Probing Questions

Teacher: Teri Vennerberg and Jerry Gilliland

Interview

Overview

Principles of Learning

Information Processing

Content Standards

Tenets of Democracy

Questions

Interview: Previewing Questions

1. While in elementary school, did your teachers present you the evaluation criteria prior to engaging in an activity or process? Explain how you were evaluated during the Science class in elementary grades.

2. When your teachers assigned a task, an activity, or a project for an elementary Science class, did they usually ask your opinion about it? Give examples.

3. What is the role of student’s self-assessment in the classroom? Do you use it in your teaching? Why? Why not?

Interview: Post-viewing Questions

1. The teacher has involved students in creating the evaluation rubric. What is the rationale for involving students in the assessment decision traditionally made solely by the teacher?

2. The students have access to the assessment rubric from the beginning of the project. How would this activity be different if the students didn’t see the evaluation until the end of the project or if they didn’t see it at all?

3. What is project-based learning?

4. The teacher grouped the students according to their interests and not based on their reading ability. What do you think about this grouping criterion? Can you give examples of other grouping criteria?

Overview: Previewing Questions

1. What kind of audience do you think students should have for their school projects? Does the type of audience have any impact on the students’ projects? Explain.

2. During your school years did your school involve your family/community in the school life? What kind of events promote this involvement? How did this influence your school performance?

3. Teachers expect students to operate a transfer of knowledge. How can teachers help students to operate this transfer?

Overview: Post-viewing Questions

1. The teacher involves the members of the community in a school activity by inviting them to see a slide show. Can you think of other ways of involving the students’ families and other community members in the school life?

2. How does the teacher in this video introduce the new activity?

3. Before creating their slides students get the chance to experiment with new software. What is the role of this non-graded activity?

4. How do the students in this video operate a transfer of knowledge within the subject Science?

Principles of  Learning: Previewing Questions

1. How do you feel about activities that require students to play the role of “instructors”?

2. What are the Compelling Situations that the teacher could present the students with in an elementary Science class?

3. What in the design of the lesson could make students get actively involved?

Principles of  Learning: Post-viewing Questions

1. Do you think the students in this video work in an Enjoyable Setting ? Explain.

2. Why do you think the teacher asks the students to imagine an animal that would fit a certain habitat?

3. How do students in this video engage in construction of knowledge? Can you think of other ways of engaging them in this type of thinking?

Information Processing: Previewing Questions

1. What is the role of graphic organizers in a research? What types of graphic organizers have you used? Give a brief description.

2. While researching for a Science project as students, have you ever been required to get involved in the Communication stage of Information Processing? What activities were specific for this stage?

3. While researching for a Science project as students, have you ever been required to get involved in the Evaluation stage of Information Processing? How were you involved? Do you think it’s important to get involved in this stage? Explain.

Information Processing: Post-viewing Questions

1. In this video, what is the teacher’s role during the Search for information?

2. The teacher in this video asks students to imagine a new organism in a given habitat. Can you think of other activities that would involve 3^rd grade students in Information Processing?

3. The teacher asks students to evaluate their learning experience by filling out a survey. Explain her rationale.

Content  Standards: Previewing Questions

1. What makes the implementation of a content standard successful?

2. What do you understand by scientific enquiry? What skills do students need to develop in order to perform scientific enquiry? 

3. At what age do you think students should develop scientific enquiry abilities? Discuss.

Content  Standards: Post-viewing Questions

1. The teacher in this video helps students examine habitats and the interdependence of habitats and the animals that populate them. This is part of the Core Knowledge Sequence for Science. How important is it to you to follow the Core Knowledge Sequence for Science guidelines?

2. How does the teacher in this video integrate National Science Standard C3 (characteristics and life cycles of organisms and environments)? Can you think of other effective ways of implementing it in this unit?

3. The teacher in this video integrates not only Science standards, but also Language Arts standards. What do you think is her rationale for this combination? 

Tenets of Democracy: Previewing Questions

1. How does group work promote Tolerance? What are other ways of promoting tolerance in a Science class?

2. Do you use group work in your teaching practice? What are your guidelines for this type of class work?

3. Do you think that students’ awareness of the importance of a project influence their Decision Making process? How?

Tenets of Democracy: Post-viewing Questions

1. What are some of the instances in which students share authority in this video?

2. One of the students in this video wants to discuss with the teacher a topic that is not relevant for the group project. How does the teacher encourage the student to assume Individual Responsibility and deal with a relevant topic? How would you have addressed this situation?

3. How does the teacher stimulate Critical Thinking in this video? Can you think of other ways?

Technology: Previewing Questions

1. Do you think that a multimedia presentation created with the help of a software is more demanding than a traditional presentation? Explain.

2. At what age do you think student should become familiar with using documents in an electronic format? Provide arguments.

3. What are the Ethics Issues the teachers should be aware of while working with technology?

Technology: Post-viewing Questions

1. How does the teacher introduce the new software? Can you think of other effective ways?

2. One of the students in this video doesn’t seem comfortable with spending long time in front of the computer. How could this problem be address?

3. The teacher in this video believes that computer practice improves concentration skills (read the teacher’s insights listed under Students Characteristics in the lesson plan).  What is your opinion?

Teacher Knowledge : Previewing Questions

1. What do you understand by Processing Inclinations? Why should the teacher be aware of the students’ processing inclinations?

2. Why do you think the teacher should be aware of the students’ learning styles?

3. What are the processes involved in Transformation of knowledge? Is there a relation between them? Explain. 

Teacher Knowledge : Post-viewing Questions

1. How does the teacher in this video illustrate the Transformation of the knowledge about habitats? Can you think of other ways of transforming this specific knowledge?

2. How does the teacher in this video address her students’ visual/spatial intelligence? Can you think of other ways of addressing it within this lesson?

3. In this video students help each other improve their spelling and speaking skills. How else can students improve these skills while working on their projects? 

Teacher Behavior: Previewing Questions

1. How do you address discipline problems in the classroom? What role does Conduct Management play in your teaching practice?

2. How often do you focus on Covenant Management in your teaching practice? Justify your rationale. 

3. Look at the checklist of observable behaviors for Content Management. Which ones do you notice in your teaching practice?

Teacher Behavior: Post-viewing Questions

1. How does the teacher in this video in this group build group focus? What techniques could be used to get and maintain group focus?

2. Before starting the group work, the teacher reviews the the social skills necessary for this type of in-class activity. Do you consider this a successful technique? Explain.

3. What do you think about the signaling system the teacher in this video has created? How do you know if your students need help? Do you have a similar system? Do you think it’s effective?