Teacher Interview

For my interview I asked a teacher who is in her first year of teaching. I chose this specific teacher because she herself just graduated from the Trinity Education Program a year prior and she was the one who influenced me to do it. Through the interview, I could tell Ms. Harris was as passionate about teaching as she was when she said "I want to be a teacher" a few years ago. Through her wisdom, it is shown that there isn't a one-size-fits-all classroom technique. Within her class, she has noticed some successful strategies, while some strategies that failed. She looks to the other teachers in her school for advice and has learned that just because it may work in another teacher's classroom, it may not work in her own.

The most fascinating discovery from the interview was that Ms. Harris has switched up her classroom environment multiple times and has seen multiple reactions to the change. This was illustrated in Chapter 13's readings on classroom management, and Ms. Harris was able to give me a first-hand experience. Along with this chapter she states that she loves having a non-english speaking student apart of her class. Many first year teachers may be terrified of such a difference, but Ms. Harris is thrilled to learn and grow each day with this student. By understanding differences in the classroom, Ms. Harris encourages a cooperative environment by having the non-english speaker get assistance from the students that speak both English and Spanish. She states that the bond the child has with the other children who help him is very strong and she is happy that she can be apart of it. Her reward system for her students relates to Chapter 7's readings on operant conditioning. She uses both positive and negative reinforcement and sees this strategy working for her fourth grade class. When I asked her if she saw herself always using this strategy, she replied she hopes to think of something more creative.

As a first year teacher she is still learning the ropes, so she is happy to get by with the marble reinforcement technique. It was a pleasure to hear from Ms. Harris because it motivates me to keep moving forward with Trinity's program.



Question: How does the organization of your room (student desk arrangements, teacher's desk, furniture, proximity of students, etc.) affect your classroom?

1)  I have tried multiple kinds of student desk arrangements. I began with groups of 4. It was great for group work, but they did not perform well during independent work because of talking with each other and losing focus. I now have two E shaped rows. This has been working very well because they are able to work with each other as well as focus during independence. I have a U shaped table in the back corner for small groups. I have two carpet areas. One is in the classroom library and it is reserved for 2 students during independent reading time. The other carpet is in the middle of the classroom for use of the Promethean board and chart board for instruction.

Question: What classroom management strategies work best for you? Are these strategies that some teachers use that you disagree with?
2) I use a clip system for classroom management. It works for positive and negative behavior throughout the day. There is also whole class rewards and discipline system put in place. They can gain marbles for positive behavior during specials or lunch and can
lose recess time for whole class misbehavior. If the issue becomes more of a problem, they will receive a lunch detention and talk to the dean. This would result in a call home as well to keep the parents included in their daily behaviors.

Question: How do you work with students who do not have English as their primary language, and you do not speak the language?


3) I have one student who only speaks Spanish. He does have help from EL teachers some time during the day. When there is no EL teacher in the room, I ask other students to help translate things for him because my class is predominantly hispanic. I also will use
google translate to have conversations with him or translate whatever we are working on beforehand.

Question: How do you handle disruptive/misbehaving students who make it difficult for others to learn?


4) I have made “office areas” in my classroom for a quieter area to work. The students who are constantly disrupting others can benefit from these areas because there is less distraction for them. The students may get extra breaks if needed. I will also work one
on one with these students to ensure they are working to their full potential and not distracting others while working. I have also involved social workers and their special ed teachers of my concerns and have kept in contact with their parents.

Question: What is your administrations view of classroom management? Does it align with your own philosophy or does it differ in some way?

5) My administration’s view of classroom management is to deal with the issues in the classroom first. Unless it is a serious issue or an ongoing occurrence is when to get administration involved. I believe that this is a good way to deal with issues because the
less time out of the classroom the better for the students. There should be some sort of discipline plan in the classroom that can be used throughout the day to avoid having the students leave the classroom and miss learning material.