Interview Questions

How have the state standards for this subject guided your teaching?

The state standards should serve as a frame that I can build around, much like how a house is constructed.  The standards represent the most important and essential ideas that I must focus on, since a house without a good foundation will not stand.  Once you are confident that a lesson has addressed the standard you were aiming for you can try to extend the lesson, building upon the frame.  




Describe an approach you have used to differentiate instruciton for students?

While I have never actually differentiated instruction, I have some experience working with planning for differentiated instruction.   The underlying theme when differentiating instruction is to examine each students need on an individual basis.  In other words, there is no "one size fits all" approach that will solve every students problem.  Instead, IEP's should be consulted and updated frequently.  One student may be uncomfortable with their surrounding environment, so a seat change could be necessary.  Other students may need additional time on tests, or possibly a restructured test. 



While a lesson is ongoing, how can you tell if students are getting the material?

I have been in classrooms where students have "tuned out" the teacher, and I would say the biggest indicator is body language.  Students who aren't following the lecture tend to slouch and are less likely to make eye contact with the teacher.  If you suspect a student is not following along, you can always prompt them with a question.  There response should provide with the answer you are looking for.

Storyboards

Technology - storyboard tech is same as today, internet speeds slower, presentation software slightly improved today. Also, applications like Google scholar allow for more efficient searching.
Teaching - pretty much the same as today
testing - project based, presentation
training
teaming - librarian, history, health, english teachers collaborate.  Kids work together,
Time - 10 years ago, internet slower (more time to research)

health class
persuasion - pros cons of biology topic
persuade audience to do something
research environmental health issue, students pick their own topics, research them, and then present it with a video they make.  Emphasis on fun and interesting videos (youth oriented).
Collaborate with peers using tech (researching on the internet), create presentation, collaborate when presenting
Giving them experience with skills necessary for research on the internet
Storyboards allow for a way to store and catalog data, gives the student easy access to info they looked up, allows for an easy comparison of images and topics.
Researched materials - what is the validity of the source, how deep does it probe, what is the scope of it?

Webquest

location in solar system to place colony
what do you need to survive, get info about essential elements for life, work in smaller groups, then collaborate
small groups - Rank top 10 ideas for survival
Resolve problems , teach social skills
grouped again according to roles, astronomer, geologist, biologist, psychologist, social science.  do web quest
Watch program of probe flying through space, kids have to guess where the probe is


This WebQuest not only familiarized the students with the internet, it also helped teach them social skills.  Students had to work together to solve problems they were given.  This type of collaborative work will suite them well in the future.  Also, I liked that they were grouped according to different roles that they would assume.  This made their personal responsibilities clear cut.  Each student then becomes responsible not only to themselves, but also the group.  I liked the ending, where the students had to guess where the space probe was as it flew through space.  That requires them to do a little mental juggling to find an answer.