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 everyone that came up to me and told me my presentation was one of the most engaging presentations they had watched so far. I also liked that Navarroli told me he could tell I had a very deep understanding of my topic. 





(2) Questions to Consider

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

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

I would say a P because I forgot my physical sources at home to pass around during class. Other than that I would say a P+/AE because I went really into depth and held the classes attention very well. 

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

AE       P          AP       CR       NC
P+
(3) What worked for you in your senior project?
My Mentorships. 

(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?
Provide more sources, because you can never get enough of those. 

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.
I now know I don't want to do music ed as a career

Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal:
-completed hours log
-Elva C. Gomez (music teacher) at Sierra Vista High School, Baldwin Park CA.

Interpretive:
-The most important thing I gained from this experience was patience for students. At Cal Poly, every student was expected to return to class knowing more than they knew last time. They were expected to practice and progress on their own time, and they did.
Whereas at Sierra Vista High School, most students share equipment so it's harder for them to really learn anything the first time they play it. For them class was practice time and 'Ask Questions' time. Something else to consider was some students learn at different paces. I had to be able to help someone who was falling behind, needed sheet music or was really out of tune. You can't really expect them to be at any level, but instead expect them to try.

Applied:
-What I've done has helped me answer my EQ by providing a hands on experience and justification to them. For instance, all students had different needs and paces. My EQ answers cater to that. My second answer 'To implement music technology' provides up to date music knowledge and a variety of music technology topics for students who show interest in it. Also, my mentor Ms. Gomez always left her room open for students who needed after school practice or even homework help. Which justifies my first and third answers; to make the education of music easily accessible and to provide educational support.

Exit Interview

1. What is your essential question, what are your answers? What is your best answer and why?
-My essential question is 'What is the most effective way to positively impact a community through music education?'. My three answers are: to make the education of music easily accessible, to implement music technology, and to provide academic support.
My best answer is my first answer because it is a gateway step to all other things that must fall into place in order for music education to be effective(positively) in a community. I can have any of my other answers individually or put together but they're still not as strong (of answers) as my first one.

2. What process did you take to get to this answer?
-To get to my first answer, I had to find a way to combine the results of research I'd found. My background research consisted on what was wrong with music education today, then it slowly progresses to How To Fix It and Positive Impacts of Music/Music Education. I found that all problems and resolutions were somehow all connected, like a domino effect. I researched what in history had led to a decline in music education, and every decline in music education is the same; Loss in government money means taking money from schools and programs. After all this, I came to the conclusion that throughout history and even today, the decline in music education is a result of no money and less and less access to programs.

3. What problems did you face? How did you overcome them?
-A large problem I faced was miss informative or biased articles. Another problem I faced was getting a good mentorship to help answer my EQ. Often times the conductors (music teachers) were too busy and the classes were either really large or too small. I overcame this by not citing bad sources, but considering what they had to say with respect. As for my mentorship, I decided to use the class sizes to my advantage. The smaller class was a college class, the larger one a high school class. So I researched the money put into high school music vs higher education, and observed the pro's & con's of class size.

4. What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
-My two most significant sources to help answer my essential question have been both of my mentorships, and most music history articles I've found. The history articles I found were more informative for music education because history tends to repeat itself. My mentorship also helped because I could apply principals from history and observe the community of LA in different aspects.

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

LITERAL
a) I, Victoria Gonzalez, affirm that I completed my independent component which presents 45 hours of work



b) Article or book that helped me complete my independent component 2
-New York Times posts "...to talk music, tech and creativity at the NAMM show." This article talks about the outspoken tech titan, who started Apple in 1976 with Steve Jobs, is expected to discuss the music industry and share stories about working with Graham. This article helped out a lot because it expressed that the arts are just as an importat edevour as technology, which is what my EQ answers revolve around.


c) updated log



d) Explain what you completed
-For my independent component 2, I surveyed a high school class room to see if music education was positively impacting the community, and if the class had enough musical diversity.



