Independent Component 2

"Education is the most powerful tool you can use to change the world." 

- Nelson Mandela.

LITERAL
(a) “I, Adrian Gallegos, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
(b) My source that I have used the most that can be referenced is the following: Means Barbara. "Technology and Education Change: Focus on Student Learning." SRI International, 2010. Web. 2010. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ882507.pdf
(c) I have completed the log.
(d) I have completed a mock grant iniative, in which I have chosen International Polytechnic High School as a hypothetical school, and I have established a grant in which a specific amount of money goes to specific causes. I have chosen to use the hypothetical grant for a more rigorous math and science program, and I defend my reasoning.  
INTERPRETIVE 
The mock grant proposal definitely took 30 hours of work to research, write, and assemble in its entirety. It is similar to a large research paper, and required lots of research, editing, writing potential educational plans, looking at other schools as models, and finally assembling all of my materials.
APPLIED
This component helped me answer my essential question because writing a grant proposal is one of the primary aspects of a nonprofit, and understanding what a nonprofit organization has the power to do is an integral aspect to my Senior Project.

My full independent component can be found at this link.

*I suggest downloading it to avoid formatting errors found in Google Drive. 

Post Spring Break!

Over the break, I have found something markedly interesting about my topic. As it turns out, education has an even larger correlation with socioeconomic status than I have previously thought.

According to Laura Post's article "Inequality in Teaching & Schooling", by Stanford University, there is almost a linear relationship between the median amount of income per household to the mean performance on standardized tests and G.P.A. In addition, high-income white students outperform all students of all other given ethnicities on all areas of achievement. The wealthiest schools on average, have individual student expenditures 4-6 times more than low income schools. One of the infographics can be found below.

Before this read, I was under the impression that income and social inequality were social constructs that were behind us in the past, but I now understand that they still pose extremely large threats within our society, and will continue to hinder our progress if we don't do something. This might also make for an interesting turn in my senior project. Hmmm...

Third Answer

Content:

EQ: How can a nonprofit best promote high school education to socioeconomically disadvantaged teenagers in Los Angeles?

Answer #3: To ensure students are granted equal educational opportunity.

Detail 1: In the United States, schools are funded by property taxes. In lower income areas with lower property taxes, schools are of lower quality.

Detail 2: The top 10% of U.S. schools only accept about 9% of their students from the bottom 2 income quintiles,

Detail 3: Family resources are one favor in educational inequity - 15% of white students, and 10% of asians are raised in single family homes, while 27% of latinos and 54% of african american students have only one parent.

Source: Holsinger, Donald B. "Inequality in Education: Comparative and International Perspectives." CERC, 2007. Web. 2008. http://sociologia.davidjustino.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/HOLSINGER2008_inequality_in_education.pdf

Conclusion: As many educational equality reforms have existed in the United States, educational inequality by socioeconomic class is still a very big problem.

Educational Variance - A hardship!

 "The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet."

 - Aristotle.

The more I research into the United States' complex educational system, the more I question. The most outright current problem with it is that none of it is unified. Going over from California to Nevada may result in a change on any given test of up to 15 mean percentile points, according to the Economics of BA Ambivalence, by the University of Minnesota.

Each state - in terms of education - seems to function independently of its neighbors, with Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia having the lowest median standardized test scores, while Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Maryland have the highest median scores.

This variance proves to be a major problem in my research because when research papers often compare the United States to other countries, it allows for the extremely low scoring states to bring down the overall average and therefore adds a large error to the results. From now on, I must keep this in mind in order to accurately compare other country's results to the United States. On the other hand, I think this educational variance is what speaks for itself in terms of the United State's overall educational performance.

Fourth Interview Questions

Content:

Post 20 open-ended questions for approval you want to ask an expert in the field of your senior project.  The focus of your questions should be on your many answers.

1st answer: To push for a reform in education which emphasizes workforce training.

2nd answer:To support teachers with effective technology integration within educational environments.

3rd possible answer: Something having to do with international competition/future job markets.

4th possible answer: To clarify existing societal misconceptions. [needs immediate rewording]

1. In your experience, how does a solid education affect an individual to be a functioning member of society?

2. In your experience, how does an individual stemming from a lower income environment differ from an individual stemming from a higher income environment?

3. As the United States as a whole, how can we best ensure our students can compete against other nations?

4. As the United States as whole, how can we best ensure our students are prepared for the future job markets?

5. How may future students be best prepared outside of formal schooling?

6. In your experience, what separates successful teachers from unsuccessful ones?

7. Following those traits, how can these tactics be employed to create more successful teachers?

8. In your experience, how do students respond to "busy work"?

9. In your experience, how do students respond to work they find applicable to real life?

10. In your experience, how do students who learn in collaborative environments differ from individual learners?

11. In the future, what are some of the potential ways you can see technology shaping education?

12. What are some of the potential ways you can see technology shaping society?

13. In your opinion, how may technology be successfully implemented within classrooms?

14. In your opinion, how may technology be misused within classrooms?

15. How can we best teach our students while still giving them the abilities to function within an increasingly rapid-paced technological society?

16. What existing misconceptions do teachers have that affect students today?

17. What existing misconceptions does society have that affect students today?

18. What do you think society's general opinion about our youth is today?

19. If you could change any opinion of society today about your youth, what would it be and why?

20.  How can the United States best be changed to improve modern education and equity for all?

EQ Answer #2

Answer: To effectively integrate technology within learning environments.

Detail 1: Teachers who use technology effectively in classrooms are rated as being overall better instructors.

Detail 2: 73% of students believe an effective use of computers and other learning aides within the classroom would improve their learning environment.

Detail 3: 67% of students believe their teachers hav an ineffective use of technology that should be improved.

Backed by Source ID#34 and #35.

Valentine's Day!

 "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

This past month has been very busy. I have recently gotten into negotiations with my mentor regarding the mentorship hour count which shall come very soon. We both reached consensus on increasing my overall count of hours by my participation in a financial research project, aimed to simulate the management of a theoretical organization.

In addition to my mentor's research project, which shall be due on the first week of May, I have been wanting to integrate my new found fascination with technology into my year long project of education. I have been formulating a second or third answer for quite a while now, and may later integrate some sort of technology into my project. After all, technology and education go hand in hand with each other as both are very rapidly expanding fields.