Interview Questions: You will interview one educator at the elementary level (K-5) or secondary level (6-12) depending on where your own teaching interests lie. Please ask your educator the following questions and record his or her responses. Please note the directions for the location of your responses/analysis within your Final Paper. If you choose to interview a librarian, skip to the section with questions for librarians that appear after the teacher questions.
Questions for a teacher interview: If you have selected a teacher to interview, use this set of questions.
Teacher responses/analysis below will go into Section 2:
Why did you decide to become an educator? What was your motivation and what attributes do you think are important for an educator to exhibit to be effective? (Attributes/Motivation)
What is your philosophy of education? What is the role of the educator and the students? (Teaching Philosophy)
What are your learning goals for your students? How do you effectively meet their needs? (Learning Theory)
Teacher responses/analysis below will go into Section 3:
What do you believe are the most effective methods for educating students? (Learning Theory)
What is your comfort level with technology and how do you integrate it within your lesson planning? (Technology)
How do academic standards drive your instruction? Do you feel a need to teach to the test? Why or why not? (Academic standards)
What types of assessment do you use in your classroom? Can you give me an example of a formative and summative assessment? (Assessment)
How do you incorporate elements of multicultural education in your classroom? Can you provide a specific example? (Diversity)
How do you effectively manage a classroom? What is most challenging about issues related to discipline and classroom management? (Discipline and Classroom Management)
Teacher responses/analysis below will go into Section 4:
How do you foster a positive relationship with students, parents, and the community? (Relationships)
What are the best and worst parts of the teaching profession? What concerns might you have for the future of our education system? (Contemporary Concerns)
As you have gained experience, how has your philosophy of education changed?
Provide an introduction that includes demographic information (educator name, school, grade or discipline taught, number of children at that school, other pertinent information). Include why it is important to seek out and speak to current professionals in the field you are interested in entering. What is the rationale for conducting an interview?
Section 2: Summary and Analysis: Motivation and Philosophy
Summarize the answers the educator gave to the interview questions 1 through 3 in third-person point of view. Remember that a summary is a “retelling” of what the educator said; you may not to use direct quotes from the educator or copy/paste questions and answers directly. For each response, you must also analyze how the educator’s responses aligned or did not align with the information presented in your text and two other scholarly sources. Show how the responses of the educator supported or did not support what you learned in this class. You must have at least two in-text research citations in each section. Please refer to the Final Paper Template for correct organization of each section.
Section 3: Summary and Analysis: Instructional Practices
Summarize the answers the educator gave to the interview questions 4 through 9 in third-person point of view. Remember that a summary is a “retelling” of what the educator said; you may not to use direct quotes from the educator or copy/paste questions and answers directly. For each response, you must also analyze how the educator’s responses aligned or did not align with the information presented in your text and two other scholarly sources. Show how the responses of the educator supported or did not support what you learned in this class. You must have at least two in-text research citations in each section. Please refer to the Final Paper Template for correct organization of each section.
Section 4: Summary and Analysis: Relationship-Building and Reflection
Summarize the answers the educator gave to the interview questions 10 through 12 in third-person point of view. Remember that a summary is a “retelling” of what the educator said; you may not to use direct quotes from the educator or copy/paste questions and answers directly. For each response, you must also analyze how the educator’s responses aligned or didn’t align with the information presented in your text and two other scholarly sources. Show how the responses of the educator supported or didn’t support what you learned in this class. You must have at least two in-text research citations in each section. Please refer to the Final Paper Template for correct organization of each section.
Section 5: Conclusion: End your paper by redefining your specific career goal in the field of education.