internship_project.gslides |
For my internship project I conducted a action research, my essential question was what do the main components that lead to English Learner (EL) success look like in classrooms? This project was important because it was information that could potentially be useful to the office that I was working for. Before I actually went into the classrooms to do research I had to do research in the office about these students. Then I went out into different classrooms, in some I got to interact with the students and I learned a lot form my visits to these ESL/ALD classrooms.
0 Comments
I think that internship has had a big impact on the direction that I will go in my life. Although this direction is still loading and will be rerouted multiple times until I really know what path is the right one for me, I have a clearer picture of what I'm looking for in a job. Whatever I do when I'm older I want to be able to help people and affect their lives in a positive way, just like they do here at the Office of Language Acquisition. I want to have the same type of work environment that they have here as well, always willing to help each other, and ultimately just wanting the best for these students, they are always the main priority. I think that my view on life after high school hasn't changed, but what I am doing right now that will prepare me for after high school has changed. I want to pursue more opportunities that will help me have a clearer picture of my future. I also want to learn more, and by taking on different opportunities it will give me a chance to do this.
Curiosity is a main skill I had before entering this internship that has helped me throughout it. I believe that curiosity is what led me to this internship and the thing that has pushed me throughout it. When someone is curious about something they go out and find out more about it, and that's what I've had to do. Yes my mentors have given me many tools and opportunities to learn more about this field, but without my curiosity I wouldn't have learned as much as I did. Curiosity is something that drives people and is how people find their passions. With the right amount of curiosity and ambition, you will go far beyond just being an intern.
I have advocated for myself multiple times at my internship, and this is something seen very commonly in this office. When I'm doing an assignment that's for my mentor I ask many questions because I want to get the job done right in the first place, rather than her notice the mistakes later on and ask me to fix them. This is very essential when filling out charts because you don't want to be filling in the wrong information, especially when the information is to gets student enrolled in a summer school program. Another way I have advocated is by emailing teachers myself, now that my mentors have introduced me to them, so that I can plan when to visit schools around my schedule. In this office you always hear ideas been thrown around and questions being asked, there hasn't been one day in the office where I haven't seen at least 10 people ask each other for help or an opinion on their work. I really enjoy this environment and feel that I have multiple people that I can always ask for help, aside from my mentors. I still don't know what the future will hold for me or what career that I might want to pursue, but this experience has definitely opened my eyes to many opportunities. Just like my mentor told me to not worry so much about not knowing the career that I might have one day. Instead embrace and take all the opportunities that are thrown your way, these will all lead you to what you will become and help you find your passion. As I take on this internship opportunity, I do feel that it has been preparing me academically and professionally. I have learned so much already from the two weeks that I have been here, and still have so much more to learn and do. It hasn't just been one specific person's job that I have been able to observe, but many different peoples jobs in this office, and as I make my school visits. I recently visited a ESL classroom at a middle school, with a wonderful teacher. Her passion for teaching the kids, and how much she put into the teaching she did was amazing. It made me realize that whatever my career does end up being, I want to have that same fiery passion and drive for it. I am creating a presentation that will have all the information I gathered about ALD and ESL classes from the time at my internship. I will be gathering information from all different types of sources; books, student data, school data, shadowing schools/students, student interviews. I hope that the information I gather about these classes, will help give the Office of Language Acquisition (OLA) a better understanding of the students perspectives. I will need to be patient along with prepared for the schools visits I will be doing. Since it is very hard to get into schools and shadow students I will need to be patient in this aspect, but also prepared for whenever I do get to go to a school. I need support from my mentors so they can help guide me through this process, as they have been doing. They are the ones that have connections to these schools so I will need to work with them to contact the schools. I feel that this will be a key element in making my project impactful and helpful. I interviewed one of my mentors named Miriam Atlas and asked her 4 questions. Questions I have about my internship would be how my mentors got into this field? Do they enjoy that they are constantly visiting different schools? Does this make the job more enjoyable, because they don't have to be at desk all day? The connections that I can make between my internship and school is that they are very similar. In both you get the support you need but you also have to be responsible for yourself and have to hold yourself accountable. In both if you really wanted to you can mess around and not do your work, but then you won't benefit anything from going. A difference would be the punishment you get or side effects that you get from doing this, at school you get second and third chances but at work you don't. What I've learned is that the people I work with are very passionate about helping students and improving their everyday learning. New skills that I have developed are to be assertive. On my first day at work I couldn't find the correct office, and I had to walk around and ask a few different people before finally getting to the correct place. I can now use this skill while I'm working in the office as well, I shouldn't be afraid to ask my mentors for help or more work.
As my first day came to a close I looked back on my day and realized I learned a lot.Everyone in the office I work in is very friendly and they are always willing to help me if I need it. I love the way that they collaborate, discuss, and help each other. It shows that they really enjoy the work that they are doing and put forth their best effort. I hope to someday work in a office with colleagues like this and with the same passion as them. What strikes me about the work I am doing is that many people that don't work in this field don't know much about what they do here. What I am going to be doing is doing research and shadowing Long Term English Learners (LTEL). Much research has already been done on these students, including the publication they gave me to read on my first day, “Reparable Harm” by Laurie Olsen, and a program has been created to help them called Academic Language Development (ALD). I will be comparing how the students were doing before and then how they are doing after, to see if this program has affected and hopefully helped them in any way. I am excited for this project that I will be working on because it does involve me possibly helping out these kids. The only thing I am worried about is getting carried away with all the information and I just need to remember that it's all there to help me but I won't need it all. Sometimes I look at it all and get overwhelmed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |