Michael Corle
8/27/12
Teacher Interview
EDSS 511
1. How many times per week will you want to meet for planning?
When, where, and for how long will we meet?
My master teacher and I will meet four days a week during first period prep. We will
meet in the physical education coach’s office where we will sit down and go over the
entire lesson for that day. Going over the induction process in the single subject
handbook with my cooperating teacher, he mentioned that he will have the lessons
planned out for the first eight weeks and I can take an active role during certain parts of
the lessons that I feel most comfortable with. Also, he wants me to go over his lessons
and think of any new ideas that will improve the lesson for the next period. That way I
will have some ownership of the lesson. He provided me with an entire schedule for the
semester of what activities they will be doing. After the first 8 weeks when I begin taking
a larger role in planning and teaching, I can look at the schedule and begin planning my
lessons for the specific activity. I will have plenty of time to begin planning and
preparing to teach. We will also briefly meet after each period to discuss any small
changes that should be made to improve the lesson for the next classes. We will also meet
after school to go over any thing else that comes up during the day or any lesson changes
that will need to be made before the next day of class. Each meeting could last from a
few minutes to half an hour, depending on how much material we have to discuss.
The induction process also mentioned that during the first few weeks, I should
begin to get to know the students. On day 1 of class, my cooperating teacher will
introduce us both as the teachers and we will be co-teaching the class. That way the
students see us as equals and I can begin building relationships on day 1.
2. What are your requirements for written lesson plans? (Note: Even if your
cooperating teacher does not require a written plan from you, you are still
responsible for generating them during clinical practice. At the very least,
the on-site liaison and university supervisor will want a copy of your lesson
plans.)
My cooperating teacher would like me to turn in a written lesson plan. He wants to be
able to look at it and make sure that I am using the California PE standards and that the
activities I am implementing are meeting those standards. If the activities are not, he can
provide me with suggestions that will help me meet those standards. However, for the
first few weeks I will not be making the lesson plans on my own because it mentions in
the handbook that I should not plan lessons on my own for the first eight weeks. He will
have the lesson plans all written out, but he would like me to read them, understand what
is going on, and add any suggestions that I could provide to help during the class session.
He mentioned that you cannot memorize everything, and a lesson plan is a good way to
visualize what you are going to do and jot down any ideas or corrections that you need to
make during the day. Prior to school starting, he would like me to submit some of my
previous course work in PE pedagogy classes to get a feel for what I have been learning
and how I plan for activities.
3. What are your most important goals for this semester?
What role can I play in helping you to achieve these goals?
His most important goals for the semester are to continue to improve and become a more
effective teacher. He loves to learn about new strategies to allow for the class to run more
smoothly, activities that will engage all of his students, and new types of assessments that
will help him become a better teacher. He also wants all of his students to be able to take
what they learned in class and apply it to their daily lives to maintain a healthy and
physically active lifestyle. He suggested that I stay positive and provide any new ideas
that I may have learned during my pedagogy courses at CSUSM. As mentioned
previously, my first few weeks at the school will be more of an observational role.
During this time, I can help out with classroom management by walking around the class
making sure students are on task, provide feedback to students during the activity, and
also provide feedback about the teacher’s performance. Then during meetings, we can
collaborate and come up with new ideas and strategies that will help him reach his goal as
well as help me improve my pedagogy skills. He mentioned that having a student teacher
is great because we bring exciting new ideas and activities that he can use in his class,
which will help him reach his goals.
4. What grading procedures do you use?
The grading procedures vary depending on the assignment. Ten points are given on a
daily basis. The ten points can be lost by not following certain rules, routines, and
expectations. For example, if a student does not dress out in their PE clothes they will
lose the ten points. If they are continually being disrespectful or use foul language he will
take the ten points away. There is one activity called the family bio board, which must be
completed in order to pass the course. Weekly homework will be assigned and there will
also be test and quizzes given. For the HW assignments and larger projects, grades will
be given based on the rubrics that the PE department came up with as a team.
5. Do you group students during any assignments? How? According to their ability
level? Learning Profiles? Interests? Other criteria?
In PE, students will constantly be working in groups or teams to complete objectives.
During the first two weeks of school, students will be placed in team building groups.
These groups will be randomly assigned, but will try to have an equal amount of boys
and girls in each group. These groups will be used to build relationships between peers
and begin developing positive team concepts. In future activities, students will be
assigned based on ability level, and if students have special needs the teacher will place
them in groups with students he feels will be able to help and provide the special needs
students with the proper guidance. In physical education, it is important to place students
in groups of the same ability levels because if you have two teams competing against
each other and one group has more skilled players, that team is going to dominate and no
one is going to be able to learn from the experience and the experience is not going to be
fun for the losing team. When you make the groups equal, games are more fun and
students have a better opportunity to learn from the experience and develop better skills.
