Joey, it's almost 12:25 and you haven't come by so here's the interview. This was really
designed for an elementary or secondary teacher so some questions really didn't apply.
IF you would please answer these questions and email them back to me I would appreciate it
very much. My teacher will allow the answering of the questions this way. Some of these
questions will not apply to you; however, please answer what you can and your answers do not
have to be too in-depth. Thank you for your time.
Joey Hosler
Identifying information:
Name, assignment, certifications John T. Broom, PhD. – Associate Program Director for
Academics , Norwich University MA in Military History, Northfield VT; Adjunct Professor of
History Rogers State University, Claremore OK; Adjunct Instructor of History Crowder
Community College, Neosho MO.; Adjunct Professor of History, Colorado Christian
University. Quality Matters Certification as Reviewer, Master Reviewer, Online Facilitator for
QM Rubric, Certified Course Designer Texas A&M University, Park University, Norwich
University.
Identifying information: 25 years teaching, Undergraduate survey courses -- US I&II, WC I&II
Global History I&II, US Military History Iⅈ Undergraduate Upper Division Courses –First
World War, World War II, Ancient Greece, American West, Native American History, AfricanAmerican History, Progressive Era in American History, Early Modern Europe, Modern
Europe. Graduate Courses in Historiography, US Political History, US Diplomatic History,
Military History, World History. BA-History 1976, University of Minnesota; MA History 1989,
Vermont College of Norwich University; PhD- History 1993 The Graduate School of Union
Institute.
1. First Year: Tell me about your first year of teaching. I was assigned by the Army to teach at
Fort Knox Kentucky and started teaching at Elizabethtown Community College at Fort Knox,
Kentucky in 1989.
Was it different than you expected? I’d taught short history classes both within the Army and for
Army Tours and Travel so the Army teaching wasn’t a surprise but the Community College
classes were at once easier than I expected and much more difficult. They were easier because
over 30 years I simply knew more history than I realized but more difficult because organizing
and packaging that history in a way that engaged students beyond memorizing names and dates
was a challenge.
What was most helpful your first year? The memory of those history professors in both my high
school (yes we called our teachers Professor in HS, out of 4 History Teachers in HS, 3 had PhDs
and the 4th had an MA in history) and undergraduate days
How are the first year teachers helped in your building now? The Collegiate experience is a bit
different, I’ll address this as the Associate Program Director for Academics . Most graduate
students in history serve as teaching assistants leading small groups or as lecturers for survey
courses before they earn their PhDs and our program at Norwich only employs PhDs. When we
at Norwich hire a new adjunct we orient them to our learning platform, go over our program
design and philosophy, and do a “ride along instruction during their first seminar of
teaching. We review their grading and discussion participation in order to provide additional
opportunities for mentoring.
How do you use the school’s curriculum guide? I analyze the college’s expected student
outcomes, the course description from the college catalog and develop course learning
objectives. Once I’ve identified the course learning objectives I analyze them in order to develop
module or weekly objectives which are the enabling learning objectives that build into the course
objectives.
Show-Me Standards N/A
Tell me about how you grade? I read every written assignment three times, the first reading is to
identify whether the student even answered the requirement, the second is a detailed line edit, the
third reading is to assign the actual grade or points. How you handle lots of papers to grade?
Lots of caffeine, classical music and minimal distractions. How do you track student
progress? With an online gradebook. How do you use the results of the MAP testing? I HATE
STANDARDIZED TESTING!!!!!
3. Differentiated Instruction: How do you use technology? I do like using a bit of video from
time to time to change up the ‘feel’ of the class and to give the students different perspectives. I
use Blackboard or another Learning Management System for written assignments and am
considering using it even a standard face-to-face course as an additional discussion tool by
having the students participate in online discussions.
How do you handle different learning abilities and learning styles in your class? -- A mix of
reading (I am teaching history after all and without reading one cannot learn history), lectures,
Socratic questioning, writing, limited use of video and imagery.
How do you implement IEPs? Meet the accommodation, typically additional time for an exam
or assignment.
4. Classroom Management
Tell me about how you have developed your classroom management techniques? It’s called
being a leader/teacher/mentor for a long time in the army before ever being an “academic”
teacher.
If I show respect toward individual students and the class as a whole, the management
of the class flows pretty smoothly. I almost always feel the press of time and even after 25 years
still feel like wow where did that “hour” go?
What does the first day of school look like in your class? Orientation to the course, objectives,
syllabus etc. The first week? Historiography and various approaches to history. How do you
handle a student who continues to be disruptive? Be an adult or be gone. We’re here to have fun
learning but not to play.
5. Ethics: What does it mean to you. Doing the right thing whether or not anyone is watching,
true ethical reasoning starts from an absolute right and wrong. Only with that absolute can you
find the balance between rigor, fairness, grace, and justice.
Tell me about a time you had to make a hard choice. Plagiarism in a survey course is always a
difficult call, typically students truly do not understand the intricacies and implications of
plagiarism. The internet has made this even more difficult.
I had a case of plagiarism with a
student from a foreign culture where plagiarism and the idea of intellectual property simply
doesn’t exist and directly quoting from authority without extensive attribution is the accepted
method of “scholarship”. Just getting them to understand the concept of intellectual property
was an interesting journey, but after the third major instance, even though I genuinely liked the
individual involved, I had no choice if I was to look myself in the mirror, but to bring them
before an academic integrity board.
6.Profession
What drew you to teaching? – Passion for history
Did you ever think about leaving teaching? – all the time….
What keeps you in the teaching profession? – students and money
What professional development resources are available? – campus workshops but I’ve found the
best Professional Development comes from interaction with fellow history professors and
students.
7. Reflections on the interview ??
John T. Broom, Ph.D.
History Adjunct Instructor
Social Sciences Dept
Crowder College
C-417-451-0359
"The whole history of the world is summed up in the fact that, when nations are strong, they are
not always just, and when they wish to be just, they are no longer strong."
WSC
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