ENTREVISTA TEXAS

Tell us about yourself:

Well, I got my teaching P.E and English degrees at the University of Huelva, after that I
spent a year teaching Spanish at one university in the north of England with an internship.
When I was back in Spain I studied a master’s degree in teaching Spanish as a second
language at Universidad Pablo Olavide in Seville. Then I was working for a few months in
a small language school as a Spanish teacher when I was offered my current job as a
primary teacher in a private school in Almería.

Describe your discipline philosophy

Firstly I defer to school’s discipline guidelines. I use positive reinforcement to achieve

stability in the classroom. It is important to have the classroom rules posted clearly on the
wall. I suspect discipline problems will be minimal because my lessons are interesting and
engage students. Kids tend to misbehave when they are bored, and I’m going to avoid
that.

Has anyone ever influenced you in your life?

My sister has influenced me since she has always been a perseverant person and she has
achieved all her goals professionally and personally. Therefore her attitude has been a
motivation for me.

Is there anything we have not talked about that you would like to share with us?
Do you have any questions for us?

TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF AND PERSONAL QUALITIES

What is your philosophy of Education?

I believe in an education where students play an active role, where the students learn in a
collaborative way, where students learn by doing and moving, where students solve real
problems and address real issues, I believe emotional education is important.
•List three of your strengths and three of your weaknesses as a teacher and explain
each one.
Weaknesses: There are so many creative activities I plan for my students and class time is limited.
It is difficult to incorporate all of the activities that I would like my students to learn from.

“I often spend more time than necessary creating lesson plans because I want to incorporate as many
different elements as possible into my instruction methodology without overwhelming students.”

Strengths:
 I keep my students involved in my lessons making them interesting and challenging
by making creative activities and projects.
 I integrate ICT in my classes as a mean of learning; we have to use the tools the
society uses in this century.
 I have empathy with students; I try to put myself in their position to make lessons as
most meaningful as possible for them.

•What is your knowledge of and experience with standards-based education?

In the actual Education Spanish law we have also take into consideration standards,
therefore we are familiar with them.
•What experience have you had with students from culturally diverse backgrounds?
When I did an internship as Spanish teacher in England I had students from different
backgrounds.
•En USA hay una gran diversidad cultural: caucásicos, African-Americans,
asiáticos, latinos... ¿Cómo unificarías toda esa variedad?
I think it is a good opportunity for the students to learn from each other’s culture: language,
traditions… It would be a good chance to Foster respect.

•What makes you an effective teacher?

I make sure I make lessons meaningful for students where they play an active role
therefore they learn more than when they are just simple listeners.

•Would you be happy if you were assigned to a different grade that the one you
expected? Would you take the job?

I like teaching different subjects and in different grades, I see it like a good opportunity to
learn new aspects to grow as a teacher. I feel confident teaching in elementary school
however teaching older students would be a challenge that I would be happy to accept.

•If I were to contact your references what do you think they’d say about you?
I think they would say I’m a creative and innovative teacher.
•What is your most successful accomplishment?
Getting my students excited about projects.
•What was the most important thing you learned from your overall student teaching
experience?
•What is the most satisfying, the biggest challenge, the scariest thing about
teaching?
•How would people describe you as a teacher? Name three words that describe you:
Innovator, creative, active
•Do you want students to like you? Why or why not?
•Who do you look up to and want to emulate?
•Do you have any experience living abroad?

•Why do you want to go to the USA?Do you think you will be able to cope with the
American way of life? Why?

•Why are you applying for this program?

•Why do you think you are a good candidate for this position?What makes you more
suitable than other candidates?

•Would you describe yourself as a "tough" teacher or an "understanding" teacher?

Explain.

INSTRUCTIONAL SKILLS/ PLANNING SKILLS

•Tell us about a lesson in which you've used differentiated instruction. Describe a

successful lesson. Tell why it was successful.
•How do you make sure you are teaching to the state standards?

•How do you meet the wide range of skills and needs commonly present in a non-
ability grouped classroom? En tu clase hay alumnos con ADD -déficit de atención-
¿Cómo puedes ayudarles a que tengan mejores resultados?

•How do you teach kids to utilize higher-order thinking skills in your classroom?
•Describe the teaching techniques or strategies that are most effective for you to
keep students actively involved during a lesson.
•How do you deal with unmotivated students?
•How do you accommodate for a gifted student and non-English speakers in your
class? What can you do to meet the needs of students who do not speak English?
•What daily or weekly routines would be incorporated in your teaching?

•How closely do you follow your plans? What do you include when you write
objectives? What are some of the considerations you make when planning your
lessons? What do you include in your daily lesson plans? How do you plan a unit?

•Are there any materials that you find are especially effective for slow learners or
bright students?
•How much homework do you assign? How do you know how long it will take your
students?

•If I walked into your classroom on a typical afternoon, what would I see going on?

•How do you measure student performance in your classroom?

•How do you reach that one student who just seems to not get it?
•In what ways do you encourage creativity in your classroom?
•What is your definition of a life-long learner? How can you promote it?
•If you could design and decorate your classroom any way you wanted, what would
it look like?

•How do you develop self-esteem (autoestima) within students?

•How do you make learning fun?
•What do you do if the whole class is “not getting it”?
•How do you connect your lessons to the “real world”?
•Is it ok for a classroom to be noisy?

