Teacher Interview Assignment:
Submission of the names of teachers you will interview: (10 points)
Teacher Interview Paper: (50 points)
Purpose of Assignment:
You have been reading about different types of philosophies and theories from the textbook and current
research articles. You have also reflected on your own personal philosophy throughout the semester.
This assignment will have you investigate the teaching philosophies from a variety of teachers with
varying levels of teaching experiences. This will help give insight into how your peers have developed
their teaching philosophies. You may also choose to interview one principal to get a leadership
perspective about teaching philosophies.
Assignment Directions:
Identify a teacher from each experience range, for a total of 4 teachers (one of these can be a principal if
you choose) and ask them if you could interview them about their teaching philosophy.
Experience Ranges
1. First Year Teacher
2. 5 – 10 years of experience
3. 20 – 30 years of experience
4. A Retired Teacher
1. For the first part of the assignment submit these names to Canvas.
Include the following in your submission. This can be written in bulleted form.
 name of teacher or principal
 years of teaching experience
 current teaching position (include school and content areas taught)
 areas of certification
 level of education (bachelor, masters, 30+, doctorate)
2. Interview your teachers using the following questions: (Remember many teachers have
philosophies of teaching but they may not know what they are called. The purpose is for you to
figure out why they teach the way they do.) Take the same questions and use them to interview
the principal. You can ask him/her about their teaching experience but also ask these questions
with regards to their faculty and the goals set for the school. (mainly questions e – j).
a. Why did you want to become a teacher?
b. How were you trained to come a teacher? What were the most effective methods of
your training? How much of your training do you use today in your teaching?
c. Describe the best learning experience you had as a student. Did this experience impact
you as teacher?
d. Describe the best teaching experience you have had as a teacher. Why was it the best?
e. Describe what your role is as the teacher in your classroom.
f. Describe the nature of the learner in your classroom.
g. Discuss how you decide what you are going to teach your students. (If they say they
have to follow some mandate on what to teach, ask them if they agree or disagree with
this mandate and why. How would they do it differently?
h. What are the big goals you have for your students in your teaching?
i. Discuss how you teach your students. (Get them to describe their methodology)
j. What do you think the main goal of the school should be in society?
3. In the interview, take notes so you can refer back to them in writing your paper. You may also
want to record the interview to refer back to later. You will not be turning in the data collected
during the interview, but it will be important to have this information so you can write a
thorough paper using these 4 interviews as resources.
4. After you have completed the 4 interviews, write a paper reflecting on what you learned from
these 4 teachers. The paper should be double spaced and you can use quotes from the teachers
if you would like but not required. The subheadings of the paper include the following. There
are no page length requirements on the subheadings about the teachers. However, the final
subheading (Reflection of My Learning) has a page requirement of at least two double spaced
pages.
First Year Teacher
(Share who you interviewed and information about them to give context to the paper. This will also
include information from questions a – j as you write what you learned from this teacher.)
My Thoughts about the First Year Teacher
(Write a reflection about what you learned from interviewing this teacher and his or her educational
philosophy.)
Teacher with Five to Ten Years of Experience
(Share who you interviewed and information about them to give context to the paper. This will also
include information from questions a – j as you write what you learned from this teacher.)
My Thoughts about the Teacher with Five to Ten Years of Experience
(Write a reflection about what you learned from interviewing this teacher and his or her educational
philosophy.)
Teacher with Twenty to Thirty Years of Experience
(Share who you interviewed and information about them to give context to the paper. This will also
include information from questions a – j as you write what you learned from this teacher.)
My Thoughts about the Teacher with Twenty to Thirty Years of Experience
(Write a reflection about what you learned from interviewing this teacher and his or her educational
philosophy.)
The Retired Teacher
(Share who you interviewed and information about them to give context to the paper. This will also
include information from questions a – j as you write what you learned from this teacher.)
My Thoughts about the Retired Teacher
(Write a reflection about what you learned from interviewing this teacher and his or her educational
philosophy.)
Reflection of My Learning
(This subsection should be at least 2 double spaced pages. Discuss the big ideas that you took away from
completing these interviews. Consider how their views may be alike or different. Consider if teaching
training or experience play a big role in creating teachers’ philosophies. This is basic qualitative research
and you will discuss your findings from the experiences of your teachers. I am not looking for you to
label these teachers with a particular philosophy. I just hope it sheds some light on how we develop a
philosophy of teaching. I’m looking forward to reading your findings.)
Grading Guide:
First Year Teacher and Thoughts (10 points) No page requirement for this section.
Teacher with Five to Ten Years of Experience and Thoughts (10 points) No page requirement for this
section.
Teacher with Twenty to Thirty Years of Experience and Thoughts (10 points) No page requirement for
this section.
The Retired Teacher and Thoughts (10 points) No page requirement for this section.
Reflection of My Learning and Thoughts (10 points) TWO PAGE requirement for this section.
Grading Criteria:
 Clarity of thoughts
 Correct grammar and spelling
 Followed assigned format by including all subheadings , page requirements, and answers
 Graduate level thinking in reflection of learning