Extra post: May

I'm finally done with mentorship and senior project. I am so glad I chose kindergarten teaching as my topic because it was something I enjoyed doing. I am extremely grateful to have mentored with such an amazing women and incredible kindergarten teacher Mrs. Michelle Handley. She was such a huge help to me and she was also very supportive. Also I am glad I got to work with the students in her class they're all so smart and they're such sweethearts. Senior project was tough but it was an amazing journey and I'm glad I got through it.

Blog 23: Final Lesson Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

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

•  I’m really proud at the fact that I made my “talking time” because I was extremely nervous and when I get nervous I talk really fast, sometimes I even blank out even though I know my information really well. I knew all my stuff and I was prepared, so that is what I am most proud of in my presentation block. For my senior project I am very proud that I did my research and that I stuck to my topic and didn’t give up even when it got extremely stressful.

(2) Questions to Consider

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

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

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

·         What really worked for me in my senior project is that I had a great mentor who really helped me understand what kindergarten is really like. She also helped me with my answers to my essential question and gave me real life experiences of each learning style. Overall, she was just really helpful. What also worked for me is that it was a topic that I was actually interested in and I was doing something I enjoyed, working with younger children.

(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 would definitely turn in assignments on their due date because that really affected my grade. I procrastinated a lot and I was also very lazy when it came to senior project stuff, so that is what I would change. I feel like if I turned in assignments on time I would have done way better.

(5) Finding Value

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

•  Ever since I was a little girl I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, but as I got older I realized that I loved being around younger kids so I came to a conclusion that I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. This project really opened my eyes and helped me realize that it is not easy being a kindergarten teacher. You have to have a lot of patience with little kids because they are hard work. Mentorship really helped me see this also because the children in Mrs. Handley’s class were very energetic just as any other young children and sometimes I just felt like yelling at them to calm down but I can’t do that if I become a kindergarten teacher I would have to be very patient with them and ask them to calm down in a less negative way. This project helped me realize that I would still like to be a teacher but maybe with like 1^st graders, 2^nd graders, or 3^rd graders.

Blog 22: Mentorship

 Literal

·     Senior Project Hour Log updated.

·     Michelle Handley, kindergarten teacher at Kellogg Polytechnic Elementary School

Interpretive

I think the most important thing I learned from this experience is the hand-on experiences that I was able to do in a kindergarten classroom. I was able to work with young children and help them learn while having fun because I enjoy being around children. Mentorship allowed me to see what a kindergarten classroom is like on a daily bases and it also allowed me to see how the students learn best. Mentorship gave me plenty hand-on experiences that I would have never gotten if I just did research the entire time.

Applied

Volunteering in a kindergarten classroom helped me answer my essential question because Mrs. Handley used different methods of teaching in her class and I was able to see which learning style worked best for all of the students. Mentorship allowed me to see how each of the VAK learning styles work and in some cases don’t work as well. This experience mostly helped me with my first answer, which is “Teaching students through a kinesthetic learning method will allow them to do hands-on experiences and will enhance their outcomes.” Mentorship helped me come up with this answer because Mrs. Handley mostly taught her students with that type of learning style and it was very successful, the students learned but they were also entertained and very engaged in the material being taught.

Blog 21: Exit Interview

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

• EQ: What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher can engage different learning styles to enhance student outcomes?
• For my first answer I chose the kinesthetic/play-based learning style because there are students who learn through body movement.
• For my second answer I chose the visual learning style because there are students who learn more through seeing.
• For my third answer I chose the auditory learning style because there are students who learn better through hearing information.
• My best answer is my answer 1 because the kinesthetic/play-based learning styles allows the students to have more hands-on experiences which encourages them to learn more.

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

• I did a lot of researching and I also talked a lot about this with my mentor Michelle Handley which is a kindergarten teacher, so she helped me by giving me real life examples of how each learning style helps the students.

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

• A lot of the articles had similar information so it was kind of hard to go deeper into research for some of my answers more specifically my third answer, but I talked to my mentor and she helped me by giving me more details about each learning style.

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

• My first significant source would have to be my mentor Michelle Handley and my mentorship in general because she gave me the chance of going into her classroom and seeing first hand  how the students learn and how the learning styles work in a kindergarten classroom. 

April Blog

Earth Day in Mrs. Handley's Class

As we all know Earth Day is on April 22nd. In Mrs. Handley's class the students learned about different ways that they can help to keep the world and environment clean. Some of the things the students came up with on their own were planting gardens, picking up trash off the floor, and saving energy by turning off lights when they are not in the room. The picture above is a picture of a circle with the handprints of each student. This represents their "helping hands".

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

LITERAL

1.   I, Lisette Alvarado affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 31 hours and 30 minutes of work.
2.  Since all I did was extra hours of mentorship, my mentor and mentorship in a kindergarten classroom with all the students were the main sources that helped me with my independent component and my research project.
3. Senior Project Hours updated
4. During spring break I went to do my extra hours in a kindergarten classroom since their spring break was the week before mine. I went the entire week for at least five hours a day and that’s how I completed my 30 hours.    

INTERPRETIVE 

• I think that it was good that I did extra hours of mentorship for my independent component two because I was able to get more first-hand experience of what goes on in a kindergarten classroom. Every day that I went in was basically different there were things that were the same like the beginning of every class but other than that it was different.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

APPLIED

• Independent component two helped me with research for my essential question because I was able to experience how each learning style is dealt with in a kindergarten classroom and I got to see the teacher actually use the different strategies for different learning styles that I have read and researched about.  