6. Are there any English Learners in the classes? Where can I get information about each of
them? Are there any students who have special needs I should be aware of? Where can I
get students’ IEP’s or 504’s to read?
There are both English learners and special needs students in the class. There is an ELL
coordinator and a Special education coordinator that will email all of the information to
the teachers. Information will be placed in their mailboxes and teachers will sign off on
the required forms. During the two days of teacher prep before school starts, there is a
thirty-minute class that provides teachers with more information on IEP’s and 504 plans.
My cooperating teacher will provide me with information about the special needs
students and the strategies he uses to help these students excel in class. So, when it comes
time for me to begin planning and implementing my lessons, I will have a better
understanding on how I can modify my lessons to help these students succeed in class.
However, at the beginning of the year, the students will not be in our class right away
because the school is still changing schedules. So, they are deciding what the best
situation for those students are. My cooperating teacher told me he should be getting that
information during the first or second week of school.
7. Will you please explain your philosophy concerning classroom discipline? What
behaviors do you discourage and encourage?
The teacher feels that developing the rules, routines, and expectations on day 1 and
continuing to reinforce those throughout the year is important to maintain appropriate
behavior in the class. The teacher feels that by providing fun activities that involves every
student and eliminates downtime, it will result in less disruptive behavior in class. This is
my philosophy as well, the better preventive class management you have, the better the
class will run. The teacher discourages disrespect, name-calling, put-downs, and any type
of behavior that degrades students or teachers. The teacher encourages respect. There is a
whole lesson taught on respect. Ranging from respect between the teacher and students,
students and students, and students with the equipment. The teacher encourages positive
comments towards one another and making sure each student feels safe to come to class
to learn and have fun. During my first few weeks when I have more of an observational
role, the teacher wants me to go over my routines and rules with the students and
continue to reinforce them throughout the semester so that when I take on a more active
role, students will already be familiar with my routines and rules and will not have to
readjust to new routines and rules. Also, during this observational period I can help with
managerial tasks and walk around and give feedback during activities that will discourage
inappropriate behavior and encourage appropriate behavior.
8. What kinds of bulletin boards or other displays do you prefer to have in your
classroom? Which ones would you like me to plan for while I’m doing my clinical
practice?
Most of the classes will be conducted outside. The teacher brings out a white board
everyday that lists the agenda for the day and what students are expected to learn that
day. When students come out to roll call, they can read the board and they will know
exactly what is going on for the day. As the semester progresses, the teacher would like
me to plan and write out the agenda and learning expectations for the day. The teacher
does use the classroom once a week on Mondays, but I will not be there on those days.
So, there will be no need for me to plan for bulletins in the classroom.
9. How did you arrive at this particular room arrangement? May I
rearrange for special activities?
In terms of the PE classroom arrangement, the seven teachers that make up the PE
department worked together and decided what bulletin boards or other displays would be
put up in the classroom. If I were to use the classroom, my cooperating teacher would not
mind me arranging things, but I should get permission from the other teachers before
doing so.
10. What is your field trip policy? Would you like me to plan a field trip for
this semester?
In the PE program, there are no field trips. So, it will not be necessary for me to plan any
field trips.
11. How do you maintain active communications with parents?
The school provides a website with all the necessary information that parents can easily
access on a daily basis. The teacher’s phone numbers and emails are provided. The best
way for him to maintain active communications with parents is via email. On the second
day of school, the teacher will go over a PE packet with the students. The packet contains
all of the necessary paper work for the semester. Each student is required to go over the
syllabus and packet with their parents. This allows the parents to develop a good
understanding of what will be going on in the class during the semester. Parents will sign
it and students will return it to the teacher. Back to school night is also a great way to
maintain active communication with the parents. Parents can come in and get to know the
teacher better and get a better feel for the physical education program at Westview.
12. What techniques do you use to motivate students?
One of the most important techniques that the teacher uses is to have a lot of enthusiasm.
He feels that if you are not enthusiastic about the activity the students are not going to be
enthusiastic. He also reflects on the previous lesson and thinks of new ideas to make a
better lesson that the students will enjoy. Each day, there is a new activity. For example,
on Mondays, students are in the classroom learning about material that will be relevant to
activities during the rest of the week. On Tuesdays, students will engage in personal
health activities such as yoga or pilates. On Wednesdays, students will engage in
cardiorespiratory activities. On Thursdays, students will engage in strength training
activities. On Fridays, students will engage in lifetime activities such as learning about
football, volleyball, and basketball. They feel that providing different activities each day
it will constantly engage students and keep them motivated throughout the weekend.
