Senior Project Update

1) What I am doing currently on my independent component is doing an extra 30 hours of my mentorship at South Hills High School.


2) The research that really was beneficial to me was a thesis paper that I found written by Kimberly Johnson. When I was at my mentorship, Mrs. Gough, has me help the student with their math assignment for that day. While helping one of the students I came across a word I didn't know how to sign and the student and I were both stuck. I couldn't help him and he was not able to solve the problem. For the next research check I stumbled upon this thesis paper and reading it during research check it gave me a, what I think could be a possible answer to my essential question: You need to have a wide range of vocabulary. What I want to do next is to figure out which signs, since there are two "ways" you can sign (ASL or English), deaf perfer or helps them to retain the knowledge that they learned.


3)

These pictures are of the notes I take when I go to my mentorship. Some of the things that I write down are how the teacher operate in the class, her method of teaching, even how she moves the desk in the most unnusal way (the litttle drawing are the seating charts for the class). One of my notes talks about how there was a substitute who didnt know any sign language and how she had a hard time runnung the class and how she look relieved when I told her I knew how to sign. She had me interpret for the deaf students.

Blog B: Science Fair Propsal

1.     What is your topic: Deaf Culture

 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.)

  “Because English is primarily a spoken language, all hearing children of English-speaking parents absorb it unconsciously, starting from the moment they're born. They're surrounded with English. Children who are born deaf (or early-deafened) are excluded from this process because they cannot hear. The lucky ones whose parents are fluent in SL start school already knowing a language. Those whose parents cannot (and will not) sign are often forced to star school without any real language at all.”

"Why Do so Many Deaf People Have Trouble with English?" The Deaf Way Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2012. <www.thedeafway.org>.

3. What is your hypothesis? (Must be in If-Then form.) : When less students are tested in a cohort group for STAR testing, then more of those students will score in the proficient category.
4. Write a paragraph summary of how you will perform the experiment. Include the tools you plan on using.

Where I will be getting my data is from the internet. I will be looking on the California Department of Education and be searching for the test scores of Language Art in the second grade.


5. Select one of the following Project Categories for your experiment: Behavioral/Social Science

Working EQ and possible answer

(1) What was the working EQ you used during your presentation?
      For the presentation I used "What is the best way for a hearing impaired student to learn in a classroom?" as my working EQ.

(2) Did you decide to revise your 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?
      Some of the possible answers to my EQ is that:

•  For the teacher to have a wide range of vocabulary and to know different home signs
•  Having to give the attention that the students need to be able to focus on their work
• Lastly, is to be prepared so you can be able to meet the needs of the students. 

Rough draft of presentation 1

Content

Independent Study Componet

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

• For my independent study componet I will be doing an extra 30 hours of my mentorship at South Hills high school.

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

• I will just continue to keep on going to my mentorship after school  from 1:10 to 3pm and add an extra day of going to the high school to meet the 30 hours requirment.

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

• My essential question that I have right now is: What is the best way for a heaing impaired student to learn? So allowing me to be able to be in a school setting with deaf student I am able to observe how well the teacher is presenting the material to the student and how well the students are retaining the information. Also when I have the chance working with the deaf students, it helps me to challenge myself to think of better ways to help them to understand what they learn and to remember how they got their answer and why it is correct.

Second Interview Questions

Questions

1. What has your experience been like so far since you have been working here at South Hills?
2. When you go to work, do you feel like you are entering into a whole different culture? If yes, then why?
3. Do you feel like South Hills has a good DHH (deaf and hard of hearing) program?
4. Do you feel like the technology that you have is up to date for the DHH program?
5.  Do you feel that the school district are finding enough effective curriculum methods for the DHH program?
    

Working EQ

1. A positive thing that has happened so farin my senior project is that my eyes are being opened to a whole new world . With research and reading from the different deaf blogs, that I do on my spare time, I actually feel like I am slowly being drawn in this culture, which I find very exciting.

2. My interview with Karen-Soza Mesa has helped me understand my topic, deaf culture, better beasue I can read all the books and articles anout deaf culture, but unless I start to go out and apply what I learned, all that knowledge would've limited my understanding . With Karen I got the opportunity to apply my self for the first time in my senior project.

3.Well it's still early in the school year to know what and what hasn't worked for me yet. Though I feel like I have been on top of things on my senior project and in my core classes. If I could just continue to stay focused, I should do well.

4. Something that hasn't worked out for me is transportation. I have a hard time getting to my mentorship since there is no one to take me. But I manage to get to where I need to go.

5. Questions: How do words get their sign? Are there any specific reasons why they are signed that way?  How did these deaf norms, such as: intense eye contact, moving around while talking, story telling, long good-byes, and just always being so helpful, become the norms in the deaf culture?

I live in two worlds: a hearing world and a deaf world, not knowing anything about the deaf world. My goal is to become an expert in deaf culture and put myself in the deaf community.

I would like to talk to either a teacher who works with DDH (deaf and hard of hearing) students or a proffessor who is either deaf, teaches ASL, or teaches a deaf culture class. I would like to speak with them next because I feel that they have had so much experience and could be able to pass down knowlege to me.