Independent Component 1

LITERAL

• (a) I, Lisette Alvarado, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 32 hours and 30 minutes of work.
• (b) The sources that helped me with my independent component were my mentor and my mentorship with the students in her class. All I did for independent component one was complete extra hours of mentorship.
• (c) Senior project hours updated.
• (d) I went to mentorship for about twenty-one days and completed the 30 extra hours I was supposed to for independent component 1. On each day I at least completed 1 hour, on some days I did a little more.   

INTERPRETIVE

• Every day that I went in for mentorship was different. On some days they would be working on math, on others science, and sometimes even learning centers. Going in and doing extra mentorship hours helped me with my senior project because since Ms. Handley doesn't have a set routine for each day, every day that I went in was different and this helped me see what different learning styles a kindergarten teacher can use to teach her students.

APPLIED

• This independent component helped me with my senior project because I was able to witness different teaching styles in a kindergarten class room and I saw how some kids did better than others in certain teaching methods. For example the students who were more visual learners had a harder time answering a math problem that wasn't written down.

Extra Post: March Blog

FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS SONG

I though this video was pretty cool because it teaches children the importance of following direction. It teaches them how to follow directions, but it is a fun way for them to learn. This would be and example of kinesthetic learning style.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

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

• For my independent component 2 I plan to just do extra hours at mentorship. I also plan on doing mentorship in another kindergarten class room, so I will be doing mentorship at two different places.

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

• I will update my Independent Component 2 Log whenever I do extra hours, or I will try to update it as soon as I can.

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

• This component will help me explore my topic more in depth because since I will be spending more time inside of kindergarten classroom it will help me learn more and better,

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

Extra Blog: February

The Itsy Bitsy Valentine's Day Book

For February, I found a very cute called "My Itsy Bitsy Valentine's Day Book" that can be given to the  students so they can fill out and color. I thought this was very cute and it would be fun for the children to do on Valentine's day.

Extra Blog: January

The Snowman Name Graph 

Since it is winter time I found this really cute idea for a bar graph children in kindergarten can use. Instead of using a normal bar graph children use snowmen,  they use as many "bodies" as a name has letters. This activity is mostly used for names, but I'm sure it can also be used for math.

Blog #17 : Answer 3

Essential Question:

• What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher can engage different learning styles to enhance student outcomes?

Answer #3 

• My answer three is to let students learn through kinesthetic learning (tactiles learning), which is helpful to students who like to get their body moving during a lesson.  

3 details to support the answer

1. Kinesthetic learners will learn the plant cycle better if you let them work with plants, such as planting a seed, rather than just teaching them about the plant cycle. 
2. Students with a kinesthetic learning style will struggle to learn the material if given a lecture, so something they can do is get up and walk around because they are used to learning while they're body is in motion.
3. In kinesthetic learning, movement and action replace listening to the teacher giving a lecture or reading about something, so for example, a child that takes a trip to the zoo will remember facts about the animals better rather than if they are just reading about the animals. 

The research source to support your details and answer

• http://www.edutopia.org/blog/kinesthetic-learning-new-model-education-kirin-sinha

Concluding Sentence

• I think kinesthetic learning should be my answer three,because there are many small children in kindergarten that learn through this learning style, or at least that is what I've seen at mentorship.

Blog #16: Answer 2

1.  What is your EQ?
What is the most effective way a kindergarten teacher can engage different learning styles to enhance student outcomes?

2.  What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
My first answer is by letting the children learn by doing hands on activities.

3.  What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)
My second answer is by letting students learn visually.

4.  List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.
Answer 1.
- learning centers
- playing by learning at mentorship
- kids learn lessons by playing a game

Answer 2.
- some students learn better when there is visual teaching
- at mentorship if kids don't understand something they hear they will understand when they see how to do it

5.  What printed source best supports your answer?
Different Learning Styles in Early Childhood Development

6.  What other source supports your answer?
My mentor

7.  Tie this together with a  concluding thought.
In conclusion, I believe different students learn differently so giving them the opportunity to learn visually is important.

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

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

• I am most proud about my activity because I feel like it actually flowed smoothly and it went better than I thought it was going to go, thanks to the class for being cooperative,

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

• AP 

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

• I think I deserve an AP because I'm not sure if I made time and I also did not project my voice very well, but I don't think that I deserve a lower grade than that because I really knew my information, I was just very nervous.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

• Knowing my information and my activity worked out in my Lesson 2.

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

• I would talk slower and speak louder, with more confidence. I would also be more efficient with my use of time.

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

• I think my answer #2 will be "visual learning/teaching" which basically means learning by seeing.

Blog #12: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
- In a kindergarten class at Kellogg Polytechnic Elementary.

 2.   Who is your contact?
- Ms. Michelle Handley

 3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year?
- I have done 30 hours not counting the 10 hours for the summer.

 4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
- For the summer hours I went in on their first week of school so the students were not doing much. I would just go in and observe what the teacher was doing and walk around and help students that need help on their individual assignments. I would also help the teacher with stapling homework and such.

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?
- I think it is important to consistently work on your senior project even during break, but unfortunately I was not able to go to mentorship during my winter break because the school where I do my mentorship was also on break.

 2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
- So far in my project I have learned that it isn't as easy as I thought to be a kindergarten teacher. There is a lot of qualities that I still do not have, but I need if I want to be a kindergarten teacher. I learned this from my research and also from my mentor Mrs. Pena-Handley.

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 talk to another kindergarten teacher, because they should know what the best method of teaching would be since they been experiencing that by doing their job.

December Blog Post

Since Christmas is in December, I decided I would talk about an activity that can be done in a kindergarten classroom to get into the Christmas spirit. The activity I chose is a simple picture ornament for the Christmas tree. In this activity the students would be able to decorate their own reindeer ornament and  glue their picture on it to take home and place it on their Christmas tree. I thought this was a very awesome activity and I would so do it if I became a kindergarten teacher.