Senior Project Update

(1) What are you currently doing in your independent component? 
 I am volunteer at Cal Poly Center, doing more hours to learn more and gain children trust. I would like to volunteer in a kindergarten school to see what would be the results and focused on how can preschool help the succeed on children future. Going to the center is fun and the most important thing is that every time there is something new that I have to learn. 

(2) What is a recent piece of research (article, interview, or audio-visual) that have you reviewed you would say was significant in helping you understand where to go next in your senior project?  The piece of research should be something you reviewed in November.  Please explain what you learned and where are you going next because of this piece of research.

AND

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0756542189/ref=dp_image_text_0/177-3509851-9546037?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

So far, this video has helped me to know more about the importance of the education in early years. It show a graph and is very clear explaining how they learn in the early years (preschool) to be better in the school years. It also explains how the brain is developing and helping them for future. The book help me a lot to see how to be a good teacher, it has the scheduled how a center should operate and what a teacher should do in that time. Is very  easy to understand. 

(3) Provide evidence from your independent component or the piece of research as something you recently did.  For example, a photo of something you working on for your independent component or your notes from the video you watched.  

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/0756542189/ref=dp_image_text_0/177-3509851-9546037?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

The book actually is helping me to do the job right or better, I learn what to do when an emergency happens  how to control a situation, and many others things that I didn't realize I would do. This picture is where I volunteer.

Blog 5b: Science Fair Proposal

1. What is your topic?

Early Childhood Development (Preschool)

2. What is the driving problem behind your experiment and the quote by an expert to support that problem? (Expert citation must be MLA format.)

Problem: Children who don’t attend preschool are more likely to have a difficult learning in their future.               

Quote:  Linda Broatch, M.A.                                                                                                                    

"As kindergarten becomes more academic, many parents look to preschool to launch their child on the path to success in school. At the same time, parents may worry that the current trend to focus on pre-math and pre-literacy skills in preschool cuts into important play time and pushes a child to grow up too fast. It's a confusing issue,especially with friends and family offering different opinions and advice."                                                                                                                       

Broatch, Linda M.A. "Why Should Your Child Attend Preschool?" GreatSchools. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. <http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/1113-why-preschool.gs>.

3. What is your hypothesis? (Must be in If-Then form.)

 If a preschool student uses writing paper frequently, then they will learn to write faster than other students.  

4. Write a paragraph summary of how you will perform the experiment.  Include the tools you plan on using.

I will perform this experiment by giving the children an special writing paper. Each time they will have the paper with smaller lines to show if they have improve or not. I will make this for 5 day, they will start by tracing some letters, then I will show them the letter and they will make the letter in the special paper, and by the 4 day I will ask them if they can write it without using that special paper. I will do this at the preschool I volunteer in and there are about 15-18 children. The tools that i'm using are the special writing paper, pencils or crayons, and regular paper. 

5. Select one of the following Project Categories for your experiment:

Behavioral/Social Science

Working EQ and Possible Answers

(1)             What was the working EQ you used during your presentation?

·        How can preschool help a child to succeed in future academic pursuit?

(2)             Did you decide to revise you’re working EQ after your presentation? If so, write your revised EQ here.  If not simple write "I am not going to revise my EQ at this time".

·        I am not going to revise my EQ at this time.

(3)             What are possible answers to your current working EQ?

·         Preschool help a child in their future education because they began to learn and developing social, physical, and emotional skills. Preschool help the child to participate on activities, communicate, share with others, ask questions, and be friendly. It prepares children for a higher education.

Rough Draft of Presentation 1

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZW-zy40JHP8UFvwFdwqo6RjxNz-xj2QRGGBKShu_bic/edit

Independent Component 1 Plan Approval

CONTENT:

(1)    Write a description of what you plan on doing for your independent study component.

