Saturday, May 31, 2014

It's the end...

Well, after a year, this project has finally reached its end. So here is the final post.

I'd like to say that although finding quality research for karate, there are some resources out there that provide good information. Some examples can be found in my wb over there ->, and in this amazing karate blog I happened to stumble upon a few weeks ago:

http://www.karatebyjesse.com/

This ninja blog provided me with ways to improve my teaching and my practices. It may not have detailed studies, but it does offer an endless amounts of experience and practical knowledge by a sensei who genuinely loves teaching karate.

In the end, this project was a success. I managed to compile sufficient research, and I was able to personally improve my teaching. All in all, thanks for reading this blog and I hope you find it helpful.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
I was really proud of successfully decorating my room with props and posters, which really brought the MPR to life. I am also very proud of beginning and ending my presentation in a very strong, solid way. The way I realized this is because throughout the day students came up to me to congratulate me for doing a good and the always looked at me in the eye and shook my hand. I actually began my presentation by lining up everybody and shaking everybody's hand, so I really feel this might have had an impact in my audience.

(2) Questions to Consider

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

AE       P          AP       CR       NC  

This is because I feel that not only did I prepare and organize a regular presentation, but I worked arduously to  go above and beyond. I did everything in my power to make my presentation deep and complex to actually convey meaning, I ensured to create the right type of ambiance by decorating with a wide array of props. I tried to give meaning to both my EQ and my answers, I feel I did have an impact in my audience, and I do believe I managed to pull off a memorable experience for both the senior and junior viewers of my presentation. In general, I really do believe I managed to pay it forward and help a pair of juniors who approached me after my presentations with questions about their future senior projects on karate.
b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE/P          AP       CR       NC

I have to say that I've worked really hard on my project throughout the whole year. I've been working at improving my teaching skills for five years now, and my mentor(who's known me for over ten years) has actually told me that I improved more this year than I ever have in all the years I've been learning to teach karate. I also put in a great deal of effort into creating effective independent components, especially considering that my second independent component was designed to effectively prove which of my answers was the best. To culminate my project, I worked day and night to make sure I delivered a presentation that has shown the skills I've learned both in Ipoly and my mentorship for the last 4 years. All in all, I worked restlessly to the end to display the best I could develop with what I had and with the time I had.
(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

My mentorship really worked for me since I've already been helping out with karate classes for years, therefore finding a mentor was very easy, although he was very hard on me. As a result of my mentor knowing me for so long, he felt very comfortable at pushing me to my limits to so that I could regularly improve my teaching abilities. I also think that my final senior presentation was very successful. Without regard to what grade I may get, I really feel satisfied with what I displayed, I really feel that is showed not only how much I've learned throughout this year, but through the last four years. I can confidently say that my presentation was a successful culmination of my high school experience, one where I learned to present, be resourceful, and to work hard to the end.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

If I could change anything in my project, I would go back in time to my presentation and include giving out cookies and showing my bo staff form during the presentation, not after I had concluded it. I was able to give out the cookies and show my bo staff form and still give their corresponding explanations, but I would have liked to do it before the timer stopped taking my time. Mind you, this was by design since I felt that I was better to do that part after the fact, but as I showed the form I realized I would have been better to include it in. Other than that, I would just go back to my interview and actually talk about how much time I've put in my project, as I received a slightly unfortunate grade as a result of not properly displaying evidence of a nine- month project. From there on out, I feel that I had a pretty solid senior project.  

(5) Finding Value
How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   

Its one thing to develop a five minute presentation, and its a complete other to organize an hour-long presentation. Senior project prepared me for the future by enhancing some of my researching skills, creativity, presentation skills, perseverance, entrepreneurial skills, and ability to gain and benefit from a mentorship/internship. Overall, I feel that my senior project prepared me for conducting experiments/projects throughout my life, and having better foundations for successfully completing college. For example, as a result of gathering over 63 pieces of good research and doing our ESA we learned how and were to look for quality research. Another clear example is the fact that most incoming freshmen at college don't have the extensive presentation skills that we as ipoly students have. I really do feel that being able to complete my senior presentation really prepared me to be able to stand out and make a different at the college I attend. In order to stand out in a school of over 5000, I know that I need to be able to speak up, and that's exactly what my senior presentation had me do. This is the beauty of Ipoly, although our GPA's suffer so greatly because of this, but by the time any student walks at graduation they have learned invaluable skills that aren't taught in traditional high schools. Thusly, giving us an advantage to succeed in our college experience.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Blog 21: Mentorship

Content:
LIA Response to blog:
    Literal
·     Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties updated on the right hand side of your blog
142 hours. =>
·     Contact Name and Mentorship Place
Fabian Villalobos, Young Champions Karate.

    Interpretive
     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?
All in all, I gained a much deeper understanding of karate and the art of teaching karate. I've already been in karate for over 10 years and I have been working on learning how to teach for about 5 years. Although I've had experience, I feel that throughout this year of work I improved dramatically in my teaching skills. It's been a goal of mine to one day work as a karate instructor teaching through a larger organization or independently. After this project I feel ready to take on my goal and make it a reality. 

   Applied
     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.
My EQ is: What is the most important factor to effectively teach karate to young children? In short, my mentorship has consisted of me practicing how to teach and being there while my sensei taught or while I taught myself. It was through research and constantly talking to my sensei, the parents, and kids that I developed my answers. While I was working with my sensei at teaching I realized the many ways that teaching could be done. The different components of teaching that allows kids to learn the best, and it is precisely those components of teaching the became my answers. It was through my sensei and mentorship that I was able to check the effectivity of my answers. Since my sensei tends to be nice to me, he allowed me to teach on a somewhat regular basis. Through this I was able to put my answers to the test. 

*Please do not turn in your mentorship hours to the office.  After we collect the total list from all seniors, we will turn in one piece of paper with all hours for everybody.  It is counted as 50 hours of the 200 you need in order to graduate from I-Poly.  The 10 hours in the summer have already been added to your community service total.


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