Interview Questions

1. What are your general beliefs on teacher adaptation and why do you think it is or is not
important?
● Important because you need to revise the lesson based on the students needs
● Modify materials for different student needs (ELL, kids on IEPs, etc)
● You need to reflect on the lesson itself and how it goes
● You may adjust depending on how the lesson goes to improve it (sometimes that's
based on student feedback or a question they ask or where you notice the pitfalls)
2. What are the general characteristics of Block A, B, and C as a class?
● Both B and C are heavy ADD children, half the kids have behavioral needs
● C is coming from an active class so they need to transition back into learning,
they need the time to transition
● A has no IEP students and a few ELL’s, class is also first thing in the morning so
students tend to pay more attention
3. I observed that you make a lot of instructional adaptations/changes, for example: you
usually tend to be more elaborate and repeat yourself in block C. What is the reason
behind this?
● The students have modified behavioral needs (ADD)
● The school groups kids by needs so I have a lot of anxiety and behavioral needs
whereas nextdoor, there may be kids with dyslexia or some other disability so the
teacher knows how to make general adaptations
4. “Transition moments”, you tend to do them during block C. Why do you do them and
how does it affect your students/your lesson?
● C is coming from an active class so they need to transition back into learning,
they need the time to transition
● I tend to do them with classes that are at the end of the day or come from an
active class
● We have an agreement on transition moments (they had a rough class one time
and we talked about it, so we agreed to do transition moments)
5. What is the reasoning behind you bringing up students in different blocks to talk to them
before class?
● Preview the class with them, make sure they know what they’re doing well
● Make sure the student knows what to expect
● He has an IEP but he is academically proficient (student she brings up in block
C)
● I talk to different students depending on different activities
6. I took note on 3/28/19 that in block A, you had all your students in the class get up and
act as particles, you told them to stand up and stand shoulder to shoulder. However, in
block B, you hand picked 7 students to go up to the front of the class to demonstrate how
particles move. Was there a reason behind this?
 ● In block B, the students are too silly and they would have been too distracted
● By having them watch a few kids up front rather than all of them participating,
they would have gotten something out of it
● If they had to act it out themselves, there would have been no value to it
● They would just be silly and hit each other, they couldn't handle it
● About 10 kids on IEPs in block B
● I didn't want it to take all class
● Gaged it based on what the kids are gonna get out of it
7. I took note on 5/2/19 that in block A, you had the students watch the weather report as a
whole and take notes individually. However, in block B, you made the activity more
interactive in a way and played the weather report twice. The first time, the students
watched and focused on soaking in the info. The second time, you assigned each row of
students a topic for them to focus on while watching the video a second time (wind,
water, temperature). What was the reasoning for this?
● I’ m always learning the weather unit, it’s the one unit that is difficult for us
teachers
● Block B has a lot of ADD students, they cant take notes and listen at the same
time
● If I give them a focus, they are more apt to write the notes down and learn the
material
8. On 5/2/19 you asked student D to move up front (he usually sits in the back) during your
gas in a syringe demonstration. You also had to grab his attention and call his name out
during your demonstration of the lab, why did you do those two things?
● I wanted student D to get out of the class what he can, he could pay more
attention and participate and see things
● I try to give him the support I can
● I know he likes to participate in labs, I was trying to encourage the participation
● I tapped him so that student D would not feel embarrassed in front of classmates,
rather than asking him to move up front in front of everyone
9. On 5/2/19 I noticed that you gave one of your students the “black spikey massage thing”
before class, what was the reason behind giving him that?
● I call it the squishy
● It is a really good sensory stimulation for student Y
● Student Y needs to sensory stimulation
● He just sits on it
● When he sits on it, there is a tactile feel and he can move around
● Gives him some motion if he needs some movement
● I also give it to students that tilt their chairs a lot. I’ve taken away their chairs a
few times but that doesn’t work
 ● The squishy helped them because he needs that rocking movement, they don't
have IEPs
10. I took note on 3/21/19 (students did the laser lab) that you did a few things differently
between block A and block B.
a) You collected the contract at the end of class during block A, and then collected them
before the lab began during block B. What was the reason for that?
● Adjusting for planning, I just forgot to collect them in the morning in block A and
took note
● Also for block B and C, I needed the contract. It was really important for me to
get it from them, as they usually have trouble following directions
● Wasn’t really worried about block A in terms of following directions
● It was just me getting used to my schedule
b) You let the students choose their own groups within their table rows in block A, but
assigned students to their groups in block B. What was the reason behind that?
● Block B doesn’t have enough kids with enough maturity to handle independence
● It made the energy a little crazy in block A
● Kids spent too much time trying to position themselves
● Creates a lot of social anxiety when choosing groups
● Kids are so cliquey
c) During block B, you offered students stickers (for the group that got the laser all the way
back to the second mirror first) but not during block A, was there a reason for that?
● Block B students needed a motivator
● They like stickers and stamps