Not Just Another Award Ceremony

Natalie Smith

ERWC Period 3

October 20 2016
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Part One: Description.............................................................Page 2-3

II. Part Two: Research...............................................................Page 4-6
III. Part Three: Reflection..........................................................Page 7-8
IV. Part Four: Works Cited........................................................Page 9
V. Part Five: Annotated Bibliography.......................................Page 10-11
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Part 1: Senior Project Description

For my project, I plan on working with Mr. Tauber to help plan this years Triumphant

Troubadour award ceremony. This project is very important to me because as a recipient of the

Triumphant Troubadour award last year I can say it really does affect the student in a positive

way. For example winning the award boosts your self esteem, and it makes the person being

awarded more confident in their work. In order for me to accomplish this project I plan on

having many meetings with Mr. Tauber to make sure I am up to date on new information, along

with attending PTSA meetings. I also hope that this year I can push more teachers to participate.

Since I am already involved with leadership, and have previously worked on Fall Ball

along with other events, I come into this project with an idea of how these events are run. I know

what it takes to make a successful event, and I will do everything I can for this project to be just

that. I can imagine hitting some obstacles when it comes to getting the tables organized, finding a

date for the event to take place, and getting more teachers to participate. With these obstacles I

will definitely rely on Mr. Tauber for help along with help from our amazing administration. I

have no doubt that this project will be completed, and successful. I also want to discuss with

teachers who have nominated a student in the past how they feel the relationship with their

nominated student has changed. Another portion of research will come into play when it comes

to figuring out prices for things such as the frames, the food, and other costs.
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Since we have only had two Triumphant Troubadour awards I would really like to make

this event something people have heard of prior to being nominated, and make it more special for

the recipients. It would also be amazing to see more teachers wanting to participate in the future.
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Part 2: Research

Article 1:

The first article I looked into goes through the importance of a positive teacher student

relationship. The authors main focus was on the development of these relationships starting at a

young age.It talks about how teachers should make more of an effort to have a good relationship

with their students, and them getting involved is the best way to do that. Communication and

patience are two of the most important things when it comes to building a strong relationship

between teacher and student. It is our teachers that help us form who we are as people, and when

you have that strong bond you get to find yourself quicker (CSUN).

This article gives me a great starting point for my research paper. The only problem I

really have with it is the lack of information I am getting about who made the article. There was

no title, no authors name, and the layout of the article was weird. Overall it is a very strong

article with so much valuable information for my research paper. I plan on using this article a lot

during the process of my research paper.

Article 2:

The article The Key to Classroom Management does a great job at giving credible

sources and valid information. Not only is classroom management highly important, but it also

becomes better with great teacher student relationships. Good teacher student relationships lead
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to 31% less discipline problems. A great relationship between student and teacher usually starts

with a teachers behavior (Marzano, 6-13).

The article is fairly up to date with their information, has good information, and has many

visuals. Even though this article is not mainly focused on teacher student relationships it does

have a great deal of insight. Since this article didnt have as much information as I wouldve

liked I am still going to need to do more research to get everything I need, but I will still be using

this article throughout my essay.

Article 3:

This article really breaks down what positive reinforcement is, and how it is a great thing

for teacher student relationships. Although they dont have much information about positive

student teacher relationships, positive reinforcement is just the beginning of a strong bond

between teacher and student. It seems to be an article focused more towards younger kids, and

how to reinforce them. This article is not what I was looking for, and I had misread it, but it

could still have some information that I can use, but not much (University of Kansas).

Overall, this is a good article, but not for my research. It is a very interesting article, but

not one that would benefit me. The article is one written by the University of Kansas, but the

name of an author was not given. It seemed to have more citations and links than anything.

Part 3: Reflection
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Since my project is the Triumphant Troubadour Awards there are many strengths and

weaknesses that can occur. For my senior project I really do believe this project will turn out

really well. It is already a solid idea, but I am just improving it. Despite the late start due to

trying to get it approved, my mentor and I already have a good idea on where we want this

project to go. Once again, those ideas can easily not work out or we change the concept. I have

no doubt that I have a good group of people supporting me on this project so I know it will go

according to plan, but I also have to be prepared for some error. No project is ever perfect.