CLASSRROM MANAGEMENT/CLASSROOM DISCIPLINE

•Tell us about your discipline philosophy (¿que hemos de ser? Duros,

condescendientes, comprensivos, dialogantes, …? Decir que a grito pelado no
sirve)

•How do you face discipline problems? Describe some strategies you think are
helpful to overcome discipline problems. How would you create a behavior
modification plan for a student with ongoing behavior problems?

•What are the primary rules you expect your students to follow? What kind of rules
do you have in your classroom? How are they established? What are your
classroom rules?

•What do you value most in a child

•¿Qué harías si un niño no hace caso y se distrae en tu clase?

•What is your classroom management plan/style?

•What are your goals?
•Describe what you consider to be the model classroom.
•Describe some methods of "positive reinforcement" that you might use in your
classroom. How do you reinforce good behavior?
•What would a typical day look like in this classroom?
•Share three interesting things used in your classroom? (i.e. differentiated
instruction, cooperative learning, short cycle assessment)
•A student tells his teacher that he forgot to bring his paper, which he had written
the night before. The teacher says, “I understand. I sometimes forget things like that
too.” How do you evaluate the way this teacher responded to the student?
•What is your classroom management plan and what do you hope to accomplish
with it?
•What was the most challenging discipline problem you’ve encountered and how
did you handle it? What did you do? Were you prepared to handle the situation? In
hindsight, would you have handled this situation any differently ( lo habrías hecho
de otra manera)?
•What would you do if a student wasn't handing her homework on a regular basis?
• One student hits another student. What do you do?
•A student throws a pencil across the room. What do you do
•Explain what you would do if a student was swearing in your class?
•What would you do if a student was complaining about an assignment you've
given?
•What would you do if a parent complained about an assignment?

KNOWLEDGE OF CONTENT/MATERIALS

•What kind of materials have you used to assess student strengths and
weaknesses?

•Are there any materials that you find are especially effective for slow learners or
bright students?

RELATIONSHIPS WHIT ADMINISTRATION, STAFF, PARENTS AND STUDENTS

•What does teamwork mean to you? Give an example

•Have you ever had a disagreement with a colleague? How did you solve it?
•What should a principal expect from teachers?
•What should teachers expect from their principal?
•How do you keep parents informed about the daily/weekly progress of their
son/daughter?
•What vehicles do you use to communicate with parents?
•Have you ever utilized a class newsletter? What did you include in the letter?
•How would you deal with an angry parent if they called you?
•How do you communicate with parents on a regular basis?
•How do you keep parents aware of their son’s or daughter’s grades?
•How would you react if a parent complained about your class?
•What would you tell a parent if he or she was concerned about their kid’s grades?
•What would you do if you received a note from a parent asking for their son to be
excused from last night’s homework because the student was too busy with another
activity?
•What would you do to calm an angry parent?
•What course of action would you take if a student says he or she is being abused at
home

•How would you describe your ability to communicate with peers and parents?

•Describe a situation when you had a conflict with a student. How did you solve it?

TEXAS/ AMERICA

•What do you know about Texas?

•What do you like and what do you dislike about American culture?
•How do you face the fact that you need a car in order to survive in the U.S?

•What do you know about American culture with regard to political correctness,
sexual harassment and smoking policies? Please comment on this.

•Describe briefly the American education system.What do you think are the major
problems of the American education system?

•Would you mind teaching in a school that is 90% minorities and would you mind
teaching to students of different ethnic backgrounds?

•What kind of contribution do you think you could make to American students?

•What do you think you will learn from this experience and how do you think this
experience will benefit your teaching when you come back?

•About the the job:Describe the job you think you will be doing in the U.S.

Información personal:
 Why do you want to go to the USA?
 Why do you think you are a good candidate for this position?
 What makes you more suitable than other candidates?
 Why are you applying for this program?
Preguntas sobre tu papel como profesor:
 Could you describe a 60/90 minute lesson?
 How would you help a student with ADD (attention deficit disorder)?
 What do you enjoy most as a teacher?
 How would you describe your ability to communicate with peers and
parents?
 Describe the job you think you will be doing in the U.S.
 How would you describe yourself as a teacher?
 How would your students describe you?
 How would your colleagues describe you?
 What do you think are the major problems of the American education
system?
 How do you face discipline problems? Describe some strategies you think
are helpful to overcome discipline problems.
 Have you ever had a disagreement with a colleague? How did you solve it?
 Describe a situation when you had a conflict with a student. How did you
solve it?
 How do you feel about working many more hours?
 Describe briefly the American education system.
Sobre EEUU:
 What do you know about the State X?
 What do you like and what do you dislike about American culture?
 Do you think you can adapt to this culture? Why?
 How do you face the fact that you need a car in order to survive in the U.S?
 Would you be happy if you were assigned to a different grade that the one
you expected? Would you take the job?
 What do you know about American culture with regard to political
correctness, sexual harassment and smoking policies? Please comment on
this.
 I assume you are aware of the racial diversity of the US. Do you have any
experience dealing with people of other different ethnic backgrounds?
 Would you mind teaching in a school that is 90% minorities and would you
mind teaching to students of different ethnic backgrounds?

Do you have any question for us?

What king of facilities, training and technology are available?

How many students are there in each class?
What mentoring system do you have for first year teachers?

Key sentences

Teach in the same way you would have liked to be taught.

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin

I use multiple methods of teaching (linguistic, visual, auditory, kinesthetic) to speak to

students.

Multiples intelligence

Flipped classroom