Instead of doing the same activity everyday for six weeks, which may become dull and
boring for the students. The teacher always uses positivity, providing students with
positive praise both verbal and non-verbal. He makes sure that he provides a safe and
positive learning environment in class so that students can thrive. If there is an activity
that he feels puts students on the spot. He quickly changes the activity so students do not
feel bad. We have the same feelings about developing positivity in the class, which is
why the first two weeks of school will be dedicated to team building and developing
positivity in the class. Music is also another way he likes to motivate students.
13. What are the special challenges of teaching this subject or
grade level?
One of the challenges of teaching freshman PE is the maturity level. Sometimes students
can begin to disrupt the teacher while you are teaching or disrupt other students trying to
learn. So, you have to provide activities that keep students active all the time. Class size
can also be a challenge. In PE, class sizes can range from 40-70 students. It is very hard
to teach 70 students in a small amount of time. Even a small change in class size can
make a difference. The teacher mentioned he had a class of 52 and there was a day when
7 students were out and it made a huge difference. Just by having those 7 students out, it
was much easier to manage and teach the class. Another challenge is being able to
constantly motivate and engage students each and everyday. He said you have to be a
salesman everyday. If you don’t bring the energy and enthusiasm the students are not
going to buy in. You have to constantly reflect on the experience, make changes, and get
better. Also, funding for Physical Education may not be a number one priority for the
school. Therefore, it may be difficult to get all the equipment needed in order to make
sure each student in the class has the equipment necessary to be successful in class.
14. How would you describe your school’s community relations?
He described the relationship with the community as very good. Westview has a great
staff that is constantly updating their school website to inform the community about what
is going on at the school and what the school is involved in throughout the community.
He also mentioned that Westview has an excellent reputation for academics and athletics.
15. How important are standardized test scores to your school?
Standardized test scores are very important for the school. Each class has its own
standards that must be met. Westview as a whole has high expectations for their students
and expect that students meet the standards. My cooperating teacher also has standards in
his own class that he follows based on the California standards in PE. He mentioned that
on the second or third day of school, he is going to explain to his students about what
standards are and what they have to do in order to meet the standards in his class.
16. With a large class size, time in PE is very valuable. What do you do to
make sure that no time is being wasted?
My cooperating teacher discussed that it starts with the locker room procedure. If you do
not specify the amount of time students have to change or you don’t care, a lot of time
can be wasted. For example, if you allow students to take 10-15 minutes of class time to
get changed that’s 20-30 minutes of class time gone due to just getting in and out of the
locker room. At most, the teacher wants students to spend 7 minutes getting changed. The
next important aspect is having good preventive class management, which is done by
developing rules, routines, and expectations. These should be discussed and practiced the
first few weeks and reinforced throughout the semester. This is where I can play an
important role and help the teacher during the first few weeks to make sure that these are
being followed so that time is not wasted. Another important aspect is writing a good
lesson plan that has the amount of time spent during each activity. That way after
teaching a lesson, you can make time adjustments depending on the activity to make sure
you give yourself enough time to allow students to practice and develop a better
understanding of the skill or concept.
17. How important is it to be flexible?
My cooperating teacher discusses that it is very important to be flexible. There are so
many variables when it comes to teaching, and you have to be ready when any of those
variables change. For example, you might have your lesson planned to be out on the
basketball courts doing a basketball unit, but there is unexpected rain. You have to be
able to change the whole lesson around so that you do not waste the period. Then, on top
of that there are 6 other PE teachers as well. So, there may be a class already in the
classroom, weight room, or gym and you cannot fit all the students in one place. You
have to be ready to make split decisions. During a lesson, you may not see what you want
to or the lesson is going terribly wrong. You have to be able to modify the lesson or
change it completely to help students be more engaged and successful. This is where
communication and collaboration is important between my cooperating teacher and I. He
wants me to look at his lessons and give any suggestions about new activities. Then after
a class period, we will get together again and he will ask what I thought about the lesson
and I will give any suggestions that I might have and he will do the same when I begin
planning and teaching my own lessons.
18. What types of assessments do you use in your physical education
program?
My cooperating teacher explained that he uses various assessments in his class to
demonstrate student learning. In fact, he was going to meet with someone from the
district to go over new assessment plans for PE. He uses informal and formative
assessments such as checking for understanding and checklists to more formal
assessments such as standardized fitness tests. Students will have an assessment the
second week of school. In order to pass the course, students must demonstrate an
understanding of team building concepts. Students will be assigned to their team building
groups and must engage in various team-building activities. After each activity is
complete, students will write down what their objective was, what they had to do to
complete it, and have to answer the “now what” question. The “ now what” has students
describe what helped them solve the problem and what aspects of teamwork were the
most successful. Students will turn the log into the teacher and they will either check
them off or not depending on their responses. Groups must score a total of 15 points in
the two days of activities to pass. Certain units will not have a formal assessment such as
the strength-training unit. Instead, the cooperating teacher and I will observe students and
provide corrective feedback to make sure they are properly lifting weights.
