INTERVIEW QUESTION TYPES

1- Professionalism and Understanding:

-Please give a brief description of the school, i.e. boys/girls, size,
location. Curriculum and texts used, what different subjects are
taught?
I went to Al Hanan advanced kindergarten in Ajman; I taught KG2 classroom,
and it were 25 students, further, at the begging of my TP the teachers didnt
go through a specific curriculum whereas after a week they received a
curriculum schedule with students books. Moreover, I had two MSTs, teacher
Amna was teaching an Arabic, Islamic and math subjects whereas teacher
Najma was teaching English and math subjects only.
-What did you enjoy most about your practicum?
During my teaching practice, I enjoyed the collaboration process with my
MST's because they had gave me suggestions about the lessons I have
taught it. For example, before every lesson they showed me their
powerpoints and the activities with giving me some instructions about them.
- What challenges did you face?
I had confronted several of challenges such as, how to make students
accustomed to me, how to manage their behavior during the lesson and how
to use the transition process in a suitable way. However, the main challenge I
had faced it, was managing students behavior because they were
unaccustomed to me as a teacher and some of them were very active, so
dealing with these kinds of students as a new trainee teacher was a little bit
difficult for me.
- What did you do to show your commitment to your job as a teacher
in the school?
I followed the routine that students are going through it with their teachers.
For instance, lining up the students to go to the assembly morning, return
them from there to the classroom, give them instructions on the attendance
process, provide them the breakfast in the dining room and monitor students
when the teacher is busy with correcting the books.
-

-How did you collaborate with your MST and other teachers in the
school?

I cooperated with my MST's in the classroom during the areas by giving them
the instruction of each of activity and by monitoring them. Further, I
collaborated with other teachers in the opens day or events that the school
created for students, as an example, in the flag day I helped the teachers in
organizing students by lining them up as a UAE's flag colors.
-Describe a typical day in your school.
As a usual job in my TP, I went through a stable routine with students, for
instance, I waited for students to enter the school, welcomed them with a
smiling face, then guiding them to the classroom to put their stuff and then
take them to the morning assembly. Next, return students to the classroom
to take the lesson with their teacher in the circle area, after the circle area
students lined up to take the liquid soap from me to wash their hands, then
they went to the dining room to have the breakfast. After that, I took
students to the playground to play, then after 20 minutes I return to the
playground to take them to the classroom in order to go to the areas and
apply the activities according to the lesson. Afterward, when they finished
from the areas, they went to circle area and I gave them the afternoon
snack, at 12:30 they lined up in front of the classroom door to go to the bus
area with their bus assistance.

2- Planning for Learning:

- Talk about the process of planning for lessons. How did your MST
go about this? How did you plan to ensure you worked within the
curriculum?
My MST's
follow the schedule that comes from the ministry of education, she gives
students the lessons based on that curriculum. For example, in one week the
teacher gives them one number, shape, letter and story lessons. So, from
that process for planning the lesson is worked with me also because I
followed that schedule and students are accustomed to that.
- What did you learn about planning during the practicum?
During my teaching practice, I noticed that the lesson plans is significant for
a teacher to succeed in her lesson because when I created my lesson plans
with learning outcomes and goals, that process support me to deliver the
concept of the lesson to students in the appropriate way. Thus, this method
will help students to understand the lesson and will support me to achieve
my aims of the lesson.

- What challenges did you face when preparing your lesson plans?
The difficulty that I faced it during preparing my lesson plans is separating
the activities in the areas based on the differentiation because when I
separated students to those activities, some of them were at the high level
but they should be in the medium level because of their knowledge. Thus, in
this process, I didn't do very well and it was a challenge for me to know each
of students levels.
-Explain how you planned for teaching speaking and listening.
Through my lessons that I had taught it, I planned for teaching speaking by
asking students questions that relate to a particular lesson in order to give
them an opportunity to talk, on the other hand, the listening technique I had
taught it through telling students a story and then ask them questions about
that story.

3- Implementing and Managing Learning:

- What strategies did you use to manage the children?
To manage students behavior I used several of strategies in the classroom
and during the lesson, such as the reward system, maintaining eye contact
and changing the voice level. As a result, these all strategies was worked
well with students, for instance, when students were annoying, I used the
changing voice level strategy and from that, they sit quietly with following
the classroom rules.
-Which were the most effective strategies you observed your MST using in the classroom?
My MST used many strategies and the most effective and successful strategy was the reward
system. For example, when a student misbehaved in the classroom she placed his name on the
sad face, then he realized that he did a wrong thing, so he starts to be quiet and behave with
everyone in a proper manner. Thus, these kinds of strategies helped the teacher in managing
students behavior in the classroom.
- Describe a lesson you taught and the way in which you
implemented the lesson class work, group work, and individual
work. How successful was this for you?
I taught a
letter (N) lesson and I went through the lesson plan to achieve my goals
during the lesson. Further, in the class work activity, I gave students the
opportunity to come on the board and circle on the letter (N) between