APPLIED
How did this help answer your EQ?
-It helped me get a view on public music education vs college music education

Sierra Vista High School-band room 

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Questions

1. What is the first step to using music education as a positive source?
2. How can we incorporate modern technology to music education?
3. Would this be beneficial?
4. What are some music interventions all people would enjoy and be drawn to?
5. Why do music classrooms lack musical diversity?
6. How can a music program appeal to the masses (can they?) ?
7. What are some differences in music education now and in the past?
8. Is music education today effective or efficient ?
9. With funding a large set back, how long can it take for music education to get back on its feet?
10. What are some sources you would recommend (for the further research of impacts of music education) ?
11. What was the most influential source to you in college?
12. How can we motivate people to be a part of music (education) in a community vs just getting lessons off of Youtube?
13. What keeps beginners going when it gets tough (music classes) ?
14. What influence has music had on you (to pursue it as a career)?
15. What are some negative effects of music education today ?
16. What organizations, if any, have done a good job at using music education as a positive tool?
17. What do they do to accomplish this?
18. What can we learn from these programs?
19. Are there any other parts of the would we can look at for guidence on how to use music education as a positive tool?
20. What are the positive and negative effects in other countries?

Blog 17: Third Answer

My EQ:
What is the most effective way to positively impact a community through music education?

My Answer#3:
By providing academic and social support for their main school courses.

Three supporting details:
1. Research shows that people who play instruments are more likely to score higher on standardized testing. (Education is a way out of poverty therefor bettering the socioeconomic status in a community = more resources)

2.  Children (in grades k-12) who attend school are less likely to engage in gang related activity.
-likewise, children in grades k-12 will stay in school as long as they feel they belong. Otherwise they drop out.

3. Better grades and extracurricular activities help to build character &independence which is essential for personal development.

My research source/s:
El Sistema.com.

Concluding Sentence:
Something to keep in mind; My three reasons help to tackle different aspects in a community that are needed in order to better it.

February: Semester Two

This month I have found my second mentor at a local high school; Sierra Vista High School.
I'm really excited to have found her (Ms. Gomez) because her class will help me answer the rest of my EQ. Her class gives me an insight on high school music education vs college music education.
I still have yet to make my class surveys , hopefully my research goes well. Fingers Crossed!

Blog 16: Answer 2

1. What's your EQ?
What is the most effective way to positively impact a communtiy through music education?

2. What is your answer 1?
Make the education of music easily accessable .

3. What is your answer 2?
Implement music technology .

4. Provide three reasons why your answer 2 supports your EQ?
-Provides a modern take on the music experience that most student don't get.
-Opens doors to career training.
-Keeps the community educated and updated.

5.What printed source has helped you most?
AP Music Theory~Collegeboard

6. What other source has helped you most to get your answer 2?
My Cal Poly mentorship.

7. Provide a concluding thought to tie all this together:
A reminder pertaining to my topic; Implementing music technology allows students who like music and are also tech savvy to explore different ranges of music. Also, experience is what most colleges and work force look at now a days, providing stable experience. Lastly, experience leads to more chances to get into college, which reverses the poverty population.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1. Explain in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours:
-Since I spent my first Independent Component in a college classroom setting, I now plan to spend these 30 hours in a high school setting classroom to further extend my research. Doing this will provide real life examples of how music education positively impacts a community...or how it lacks to positively impact a community. I will stay with the same class for the course of the 30 hours to observe progression or digression in their performance overall as a student and a performer.

2. Describe how or what you will do to meet the 30 hour(+evidence) requirement:
- I will have the classroom take surveys to either prove or disprove my prediction on the most effective way to positively impact a community. I will also provide photographs of the classroom setting to show how that impacts learning, as well as the classroom size.

3. As I said, this Independent Component will help me explore another aspect of music education; Public music education. Which is the part of music education that lacks the most resources. It also gives me a taste on what local students request vs what is given in music education.

4. Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link labeled : Independent Component 2 Hours.

