THE BIG INTERVIEW Amber Currie EDU /26/25

INTRODUCTION My name is Amber Currie and I graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University. I have a Bachelors in Sociology and I'm currently working towards my masters in education. I have three years of experience working as a teacher's assistant and I am ready to lead a classroom now. I have what it takes to be responsible for the development of my students academically. I would challenge my students and work to give them the best education possible. My caring spirit has helped me in all of my jobs. I make it a goal to establish relationships with my students and their parents. That way if they ever have any concerns they will be comfortable coming toand I go over and beyond as a teacher. I try to establish relationships with my students and their parents, so they know that they can come to me with any concerns they may have for me. I am applying for a kindergarten position here in the state of North Carolina at a public school. The position they are looking to fill is a teacher who will challenge students and present the curriculum in creative and dynamic ways. I must provide discipline and structure to the classroom, while managing about twenty students at a time. I must sure that students are safe but that they are also having fun. Students should be able to read by the end of kindergarten so that they can advance to the first grade.

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION As a teacher my philosophy of education includes prioritizing and giving the very best to my students. I must be compassionate, motivated, detail oriented, organizes, empathetic, respectful, and committed. In order for me to be a good teacher I must develop rapport with my students, as well as also provide them good quality education. I want to make an impact in my students lives. I plan to evolve as a teacher and always find ways to become a better teacher. I plan to attend workshops and conferences. I will make sure that I am using the newest resources available, and stay up to date with the newest technology.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN Classroom management plans should "create conditions that facilitate learning" (Newman, R. 2013). Since I will be teaching kindergarten I would like to make sure that my classroom is a fun and safe environment. My students will always feel encouraged and the classroom should always have a positive feeling. Rules in my classroom are created in conjunction with my students. Rules will be kept simple and to the point. Roles that students will hold in my classroom are ones that will help them to be a good helper. They will hold roles such as line leaders, table washers, and door holder. My role as a teacher will include making sure that my students have fun and that they are safe. I plan to help my students learn through interactive activities, and to help them explore their creative sides. My role will be to make sure my students are gaining a quality education, and that I am following state guidelines to ensure that. As a kindergarten teacher my classroom will be bright with lots of student art on the wall. Tables will be set up facing me and each student will have name tags on their desk. I will be able to interact with my students and they will be able to collaborate due to their seating arrangements. Incentive charts will be on the wall to promote good behavior in students. There will also be a reading corner for students to sit and look through books, as well as practice their reading skills. My classroom management plan will be a place conducive to learning. Classroom management plans focus on encouraging students and growing their intellect. "Classroom management is a resource to improve student learning as opposed to controlling behavior" (Eisenman, Edwards, & Cushman pg. 2, 2015).

DIFFERENT SCHOOL MODELS As a kindergarten teacher I will be teaching in public school. However when it comes to public schools and home schools they have many alikes and a few differences. They may follow a curriculum that is different than what is required in public school, but the overall goal is to educate students. Technology in both public schools and home school are the same. Both utilize technology to help teach their students and to keep them engaged. In public schools teachers wish they had teacher assistants. Im home schools they wish they had someone to help teach their students physical activity. Both schools use 21st century skills in their classroom. These skills help students to think critically, problem solve, and communicate with others. The big difference between home schools and public schools are the sizes. Home schools have smaller groups of students, and the students can be of all ages. In public schools students are grouped together of the same ages. Classrooms in public schools have at least twenty students per teacher.

EFFECTIVE LESSON PLANNING Effective lesson planning must start with a focus, and usually that focus is the Common Core State Standard. One cannot have an effective lesson plan without an objective. Effective lesson plans are made up of three things, "objectives for student learning, teaching/learning activities, and strategies to check student understanding" Effective lesson planning must include research. Collaborating with other teachers and asking lots of questions. If these things are done an effective lesson plan can be conducted. We must avoid pitfalls in our effective lesson planning by making sure we know what our plan is about, and that it is to the point. Teaching the student should be the main focus. Teachers should develop their plans with the focus of benefiting students in mind. Effective lesson planning should contain objectives and they should be clear and concise. When they are students are able to learn better. Backwards design is a three stage process that begins with the end in mind. The backwards design works from the end goal. One great attribute from the backwards design plan is that it provides feedback for teachers.

ASSESSMENT MATTERS Assessments are very important aspect of the classroom curriculum. Assessments are used as a guide and help teachers to know what they should spend more time on teaching. Assessments " provide a mechanism for the teacher to measure the level of mastery of a subject or skill" (Newman, R. 2013). There are two types of assessments that are used the most, they are summative and formative assessments. Formative assessments improve teaching and learning. They are used to improve performance in students by giving the teacher feedback. Formative assessments are used in the form of quizzes, short test, homework, and journals. Summative assessments are the summary of knowledge that the student has learned. Summative assessments are given in the form of end of the year test, benchmarks, and chapter test. Teacher spend a lot of time on summative assessments. Teacher prepare all year for their students to pass their end of the year exam. As a teacher I want to focus on formative assessments. I think they are the best to use in the classroom and they are more beneficial. One reason they are more beneficial is because of the amount of feedback that formative assessments provide. Rick Wormel says in his video "Formative and Summative Assessments, teachers who use formative assessments have students with higher test scores. You cannot learn without formative assessments". I plan to be the teacher that makes sure that my students are learning valuable information. I do not want to cram information into their heads just for the heck of it. It's my goal to make sure that I am teaching them what matters.

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES Professional learning communities for (PLC) is a " professional learning community is a group of educators who collaborate in such processes as collective inquiry and action research in order to achieve better results for students (Newman, R. 2013). As a teacher I want to collaborate with as many teachers as possible, and gain information that works for other teachers. I believe that networking is key and when working together with other teachers, I am able to improve student learning. As teachers we should work together and all focus on a common goal. As teachers we should focus on learning. There are five characteristics that a PCL should have, they are shared beliefs, values, and vision: shared and supportive leadership;collective learning and it's application; supportive conditions; and shared personal practice (Newman, R. 2013). In order to be a successful school community teachers have to work together and share the same vision.

REFERENCES Newman, R. (2013). Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century:Connecting the Dots. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Eisemann, G., Edwards, S., & Cushman, C.A. (2015). Bringing Reality to Classroom Management in Teacher Education. Professional Educator, 39 (1),