TECHNOLOGY INTERVIEW

Name: Brian Stephens

Date: October 23, 2023
Grade Level of Teacher/Instructional Coach: 8th/High School
Content Area of Teacher/Instructional Coach: Social Studies/American History

Directions: When you meet with the teacher or instructional coach, ask him or her the
questions below. Feel free to ask a few more related questions. Make sure you inform the
teacher that you will take notes during the interview. Record the interview if the teacher agrees
to be recorded. After the interview, reflect on the interview experience by answering the
reflection questions.

Collaborate with Colleagues

What is your background, training, and experience as an educator?
I have a master’s degree in education, and I have been teaching for over 20 years. I go to PD
(professional development) seminars and trainings at least once a year to try and get
information on what new research there is in teaching.

What digital apps, digital programs and digital media do you recommend for your classroom?
I have incorporated more computer-related aspects into the class over time. When Covid
shut down schools, I had to go fully on-line with the teaching. This was difficult as much of my
work was done on pencil and paper prior to this. I had to utilize Google Classroom for all my
assignments. I did start using some other tools, such as Kahoot, Gimkit, and Edpuzzle to help
the students during that time. Since coming back from Covid, I have gone back to using pencil
and paper for a lot of the in-class work that I do, but I have continued to use the tools that I
started using during Covid.

Technology Goals
How do you stay current with key research that supports technology’s role in improved student
learning outcomes?
I have gotten information on this in some of the PDs that I have attended. I have tried to
incorporate some of this information into the way that I prepare my lessons. However, the
kids seem to still like working with the paper and pencil aspects of my class. I still use an
actual textbook during class.
When you learn that a digital tool or a pedagogical practice is not as effective as you originally
thought, how do you adjust?
I usually just stop using it. If it is not working for the kids in my class, there is no point in
keeping it.

How do you engage in conversation about current research or findings from the learning
sciences?
I talk with other teacher about how they are using what we have learned and the way that I
am incorporating it into my classes. Sometimes, they have some ideas that I will try to help
me improve student participation or improve grades.

How do you make educational research meaningful in your context?

It depends on what the research is as to whether I can use it in my class. Not everything is
geared toward social studies or history. There is some research that is geared toward specific
subjects. I might be able to use some of it more generally, but I try and stick to what is
general in nature so that I can adapt it to use in the classroom.

Digital Learning
What is your experience in online or blended learning environments?
I took online classes to earn my master’s degree. From this, I know why kids did not do well
when we shut down for Covid. There is a lot of self-motivation that is needed for online
learning, and most of the kids do not have that. They need the structure of school to help
them keep on track. It gives them dedicated time that they must spend on doing the work.
The use of computers during school can help them, but they still need that class time to
focus.

What strategies do you use to engage students in active learning in online or blended learning
environments?
If I am going to have them do something online, it needs to be interesting to keep their
attention. With everything else they can do online; it feels like I am fighting for their
attention. That is where the things I mentioned before come into play. Edpuzzles are
interactive videos where they watch a video and answer questions. Kahoot and Gimkit are
interactive also. You cannot give the kids a passive assignment because they just will not do
it. They need to be actively involved with the material for it to have any meaning.

Manage Technology Use

How do you manage technology use in the classroom and in the online or blended learning
environment?
It can be difficult to monitor the kids when they have something online to do. If they are not
watched carefully, they will move to doing other things on their computer because they have
access to games and YouTube. I try to prevent this by making sure that they have something
to do in my class at all times. That way, when they finish one assignment, they will have
something else that they can do.

How do you engage students in setting clear ground rules and parameters for technology use?
The school has the kids sign a paper at the beginning of school that outlines what is an
acceptable use of their computer. I also have my own rules in the classroom that dictate how
we will use the computers during class. These are given to the kids on the first day of school,
and they are reminded of them throughout the year as the need arises.

Cultural Competency
Reflecting upon your class, how does this specific group of students create a completely unique
learning group and environment?
All the kids in class are unique individuals. They have varying backgrounds with different
ideas on things. Even though most of the student population at the school is white, there are
numerous differences between them. We have a few students from other cultural
backgrounds at the school. I check with them to see if they are willing to share their
experiences or knowledge with the class. If they are, I try to incorporate it into the class so
that the other students can have a different perspective.

