INTERVIEW QUESTION TYPES

1- Professionalism and Understanding:

Please give a brief description of the school, i.e. boys/girls, size, location.
Curriculum and texts used
What different subjects are taught?
Al Darary kindergarten located at Al Sharjah, Al Darary, the principle of the school is
Ms. Fatima Al Nuaimi. They start at 8:00, students finish at 12:30 and teacher finish
at 2:00. The total of the teacher is 12 and there are 15 classrooms. Students are
between 282. They used MOE curriculum. They taught math, science, Arabic and
English. In math they take about numbers and more and less. In scince they take
about plants. And English and Arabic they learn about letters.

What did you enjoy most about your practicum?

I enjoyed having children around me and listening to their stories. Also I enjoyed
teaching them English, and reading stories for them.

What challenges did you face?

I didnt manage students behavior as well, sometime they behaved well and other
times they didnt. I used reinforcement by saying good words and giving them
stickers, so they behave well.
What did you do to show your commitment to your job as a teacher in the
school?
I set with my MST and talked about lesson and what to teach. Also I was
communicating with other teachers and I set with children and I taught them.
How did you collaborate with your MST and other teachers in the school?
I set with them to talk about what I will teach students and what to do and about
students. Also I was collaborating with Ayeshas Hassan MST, by greeting her and
ask her about students that she know about in my classroom.
Describe a typical day in your school:
I arrived at Al Darary School at 7 oclock. I go to sign in then I go to my
classroom, I put my stuff then I went to see my students while theyre playing
outside. At 7:55 the principle ring the bell so they all go to their class and stand
there. Im with boys line and my MST with girls. We take them to the morning

assembly. When they finish they go to the classroom, they start their circle time.
The teacher asks them about how they feel and she greets them. Then they talk
about what is today and about the UAE. When they finish they went go to eat their
small snacks. After that the English teacher takes them to teach them. At 9:30 they
start corner time. The Arabic teacher takes the yellow table and the English takes
blue table. If they finished they clean up then they line up to go the playground.
When they finish they go to eat their meal then they go to the classroom to take
Arabic lesson. After Arabic lesson the teacher read for them story about the lesson
that they take.

2- Planning for Learning

Talk about the process of planning for lessons. How did your MST go about this? How
did you plan to ensure you worked within the curriculum?
I set with her at the end of the day. We talked about what they take and what is the curriculum.
She told me about lessons that they take and the materials that they used. Sometimes she give
me tips on how to manage children and to use loud voice.
What did you learn about planning during the practicum?
That its easy way and its help me on organizing my time and my lesson. I also learned about
how to make different activities for different levels. Planning during the practicing helped learn
how to plan for a whole lesson with activities.
What challenges did you face when preparing your lesson plans?
Most of my students where between medium and low levels. I didn't know how to make some
different activities for them and I didn't know who is in medium and in low level. One time I did it
wrong and I put a medium level student in low level activities, he was feeling bored so he make
some noise and he wanted to do other activists. That's why I tried to avoid this in my next lesson
plan.

Explain how you planned for teaching speaking and listening.

I set with my MST and we talked about the topic of the week, she showed me materials I could
use that linked to the topic. It was counting from 1-5 so I should choose story about counting.
Also I should create activities that help them improve their listening and speaking skills.

3 - Implementing and Managing Learning

What strategies did you use to manage the children?

The strategies that I used to manage their behavior were positive reinforcement and
giving them rules. By giving them stickers or doing a reward system, also by giving
them rules in circle time or before going to corners.
Which were the most effective strategies you observed your MST using in
the classroom?
Positive reinforcement strategy was the most effective strategy. Children were doing
well and acting well when they saw stickers or when someone encourages them by
saying: good job or super star.
Describe a lesson you taught and the way in which you implemented the
lesson class work, group work, and individual work. How successful was
this for you?
I taught them letter p. I sing with them sing of sound while were in the circle time,
also I revise with them the previous letter that they took. After that I taught them
how to write letter p and I showed them pictures and examples of letter p. that was
class work. After that they went to the corners, they have blue table, literacy and
computer. The other corners were, yellow table, block, math and science. The yellow
table is for Arabic teacher activities and the other corner students can play with it
until I finished and calling their names. They will do the activity individually.

