Interview with my cooperating teacher

February 7, 2012

     This week, I sat down with my cooperating teacher and asked her the following questions:

How do you pick your battles in terms of classroom management?

• Before you pick your battles, you must know what kind of support you have from the administration. If there is little to no administrative support, it is important for teachers to give students the idea that there is strong support in order to deter disruptive behavior. 
• It is important to have a good report with your students. At the beginning of the year, make sure it is clear to your students that you are going to be fair in judgement. 
• If you are at the end of your rope and you must yell in order to stop disruptive behavior, follow up with the question, "Is that how you want to be spoken to?" This question is designed to make the students reflect on their own behavior, hopefully showing them that if they want respect, they must also be respectful to the teacher. 
• It is important that the teacher be respectful to the students. If the teacher is ever wrong, or makes a mistake, the teacher cannot be afraid to apologize. Apologizing sets a good example for the students in terms of taking responsibility for their own actions. 
• It is important that the teacher be firm in discipline. The teacher must not be afraid to enforce the rules. At the same time, the teacher must never hold grudges against a student. Each incident should be considered isolated, and each day is a brand new day in terms of student behavior. 

How do you incorporate technology into the classroom?

• The teacher should not incorporate technology for the sake of technology. It is important that the lesson and learning objectives be the "star of the show". My teacher gave the example, "you don't go to a basketball game to watch the basketball".  However, technology can be a useful tool if it is used to enhance the lesson. 
• If students are struggling on a writing assignment, my teacher will allow the students to use a computer. This allows the students to get down their thoughts in an easier way. Computers also make it easier for the students to peer edit and revise their writing. 
•   Videos and film clips are effective ways of incorporating differentiated instruction. My teacher will show clips from film adaptations of the text that the students are reading, as long as the clips are accurate to the text. My teacher will also utilize music to set the mood for a text, or use audio or video clips from lecture notes on a related topic. 

Is your classroom more student centered or teacher centered? 

• This is determined in terms of the lesson the teacher has planned. The teacher should utilize both approaches to teaching, depending on the type of lesson and goals of the lesson. 
• It is important that the teacher knows how to utilize both approaches. A teacher should have an array of skills and tools in order to make his or her lessons effective.
• It is also important that the teacher understand how to take command of the classroom when it is more appropriate for teacher centered lessons. 
• The appropriate approach is usually determined by the efficiency of each approach in terms of the daily lesson as well as the time constraints that the teacher faces.  

How do you involve parents?

• If a student is having trouble completing the assigned work, the teacher should encourage his or her parents to email the teacher for daily assignments. 
• It is important to only call parents when necessary. This includes when a student is failing, when a student constantly exhibits disruptive behavior, or when a student often has an attitude, making the student difficult to teach. 
• When speaking to parents, it is important to only use positive words. Ask the parent for help, ask them to encourage the student to complete his or her work, and ask the parent to encourage good behavior. By asking for help and using words like "encourage," the parents feel less defensive of their children and are empowered to make the necessary changes. 
• In my teacher's experience, parents are generally receptive to teacher phone calls and conferences.