Probing Questions

Teacher: Nancy Hemphill

Interview

Overview

Principles of Learning

Information Processing

Content Standards

Tenets of Democracy

Questions

Interview: Previewing Questions

1.      Browse the website of the National Association of Gifted Children.  What information did you find that you could use as a teacher of talented and gifted children?

2.      Do you think that using student journals and reflection to keep track of individual and/or group progress in a project is an influential classroom tool? Explain your answer.

3.      Go to the “Mind Tools” website that gives an overview of goal setting.  Click on each of the six aspects and read the information provided.  Explain how this information could be used in a fourth, fifth, or sixth grade classroom to improve student learning.

Interview: Post-viewing Questions

1.      Ms. Hemphill mentions in the interview that she uses multi-age grouping in her class.  What is multi-age grouping?  How might it affect student learning?

2.      What are Ms. Hemphill’s goals and objectives for the “Dig It” project, as she states in the video? What could happen during the project that could influence the outcome of these goals and objectives, either to enhance performance or hinder it?  Give specific examples, and explain how each could affect the project.

3.      What role does goal-setting play in this activity? Do you think this activity improves these students’ learning experiences? Why or why not?

Overview: Previewing Questions

1.      What are your opinions on cross-curricular activities? Do you think they are effective for student learning? Explain.

2.      What problems might there be with using student reflection and teacher observation as main assessment tools for a project? What are some advantages?

3.      Give some examples of how you as a teacher would need to adapt a lesson for a class of talented and gifted students.

Overview: Post-viewing Questions

1.      How does Ms. Hemphill carry out her assessment for this project?  Do you think these are the best ways to assess students?  Why or why not?

2.      Read Hemphill’s purpose of the project in her lesson plan.  Do you think the project serves each of these purposes?  Why or why not?  What would be another purpose you could add to this lesson?  Keep in mind that these students are in a talented and gifted class.

3.      Ms. Hemphill does this project with a group of students who are in a pull-out program, and this is why it takes around three months to finish the entire lesson.  What are some advantages and disadvantages of the pull-out program for both the teacher and the students?

Principles of  Learning: Previewing Questions

1.      What are your opinions of active involvement as a principle of learning?  Do you feel active involvement is important?  What experiences have you had with active involvement in a classroom setting?

2.      How would a person carry out research if they were interested in whether or not direct experience improves student learning?  Give a research hypothesis, and describe every aspect of the study, such as the instruments used to collect data, the subjects being used, how the data will be analyzed, etc.

3.      Go to the checklist of observable behaviors for Frequent Feedback.  What is the difference between corrective feedback and supportive feedback? Give specific examples of each that could be used in the classroom.

Principles of  Learning: Post-viewing Questions

1.      How does the activity described in the video integrate Direct Experience with technological tools?  Is this integration important in the classroom? Why or why not? 

2.      How do the students in the video demonstrate Active Involvement? What could be added to the lesson to encourage additional active involvement on the part of the students?

3.      Ms. Hemphill utilizes many different methods to provide frequent feedback to her students.  Explain each of these methods.  How do you think each of the feedback methods affected the students, both academically and psychologically/emotionally?

Information Processing: Previewing Questions

1.      Do you think the Appreciation Stage of Information Processing improves student learning of material? Explain.

2.      Study the checklist of observable behaviors for the Evaluation Stage of Information Processing.  How would each of these behaviors impact student learning of a specific lesson?

3.      Name five specific ways that you as a teacher could encourage students to carry out the Communication Stage of Information Processing.  What ideas would you give your students? 

Information Processing: Post-viewing Questions

1.      Read the description of the Communication Stage of Information Processing. How does the lesson incorporate communication? What do the students do as they go through the communication stage?

2.      How does the “Dig It” project demonstrate the Appreciation Stage of Information Processing?

3.      As the teacher, what else could you have done to encourage the students in the Communication Stage of Information Processing? How might this encouragement improve student learning?

Content  Standards: Previewing Questions

1.      Go to the website entitled “Standards: What Are They?” and read about applying state standards to students with disabilities at the bottom of the page.  Given your experience with disabilities, what are your reactions regarding the opinions asserted in the paragraph? Can you think of another possible solution to the problem?

2.      Go to the website of the National Council for the Social Studies, and look at the Curriculum Standards for the Social Studies.  Read the description for Standard Number II, Time, Continuity and Change.  Invent a lesson for upper elementary students that focuses on this standard, and describe why the lesson would fulfill the standard.

3.      Do you think that technology standards for elementary students improve student learning?  Explain. If it were your task to invent technology standards for elementary students, what would your standards be? Why?

