Teacher Interview Assignment

Purpose: to interview an educator and investigate further career pathways.

SLO:

SLO #1: Differentiate between various types of early childhood settings in relation to the ages served, regulations, career pathways, and teacher requirements

SLO #2: Identify roles and responsibilities of an early childhood educator for curriculum and teaching, family engagement, ethical practice, and professional interactions with others in the learning environment.

SLO # 5: Describe culturally affirming and developmentally practices

SLO #8: Explain how theories of learning and development guide early childhood environment design, curriculum, and teaching strategies.

Directions: You will be interviewing an educator (birth through 3rd grade) about their career pathways then comparing it to your personal philosophy and career goals. Plan for at least 20-30 minutes. The interview should involve direct contact in-person, over the phone, or virtually (e.g., on Zoom). The person should not answer questions via email (unless this is the only way they will be able to participate).

Below is an recording of the Teacher Interview Assignment. Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns by coming to my office hours or emailing me through Canvas:

Interview Questions

Question #1: Please talk about your place of work, colleagues and the families that you serve?

Question #2: What educational requirements did you need to accomplish to get the position that you currently hold?

Question #3: When did you first begin to identity as an early childhood professional?

Question #4: What does professionalism mean to you?

Question #5: How do you support your staff, students, and colleagues in being early childhood educators and identifying as part of the larger early childhood profession?

Question #6: Early childhood educators are constantly communicating with young children, families, and our colleagues. They use a lot of different modalities and rely on interpersonal skills, such as active listening and using empathy. How do you cultivate professional communication in your daily teaching practice?

Question #7: Can you talk a bit more about the professional development you provide and some of the other ways you’re supporting educators’ continuous learning?

Question #8: How do you use observation to inform your teaching practices?

Question #9: What has been the most interesting aspect of your career thus far?

Question #10: Is there anything else you want to share about your career journey?

Informational Writeup:

You will write up a summary of your informational interview. In the write-up, include the following:

Identify the name of the interviewee and their job title(s)/role(s) in education.

Explain the reasons you selected this person for an interview (e.g., expertise, community interest, availability, etc.).

Summarize the information you obtained from your interviewee. Avoid listing out questions and corresponding answers. Try to synthesize the ideas and abstract out main themes.

Describe aspects of the interview that went well (including any surprises or “ah-ha” moments). Also describe aspects of your interview that may not have gone as well as you had hoped (i.e. not being able to get a hold of someone or scheduling an interview)

Reflect on whether you feel you and this person believe in the same philosophy approach. Discuss why or why not.

Attach a copy of your interview questions along with your notes from the interview.

Your write-up can be formatted to be answers to each of the following prompts above (must use complete sentences) or you may also choose to integrate the elements into a coherent narrative.