Ochoa 1

Viviana Ochoa

Michelle Reiff

EDUC&202

1 November 2022

Teacher Interview & Observation Assignment

Part 1: Classroom Observation: 

I did my teacher interview and observation at Pioneer Middle School with Mrs. Van
Cleve and her 8th grade ELA Honors English Class. When I first walked in, I greeted her and
introduced myself! She then asked me some questions about the assignment and after some
conversation, she helped me find a comfortable area to sit so that I could observe without
causing distraction. Looking around the classroom I saw a library at the back of the class, which
gave off “quiet time vibes”. I noticed how students had designated seats in partners and I believe
it is to encourage partner work/collaboration. There was also a lot of color/motivational
decorations, supplies, etc. that keeps students motivated and eager to be there! There was a
calendar behind her desk that listed goals, important dates, a word of the week, homework, and
upcoming details. Her desk is secluded showing that it is “her space” but still has her students
close enough to her in case they need her help.

At the start of class, she is outside the door greeting the students, demonstrating that she
finds building a welcoming classroom important. Once the bell rings, all the students go to their
designated seating assignments and once they are all settled in, she goes over the agenda for the
day. This lets students know what is going on and what to expect for the class period. She then
shows a Shakespearean video as an introduction to their assignment. The students are asked to
rewrite Act II into a modernized version, that they will then make into a video to show to the
class. Once she tells them about the assignment, she goes over the rules, criteria, and scoring,
ensuring that her students know what is expected. She does this all through auditorial instruction,
but also has it up on the screen for a visual. She then engages the students by having them help
her give characteristic trait examples of the Shakespearean characters so that everyone gains a
better understanding. Though this is a group assignment she explains how everyone will
individually grade for their own written portion. She assured them that if one group member is
gone, they would have to fulfill their own part. Once she delivered all the instructions and
criteria for the assignment, she holds an open Q&A for students if there was anything else she
needs to go over or explain again. The students are then asked to grab supplies and find their
group members to begin the assignment. Her hopes are for them to get the script done in one
class period, but she assures them that she would give them more time if necessary. I like how
she established the goal but is open to being flexible if it proves to be not realistic. I saw that
students were working and using their time wisely, and I did not hear a lot of ‘off topic’
 Ochoa 2

conversation. This did not surprise me however since this was an honors class! I saw that at
almost every minute, there was one student coming up to her to ask a question. This showed me
how comfortable enough the students feel to approach her and aren’t afraid to ask questions. One
kid was crying at his desk by himself when everyone else went to do their group work, and so
she approached him and started talking to him. I overheard her offering comforting words like
“take a moment”, “how can I help you get over your sadness and move forward?”, “what do you
feel right now?”. Even though she was helping this one student for most of the class period, she
was still available for other students’ questions. After helping him she walked around the room
observing the groups. There was one student that asked what one line meant and to help them
understand, she gave a realistic example that pertained to them, so that they could relate. It was
obvious that she had a lot of knowledge of Shakespeare, so she was able to answer/describe all
the characters when asked. I think it is important for a teacher to be knowledgeable of the
subject/topic they are teaching, so that they can ensure the best possible education for their
students. Another student asked her to read her lines to approve them, and a lot of teachers would
shoot down this request, however she helped them and would offer suggestions to make it better.
This shows how she wants to help her students succeed, but offer SLIGHT help, along the way if
needed. Reminds me of scaffolding! Towards the end of the class, she got their attention and had
a progress check. She saw that they were all still actively working on finishing up their lines, so
she gave them the rest of the class period to finish up. Once it was almost time to pack up, she
told them her plan for tomorrow since they were running out of time. She had them clean up (put
chairs up on desks) and they were very quick, suggesting that they respect their learning
environment AND teacher. Some students stayed behind with questions/help.

Overall, I loved her teaching style. There was a lot of verbal discussion, as she engaged
students to answer out loud without needing to raise their hand. She also walks around the class
as she is giving instruction plus engages in a lot of eye contact. When she made a mistake, she
would quickly fix it, to make sure she delivered the correct information. Looking at her
personality, she is very down to earth with her students, and she can project her voice loud and
clear. I noted how she lets her students call her Mrs. Kate (her first name), and that she also
addresses her students by name a lot when they ask questions/in general, meaning there is a
strong student to teacher relationship. She is very humorous with her students through regular
conversation, but also in her instruction, making her very bubbly and outgoing. She gives off a
bright fun vibe that I could tell attracted the attention of the students. The students were so
invested in their work, that not once did I see that they were bored or upset, meaning that she
managed to make the work fun and engaging! The biggest thing I noted was the mutual respect
between her and her students. She knows that they are honors students and though “they are
crazy and won’t shut up, because they are honors, its mostly on topic!” and they are exceptional
students to teach. As for her classroom management, she can have fun, but is able to quickly get
her students attention. When there is a student that is breaking a rule, she can discreetly let them
know, while still giving instruction. Lots of kids speak out loud spontaneously sometimes but no
one seems bothered by it since it is moderate. I think this gives off a safe but also respected
learning environment because students feel comfortable to be themselves but know their limits. It
was very easy to tell which students are ‘louder’ than others, but she was able to manage them
accordingly. Instead of shutting them down, she would just kindly tell them to either quiet down
or approach them individually to meet their needs. For example, one student was playing around
with a prop, and she got their attention very quickly, asked them to put it away, and they did with
 Ochoa 3

no hesitation. If there was a problem/question in the group, she would always have an answer for
them and propose a solution, suggesting that she reflected on everything that would go wrong
‘just in case’. Overall, I was very impressed with the classroom management she had and how
she was able to effectively communicate with her students on what needed to get done, but also
accommodate their needs! From watching Mrs. Van Cleve, I learned that though there are a lot
of ways to teach, it is important to find your own way of teaching based on the kids you get in
your own classroom. I

Part 2: Teacher Interview:

Questions:

 What is your philosophy of education? – this question is mandatory “what you

believe to be the purpose of education”

- educating for a democracy

- help them lead their best lives

- to create critical thinkers

 What are your learning goals for students?