How would you recognize and describe diversity as an asset?

Diversity is always an asset in the classroom. I have had kids that were able to add different
ideas and perspectives to the classroom discussions. This is great as it can help the other kids
get a different view from their own. They may not always agree, but it is good to have a wide
range of ideas available so that they can have a better understanding of others.

How do you model cultural understanding for your students?

The biggest way is through showing respect for other cultures. I may not always agree with
what they are doing, but there are always good and bad aspects to each culture. Another
way is by not picking sides when the kids disagree, unless one is clearly wrong on the facts.
There is a lot of ambiguity in the world where the kids will need to make up their own minds
about what the right answer for them is, but that does not mean that there needs to be a
fight over it. I like to use the phrase, “agree to disagree.” It means that I respect your opinion
and ideas, but that will not change my mind.
What are the factors that affect your student’s learning?
This question has a lot of answers that could be given, but I am going to try and sum it up the
best I can. Student’s learning is affected by a sum total of their life experiences, prior
education, and individual educational needs. Good things, such as having a stable household,
will increase their chances of doing well in school. Bad things, such as having gone to
numerous schools in the past, will decrease their chances of doing well in school. We need to
understand some of their background so that we know which kids will need more help.

What are a few student strengths and student learning needs?

Looking at the basics, I think all kids want to learn. I also think that all kids want to succeed.
The problem is that they have some much in their lives that distracts them from the
important things in life, and they need to be helped to know what those things are.

How can technology enhance your student’s strengths and remove barriers?
Technology has the potential to open a new world of information for the kids than what I had
as a student. If they have a question, they can look it up on Google and get an answer
immediately. The problem is that there is so much false information on the internet that it
can lead them in the wrong direction. It is up to us, as teachers, to make sure that they know
how to find the correct answers and ask good questions rather than the kids getting into a
sounding board of wrong answers.

Feel free to ask a few more related questions if the teacher has time. Record the questions and
responses below.

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Directions: Reflect on what you learned during the interview.

Reflection

Describe what you learned about technology tools in the classroom. Describe the strengths
and weaknesses of the teachers’ classroom practices. Does the information connect with any
personal experience or content learned in this course (research, theory, a scholar’s work)?
The teacher shows some strengths and weaknesses in their approach to using technology
tools in the classroom. Some of the strengths present include: the teacher shows that they
are adaptable by incorporating digital tools into their teaching methods, which allows for a
more engaging learning experience; the teacher also knows that students learn by being
active rather than passive. By incorporating interactive tools, the students will be more
engaged in the learning process; the teacher uses a hybrid approach to learning allowing for
greater flexibility in the learning environment and, also, allowing for the various learning
styles of the students; the teacher also sets clear rules for the use of technology in the
classroom helping to prevent the misuse of the computers. Some of the weaknesses include:
the teacher has limited use of technological tools that could be increased to reach more
students and enhance student learning; the teacher does not explore other possible uses of
technology that do not work the first time; when given the option, the teacher went back to
using traditional teaching methods instead of leveraging what they learned during school
closures; the teacher did not seem to focus as heavily on making sure that the students have
the skills needed to navigate on the internet by limiting their experience to a few chosen
sites.

Much of the above can be connected in some way to the information that was learned in this
course as classroom management will lead to decisions about how technology will be used.

Describe what you learned about how to manage technology in the classroom. Describe how
you will manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms,
virtual environments, or in the classroom.
Throughout the interview, there were some lessons learned on how to manage technology in
the classroom. The first is to establish clear rules for how technology can be used by the
students. This will require actively monitoring their use when given assignments. However,
by setting the expectations early and consistently enforcing them, the students will do better
by being responsible for following the rules. The second is that the engagement is structured
so that the students know what they are to do with the technology to limit off-task behavior.
The third is the use of traditional methods that allow the students to interact with physical
materials. This could include pencil and paper but can include other manipulatives.

