Teacher Interview Questions and Answers:

1. What tips would you like to share for keeping students engaged in your
classroom?
Make sure that you make lessons relevant to the students lives. Try to start each
lesson with an attention-grabber, and something that the students have an opinion
on to get them talking.
2. Do you have suggestions for classroom configuration/layout for summative
and/or formative assessment activities?
There is no need for separation if the assessment is well built. Also, pay
attention to who you know is more likely to cheat, and separate them if needed.
3. What do you do to address the diverse learning styles in your classroom/How do
you change instruction for individuals?
Their homework is individualized, and they can decide which questions they
want to do/when they want to do them. The quizzes are online and also
individualized. This way, the students who are ahead of the curve can work
ahead, on their own time. The slower students can take their time. Flexibility is
also key, as well is offering alternative assignments. Just make sure the students
are not taking advantage of these.
4. How would you describe your teaching style?
Being a younger teacher, it is easier to relate to the students. It is easier to relate
to them, and seems more genuine to the students. Also being bilingual helps with
students who are ELL, as well as through reverse privilege. Less likely to be
accused of being racist. Overall, a relaxed learning style.
5. What are your policies for make-up work and academic dishonesty?
Cheating is a choice. Students who choose to cheat are sent to the office. The
PLT sets the policy for make-up work.
6. How do you check for student understanding prior to a quiz or test?
Using an entry ticket, which consists of four online questions.
7. What have you gained by cooperating with other teachers in a PLT?

The PLT uses all of the same tests, which is nice. It is difficult to work an in
environment with teachers who have different teaching philosophies. It is hard to
keep things consistent, as well as hard to meet and collaborate if not teaching the
same class. Being the new person in a PLT can be kind of overwhelming, but can
help with first time teaching in terms of planning lessons and making tests.

I thought that my cooperating teachers answers to the interview questions were

very informative. I noticed his use of attention-grabbers when I observed his classroom
for Journal 1. In that lesson, he had students discuss what they would miss the most if
they didnt have electricity. This was, like he said in the interview, something that the
students had an opinion on. When I observed him administering an assignment for
Journal 2, he had the students spread their desks apart. So, I was surprised that during the
interview he told me that if an assessment is well designed, then there is no need for
separation. But, he did not make the test that he gave, the other AP Statistics teacher didso this must be why he needed to separate them. His individualized instruction is
something I also picked up on during my observations. He likes to give students time at
the end of class to work independently on the online homework, giving quick learners
time to get ahead, and giving slower learners times to catch up. I also picked up on his
learning style through my observations. The students seemed to be more open and
comfortable with him, which made it easier for them to admit they needed extra help.
Also, on the day of my interview, two students came at the end of class to retake a test.
He told me one of the students had cussed him out at the beginning of the year, because
he was frustrated and did not understand the material. After that day, my cooperating

teacher went and talked to him, explaining that he was sorry that he was so frustrated
with the material. My cooperating teacher offered to work with him to help understand,
and now the student is back on track and is actually going above and beyond- such as
staying after school to retake tests to improve his grade. I think because my cooperating
teacher approached him like a peer, rather than a teacher, that made the student more
comfortable and motivated. Although he only mentioned using entry tickets to check
understanding before a test or quiz, in my observation I also saw him use the Fist to
Five method as a quick formative assessment during instruction. I was shocked to hear
that my cooperating teacher has not had a positive experience when working with a PLT.
The purpose of PLTs is to collaborate with other teachers in your content area, with the
common goal of making sure that all students are learning. Additionally, PLTs can be a
resource for each other when they come across new issues in their classroom- such as
asking for advice on how to differentiate instruction for a student with special needs
(About PLCs, 2006). All in all, we have learned how helpful PLTs can be, so I was
surprised that my cooperating teacher has not had a positive experience with his.
When I have my own classroom, I will remember my cooperating teachers
teaching and assessment styles. Overall, he is a very good teacher and does a great job of
making sure all of his students understand the material. I particularly liked the way he
has an attention-grabbed at the beginning of class, because I felt like it was a good way to
get students focused as they settled into the beginning of class. He did a good job of
transitioning into the lecture, and the students continued to be engaged. This is definitely
something I will implement in my classroom, especially because a lot of students feel that
math is irrelevant to their lives outside of the classroom. According to Principles to

Action, using the real world is a stepping-stone for getting students to think about
mathematical concepts (NCTM, 2014). I would also like to be able to mimic my
cooperating teachers teaching style. I, like him, will be a young teacher when I start
teaching, so I would like to be able to be relaxed and relatable to the students. Like him,
I will be sure to tell them about my life outside of school, so that they feel like they know
me as a person, not just their teacher. According to Creating a Warm and Inclusive
Classroom Environment: Planning for All Children to Feel Welcome, by creating an open
classroom, the students are more likely to respect the teacher and their teaching methods,
as well as feel comfortable seeking help (Bucholz, Sheffler, 2009). My cooperating
teacher has given me good advice in regards to assessment and classroom management,
and I look forward to implementing it in my own future classroom.
Learning about the assessment cycle was something I never got to see as a
student, so this was the newest concept for me during my observations. I found it
interesting that for the AP Statistics test, only one of the teachers created the test. The
other teacher has been teaching it for many years, and this is my cooperating teachers
first time teaching it. They both just use the older teachers test from previous years. I,
personally, do not like this, because I feel it is important to review and update tests each
year. As I mentioned in Journal 2, my cooperating teacher used an online scanner to
grade the multiple-choice section of the test. This is something I am definitely excited to
use in my own classroom. It makes grading easier, as well as gives immediate data in
terms of which questions were most commonly missed, class average, range, and median.
My cooperating teacher also had to grade the free response portion of the test with the
other AP Statistics teacher, who was not in his PLT. He told me this is usually difficult to

coordinate, so it takes longer for the tests to be graded. But, they need to grade them
together to avoid discrepancies. When I am a teacher, if I face these kind of issues for
grading, I will try to coordinate a specific time to meet at the beginning of the year, to
ensure we get the graded tests back to the students promptly. I could also create a rubric
that is very clear and straightforward, that way we could grade the tests separately. My
favorite part of advice that my cooperating teacher gave me was, If the test is well
designed, then there is no need for the separation of desks. By this, he meant to have
different forms of the test, to prevent cheating. According to Validity, Reliability, and
Avoiding Assessment Bias, it is important to make sure that all of the tests are fair when
creating different versions of the test (Witte, 2012). For example, if the tests are alternate
form, it is important to make sure all forms of the test are equally fair.
Overall, observing my cooperating teacher teaching, observing him administering
a test, and by interviewing him, I learned his teaching and assessment styles. I got to see
firsthand what worked, and what didnt work, in his classroom. I will take what I learned
from him to adapt my own style of teaching when I have my own classroom.

Sources

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many (2006). Learning by Doing: A Handbook for
Professional Learning Communities at Work, pp. 24.
Witte, Raymond (2012). Validity, Reliability, and Avoiding Assessment Bias, Chapter 4.
North Carolina Teachers of Mathematics (2014). Principles to Action.
Bucholz, J. L., & Sheffler, J. L. (2009). Creating a Warm and Inclusive Classroom
Environment: Planning for All Children to Feel Welcome, Electronic Journal for
Inclusive Education, 2 (4).