Probing Questions

Teacher: Sally Camden

Interview

Overview

Principles of Learning

Information Processing

Content Standards

Tenets of Democracy

Questions

Interview: Previewing Questions

1. What could be some challenges a Special Ed teacher might face while working with children with disabilities? 

2. What knowledge of student characteristics must a Special Ed teacher have in designing the class activities and using the materials for the lesson?

3. What methods of assessment would you use for a weather unit?

Interview: Post-viewing Questions

1. What was the rationale for designing this lesson?

2. Describe the final product the students have to create for this lesson. What activities did Camden integrate in order to help her students achieve the final product?

3. Camden selected materials that could have been used in 6 different areas of instruction. What materials did she use and how did their use impact student learning?

Overview: Previewing Questions

1. Reflect on your school years. How did your science teacher introduce the unit on the four seasons? Did he/she use any musical theme to enhance your understanding of the subject taught? If so, explain.

2. What approach do you consider to be the best to introduce a unit on weather to 4th graders? What tools and activities would you make use of?

3. Browse the web for www.worldclimate.com. Select a city or town and try to find out as much as possible about its climate. Did the information you found enhance your learning? Would you add/delete content on this site?

Overview: Post-viewing Questions

1. How did Camden start her lesson? Do you find this approach relevant? How would you have done it differently?

2. Camden’s lesson integrated activities from different curricular areas: mathematics, language arts, social studies and science. How did these activities enhance students learning?

3. How did Camden assess her students’ background knowledge by using a K-W-L chart?

Principles of  Learning: Previewing Questions

1. Discuss the role of Active Involvement in the process of learning. How can students benefit from actively constructing their knowledge rather than receiving the information from the teacher?

2. Without Reflection, Ewell states that learning ends "well short of the re-organization of thinking that 'deep' learning requires" (Ewell, 1997, p.9). Do you agree or disagree with his position? Justify your answer.

3. How does corrective and supportive feedback enhance student learning?

Principles of  Learning: Post-viewing Questions

1. In what ways do the students’ creative thinking demonstrate Active Involvement? 

2. As stated in Camden’s lesson plan, meaningful learning occurs when students are actively engaged in constructing their own knowledge. What is your opinion about this statement? 

3. What activities allow student to engage in the process of Reflection?

Information Processing: Previewing Questions

1. When you were in elementary school, how often did your teacher allow you to evaluate your own work? Was self-evaluation beneficial to your learning process?

2. Why is it important to allow students to evaluate their work rather than have them rely on an outside authority figure to determine their products’ worth?

3. How can students be helped in building background information? What is the role of background information in doing research?

Information Processing: Post-viewing Questions

1. How does Camden give the students the opportunity to appreciate the seasons and weather through various formats? How would you have done it differently?

2. In what ways does Camden lead her students through the Presearch stage of Information Processing? How does this prove to be beneficial for the students?

3. What is the role of each section of the K-W-L (Know-Wonder-Learn) chart?

Content  Standards: Previewing Questions

1. In your words, what is Information Literacy?

2. Read English Language Arts Standard Number 7 for Grades 3-5. What kind of activities can teachers design so students meet this standard?

3. Do you think there should be different content standards for students with different achievement levels? Why or why not?

Content  Standards: Post-viewing Questions

1. What activities in Camden’s lesson integrate English Language Arts Standard Number 7 and what does this standard address?

2. How does Camden integrate Technology Performance Indicator Number 8 for Grades 3-5 in this lesson?

3. English Language Arts Standard Number 8 requires that students use a variety of technological and information resources to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge. How does Camden integrate this standard into her lesson?

Tenets of Democracy: Previewing Questions

1. What is the difference between Power Sharing and Empowerment?

2. What are some of the behaviors students have to display when working together in cooperative groups? 

3. While working with students with learning disabilities, would you, as a teacher form the cooperative groups or allow your students to group themselves? Justify your answer.

Tenets of Democracy: Post-viewing Questions

1. In which way does Camden build a sense of Individual Responsibility in her students?

2. How did Camden’s students demonstrate Critical Thinking and Decision Making throughout this lesson?

Technology: Previewing Questions

1. How might Preservice Teacher Technology Competency Number 9, the use of electronic Information Sources, impact student learning? Do you think this competency is important for students to learn effectively? Explain.

2. What technology should 4th graders have a clear understanding of? How are schools vital in this process of learning about technology?

3. How can the use of technology in a classroom facilitate student learning?

Technology: Post-viewing Questions

1. How does Camden demonstrate Technology Competency Number One and what does it address?

2. Camden teaches the students correct computer Terminology. How may her students benefit from this activity?

3. In what ways did Camden’s authentic learning activity enable her students to access World Wide Web Information Sources? 

Teacher Knowledge : Previewing Questions

1. How does Transformation impact learning?

2. Why do you think it is important for teachers to be aware of their students’ characteristics? How would this knowledge help classes to be successful?

3. What qualities do you think a teacher should possess in order to improve his/her teaching and facilitate student learning? 

Teacher Knowledge : Post-viewing Questions

1. How does Camden activate her students’ musical/rhythmic intelligence? 

2. The teacher’s In-depth Content Knowledge is evident in her method of Instruction. Describe Camden’s questioning technique and state in which way it helps the students establish patterns and connection to their prior music experiments.

3. What were the student intelligences addressed by Camden and what activities did Camden use to address these intelligences?

Teacher Behavior: Previewing Questions

1. What does Classroom Management mean for you? What abilities of effective classroom management should teachers display?

2. What factors should a teacher consider while selecting the instructional resources for the class?

3. What is the role of in-class work?

Teacher Behavior: Post-viewing Questions

1. In what ways is Camden’s Pedagogy relevant in her encouragement of a meaningful application of leaning?

2. In her lesson plan, Camden states that it is important for teachers “to demonstrate flexibility, especially when working with students of varying exceptionalities, and take into consideration the impact that a student’s disabling condition may impact their cognitive, academic, social, and emotional skills.” What do you think about her position? Justify your answer.

3. How does Camden integrate instructional resources to enhance student learning?