Monday, December 2
Today, we started off class with a brief overview of what we will be doing on Friday. In class, we will be having mock interviews on Friday, with four "principals" to host the interviews. Each person will have a chance to answer questions and get a "feel" for how an interview would work.
After the introduction to Friday's activities, Dr. Smirnova provided us with in-class time to work on our portfolios. Using this time, I worked on my Live Binder and discussed with my group when we are going to finish working on our edTPA reflections.
Wednesday, December 4
Today in class we were again given time to work on our end of semester assignments. Lindsay and I decided to continue our work on the edTPA section of our live binders. Though we found out that we were not doing the questions in the right format, we got a lot done. The edTPA is supposed to be in an essay type of format. We did it question by question, so it will be an easy fix.
We also talked more about the mock interviews for Friday. I am slightly nervous about these interviews. Looking at sample questions, I had no idea how to respond to them. I hope that I will be able to think on my feet when the "principals" ask me questions. Within our groups, we also had to create a list of questions to ask the principals while we are being interviewed. Two questions that we all thought were essential were "what is your teaching philosophy?" and "What professional development opportunities do you offer for your faculty?" These questions will show the principal that you are interested in bettering yourself and being a working member of his/her school team.
This will be a good experience for all of us future teachers. We will get to know about the format of an interview and what types of questions that principals might ask. I think that this is interviews are a good idea to incorporate in education classes.
We also talked more about the mock interviews for Friday. I am slightly nervous about these interviews. Looking at sample questions, I had no idea how to respond to them. I hope that I will be able to think on my feet when the "principals" ask me questions. Within our groups, we also had to create a list of questions to ask the principals while we are being interviewed. Two questions that we all thought were essential were "what is your teaching philosophy?" and "What professional development opportunities do you offer for your faculty?" These questions will show the principal that you are interested in bettering yourself and being a working member of his/her school team.
This will be a good experience for all of us future teachers. We will get to know about the format of an interview and what types of questions that principals might ask. I think that this is interviews are a good idea to incorporate in education classes.
Friday, December 6
Today was the big day! We began class with a brief introduction from Dr. Smirnova, who was playing the role of a journalist inviting us all to a job fair. After her back story, the teacher candidates went around the room sharing their names and what they expect to gain from this experience. I shared that I hoped to learn more about the interview process and what type of questions will be asked.
After the teacher candidates shared about themselves, the "principals" began their introduction. Each of the four "principals" shared their back story, sharing their schooling received and their school's teaching philosophy. Each school had a different philosophy, ranging from behaviorism to a cooperative learning approach.
Once the introduction portion of the activity was concluded, we broke up into our fieldwork groups to begin the interview process. The "principals" went from group to group asking questions. Each "principal" opened the floor with an ice breaker type of question. These questions were something fun to get people talking. For example, one ice breaker question asked about a book you have most recently read and how it has impacted your life.
Some of the interview questions were difficult to respond to in the shortened amount of time. It was hard to get your thoughts together with the pressure of people watching you. A few times I stumbled with my words and could not get out what I wanted to say, but overall I think that I provided decent answers for all questions asked.
After the teacher candidates shared about themselves, the "principals" began their introduction. Each of the four "principals" shared their back story, sharing their schooling received and their school's teaching philosophy. Each school had a different philosophy, ranging from behaviorism to a cooperative learning approach.
Once the introduction portion of the activity was concluded, we broke up into our fieldwork groups to begin the interview process. The "principals" went from group to group asking questions. Each "principal" opened the floor with an ice breaker type of question. These questions were something fun to get people talking. For example, one ice breaker question asked about a book you have most recently read and how it has impacted your life.
Some of the interview questions were difficult to respond to in the shortened amount of time. It was hard to get your thoughts together with the pressure of people watching you. A few times I stumbled with my words and could not get out what I wanted to say, but overall I think that I provided decent answers for all questions asked.
Overall, I think that this was a worthwhile experience to have. I really liked being interviewed in groups. This setting allowed all of us to use ideas from our fellow teacher candidates in order to provide the best answers that we could. One bad thing about this format was that if another person had the same answer that you were planning on saying, you had to think of a way to make it your own and stand out. I think that this activity was a great end to the semester and I cannot wait to see if I get "hired" in class on Monday!
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