Independent Component 1

• Literal: 
• (a) I, Isabel Vazquez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work. 
• (b) The people who helped me complete my independent component were my mentor Peter Rainville and Valeria de La Peña. They are both teachers who work at Cortez Mathematics and Science Magnet School. 
• (c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours) Post it next to your mentorship log. 
• (d) In my independent component I was able to do a variety of things. First of all in my mentor's 6th grade class I was able to help students with a iMovie project that they were working on for Math and I also helped with others in-class assignments. In Ms. de La Peña's 1st grade classroom I helped those students who were behind with their work or who were struggling. I also tested some of them on their vocabulary, but I mostly helped the teacher by organizing the student's work and putting them in folders. 
• Interpretive:

• I was able to obtain a picture of the log that I keep in Cortez which indicates the time I go in and the time I get out but it only shows from January until now. 
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• Applied: 
• The independent component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better because when I used to do community service at Cortez with other teachers I didn't work with the students as much. I would usually help the teachers by organizing papers, grading, or doing copies. However, now I was able to interact with the students and observe the different personalities and attitudes of the students and how the level of enthusiasm changes from elementary to middle school. For example, in the first grade classroom all the students are always participating and they are really eager to learn new things. In the 6th grade classroom, the students have to be called on so they can participate and most students are always off task and they whine about everything. I was able to observe the needs of those 
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Third Interview Questions

1. In your opinion, do teachers focus more on students who struggle or students who are doing good?
2. Do you believe that the current state standards help you create creative and etertaining lesson plans?
3. What techniques do you use to keep your students engaged?
4. What would you consider the hardest thing about being a teacher?
5. Do you meet with other teachers reagularly to share ideas or to discuss new lesson plans?
6. Do the students know what the goals and objectives of the classroom are?
7. How do you incorporate real-life situations into your lessons?
8. If you could change anything about your job what would it be and why?
9. How do you deal with students who refuse to do their work and don't listen to the instructions?
10. Many agree that education is taking a step backwards, do you agree with this statement?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours Check

Content:

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?
       I am doing my mentorhsip at Cortez Mathematics and Science Magnet School. 
2.   Who is your contact?
       My mentor is Peter Rainville, a 6th grade math teacher 
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 about 20 hours and 20 minutes of mentorship.  
4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
      At first I helped the ladies in the office by stapling papers ad makig copies and then when I went to my mentor's classroom I helped some students who were working on a project. They were making math videos using iMovie. 
5.   Email your house teacher the name of your contact and their phone number confirming who they should call to verify it.  

Senior Project, The Holiday

Content:
1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?
    I tried contacting my mentor through email so that I could ask if I could come in and get some hours done this week, but unfortunately he didn't get back to me because he is a teacher and he probably wanted to enjoy his break. 

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?
    I learned that I should obtain more information from my mentor so that I can stay in touch with him for whatever I need. 

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?
    I would talk to my mentor because even though I've only seen him a couple of times he has given me useful information and he is a really good teacher from what I have observed so far. 

Independent Component Advancements

I recently talked to my mentor Mr. Rainville and I explained to him my independent component. He offered to help right away. He said that I could start tutoring students after school twice a week so that way I can help them improve their grades and I can gain more experience working with students. He is going to evaluate students to determine which ones are currently struggling with Math. Then he is going to inform parents that their children will begin to get tutoring twice a week afterschool. I am excited to begin tutoring them because aside from doing it as part of my independent component I am also going to be able to observe the different learning styles and behaviors of the students. I am also a bit nervous because this will be a new experience for me, I've tutored students before but I would just tutor one student at a time and now I will be tutoring a group of students in middle school. Usually students in middle school are hard to work with since they are entering their adolescence and sometimes show no interest in school work. This will definately be a challenge, but I feel that I will be able to accomplish this without any hardships.

Research and Working EQ

Content:
1. What is your working EQ?
   My working EQ is "What are the best techniques one can use when teaching math in middle school?"
2. What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.
-One should observe the different learning styles and try to accomodate to each style by incorporating fun activities such as games or hands-on activites as well as using real-world applications.
-Children suffer deeply when their natural way of thinking, absorbing, and processing information is criticized, mocked, or ignored. Never tell a student that they are wrong and scold them.
-Help students make interpretations and to be able to generalize and recognize generalizations since math is about thinking and reasoning.
3. What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?
  All of the articles that I have found have helped me greatly because I have learned about the different learning styles of children and about how you must be optimistic when working with children. I have also learned about teachers' education and how some math teachers believe that they weren't prepared enough to work in classrooms with high poverty and minority groups.
4. Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?
  I am currently volunteering at Cortez Mathematics and Science Magnet School, I have been helping for 4 years now. Thanks to this experience I have been able to work with students and teachers. I have observed how not all students have the same enthusiasm when it comes to learning new concepts. All this time that I've spent with the teachers has helped me learn different techniques and strategies that you can use when dealing with students who don't behave good or who don't want to cooperate.

Independent Component 1 Approval

Content:
1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
   For my 30 hours, I am planning to volunteer more at Cortez Magnet in Mr. Rainville's 6th grade Math class. I want to help him create lesson plans for the class and I want to be able to tutor students who are struggling with certain topics so that I can gain more experience working with middle schoolers. I will also be grading papers and making copies. I will basically be a teacher's assistant for my independent component.
2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence/
  In order to show evidence of my 30 hours I will have to ask the school if I am allowed to take pictures of the classroom. I will also try to take pictures of the work that students do and of the type of work that I have to grade. I will also try to obtain pictures that show me helping the students.
3. And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
  My individual component will help me to build a better relationship with the students. I will be able to observe the different learning techniques that can be used when teaching. I will also be able to obtain information about the students' behaviors and their growth throughout the time. This information will be beneficial when trying to answer my EQ.