Teacher Interview

Interviewer: Kyra Owen

Date: February 25, 2015

Interviewee: Ramadan
(ft. Colberg and Skolaut)
Time: 10:30am

Planning Questions:
How do you write a typical lesson plan?
Mrs. Ramadan pulls up everything she need to begin including the essential standards and
the common core standards. She gathers potential materials. Her lesson is usually
structured with a warm up to start things off, then some instruction with guided and
independent practice intertwined within. She then works in time for students to work
independently while she takes a group of students who voluntarily want some extra
support and help.
What format do you use for lesson plans?
Mrs. Ramadan doesnt use a specific type of plan. She makes sure to mix things up. She
uses pacing guides and assessments to guide what she needs to teach for students to do
well on EOGs.
What types of materials do you need available when you plan lessons?
She uses pacing guides, assessments, common core standards, essential standards, the
internet/technology, and other teachers ideas and lessons.
In what ways do you plan to accommodate individual differences in the classroom?
At Highland Creek Elementary, the upper grades are departmentalized. Mrs. Ramadan
teaches only math. The groups of students are already grouped by ability. Mrs. Ramadan
uses small groups, peer tutoring, and a lot of re-engagement to support struggling learners
and ELLs. She plans for advanced students to do meaningful extensions if they finish
regular class tasks early and they need a challenge.
Instructional Questions
What are some of the most challenging math topic you teach?
Mrs. Ramadan said that every topic can be challenging. She said that sometimes what
you dont think will be hard ends up being an incredibly challenging.
Do you find yourself not knowing the math content? What do you do about it?
Mrs. Ramadan said she find herself having to review and relearn material all the time.
She goes back to what they should have learned the year before and makes sure she is
well prepared to teach the content rather than show up and incorrectly teach them.
What are some of your instructional challenges as a teacher?
Mrs. Ramadan says that sometimes it can be hard to find support from parents. She finds
that she lacks the time she needs sometimes to get kids on level. Keeping everyone
caught up is especially a big challenge because sometimes students really need more
time. Another challenge she faces is just being 1 person. She gets 1 assistant during 1
class period and not even for the whole class.
What have been some of your instructional successes as a teacher?
Her relationships with her students has always been a strong point for her. Mrs. Ramadan
thinks that letting her students see she cares has really been helpful in her classes. She

finds that incorporating movement into her classes really helps. Students get to move
around, stand up, and do responses other than raising their hand and answering questions.
She thinks its important to have a routine. She believes that students who know what to
expect behave better and are able to get everything they need to get done, completed.
What do you consider essential characteristics for successful teaching?
Mrs. Ramadan said that teachers have to be able to build a rapport with your students. A
good teacher takes time to create relationships with their students, she believes. She also
thinks that the relationships shouldnt end with students, you should also build good
rapport with your colleagues, your admins, your student parents, and even the substitutes.
Mrs. Ramadan thinks a successful teacher has to be confident, have content knowledge,
and be able to multi-task.
How often do your students receive social studies/science instruction?
Highland Creek departmentalizes their subjects. The students get 1hr. 15 minutes for
science and they get 1hr. and 15 minutes for math. Social studies and reading are
combined in a 2hr. and 30 minute integrated block.
Are you satisfied with the amount of time that you currently have allotted for science?
(Answered by Colberg)
Mrs. Colberg thinks its actually a really long science block. It can sometimes be hard to
fill, but its really nice to have such a lot of time.
What science topics and units will you be teaching during the 2nd week of my clinical
experience? What topics could I do for my lesson? Do you have any resources for me to
use?
(Answered by Colberg)
The 2nd week of my clinical experience, Mrs. Colberg will be beginning a unit on the
human body, beginning with the respiratory system. She suggested I do a lesson a part of
the respiratory system. She suggested I use Pinterest to help me.
What social studies topics and units will you be teaching during the 2nd week of my
clinical experience? What topics could I do for my lesson? Do you have any resources for
me to use?
(Answered by Skolaut)
Mrs. Skolaut told me that their social studies has been a little disrupted because of some
testing. She said they left off with explorers and suggested I do something with that. She
offered me anything in her room as a resource such as textbooks, student workbooks, and
her own plans.
What does reading instruction look like in your classroom? What reading topics will be
studied during the 2nd week of my clinical experience? What are possible goals/objectives
that I could address for my reading lesson? Do you have any instructional resources that
would support these goals/objectives?
(Answered by Skolaut)
Mrs. Skolaut gives her students lots of chances to read. She also is always reading a book
to them. She gave me her lesson plans for the two days she thought would be the best
days for me to teach. She encouraged me to choose allusions for my topic because they
were at a good place for it.

Classroom Management Questions

What motivation tactics do you use to ensure a desire to learn?

Mrs. Ramadan tries to emphasize that they are more than a grade and that what they do in
class will prepare them for successful and happy lives. She encourages her students to
identify personal goals, both short term and future goals.
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.
In her class she expects students to stay seated, to raise their hands, to participate, to try,
and to respect each other. She talks to students about behavior and sometimes isolates
students as an attempt to keep them on task and at the very least keep other students from
being distracted. Students get warnings, silent lunch, and have to sit out of recess as
consequences. Mrs. Ramadan has some students fill out reflection forms to make sure
they see what they did wrong and make a decision about how to fix it or what to do
different the next time. To encourage good behavior, the classes as a whole can earn
bees which mean they were well behaved and they win things like a tacky day or a hat
day. They also get a lot of oral praise and AVID Bucks (monopoly money) for doing
what they should be doing without being asked (these can be exchanged for prizes and
also used to purchase school supplies they lost or didnt bring like pencils and paper.
Tell me about the pacing of lessons and interaction in the classroom use of time and
other aspects of time. What works well with your students?
Mrs. Ramadan says her class is fast-paced with the higher level classes. The class gets
along with each other and enjoy class and the time speeds by for all of them. With her
lower level classes, it can feel a lot longer because she has to keep reviewing.
How do you create and promote a community of learners?
Mrs. Ramadan says that she has students peer tutor a lot which makes them feel
important and helpful. She makes sure they know that everyone makes mistakes,
including her, the teacher. They frequently talk about wrong answers and they even clap
for just trying to attempt an answer and being brave enough to share it, even if it isnt
right.
How does your school support you?
Mrs. Ramadan says that her colleagues and administrators are very supportive. They plan
together, share resources, and encourage positive attitudes and outlooks amongst each
other in a career that can sometimes be emotionally draining.