Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
I am most proud of my presentation and my exit interview. This is because I thought my presentation was very well prepared for with a clean PowerPoint and fun, interactive activities for the classroom that got everyone awake and interested. I am also proud of my exit interview because I believe that I answered all the questions thoroughly and brought in the aspect of connecting my family life with my senior project.

(2) Questions to Consider

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

     P    

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

P

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
What worked for me in my senior project was that although it was difficult at times that there was a lot of research available for me to read. Even if the information wasn't directly related to special education it helped me to see that there are examples of special education in everyday life.
(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?

I would've asked for a different time to present because many people were falling asleep due to the fact that it was so close to lunch time.

(5) Finding Value

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

I feel that my senior project helped me to respect my topic more and to see that even though I may not be interested in something at first that I can still enjoy learning about it.

Blog 21: Exit Interview

1.)  My essential question is, "In what way can a special education advisor best help her students complete their academic goals?" The three answers that I have come to are for the special education advisor to have a knowledgable understanding of the student's file, to encourage parent involvement, and to have a passion for their job. My best answer to the essential question would be for the advisor to have a knowledgable understanding of the student's file because without knowing the student and their history you cannot set a stable foundation. Without a foundation of respect an advisor can't further assess the student's struggles and needs.

2.) The process that I went about to arrive at this answer would be my mentors hip at Montclair High School and through the researching of articles.

3.) Problems that I faced throughout this project were that I wasn't able to attend meetings between the advisors and the students. I overcame this by talking with the students about how they felt about the special education program they were in.

4.) Two of the most significant sources for my senior project was my mentor Ms. Vela at Montclair High School and my personal research of articles. These have been my best sources of information because they provide me with the facts and the real life experiences to support the facts given.

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Questions

1. Who do think the special education process begins with?
2. What kind of role do you think parents play in this process?
3. How important do you think special education advisors are in students completing their IEP goals?
4. Why do you think students struggle to complete their IEP goals?
5. Who at the end of the day do you think is responsible if a students does not meet their IEP goals?
6. What information should a special education advisor keep in mind when writing an IEP for a student?
7. Who, in your opinion, supports a student the most throughout their special education academic life?
8. What do you think is the best way to help students reach their IEP goals?
9. If you could do so right now, how would you better the rate of students meeting their goals?
10. Why do you think research puts so much pressure on schools during the special education process?
11. What do you think is the most important thing about being a special education advisor?
12. How can students themselves improve their chances of completing their IEP goals?
13. Why is it important for IEP goals to be documented and reviewed constantly?
14. How do you think not completing their IEP goals now would affect a student later in life?
15. Do you think that the emotions are an important part of the special education system?
16. How can a special education advisors emotions affect a students progress?
17. What can be done to create a safe and carefree workspace for students?
18. What do you think causes special education advisors to loose motivation in their work?
19. Why is it important for special education advisors to maintain a passion for their work?
20. How and why do you think foundational information about a student is so important when it comes to special education?

Interview 3

During my third interview, Ms. Sanchez helped me to realize my second answer to my essential question. My essential question is "In what way can a special education advisor best help her students achieve their academic goals?" My first answer was to have a clear understanding of the students personal and academic files. My second answer  is to encourage parent involvement with each student. Through my research parent involvement was mentioned and encouraged because the parents play such an influential role in the kids lives. Ms. Sanchez also brought this up to me because she noticed that many of the students within the special education program at Montclair High School lack motivation to achieve their goals. Special education advisors are the ones that make these IEPs but there's only so much that they can do. Parents are the ones who can push their students to achieve more and continually encourage them to keep progressing in life.

Blog 15:Independent component 2 Approval

1) I plan on just doing more mentorship hours but with someone at a college level for my independent component 2.

2) I plan on interviewing the person that I do my Mentorship hours with and possible other advisors as well.

3) This component will help me with my project because I have been covering the whole spectrum of special education so working at the college level with help me understand the last level of education. 

Blog 14: independent component 1

• LITERAL
  (a) Write: “I, Alondra Bernardino, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
  (b) The person who helped me most was Mrs. Bee from Serrano Middle School.
  (c) Update your hours in your Senior Project Hours link. Make sure it is clearly labeled with hours for individual sessions as well as total hours.
• (d) Through my mentorship hours at Serrano Middle School I did not complete much physical evidence aside just from my notes and things that I wrote down comparing middle school and high school.  INTERPRETIVE 

• APPLIED
• This project helped me to set the foundation for my topic because I was able to see the transition from middle school to high school. It gave me more of an understanding about how things works and what kind of things that the students are  actually prepared for.

Mentorship

I feel that through my mentorship at Montclair High School I have been able to add a new level of depth to my research. Being able to observe my mentor work with students each time that I go in really helps because I notice the way she speaks to them and how she works with them. I am also able to see the way she communicates with everyone around her. In my research I have found that constant communication between the advisor and a student's team is crucial. Through my mentor I see the real life application and different scenarios in which communicates with the student's parents and teachers. Without my mentorship I don't think that I would understand the role of a Special Education Advisor or the IEP process fully. I would understand the basics of how everything works but I would definitely not be able to understand the way the IEP process is different for each child.