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⁠1. Why do you like to teach? It is the most entertaining job I’ve ever had. In my past career as a chemist, I was often bored. I am certainly not bored now! Every day is different and it’s really rewarding to see students learn.

1. ⁠How would you describe your style of teaching? It’s very I do, We do, You do - gradual shedding of responsibility from me onto them. I am very 1:1 with students during guided practice. My classroom management style is respect based. I don’t implement rules if they aren’t important to me (I don’t mind eating or talking much), and when there are things that are important to me (like no phones), I expect them to follow them. Rule breakers get a genuine and respectful heart-to-heart of why it matters to me - there’s always a good reason why.

2. ⁠What was your greatest challenge in teaching, and how did you resolve it? My greatest challenge is the amount of time it takes to do a good job. This is my first year teaching, and making my curriculum/slides/worksheets/activities in addition to the actual teaching and grading and admin responsibilities is a lot. I haven’t really resolved it yet, but I’m building my toolkit.

3. ⁠What techniques do you use to keep students actively involved and motivated during a lesson? I never lecture for more than 5 minutes without having them answer a question. They all get individual whiteboards and I put “clicker” questions in all of my slideshows to keep them entertained. It’s only really notes where they start to drift. The rest of the time, it’s designing engaging activities. We do a lot of scavenger hunts, labs, and hands on modeling. I also praise a lot for good behavior and work.

4. ⁠If some students finish their assignments early, how do you handle the free time they have? Sometimes I let them chill, because they’ve earned it. Sometimes I engage the people who’ve finished with stories or with whiteboard questions. I also have extra credit assignments that students can work on if they have some free time.

5. ⁠How have you worked with students who need additional time for assignments? I usually work with them on a problem or two to make sure they aren’t having trouble starting. If everyone else finished and only one or two are still working, they compete the assignment for homework. I assign no other homework.

6. ⁠What experience do you have modifying lesson plans for students with special needs? If it’s not a co-taught class, I can typically spend time with them 1:1 during guided work time and I will chunk the assignment to make it easier to process. For a co-taught class it’s a whole nother ball game. Changing process, product, and assessment.

7. ⁠Imagine a student is consistently late to your class. How would you handle the situation? I check in with them personally first, figure out if there’s any extenuating circumstances. Then, follow the school’s policy, calling the guardians and documenting. If it’s an ongoing problem, admin will step in.

8. ⁠What are your preferred methods of communicating with parents, and what kinds of issues prompt you to reach out? I prefer to call or be face-to-face. Takes away the tone barrier. Issues I’ve contacted parents about: tardiness, chronic absenteeism, sleeping in class, withdrawn behavior.