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.