Minds on Science Gazette

Volume 1

Science Teacher Interview Questions

A Reconnaissance

 

These are the questions I used to interview teachers in preparation for the Science Teacher Talk sections of future Science Teacher Gazette's. You might want to use some or all of the questions to design and carry out a study assessing local science teacher's views on teaching.

1. If you were to describe to prospective science teachers what you like most about science teaching, what would you say?

2. How do you accommodate students with different learning styles in your classroom?

3. Do you have a philosophy and set of goals that guide your instructional actions with your students? How do you communicate these to your students?

4.Is the inquiry model of teaching important in your approach to science teaching? Why?

5. What strategy of teaching do you find to be most effective with your students?

6. Try to describe your normal teaching method by ranking the following techniques in terms of the frequency with which you use them. (i.e. 1 means, "I use this technique most frequently of all," 2 means, "I use this next most often," etc.). Leave blank those you almost never use at all. You may give several items the same number, indicating yoiu use them with equal frequency.

• Lectures that deviate widely from specific material.
• Lectures that are based closely on the text material.
• Exercises taken from the text and performed by students in class.
• Exercises taken from the text and assigned as homework.
• Exercises I make up myself (or find in nontext sources) and have the students perform in class.
• Exercises I make up myself (or find in nontext sources) and assign for homework.
• Class discussions, normally of the question and answer variety, based closely on text material.
• Open, wide-ranging calss discussions that deviate widely from the text and the normal question and answer format.
• Lab periods (for hands-on, scientific experimentation.
• Students working in small groups on research or projects that will be shared with the rest of the class.
• Students working independently on research or projects that will be shared with the rest of the class.
• Students working independly with self-directed study materials other than texts (self-graded workbooks, prepared media materials, the Internet, etc.).
• Field Trips
• Class activities and projects that will shared with an audience outside the classroom (exhibits, publications, web pages, plays, debates, etc.)
• In-class visitors from the community.
• Students working independently (or in small teams) on projects specifically designed, with student input, to link real world experiences in the community with the subject material being studied.
• Other:

7. How do you accommodate students with special needs, such as those with learning or behavior disorders? What have you found to be effective with these students?

8. Do you deal with controversial issues in your classroom? If so, which ones, and how?

9. What tips would you give beginning teachers about planning and preparing lessons?

10. How do you manage your classroom? What is the most important piece of advice you would give a prospective teacher concerning classroom management?

11. How do you evaluate the progress of your students? If you were to evaluate your colleagues, what criteria would you use to judge their teaching?

12. Do you have a favorite science lesson or activity? What is its essence? Why is it your favorite?