Blog 14:Independent Component 1

1A) I, Victoria Gonzalez, affirm that I have cocompleted my Independent Component 1 which represents 10hrs.
B) one of my main sources in classroom management and how to guide a class through a community was Collegeboard's 'AP Music Theory' 2014 edition.
C) hours updated

2. Interpretive
On top of observing my mentor Dr. Janine Riveire in class, I also participated in the class. This helped answer my EQ because I got the college class experience vs a common high school experience.

3. Applied
Like I said, it shows where money in California is going. High school students are in a music class with 1,200 students per teacher, whereas in a college class its about 15 students per teacher.

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
I am most proud of how much the crowd reacted to my activity. I chose something I thought they could connect to and would appreciate, and in the end they were interested in anything they could not figure out on their own in the activity. This showed me I could keep the class interacted, and that's what I wanted. I think that's what anyone wants when they're presenting. 

2a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?
I would give myself a P+ because I did what was required but not much more. I got a lot of commendations on my content, a lot of classmates called it content-rich and easy to follow. Also, my activity really helped to answer my EQ in collaboration with my EQ answer.
2b.    Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
 I had sources (MLA), an EQ and Best Answer. I applied my answer to three aspects of music education, and how my EQ answer could help improve those 3 aspects. My activity also helped support my EQ and EQ answer. 
(Activity: Students in six groups were either a part of Group 1 or Group 2. Each group had to fill in the missing lyrics, guess the artist and song name, then try to remember the lyrics to either Scooby Doo or Spongebob Squarepants , depending on what group you were in (group 1 or 2). The only difference was, Group 1 was allowed to use their phones and any other materials in the class , Whereas Group 2 was limited to asking the people at their table for help.)
This helped answer my EQ with my EQ answer which was : Making the education of music easily accessible though out a community. 
This helped answer my EQ because in order to be able to complete a task, you need resources, and group 2 had little to no resources but themselves. 
3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
 The layout and flow. Also my activity. 
4.What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
 Brought props and played soft classical music in the 
5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
  Promoting AND Performing for the community. 

Blog 12: Mentorship 10hrs Check

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?
I am doing my mentorship hours at Cal Poly in the music department .

2. Who is your contact?
My contact is Janine Riveire .

3. How many total hours have you done?
10Hrs and 15minutes.

4. Summarize the 10hrs of service you did.
In those ten hours, I sat in the advanced string ensemble class and observed Dr. Riveires methods of teaching. I also learned the songs themselves to have both sides of the teaching coin...what you learn and how. I also reviewed recomended

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1. What did you do over break for your senior project?

I stopped playing violin consistently for 2 years and over break, I taught myself how to play everything I forgot how to do. I remembered about 30 minute warm-ups, hour of learning and an additional 30 minutes after that to review what I learned. I also got an electric violin for Christmas which was awesome.

2. What was the most important thing you learned form what you did, and why?

The most important thing I learned was that everyone has different ways of progressing, especially when you are doing it on your own time. This really connects with my EQ directly because I want people to be able to do what they love and balance it with their work life as well, without one of them negatively impacting the other.

3. If you were to make a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

I would want to talk to someone with a high-up position in the education system. I'd want to know why most students don't have things like wood shop, home-ec, and drivers ed at school anymore. These are all other hobby alternatives, they have the same role as music in terms of extracurricular activities.

Blog 10: EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an E.Q.

2.  a. What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
 - This EQ does not meet the rule of three. It does not show depth about the subject especially because weight loss is a touchy subject. Does this weight loss plan apply to diabetics, senior citizens, or teens? On the other hand, the wording is easy to read and I thought the word healthy showed some understanding of their subject because unhealthy weight loss plans do exist.
 
  b. What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
 - The wording is strange, it does not flow correctly. But the direction of the question is good. It has specific parameters to follow that allow a solid base.

  c. What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
 - The subject is clear; A hairdresser not a small business manager. The question allows for in-depth explanation about the subject. The wording also flows very professionally.
What this needs is a point to argue, I feel that the answer to this could be a list of instructions to go through with every customer instead of treating each one differently.

3. My EQ draft:

What is the most efficient way to impact a community positively through music education?