several letters that shown in the powerpoint whereas the group activity was
in the areas. For instance, in the art area, they did a collage using papers
technique, in the writing area students wrote the letter (N) in the small white
board and in the block area they created the letter (N) using cubes.
Moreover, the individual activity was the letter (N) worksheet. As a result,
these activities were effective for me because from that I understood
students levels in the classroom and it worked well with them.
- Explain the stages and how you taught listening and speaking as
an integrated process. In the lesson letter (M), I told students a story
about the letter (M) by changing a little bit my voice and make some
expression in my face to encourage students to listen to the story, so during
this story I taught students listening process by attracting them to listen to
me. However, after the story finished I asked them some questions about it
in order to give them an opportunity to speak, thus from that I taught
students the speaking process.
- What strategies did you employ to teach speaking /listening
activities?
The strategies that I had use it to teach students speaking and listening
activities are changing my voice while I am telling them the story and ask
them questions by maintaining eye contact and do expression in my face.
- What do you have to take into consideration when teaching
speaking/listening activities?
The speaking and listening activities are
most happen in the circle area, the consideration that I have to take while I
am teaching these activities is to get students attention and make them
enthusiasm to listen and speak.
4- Organization:
- What did you do to appear well organized when in the schools?
(refer to organizing your time, portfolio, tasks etc).
Throughout my teaching practice, I tried my best to perform myself as well
organized trainee teacher by managing my time and do my tasks in an
appropriate way. For instance, go to school at 7:45 before students arrive,
help my MST in monitoring students, attend all the classes to complete my
tasks, do my lesson plans before every lesson I will teach and give my
lessons in an enthusiastic and engaging way.
- Why do you think its important to be well organized when in the
school?
The organizing technique is significant for all the

trainee teachers because it will affect on their plans during the teaching
practice; thus I should appear myself as a professional person in order to
give a good impression of me for the administration of the school and to
represent my college in my performance at the school.
- Have your organization and planning skills improved? Yes - in what
way? No - what steps can you take to improve in this area?
Yes, I enhanced my skills in several things, such as managing students
behavior, be punctual and use lots of strategies in the classroom.
5- Reflection:
- What has been your most powerful learning throughout the
practicum?
The powerful learning was giving students the
activities in the areas according to their levels because this method helps
students to develop their skills in different aspects of learning and also
support me as a teacher to know each of students abilities.
- What was the most helpful feedback you received during the
placement?
During my teaching practice, I received lots of
feedbacks from my two MSTs that helps me to present my lessons in a
suitable way, whereas the most helpful supportive comment was in
managing students behavior during the lesson by using the reward system.
So, when I used the reward system, I noticed that students were developing
and improving their behavior in a good track.
- What challenges did you face when writing your reflections?
When I wrote my reflections, I faced difficulties in writing the good, and bad
aspects that I had did it during my lesson because when I was trying to
remember what was happened to write it in detailed, I had forgotten some
parts that occurred in the classroom.

- Were you able to make links between what you did at college and
what you observed or experienced during TP? Give an example.
There is a link between learning through visual arts course and the art area
in the school classroom. For example, in the letter (N) lesson I had gave
students in the art area a collage using papers technique that I had took it in
the visual arts course. So, this course helps me in my teaching practice to
create the activities for students.
- What do you think are important things to study at college to
ensure that you are well prepared for TP?
In my perspective, managing students behavior is a significant aspect that I

should be well prepared for it, in order to be a good example of a trainee

teacher because during my teaching practice I faced many challenges in
dealing with misbehaviors students.

6- Communication:
- Did you face any problems or challenges in dealing with
_____________ and how did you manage these?
Refer to one of following:

MST
Other staff
Administration
Students

I faced many issues in dealing with students in the classroom because some
of them were very active and misbehaving with me, so I managed this
problem by using changing voice level strategy and the reward system
technique.
- What skills do you think are important for trainee teachers to have
when dealing with _______

MST
Other staff
Administration
Students

The significant skills that a trainee teacher should have are the time
management, friendly language and social interacting because these
abilities will support us in being a good example of a trainee teacher.

7- Portfolio and Observation tasks:

- Show how your portfolio is organized.
I organized my portfolio in creating the EPC-2403 page with several pages
under this course and by putting every part that I had did it in my teaching
practice, for example, profile, journals, chit-chat, reading stories, transitions,
lesson plans, and interview.

- Choose one task that you found interesting and tell about it. What
did you learn from doing this task?
The chit-chat task was interesting because from this task I improved my
skills in monitoring students and their levels in the classroom.
- What changes would you make to the observation tasks?
I would change the story task by placing managing students behavior task
because I think that trainee teachers must need to develop their abilities in
managing students in the classroom in order to be in comfort zone with
these students.
- Refer to one artefact / other task / journal you found interesting
and tell about it.
In my opinion, the last journal is interesting
because I wrote my feelings during the whole teaching practice journey and
put the special activities that I had done it for students.