SC.5.N.1.1: Define a problem, use appropriate reference materials to support scientific understanding, plan and carry. The teacher conducts an investigation to compare the sound. N.1.4: Attempt reasonable answers to scientific questions.
The district where I worked previously offered continuing education opportunities in the evenings throughout the year. I attended these sessions regularly. I especially enjoyed the literacy training sessions that focused on early childhood literature and teaching strategies. I have also been lucky enough to attend the yearly Autism Awareness conference held in New York City for the last two years. I try to take advantage of any continuing education opportunities offered to me.ExpandQuestions About You as Part of a Teaching Team and Classroom Community. During the summer, I am the director of a theater camp offered by the art center in town. I would love to take part in any drama clubs or performances the children participate in throughout the year. Or, if there isn’t a drama club, I’d certainly love to start one, if that’s something that the school would be interested in.
While theater happens to be my personal passion, if there are any other activities that are especially in need of support and that I might be a good fit for, I’d be willing to help out however I can.ExpandQuestions About Students and Parents. If I have a parent who is upset about a grade their child received, I would offer to meet with the parent and provide supporting evidence of the lessons the child received in preparation for the assessment. I would then ask the parent(s) to help me brainstorm ways that their child might prepare for and perform better on assessments. For example, I once had a child who consistently struggled with his weekly spelling work.Before his parents contacted me, I reached out to them after he handed in his second weekly test incomplete. I asked the parent if we could think of some strategies the child could use both in the classroom and at home to improve the student’s spelling skills. Every situation is different, of course, but if I am able to offer a retake of the assessment, I would be more than happy to do so.Expand. I take my position as a mandated reporter very seriously. I am aware of the district’s daily health check system that early childhood teachers are required to implement daily. In my previous position, we also did daily checks when the children would arrive each morning. There was one child in my previous classroom who had odd bruising on both arms and I was not sure if the bruises were from rough play with siblings or friends, or from an adult being physically abusive.Before I said anything to anyone, I reported what I saw to the principal who guided me through the process to determine the cause of the bruising.
Ultimately it was discovered that the bruises were from the child’s older sibling. The way my school handled the situation enabled us to ensure the child was in a safe situation without falsely accusing or upsetting the parents.Expand. One of the most important large group activities I do with my class at the beginning of the year is writing our class rules together. I make it a big deal; together we come up with and agree to the rules, and we all sign the poster in a commitment to do our best to follow the rules while also helping others to follow the rules throughout the day. One of the most important rules on our poster is to not bully other children.I use this group activity as an opportunity to talk about what it means to bully, and what to do if a student is bullied or they see someone being bullied. Part of the lesson is making anti-bullying posters that we hang in our classroom and in the halls. If I witnessed bullying, I would talk to all the children involved separately, and I would also revisit our anti-bullying lesson and posters with the whole class.ExpandTips to Answer Teacher Interview Questions.