- Help them achieve the “two-fold” thinking and communicating mindset. (“You do not
communicate well until you think well”)
- Enhance their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills
- Help them learn how to work well with others (there is an added challenge when
working with high achievers since it takes a lot of energy, creativity, and
engagement) “can’t keep same patterns and routines”

 What do you believe are the most effective methods for teaching?

- Project base learning – units are large, culminate in a display in what they have
learned, project in a public forum (example: Film making project- storytelling
through a visual art)
- Units- lots of engagement
 Ochoa 4

- “Anything in where they can express their knowledge, in a way that they can share
it!”
- Accountability to show it up

 What values do you try to foster in your classroom/students? How do you do this?

- Acceptance of inquiry and curiosity- “you can’t do that well, until you have safe and
inclusive environment. It needs to be okay to ask questions and be curious”
- Create a safe learning environment

 As you’ve gained experience, has your philosophy of education changed?

- 20th year of teaching

- “What we think we want isn’t always what we want”
o She wanted to be a dentist, was a daycare worker, LOVED it, then took
classes to pursue teaching
o Swore she was going to teach kindergarten, but she moved up and up and up
o “Get ready for the journey”
- It’s changed a lot because of what she’s taught has changed a lot, the kids have
changed a lot. “Adapt your teaching and expectations to the stage of growth your kids
are at”

 What about your philosophy would you like to pass on to a new teacher?

- We need high-quality teachers

- Be better at asking for balance. Teaching is really consuming so she hopes ‘this is
what I can do, this is what I need/want’ will be more normalized.

My own questions:

 Why did you choose to teach/continue to teach?

- She loves the kids, the content, believes it to be valuable and worthy
- Never once has she ever woken up and needed to earn a paycheck it was “I need to go
teach the kids”
- The ‘why?’ is bigger than the money
 Ochoa 5

- She feels like she needs to teach and that the students need her
- They money is fine its more about the students

 How do you think your personality affects your success as a teacher?

- Brings her own joy
- They love the unexpectedness “never know what you’re going to get
- Immersive/likes to have fun (bring their own personality)

 What role does discipline play in teaching and what is your approach?
- Middle school group- make it as subtle as possible
- Honors kids rarely push that, gen ed is way different (like to fight) she tries to not
engage as much as possible. Honors wants to be here, and they like it as they are too
busy working to mess around.

 How do you like to communicate and build relationships with parents?

- Progress reports every Friday through email (mass send of notes)
- Likes meeting parents one on one but hasn’t met all of them yet because of such a big
group.
- Parents reach out if they need support/only talks to parents if they need support.
- Syllabus “ask parents for students to self-advocate”

 How have you handled students who are difficult to teach?

- Really typical in an honors situation, kids can be twice exceptional, giftedness
o Biggest case- prevalent challengers are kids who are bright but not socially in
depth as much as we want. They have a problem when working with others.
She wants to help these kids get past their ineptness, and gain skills in how to
work with others.
- “If you can’t work from others, the world can’t benefit from your gifts”
- These kids need prodding, modeling, and exposure.

 How do you keep students engaged and motivated?

- “Always sell the sizzle”
o tell kids how its going to be fun (example: “this is going to be cool”)
 Ochoa 6

- Calls assignments “a game”

- If you’re excited they’ll be excited.

 What do you believe are your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?

Strengths

- Can be positive with every kid, every day

- Brings joy to the classroom (positive energy)
- Good communicator

Weaknesses

- Doesn’t ‘fake’ it very well, not great at improv

- Can’t just role with it
- “When world falls apart, it falls apart”

 
Post Interview Summary

Every answer that she gave me throughout the interview, I was able to detect clearly in her
classroom, which surprised me since I was only there for one day. However, I believe that you
know a good teacher when you see one! As for her teacher’s philosophy of education being “to
create critical thinkers”, I saw this when she had her class discussion and throughout multiple
interactions, she had with the students in the class period. Though I cannot observe her everyday
to see if she remains true to her philosophy, her passion for helping them becoming independent
and in control of their own success was undeniable. In the interview, what most stood out to me
was her ‘why’ for being a teacher. When she said that she feels the need to teach, this just made
me realize how important education is now more than ever. The world is becoming so complex
that we need high-quality teachers to raise these future generations into a world that keeps
changing. The content that teachers are going to be told to deliver will keep changing too, as well
as the kids they will receive in their classroom, so it is important that more well-equipped
teachers like her, are hired to take on this massive responsibility.

In her classroom it was evident that she would adapt her teaching and expectations to the kids
themselves. In a good way… everything was about them! When a student was having a difficult
time, she would tend to their needs, but not in a way that would strip them of their independence.
Instead, she would simply guide them as a mentor to where she believed they needed to be. She
was always so engaging with her students and treated them like young adults. I think some
teachers have a harder time connecting with their students simply because of the view they have
of them; as naïve children. Yes, they are children, but they are also future healthcare workers,
lawyers, politicians, bankers, teachers, parents etc., so it is important to treat them as individuals
wanting to learn and grow. When trying to explain her philosophy, she admitted how “that’s a
big question”, but was still able to note the importance of helping her students becoming
meaningful members of society, which is exactly what she is doing!