      For my independence study component I plan to do a study on the benefits that kids has when they attend preschool. I would compare the knowledge preschool kids have compare those that do not attend preschool. I have been noticing the kids of the preschool where I volunteer know a lot more that kids who I interact with outside of the volunteer center. With the help of my mentor and the teachers of the center I plan to prove that preschool makes a big difference for preparing a child for its education.

(2)    Describe in detail how you think your plan will meet the 30 hours’ work requirement.

      I plan on meeting my required work hours by volunteering on the center. While I volunteer there I will ask teacher why preschool is important for children and why is it important for education. Also I will analyze how children are learning by asking them questions.

(3)    How does your independent study component relate to your working EQ?  

      Although I have not yet created an EQ, this independent component would relate to it because preschool prepares children for kindergarten and future education. Educating children is important for both themselves and our future.

(

Second Interview Questions

1.        When and how did you realize that this is the career you wanted to go into?
2.        How long have you been working in this field?
3.        What are the specific classes that you had to be a preschool teacher?
4.        Tell me about one of your accomplishments and why this was important to you?
5.        What is the hardest thing you have experience while working as a preschool teacher?
6.       What upsets you?

Working EQ:

The Pentagon:

 (1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?

One positive result is that I have learned how to work with children. Working with children it seems an easy career to do but actually is the opposite, this career is not easy. My mentor enlightened me on the fact that you as a teacher have to have a lot of patience and understand because everyone is different. Early Childhood Development requires a lot of growing inside the brain, which makes the child to act in different ways.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

When I interviewed my mentor, I was impressed with much of new information. Due to the interview, I can understand much more on how to work with children, making then understand, how to help them, and much others things.  Many specific details were explained to me, being a preschool teacher you should have a basic grasp of child psychology and child development, communication is very important talking with children, parents, and co-workers. Also teachers deal with a wide variety of behavior in children from extreme shyness and separation anxiety to hyperactivity and aggression. Teachers have to know how to handle health and safety-related situations that may arise in the classroom. Working with children is not that easy, but if you love your work it can be fun.

 (3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

So far, I was confused I didn’t know how to start and I came up with conclusion that I wanted to work with children.  After researching places I finally found a children center in Cal Poly Pomona College, which it was really interesting for me. I went personally and they gave me an application filled it and they asked me for my TB shot and I had to get that shot. They called me and accept me I was so excited to work there. Getting to work at the children center was fun and exciting. There are many teachers who can help me and which they are really nice. Also, there is no problem gathering research. There are so many articles and books about early childhood development.

(4) What hasn't worked so far? 

I have trouble on memorizing the teacher’s and children’s names, is hard when they tell me to go and tell someone something. I have to repeat the name a lot and I forget I know some of them but not all of them. Is hard to me memorize everyone’s name because I don’t go every day.

(5) Finding Value:  Based on your experience so far,

What possible question or questions come to mind regarding what you would like to study this year?

A question that comes to mind regarding what I would like to study is, how hard or challenging the course load in childhood development.  Also, what is the best way to make parents understand the difference between a preschool and a child care. What is the best way to deal with a child who is crying or been restless. 

 What is your end goal this year with your senior project?

My end goal for my senior project this year is to get to know how is the feeling to work as a preschool teacher. I also want to make sure if this is what I really want to continue my career on.  I’m pretty sure that it would help me decided if I really enjoy working as a preschool teacher.  Also, to do a good job explaining my topic to others, and make them understand what is my topic and how everything works.

Who would you like to talk to you next? Why?  

 I would like to talk to someone in the childhood development field, because they can tell me more information on how children learn and the process of their development. This would help me a lot, by knowing more information of how kids react.   

Blog 5a: Problem Statement

1) Preschool Teacher

• Problem in your topic.  What will you do once you solve the problem?

2) Parents do not understand why preschool is important, for their children future. Parent mistaking child care for preschool because is cheaper but, not the importance of preschool.

Once solving the problem, I will encourage parents to put their children in preschool because of the importance and their child future.

