Teacher Interview - Connors

Here is the link to my video interview with Mrs. Kula: 

Teacher Interview Connors

Summary of text connections and learning: 

1. Research suggests that teachers who start the year off with good routines and rules end up having less management problems later in the year. What are some of your favorite classroom routines? How did you come to these routines, did they come from past fails? Woodfolk suggests on page 493 that teachers who got started on positive learning environments from the start of the year had higher achieving students. Mrs. Kula has several classroom routines that she uses in order to create calm environments that are conducive to learning. One of the key take aways that I learned was to never assume what your student's know when it comes to routine. Give everything a place and call that place out with clear and explicit directions. This was discussed by Woodfolk on page 494 in the Housekeeping section. Mrs. Kula also points out that student movement need to be clear as well and what that movement will consist of. Do they need a bathroom pass etc. Mrs. Kula also mentions how she models and demostrates how students will interact with each other on the carpet during "turn and talk" she never assumes they will just know what to do. She teaches everything first and gives clear expectations so everyone has the opportunity to be successful in her room. 
2. I have noticed that you chunk out to the minute your instruction time, I assume this is for a specific reason. Have you in the past managed your time in this way? Do you think these blocks of time allow for more engaged learning time and serve the class better now than in the past?  As discussed in Woolfolk and in this interview using good classroom management isn't just to "keep students docile and quiet" it is used to provide an engaged learning environment. Mrs. Kula uses a blocked out instruction timeline everyday so that her students not only know what the day will look like time wise, but gives them a sense of urgency in terms of completing assignments. Woolfolk would agree to this method because it gives students the opportunity to self manage. "The movement from demanding obedience to teaching self-regulation and self-control is a fundamental shift in discussions of classroom management today. (Everston & Weinstein, 2006) Mrs. Kula gives students a high expectation of managing their time within her block of specific instruction. 
3. What is one classroom learning environment change you wish you could make in the future? Why? This was kind of more of a curiosity question that I had, which ties perfectly with what I am currently researching for my paper. A smaller class size would be her go to change to creating a more suited learning environment. 
4. Prevention is said to be the best medicine when it comes to behavior. What are some of your go-to best ways to prevent behaviors from taking over the classroom? Mrs. Kula mentions that she never sits and is constantly watching. She shows that she is always watching so she knows who is causing any disruptions and will know even if they don't want to admit it what is going on in the classroom. "Withitness" is how Woolfolk would describe Mrs. Kula's techniques. 
5. How does incorporating social emotional skills prevent undesirable behaviors? Can you tell me a time where you informally taught a social skill that prevented a behavior later? Mrs. Kula incorporates social and emotional lessons throughout her day. Giving the students high expectations of being a good person allows her to prevent behaviors from lack of social and emotional regulations. She also reads the book Wonder to her students that has many lessons on friendships, hardships and bullying. The book accompanying the lessons gives students a multi-layered approach to learning about how to handle frustrations. (Woolfolk, 503)
6. One of my favorite techniques that you use is when a student has the ‘wrong’ answer you quickly praise them by stating “I like how you took a risk.” This provides a community where risks are promoted almost as much as the right answer. Do you think that this statement improves your classroom environment? How do you think this environment/statement helps students who learn differently? Mrs. Kula creates a caring environment in her classroom where risks are valued and are an everyday part of learning that everyone, including her needs to take. Mrs. Kula and myself open up about our past experiences as learners and not taking enough risks as students in our younger years and how our students now appreciate seeing us take risks and learn from them. Their risks even if they are wrong answers show that they have ideas and their voices matter even if they have an IEP. I added another question at the end and Mrs. Kula responded that making personal connections with your students would be her biggest take away for creating a good classroom management and learning environment. I think we both agreed that students can't learn from you if they don't like you, meaning as Woolfolk mentioned, "students also value teachers who show academic and personal caring by acting like real people, sharing responsibility, minimizing the use of external controls, including everyone, searching for students' strength, communicating effectively, and showing an interest in their students' lives and pursuits." Mrs. Kula shows me that these connections and bonds also students to learn more effectively and create a caring environment in the classroom because they are a family as she mentions.