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of from your Lesson 1 presentation and why?

I am most proud of the engagement and reaction from the crowd. It makes me feel like my topic is relevant and interesting. It also shows that I wasn't boring. I also like that people had fun during my activity. I wanted people to interact and work together to help answer my EQ.

2. What assessment would you give yourself on the Lesson 1 component?

I would give myself a P/ AE because technology was not required and I had a presentation.
I would lean more towards the P because the powerpoint was the only way O s
went above abd beyond.

3&4 What worked? What didn't ?
Hook activity or phrase i found was really helpful. It made every one engaged and interested on the subject/presenter.
What didn't work was the questions segment; I think we should say Recommendations/  Commedations instead. We could get pointers on how to make our project a little better.

Progress in Class !

The music ensemble class I participate in is now in its 4th week playing 3 Vivaldi pieces. In 3 more weeks, we have our final concert. Here's the progress:

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1. What is your working EQ?
    -What is the most effective way to impact a community positively through music education?

2. What are some possible answers to your working EQ?
     Possible Answers:
-Some things to consider when trying to impact a community positively through music education is music does not make someone smarter or more effective , rather people who tend to succeed in extra curricular activities tend to me more involved and strive forward.
This is good to consider because you learn to
-*teach them not just how to be a good musician but good discipline, time management, and social skills.
-Provide more than just music as a service but also a sense of belonging.
-Show benefits of trial and error( so they won't give up).

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 
-The most important sources I have found have been any research articles that contradict the importance and impact of music education. These have been significantly helpful because it gives me different views on my subject and whether or not I have a good working EQ. It also gets me thinking of the bigger picture as far as "positively impacting" a community goes. For instance, the question came up; What MORE could I provide rather than just music education? Are there other contributing factors that play into successfully impacting a community? Things like that. 

4.Who is your mentor, or where are you doing mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?
-My mentor is Janine Riveire, string ensemble director up at Cal Poly Pomona. What I do there relates to my working EQ because the college community is a vital one. These are people that are going to be in the work force soon and college is often times a pinnacle point in their lives. So however you can impact them positively might spark something no one ever knew was there.  

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours?

-For my 30 hours/independent component I plan on participating in my mentors class up at Cal Poly. The class I will be participating in is an advanced strings class. In this we will be learning how to perform as a team and being in a team requires building trust and friendships. I will also be helping her teach the class in minor ways such as going around to help students, checking for understanding, and making sure everyone participates. Being in both the class and shadowing my mentor will be good because I think often times one can forget what it is like to be in the students seat.

2. Describe what you will do to meet the expectations of showing 30 hour evidence.

-I will take copies of the sheet music we read and show the notes a player makes on the side. I will also take three videos of the classrooms progress as a whole when performing. I will also provide any tests or quizzes.

3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

-This will help me explore my topic, music education, in more depth by providing one of the most accurate experiences as far as teaching goes. I will be gaining a college experience by working with Dr. Janine Riveire. It will also help me to see all the different ways students learn and what to consider when teaching higher difficulty level classes.

And Fall Begins

As the fall rolls in and the Cal Poly school year begins, so do my endeavours in music education.
Unfortunately, my violins bridge broke in the middle of the summer preventing me from practicing before classes begun.
Being tight on money, this past week has consisted of me trying to fix it on my own. As anticipated, I was unsuccessful.
However, when I look at my attempt in retrospect I realized that this mentorship and the (eventual) fixing of my violin is not just the physical reconnect of parts but MY reconnection with my violin and my passion.
I left my violin unattended for too long, now with stale strings and expanded wood.
Once fixed , we're back in business.

Blog 6-Second Interview Preparation

1. Who is your mentor and where do they work?

-My mentor is Janine Riveire, a professor at Cal Poly Pomona. She teaches music education and string ensemble.

2. What five questions will you ask them about their background?

-When in college, what did you find where the most helpful classes?
 From your experience, what do you feel music education lacks?
  What has been your most significant contribution to the community?
  Why did you select to work at Cal Poly?
  What kind of leadership experience do you have?