Explain the stages and how you taught listening and speaking as an
integrated process.
For listening I did storytelling while theyre in circle time, I used reading story task to help to
provide a good story lesson, by let them involve and doing activities for them to see if they
understand the story. The activity was drawing what they saw in the story. Also I put for them
stories to listen to in the computer corner.
For speaking I linked it to the topic that they take during the week for example, plants. I let them
bring a leave from plants or a picture of plant. They spoke about themselves and about the
plants while theyre in the circle time. In the activities they did speaking activities in role play.

What strategies did you employ to teach speaking /listening activities?

Repeating the story two times and asking them question about the story to make
sure that they understood. Also reminding them in kindly language about what we
will do in the activities. Doing discussions about the story.

What do you have to take into consideration when teaching

speaking/listening activities?
I should focus on students level, so each level should have different activity than
other levels. Also I should let them get involve by let them reading their favorite
story and discuss about it and what they like about it.

4-Organization
What did you do to appear well organized when in the schools? (refer to organizing your
time, portfolio, tasks etc).
I was always on time and before the morning assembly. I takes enough photo for my portfolio
and tasks, also I was observing what they do to write it in my tasks and I was trying to apply
what my MST do with them. For example, managing behavior, transition and rules.
Why do you think its important to be well organized when in the school?
I think that being well organized will help my day run smoothly, also it will make everything easy
for me, so everything will be organized. It's also could decrease our stress

Have your organization and planning skills improved? Yes - in what way? No - what
steps can you take to improve in this area?
Yes, by coming on time and finishing lesson plan on time. Because I wasnt doing
anything only before two or 3 days form the due date. So I usually be late and do
my work at the last minutes and I feel nervous and hurry. But when I organized my
time and I manage it by doing my tasks and my work on time.

5 Reflection
What has been your most powerful learning throughout the practicum?
What was the most helpful feedback you received during the placement?
That my voice should be louder than now. Also to use rewards system because its
worked with students. My voice should be louder, when I was teaching students I was
thought that my voice is loud and I was happy, I was feeling that I'm shouting, but
unfortunately it wasnt louder.

What challenges did you face when writing your reflections?

I wasn't knowing how to write the problem that happened to me. I wasn't sure if I write
the problem or what I didn't do well. Because I faced some
Were you able to make links between what you did at college and what you observed or
experienced during TP? Give an example.
Yes, I applied what I learned in college such as, the level of the students, reward system, but I
didn't use it many times and that was a mistake. Also what to do in cricket time and that I should
do actions for children to interact with me.

What do you think are important things to study at college to ensure that you are well
prepared for TP?
Nothing, I think that we're studying good lessons that has benefit for us and will let us be
prepared when we graduate.

6- Did you face any problems or challenges in dealing with _____________ and how did
you manage these?
Refer to one of following:

MST
Other staff
Administration
Students
Yes I did, one day One boy was going home and He didn't takes his homework, I went to
take the notes and give him, but the assistant didn't finish his nots yet. I didn't notice that
she was sspiriting the one she finished that the other. I Danegeld them. When she saw
that she kept screaming at me and she said for me you don't have a mind and you're
crazy. I said for her that nothing happens and it was a mistake and I went to the
classroom. After 15 minutes she came and apologized and I said for her it's ok and that
you was busy and you was tired.

What skills do you think are important for trainee teachers to have when dealing with
_______

MST
Other staff
Administration
Students

Dealing with student is important, because she will saw many kind of misbehavior
and each student has a special thing to deal with. Some students are feeling bored
so she know that she should provide activities and let them do something or be a

leader. Some of them didn't have ability to understand well and quickly, so she has
to know how to deal with these causes.

Portfolio and Observation tasks

Show how your portfolio is organized.

Choose one task that you found interesting and tell about it. What did you learn from
doing this task?
I was interested in reading story task, I didn't know that teacher do all this while they're reading
a story. I've learned that reading a story for children should include giving them hint and let them
be interested, also I should change my voice according to the character and to ask them
question while I'm telling the sorry. At the end I should give them activity to make sure that they
understand well.

What changes would you make to the observation tasks?

Adding other tasks such as, managing classroom, because I think that its the most problem that
we face on

Refer to one artefact / other task / journal you found interesting and tell about it.
I liked what we did in animal Day. It was enjoyable and funny for children and us. I liked the
teachers ideas such as, feed the monkey and their animals activities. Children in kg2 enjoyed
the day with us and it was a good day.
It was for a 2 hours, we set with the English teacher and we helped them organize the place.
After that each one choose activity to teach children it. When the children came, we welcomed

them. Then we ask them to choose the table that they want. They where happy and they
enjoyed the activities.

Portfolio-Assessment Criteria to be completed post interview.