Teacher Interview
Planning Questions
1) How do you write a typical lesson plan?
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Usually a week at a time, but make revisions as necessary. I almost always include the objective, vocabulary section, build background, guided practice, independent practice, and closure (which typically includes some sort of informal assessment).
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2) What types of materials do you need available when you plan lessons?
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The curriculum book or activity guide that I am using, as well as well as my DPT unpacking of the Common Core Standards.
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3) In what ways do you plan to accommodate individual differences in the classroom?
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I scaffold when needed, but I find that for the most part, this scaffolding happens "on the fly" as we work through the lesson. I also make sure that my seating arrangement and group assignments accommodate differences, as I have many "special situation" students in my classroom.
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Instructional Questions
1) What are some of your instructional challenges as a teacher?
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Time, Time, time!! Money is also an issue - I wish I could afford to buy all the things I'd love to have for all activities that I'd like to do.
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2) What have been some of your instructional successes as a teacher?
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I am proud of the growth that my students have shown in all subject areas, including reading fluency, skill-based reading comprehension, and math. I was asked to teach a school-wide professional development session because of my reading workshop implementation last year. I was asked to teach a "slower paced" math class because of my growth record for students in my math classes.
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3) What do you consider essential Characteristics for successful teaching?
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Organization, planning, and the willingness to build strong relationships with each and every one of your students. this is a FAR from 9-5 job with summers off!!
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4) How often do your students receive social studies/science instruction?
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Science = 3-4 times per week of explicit direct instruction and/or labs; Social Studies = 1-2 times per week. I also include science and/or SS content in my shared reading, reader's workshop, and/or interactive read aloud, whenever possible.
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5) What social studies and science topics/units will be studied during the second week of my clinical experience? What are possible goals/objectives I could address for my lessons? Do you have an y instructional resources that would support these goals/objectives?
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We will be working on earth's land features for both weeks you are here. The activity I will ask you teach is the water cycle. I will give our our planning guide so you know where we have been and where we are going.
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6) What does reading instruction look like in your classroom? What reading topics will you studied during the 2nd week of my clinical experience? What are possible goals/objectives I could address for my reading lesson? Do you have any instructional resources that would support these goals/objectives?
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Reading instruction is very open. My students read in silent reading a lot and I go around and do a lot of observations. I keep track of their progress. I also do a lot of read aloud so students can see the different reading techniques I have taught them in action.
We will be doing poetry and reviewing character traits while you are here. I, again, will give you our planning guide. If you send me the lesson plan I will help you revise it to fit what we are learning. |
Classroom Management Questions:
1) What motivation tactics do you use to ensure a desire to learn?
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I have a classroom store, where students ear classroom dollars for behaviors and successes. I also firmly believe that my relationship with each of my students is the most important piece in how successful their learning from me can be.
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2) Tell me about the classroom community. What are the class rules? How is student behavior monitored? In what ways is positive behavior reinforced? In what ways are negative behaviors prevented? Tell me about the consequences for negative behavior.
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Our school is a PBIS school- positive reinforcement only. Our school rules are the "3 Bee's: Be safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible. " We spend the first two weeks of every school year doing lessons provided by our PBIS team. School employees (admin, teachers, TAs, even custodians) pass out "behavior Bees" to students and we earn rewards by class and by school for meeting goals. W make most of our own classroom rules up as we go, and I try to make sure that my students all get a say in how we implement them.
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3) Tell me about the pacing of lessons and interaction in the classroom- use of time- and other aspects of time... what time, and time using teacher talk and student talk. What works well with your students?
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We use a pacing guide but don't move on till they are ready. We cut if students are not understanding we cut the information that is not as important as the other parts.
We have discussion all the time and I find that really important and a key part of my classroom. Student talk and teacher talk are equally important in my opinion. |
Reflection
This classroom was managed so well. The teacher really had a good handle on her students but they also seemed to love to be in her class. Her lesson plans were written well but had room for changes along the way. Ms. Orr was great at going with the flow and making things work for her students. She always had the students on her mind. She taught very straight forward and to the point. She hit the main points but nothing really extra. I do think that she is a very successful teacher and her students work had and learn a lot. Her classroom management was great and she never had to raise her voice. They new if she was disappointed in them and that was the end of whatever they were doing wrong. The students wanted to please her. She has a special bond with her students and they and immense respect for her and her for her students. She really does have open discussions with her students and when she messes up she points it out so that the students know it is okay to be wrong or mess up. It is a very open class and that is something I really liked.
While I was there they were doing a lot of EOG prep so they did seem to drop a lot of "unnecessary" parts of learning. A lot of social studies and science was cut to add in EOG prep. I understand why they did that but I wish she had kept at least a couple days of science and social studies to give the students a break from just the reading and math.
While I was there I experienced the time issue she talked about first hand. There were so many changes to our schedule over the weeks I was there. It was always something that took the teacher from teaching; may it have been meetings, testing, or planning. She rarely seemed to have enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished. It was good for me to see this so that because that is the real life of a teacher.
As she said in her interview, she is a very successful teacher. It shows mostly when she is teaching her "lower level" math students. You can tell it is a challenge but she met it every day. She was so patient and took extra time and different ways to explain concepts to the students. She wants all her students to succeed no mater what academic level they are. Something else I noticed about her success of a teacher is how she challenges her high level learners. She would write "special" projects for them to expand their learning and challenge them academically.
While I was there they were doing a lot of EOG prep so they did seem to drop a lot of "unnecessary" parts of learning. A lot of social studies and science was cut to add in EOG prep. I understand why they did that but I wish she had kept at least a couple days of science and social studies to give the students a break from just the reading and math.
While I was there I experienced the time issue she talked about first hand. There were so many changes to our schedule over the weeks I was there. It was always something that took the teacher from teaching; may it have been meetings, testing, or planning. She rarely seemed to have enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished. It was good for me to see this so that because that is the real life of a teacher.
As she said in her interview, she is a very successful teacher. It shows mostly when she is teaching her "lower level" math students. You can tell it is a challenge but she met it every day. She was so patient and took extra time and different ways to explain concepts to the students. She wants all her students to succeed no mater what academic level they are. Something else I noticed about her success of a teacher is how she challenges her high level learners. She would write "special" projects for them to expand their learning and challenge them academically.