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant. You want to know what I make. I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?’ His jaw dropped and he went silent."

by unknown

Lesson 2 Reflection

Content:

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

- I was most proud of was being bale to make time because the first time I wasn't able to.

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 believe I deserve a P because I did everything required to be eligible for a P.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

- What really worked for me is adding stories from my experience not just saying my information without relating it to others. What also worked was having others help me keep track of how much time I still needed while presenting.

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 for me is me talking fast I need to learn to slow down when presenting.

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

- My second answer is expectations because it is a possible answer too my essential question. By having expectations as my second answer I am able to expand on how having expectations does indeed help a teacher teach rather than discipline. 

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 hours check

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
I am doing my mentorship at San Jose School in Pomona.
 2.   Who is your contact?
My contact is Lourdes Garay my mentor.
 3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?
I have done 40 hours and 30 minutes for my mentorship and 18 hours for my Independent Component so far.
 4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
For my 10 hours I mainly worked with the students on whatever activity or assignment they were doing at that time by answering questions or showing them how to do a problem. I also help my mentor grade tests and she helped show me how to grade DWA's; I would grade them and than she would check if she would grade them the same way which for the most we did.

Blog 11: 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?

- Over this break I have been working on my Independent Component for example, I have been working on creating a syllabus and finalizing my set of rules.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

The most important thing that I have learned is that for what I am doing for my Independent Component is what a teacher needs to do to prepare before a new school year which I have found very time consuming. The source where I got this from is from all of my research I have been doing for this project particularly Setting Limits in the Classroom by Robert J. Mackenzie and Lisa Stanzione has been a really important source besides my mentor.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

-I would interview Mrs. Anderson because she has taught different grade levels from third grade to seventh grade which makes her a perfect person to ask these questions to because she has the experience of experiencing first hand of what my essential question is asking.

How does a teacher set a learning environment where the majority time is spent on teaching and learning rather than disciplining?

• How would you answer "How does a teacher set a learning environment where the majority time is spent on teaching and learning rather than disciplining?"
• How do you think having a structure that is easy to understand crucial to answer my essential question?
• How do you think expectations play a factor in answering my essential question?
• What kind of expectations do you think are important to have?
• How do you  tell the difference between rules and expectations so that the students don't combined the both and make seem like a long list of rules?
• How do you think parent communications plays a part in my essential question?
• How do you think a teacher can stay well communicated with the students parents?
• Since my essential question is worded the way it is do you think that structure, expectations and parent communication are good answers to answer my essential question? If not what answer or answers would you change?
• Do you have any books or resources you would recommend to me to help me with my essential question?
• Do you have any ideals of what else I could do such as activity to get a better understanding of answering my essential question?