Interview: Understanding Learner

Sissy Entrekin: U.S. History teacher

1. Has Laura successfully adapted to the different technology innovations in U.S.

History class?

Yes, I think Laura has embraced the fact that we use lot of different things. She’s had to
do power point presentations, she‘s also had to do a Voice Thread, which was
somewhat new to this class, where they had to learn how to an application or software
that they weren’t familiar with, and then we combined those where they not only had to
leave comments but also had to learn how to transition one of their presentations into a
Voice Thread that other people could comment on.

2. Would you consider Laura a flexible person?

I think Laura likes structure, but I also have seen her adapt well to changes in routine and
rhythm. It is absolutely necessary in U.S. History since we are always changing activities.

3. Did Laura effectively adapt to the expectations of your class?

Yes. Laura definitely rose to the expectations of the class. I think in past Social Studies
classes the students were used to be given blank information, and then learning that
information and then repeating it back. And this year I’ve definitely challenged them in
critical thinking and saying their own opinions, and Laura is very good at reading a
document, finding evidence for a point of view and expressing that.

4. Are there any memorable moments in which Laura reacted positively to a

change?

I think Laura is always positive, actually. She’s one of the students who never complains,
especially when this semester I had made do, or even last semester, do public speaking as
part of their class work, even though it is a U.S. History class. And even though I don’t
think that was something that she loves when I first mentioned it, she definitely embraced it
and had a positive attitude about working on that skill in class.

5. Are there any memorable moments in which Laura reacted negatively to a

change?

No. Laura is a very positive student and I’ve really never seen negativity in my class.

6. Did Laura persevere when difficult changes or challenges arose?

Yes, I would say probably Laura is one of my strongest students when it comes to
perseverance in an activity. She’s usually one of the ones who puts in the work, where she
finishes first and does a very thorough job.

7. Did Laura cause a positive change in her classmates during her time as your
student?

It’s hard to pick one moment or one impact that was most positive, but I feel that Laura did
a good job in creating a positive environment for discussion and a positive reaction to…or
influencing others when we had activities where people had to read out loud or share their
opinion openly and she was always a great example of doing that without hesitation.

8. Did Laura cause a negative change in her classmates during her time as your
student?

Again, Laura is a positive student and does not complain, so, she does not create any
negative effects on her classmates.

9. Did Laura successfully transition from one learning target or one expedition to
the next?

Yes, Laura does a great job of transitioning from one activity to the other. She’s very good
about asking and clarifying questions when we’re changing from one expectation or one
learning target to another, she’s always one to make sure that she understands what’s
expected of her so she can reach those expectations.

10. Do you consider that Laura is going to successfully transition from high school
to college?

Yes, I’ve seen a deepening of Laura’s ability to think critically and to take on new learning
styles and approaches and expectations in a positive way, and I think that she’ll continue to
do that. She’s a very diligent hard worker and I can’t see that changing in her character.