Content  Standards: Post-viewing Questions

1.      What aspects of the “Dig It” project fulfill Social Studies Standard I?  How do the students in Ms. Hemphill’s class come to an understanding of cultures?

2.      Read the description of Social Studies Standard III written by the National Council for the Social Studies.  How is this standard addressed in the video? Do you think the “Dig It” project provides the students with a clear understanding of “the interaction of human beings and their physical environment, the use of land, building of cities, and ecosystem changes?”

3.      A focus of this project is learning about different cultures.  How might these early experiences with various cultures affect student experiences later on in life?

Tenets of Democracy: Previewing Questions

1.      Do you think that tolerance is an important lesson for children to learn?  Why or why not?  How might learning tolerance early in life affect a person’s day-to-day life as an adult?

2.      Name some different ways that a teacher could implement Empowerment in the classroom.

3.      How does Teacher Knowledge influence the extent to which a teacher might promote Power Sharing and Empowerment, as well as Individual Responsibility and Civil Involvement With Others in his or her classroom? Give specific examples.

4.      How does Critical Thinking relate to democracy in a classroom?

Tenets of Democracy: Post-viewing Questions

1.      How do the students doing this project demonstrate Individual Responsibility and Civil Involvement With Others?  Look at the checklist of observable behaviors.  Do the students display each of these behaviors?  Explain.

2.      What does Ms. Hemphill do to promote Individual Responsibility in her students?  What else could she have done to promote responsibility? 

3.      What does Ms. Hemphill do to promote critical thinking on the part of her students?  Do you think this is effective?  Why or why not? 

Technology: Previewing Questions

1.      Study the Technology Foundation Standards for All Students. Based on your experience, do you think these are appropriate standards for upper elementary students?  Why or why not?  What would you add, take out, or change from the list?

2.      How might a student’s opportunity to use a variety of technology resources affect learning, according to the Principles of Learning? Specifically, how might technology use affect active involvement and direct experience?

3.      Look at INTIME’s Preservice Teacher Technology Competencies for teachers. Analyze your own competence with technology. Which of these competencies are you strongest in? Which ones do you need to work on? Why will your competencies in this area help you as a teacher?

Technology: Post-viewing Questions

1.      After watching the video, study Hemphill’s lesson plan.  Name some technology resources not used in the project that could have been used.  Also, name the technological tools that could have been left out of the project. Explain.

2.      How does Ms. Hemphill demonstrate Technology Competency Number 16?  What could Ms. Hemphill have added to the project to allow the students to gain experience with the other software applications competencies (numbers 16-20)?

3.      What are the various ways that students doing this project demonstrate Technology Competency Number 1?  Do you think that knowledge of and experience with equipment operation actually improves student learning and understanding of a concept?  Why or why not?

Teacher Knowledge : Previewing Questions

1.      Do you feel it is important for a teacher to have knowledge of student characteristics?  Why or why not?  How might knowledge of student characteristics affect a teacher’s actions with his or her class?

2.      How do physiological characteristics, such as time of day, food and drink, energy levels, and mobility while learning, affect student learning?  What could a teacher do, physiologically, to improve student learning?

3.      As a teacher, give one example of how you could address each of Gardner’s intelligences (there are eight) in your students.  They are described in the Knowledge of Student Characteristics section of the Technology as Facilitator of Quality Education Model.

Teacher Knowledge : Post-viewing Questions

1.      Through the “Dig It” project, does Ms. Hemphill address any of the 8 intelligences in Gardner’s theory, outlined in the summary of Knowledge of Student Characteristics? Which one(s)? How does she address them?

2.      The video does not address Hemphill’s In-Depth Content Knowledge.  Do you think she displays content knowledge?  Why or why not? How important is teacher’s content knowledge for student learning?

3.      How might Hemphill’s Knowledge of Student Characteristics affect how she addresses and encourages the Tenets of Democracy?

Teacher Behavior: Previewing Questions

1.      If you were asked to add one more standard to the Five Propositions of Accomplished Teaching, what would it be?  Why do you think this is important for student learning?

2.      How does a teacher’s Classroom Management impact student learning?  Give at least one example of how a teacher’s behavior regarding classroom management could hinder student performance, and one example of how it could help student performance.

3.      Think about your own pedagogy (your instructional methods and beliefs) as a teacher.  How might this influence student learning in your classroom?

Teacher Behavior: Post-viewing Questions

1.      How does Hemphill demonstrate classroom management?  Do you think this improves student learning?  Why or why not?

2.      How does Hemphill’s pedagogy (her beliefs and methods of teaching) relate to her use of technology resources?

3.      What specific behaviors does Hemphill utilize to maintain group focus during an instructional activity?  What are some other behaviors that can help to maintain group focus?