19. How many weeks does a typical sport unit last for?
Typically, a sports unit will last for 6 weeks. He will introduce three different sports
throughout the semester (football, volleyball, and basketball). The other PE teachers will
cover different sports. Their program is focused on providing more exposure to a variety
of activities rather than doing the same activity over and over again. This is why they set
up a different activity each day. Such as the yoga class, cardio day, fitness day, and
lifetime activity day. Even though the unit lasts for six weeks, students are only spending
six days on a particular sport. However, their goal is not to have students engaging in a
traditional football game. They want students to develop the basic skills, which they can
apply in different types of games. The same goes for the volleyball unit and basketball
unit.
20. Cross curriculum collaboration is a topic in our credentialing program. Is your PE
program collaborating with other departments?
Prior to this interview, I thought it was a traditional PE class. However, my cooperating
teacher explained to me that their department has combined different fields. Their
program is called exercise nutritional science. They have a health portion, biology
portion, and exercise portion. Students learn about health and biology concepts on class
days, and learn exercise concepts on the other days. They make sure that what the
students learn in class that week applies to what they are doing during the exercise days.
As I mentioned before, my cooperating teacher is always looking for ways to improve his
class. He mentioned to me that one of the AP physics teachers approached him about
trying to include physics concepts into his activity days. He was very interested in it and
was going to meet with the teacher prior to the start of school to go into more detail about
what to include. He is going to begin using these concepts during the football unit. So, I
will get to see first hand the collaboration between the PE and physics department and
what goes into planning and implementing those concepts. My cooperating teacher did
mention that there will be a learning curve since this will be his first time doing this, but
that is part of being a teacher and it will help him grow as a teacher.
Self Evaluation
Criteria
15 questions – In order to exceed in this section, you had to provide rich detail to each
question. I felt that I did that for each question. For example, for question 1, I discussed
in detail when, where, and how many times a week we would meet to plan. I also
discussed other times that we would meet and also talked about what we would be
discussing and how we will go about taking on responsibility as the semester progresses.
There are some answers that do not have as much detail due to the topic. For example,
the question about field trips is not long or detailed because the PE classes will not be
going on any field trips.
5 Added questions – In order to exceed in this section you had to organize and answer 5
additional questions that matched the themes of the other questions. I asked questions that
would be relevant to what will be going on during my clinical practice and will help me
develop a better understanding of what is expected of me, and also begin to develop ideas
and activities that I can use when I begin taking a larger planning and teaching role.
Induction Plan Clinical Practice Timeline of Activities – In order to exceed in this
area, I had to articulate how my cooperating teacher and I will meet the needs of us as a
team in the different stages of the induction process. This was met when I talked about
the induction process in question 1, 2, and 3. During the first 8 weeks, I will be more of
an observer and participate in certain parts of the activity. The teacher will have the
lesson plans made and will deliver the bulk of them. The last 8 weeks, I will take the
main role in planning and delivering lessons. As a team we will sit down and share ideas
about our lessons and make any changes we think will make a better lesson. I also
mentioned that the teacher is going to introduce us as co-teachers, which will show us as
equals to the students.
Evidence of Developing a Collaboration – In order to succeed in this area, I had to
show examples of each of the three areas on how my approaches are grounded in my
philosophy. I was confused on this part, but I did mention that my teacher and I will be
collaborating on almost every aspect of this class by meeting each day to plan. We will
meet in between and after class to communicate about how the lesson went and what we
could do to make it better. We both have management strategies that we planned together
and both will implement those strategies on the first days of school and continue to
reinforce them throughout the semester.
Organization – In order to succeed in this area, I had to provide a visual representation
to communicate the foundation of the collaboration of our team. I felt that I did that in all
the questions I asked. I think each question gives you a good idea of what will be going
on in the class as well as how we will be working together to achieve our goals and
objectives. I think the biggest piece of evidence of this is our constant planning and
communication throughout the semester. As mentioned before, we will always be
meeting and discussing how we could improve the lesson. Another piece of evidence is
we will be co-teaching the class, which represents us working as a team to execute the
lessons.
Self Evaluation – To exceed in this area, I had to provide evidence for each criteria
marked. I felt I did that by listing each category in the criteria and then providing
evidence from my teacher interview.