One of the biggest strengths with my project is the fact that we have a good budget. Of

course this doesnt mean we can get everything we may want, but it does give us some wiggle

room. I have already encountered a problem with getting my project approved which may end up

hurting my project in the end due to less time, but I am hopeful that it will still work out. I am

however really concerned that I wont get enough teachers to participate in my project. Since my

project is based off of teacher participation if too little teachers nominate students then my whole

project could potentially fall apart.

One of my biggest worries is because my project was approved because I kept pushing it,

I had it approved without a complete idea of how I am going to change the event. I have been

constantly thinking how I can change it, but I also have to think about how I can do that while

fitting it in the budget.

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Hold on I just thought of a great idea while typing. I know this has nothing to do with my

reflection, but I just really didnt want to forget this idea. So what if I have a potluck during

lunch with the teachers and students who nominate/get nominated? Then I wont need to spend

money, I wont have to make them stay after school, and they get to bond more. Natalie you are a

genius. Yes. Now back to my reflection.

Overall I still really do believe in this project. I know that whatever minor setbacks that

occur will work out for the best, and if it doesnt turn out perfect then that is ok as well. This

project is all about learning something new, and organizing an event like this without a whole

leadership class working with me is a huge change. Not only am I figuring out a budget, but I am

also investing hours into making sure this project turns out exactly how I want it. It is terrifying

having this event on my shoulders, but it is also exciting to know that everything that happens

will be my vision put together. This project is more than just a grade to me. The research and

everything else I gain from it just add to my experience. These experiences arent things most

teenagers get to do, and I am just grateful for this opportunity.

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Part 4: Work Cited

Work Cited

Marzano, Robert J., and Jana S. Marzano. "The Key to Classroom Management." Educational
Leadership:Building Classroom Relationships:. ASCS, Sept.-Oct. 2003. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

N/A .. "Behavior Plans/Classroom and Group Support/Teacher Tools/Positive Reinforcement |

Special Connections." Behavior Plans/Classroom and Group Support/Teacher Tools/Positive
Reinforcement | Special Connections. University of Kansas, 2005. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

N/A .. "The Positive Teacher-Student Relationship." The Positive Teacher-Student Relationship.

California State University of Northridge, Web. 14 Oct. 2016.
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Part 5: Annotated Bibliography

https://www.csun.edu/~acc50786/Education.

This article goes through the importance of a positive teacher student relationship. The authors

main focus was on the development of these relationships starting in second grade.It talks about

how teachers should make more of an effort to have a good relationship with their students, and

them getting involved is the best way to do that. My only problem is that all I know is that it was

posted by Csun, but I have no idea who wrote it etc. Other than this it is a very credible source I

plan to use further into my research.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept03/vol61/num01/The-Key-to-

Classroom-Management.aspx

The article does a great job at giving credible sources, and valid information. It goes on to say

how the relationships students grow in their classrooms impact them the most as they go on in

the future. The article is fairly up to date with their information.Another thing discussed are ways

to improve the relationships built in the classrooms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNW05PRpPUY

The video shows a school that has changed their system to reward good behavior in such a great

way that students are happy about behaving. It goes to show how strong the teacher and student

bond becomes when they are receiving positive reinforcement.

http://www.specialconnections.ku.edu/?

q=behavior_plans/classroom_and_group_support/teacher_tools/positive_reinforcement
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This article really breaks down what positive reinforcement is, and how it is a great thing for

teacher student relationships. Although they dont have much information about positive student

teacher relationships, positive reinforcement is just the beginning of a strong bond between

teacher and student.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RffD7QN1XW8

In a very short video it is able to capture how the positive relationships are built. What I love

about this video also is that it shows what shouldnt be done. Even though the creator of this

video is not someone really known, and it isnt the most viewed video it still is a great source.