3) Aggressive behavior between children, like hitting, biting, or fighting over toys.

 Talking with them is the best thing to do when fighting over a toy. Once the problem is solved and they say sorry each other they would share the toy. If they continue with the same problem,  I will talk to them again and take away the toy from them.

Blog 3: Interview Preparations

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?

•  I plan to interview Melissa Terraza, or Elaine Cortez, they are teachers for several years in early childhood development (child care). I believe that whichever of them have such as great experience and the true understanding on children.

2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask?

• In addition to the five questions, I plan on asking what, is the best way to start a job in a children center. Also, I would ask in case i decided not to continue with this job, what are other choices in almost the same career? The last question I would like to ask is if she recommends me to pursue this career choice.

Topic Choice

A. What is your topic and why?

• My topic is Early Childhood Development. I chose this topic because I really enjoy being with kids. I want to learn more from the teachers and feel more the experience being with children. Someday I would like to put my own children center, and by focusing my project on this topic I would get a good experience.

B.

• Effective I-Poly Citizen: I plan to be helping others and guiding them to the right answer. This will help me to be an effective I-Poly citizen by helping others and making them secure with the best choice.

• Effective Learner:  I plan to be creative and put all my effort to finish on time. This will improve me to be an effective learning because putting all my effort in starting early; I would get more time to be creative with my work.

• Effective Communicator:  I plan to tell others about my project. This will make me more effective communicator by being able to share others my ideas and what i have planned for the project.

• Effective User of Technology: I plan be able to complete all my blogs. This will make me more effective as a user of technology because I will learn more and others can see what I have learn an experience.

Blog 1: Summer Mentorship Component

Literal (Know)

Mentor: Melissa Terrazas

Email: mterrazas@csupomona.edu

Phone: (909) 869-2284

Day 1:    11:12-12:50

 On my first at the child center at Cal Poly Pomona, I first received a tour of the center so I could see where the different rooms and areas were. After, they presented me to the teachers and one of the teachers put me in a place to work with the group I was designed.  They had lunch the teachers pretend to eat with them, after eating they go to sleep.

Day 2:   9:20-12:15

On my second day, they put me in a room with bigger kids, I introduced myself with them and I tried to know their names. After that, we took them to play outside the center to a grass area, I had to line them up and we started to sing/talk while walking to the grass area. Before leaving the center we showed them how to make Jello.  

Day 3:    9:15-11:35

On my third day, I went to moonbeam room 2 years old children. When I arrive there the children’s were playing with water and I was wetting them. After we took the kids inside and I read to them a story, they play after.

Day 4:    9:30-11:35

I swing them in the swingers and we took them inside the room. I read to them the story called boo-boo and they were really excited. After the teacher put music and they started to play in different areas.

Day 5:    9:25-11:30

It was like day 4.

Literal (Need to know)     

• What is the best way separating the kids when fighting?
• How much money the parents pay to keep their children in the day care?
• What is the first thing I should do when a children gets hurt?
• If a child is not following the instruction what should you do?
• What classes should a person take if they want to take care of children?

 Interpretive

   The most important thing I gained from this experience is that I got the satisfaction of helping children learning new thing such words, shapes, colors, songs, and respecting others.  For me seeing what the kids knew it was impressing because they respect, care, and share each other’s. Showing them that sharing makes everything more fun and happy for everyone it was hard to make some children’s to understand but easy with the most of them.  I really enjoyed being with the children’s making them being happy and telling them what is good to do and what is not go to do.

   

Applied

     I think what helped me pick my topic was the environment. Being around all of these children’s it makes the room and yourself happy, looking at them smiling and happy I get happy too.  Even though I am a volunteer there I felt so happy when they told me teacher for me was the best thing to hear.  As the days pass the kids knows me more as also the teachers which makes everything more easily for them and me.

Blog 1; Summer Mentorship Component

Assigment