There are some basic strategies that this author can use in his classroom to manage
technological use. The first is by setting clear guidelines for the use of technology in the class.
The second is to have a structure for the activities in the class so that the students will not
have time for off-task behavior to occur. The third is to assess the effectiveness of the digital
tools that are being used in the classroom to see if they are improving student learning. The
fourth is to make sure and teach digital literacy to the students so that they will be able to
 look for information on the internet safely and get accurate information about the subject.
The fifth is to explore the possibilities that are on the internet for new tools or information
that could be incorporated into the classroom. The sixth is to keep parents involved in the
process of how to support their students in responsible technology use at home.

Describe what you learned about cultural competency in the classroom. Describe how diversity
is an asset and how you can model cultural understanding for your students. Describe how the
teacher demonstrates cultural competency in his or her classroom. Does the information
connect with any personal experience or content learned in this course (research, theory, a
scholar’s work)?
There were some lessons learned about having cultural competency in the classroom. These
included the following: respecting individual differences between the students, incorporating
diverse perspectives in the classroom when possible, viewing diversity as an asset as it can
help encourage tolerance and understanding with the students, and encouraging respectful
discussion among the students by not taking sides in an argument but trying to use facts to
guide the students to an understanding of their differences. All these lessons learned show
how the teacher is demonstrating cultural competency in their classroom by creating a
classroom that is inclusive to all the students.

Diversity, as the teacher stated in the interview, is an asset that can be used to help create a
more inclusive classroom by highlighting the different views and ideas that exist in the world.
This author will be mindful of the need for cultural competency in the classroom. Some of the
best ways to model cultural understanding in the classroom are by creating an inclusive
curriculum that exposes the students to diverse cultural perspectives, including role models
from various cultures around the world, incorporating interactive learning tools that will
engage the students in learning about other cultures, respecting the various cultures
throughout the world by presenting the information without bias and encouraging empathy
by having students try to understand different perspectives by view the world from another
person’s viewpoint.

The lessons learned and modeling of cultural diversity are grounded in the information
learned in this class.

Narrative Reflection

The teacher provided many lessons that can be used to assist in incorporating and using
technology within the classroom. The first area of the interview focused on collaborating with
colleagues. In this area, the teacher spoke about the need to collaborate with others about
using technology in the classroom, with emphasis on sharing experiences of when technology
was helpful and when it needed to be adjusted for better use with the students. In this way, the
teacher can increase their understanding and use of technology to improve the learning
environment by engaging the students in interactive tools on the internet. Collaborating with
colleagues and others allows for the sharing of ideas and the collective knowledge and
experiences that they have had in reaching students.

The teacher in the interview, although not always using the latest research on available
technological tools, did take the time to gain further knowledge on what advances and changes
were being presented to help increase student learning. However, the teacher explained the
need to leverage technology to be able to continue the learning process. This thought brings to
light the need for teachers to evaluate their current teaching methods so that they can use
these evaluations to make changes to their methods based on researched-backed practices.
These can be found on some of the sites that are currently used along with other teacher-based
sites such as CSTA Indiana that can help teachers learn how to use technology in the classroom.

The teacher focused on their instructional design principles by trying to incorporate digital
learning and traditional methods in the classroom. This method of instructional design helps to
reach all students by leveraging the best aspects of both to keep the students engaged in the
learning process. As the students in class will vary in learning style, the incorporation of digital
learning and traditional methods shows that the teacher is being inclusive of all students.

The teacher provided numerous ways in the interview in which they showed cultural
competence. This author made a point of actively listening to the teacher and remaining open
to the information that was being presented. This author agreed with the teacher's
explanations on the subject especially the aspects of showing respect and working to eliminate
bias.

From what the teacher stated in their interview, there is a unique need to manage the use of
technology in the classroom. By evaluating what was said, this author can look at the methods
that are needed and come up with a plan for enacting them within their classroom. This author
can do this by setting expectations for technology’s use early, monitoring the effectiveness of
the technology, making sure that the technology is interactive, and structuring learning
activities so that the students will know what is expected of them.