Fe - 3 Interview With Cooperating Teacher

Maura Smith
Tomorrow’s Teachers
12 April 2022
Interview with Cooperating Teacher
Mrs. DiNardo has been a dedicated teacher for 25 years at Whitman Elementary School
in Washington Township. Over the course of those 25 years so far, she has taught classes at the
first grade level as well as the second grade level. She had originally been teaching second grade
classes until the last few years when she was asked to teach at the first grade level. Currently she
is teaching a first grade class. She has had to acquire a basic knowledge over a variety of subjects
that she is entailed to relay to the students. This varies from simple vocabulary and phonetics to
history about important figures of our time. Her success as a teacher not only shows through her
students progress but also through the overall environment of the classroom compared to many
others.
1. How many years have you been teaching at Whitman? 25

2. What grade levels have you taught? 1st and 2nd
3. Is there a notable difference between the different grades you have taught (behavior of
kids, learning levels or rate of learning)? Yes, 2nd graders are a little more mature and
can work better independently.
4. What kinds of learning levels do the kids have? Kids are all different levels in all levels
reading and math especially. We take reading and math groups to challenge and
meet the needs of the students. In writing, I conference with each student to create
individual writing goals for writing.
5. What grading procedures do you use? S-secure, D-developing, B-Beginning
6. What are some ways you differentiate instruction? Small groups and one on one, &
Intervention groups.
7. Are there any specific disciplinary measures you take/ how do you deal with discipline?
Yes, Stop light, red (call home), green earns a DiNardo dollar, Yellow is a warning.
I give out DiNardo Dollars for good behavior and Kindness.
8. What behaviors do you look for that you encourage? What behaviors do you have to
discourage? Encourage kindness and cooperation, Discourage poor behavior and
defiance.
9. What are some ways you maintain active communication with parents? Email and
remind, letters home.
10. What are some techniques you use to motivate the kids? 10 DiNardo Dollars= prize
box, 20 DiNardo Dollars= Read a book to the class, 30 DiNardo Dollars= Show and
Tell
11. How do you adapt to situations where students aren't keeping up with or doing work?
Slow down, chunk the information for them, Simplify the amount of information
12. What are some of the challenges of teaching the grade level? Not as independent in the
beginning of first grade but they do become more independent, but it takes time.
13. What are the challenges of teaching a broad range of subjects throughout the year and
even throughout the day? There is so much to teach and not a lot of time for
everything. So I need to pick the lessons and activities wisely and most beneficial to
the students.
14. What methods do you use to keep the kids engaged in the lessons? Find projects, trade
books, and activities to go with the lessons that the students will enjoy.
15. What methods do you use to make the content interesting for the kids and keep them
interacting throughout? Find projects, trade books, and activities that will go with
the lessons that will keep them engaged and interested.
16. Is it hard to change courses if something in an activity goes wrong, or is it hard to find
alternatives if something doesn't go the way you planned? No, I would usually come up
with an alternative lesson.
17. How would you describe the culture or climate of Whitman? Are there any methods you
would change or add/take away? Great! Everyone likes to help each other and is kind.
It's nice to work with wonderful people.
18. How important are standardized test scores at Whitman? They are important in the
older grades. First grade does not take Standardized Tests. They only take the Star
Reading and Math tests which help track their growth and levels.
19. What kinds of assessments do you give the kids (such as tests, quizzes, projects, etc.)?
Tests in Fundation and Math.
20. What kind of goals do you set for accomplishing throughout the day with the kids?
(whether that be learning goals, behavioral goals, and/or milestones for the year)I try to
make sure my students are reading, writing and learning a math skill each day.
21. How do you initially connect with the students and get them to open up to you? Show
kindness and be interested in their lives.
22. Would you say that it is important to build strong connections with each kid? Show
kindness and interest in their lives.
23. Do you enjoy teaching at this grade level or wish to have taught a different level? Love
this grade level.
24. How would you say teaching has impacted your life? I love teaching the children and
making a difference in their lives. It is very rewarding to see their growth and
academic development throughout the year.
Mrs. DiNardo is truly one of the most wonderful people I have ever gotten to work with and
made the whole Field Experience feel like I had been a part of her classroom since the first day.
The environment was unlike any other classroom that I have ever been in, especially having such
a young class. I learned that establishing relationships with each student and establishing a
welcoming environment with kindness is the key to getting the students to trust you and open up
quicker than maybe they normally would. Hearing that she enjoys the culture and climate of
Whitman and that there is a wonderful staff along side her is extremely reassuring. Having this
type of culture allows for more productivity as well as more success, especially when everyone is
on the same page and enjoys what they are doing. Some things that I learned about teaching at
these levels are that it’s difficult to balance teaching all subjects at once, especially because there
is so much to be taught with so little time. Mrs. DiNardo said that sometimes when it comes
down to only having time for a number of activities, she has to resort to choosing between
whichever ones are more beneficial to the students because of the limited time they get for so
much content. Although many may see this as a huge struggle, Mrs. DiNardo skates right around
it. Her lessons all have a flow to them and she never has a problem with teaching the lessons. If
something doesn’t go the way it was planned, Mrs. DiNardo always has a backup plan and said
there is never any worry for something not working out because there is such a wide variety of
activities to choose from. Some things that did surprise me at first were about the testing and the
scoring/grading for the students. Other than the STAR testing, the students don’t have any
standardized testing until they reach higher grade levels. They are only assessed on Fundation
words and some math skills in class as well. The scoring had an interesting scale that caught my
eye. It is unlike a scale that I have ever come across and was definitely not used when I attended
this school. Mrs. DiNardo stated that they use an S-secure, D-developing, B-Beginning scale.
This surprised me because it is usually letter grades or multiple more levels than just 3 for
showing the progression of the student. Even though there are limited ways in which they are
assessed, there are so many ways that Mrs. DiNardo finds a way to keep her kids engaged in
learning while getting them to show their progress. Some of these ways include projects, fun
books, and fun interactive activities. I learned that its definitely important to make sure that the
students are learning and making progress as needed, but establishing connections makes all the
difference. As Mrs. DiNardo said, making an impact on the students’ lives is one of the most
heart-warming and rewarding feelings you may ever experience. Seeing their growth and their
personalities develop is one of the most lasting impacts of being a teacher.

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Maura Smith

Interview with Cooperating Teacher

1. How many years have you been teaching at Whitman? 25

personalities develop is one of the most lasting impacts of being a teacher.

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