Interview Teachers on Changes at their School

MS Science, MS/HS STEAM, GT

Teacher #1: Position in School:______________________________________________________________
Coordinator
1. Ask the teacher to list all of the changes that have previously been attempted at their school
over the last year or two.
Discovery (cultural and behavioral program), 6-12 STEAM program (designing and implementing),
Plateau Place-Based Program, Mastery Connect (standard-based progress monitoring), becoming GT
Coordinator, discontinuing MAPS testing for 7-12, Life Skills period for 6-8, Literacy Design
Collaborative and Math Design Collaborative
2. Ask the teacher to pick the three largest changes and complete the table based on these
changes
Change #1
Change #2
Change #3
Brief Description of
the change
Designing and
Implementation K-12 of
Mastery Connect is a
implementing a
a cultural and
program we are
new STEAM
behavioral program,
required to use to track
Program
Discovery.
progress based on
mastery of standards.
On a scale of 1-10 what is
your predicted level of
impact this change will
have or had on improving
student learning?
On a scale of 1-10 what
is, or will be, your
predicted level of
successful
implementation of this
change?
On a scale of 1-10, what
is your prediction of the
consistency of
implementation among
classroom teachers?
On a scale of 1-10, what
is your prediction of the
consistency of
implementation among
school administrators?
Estimate how much time
you spend on this
initiative each day.
What level of change is
this: Procedural,
Structural, Cultural

3 hours

15 minutes

5 minutes

Structural

Cultural

Procedural

3. Ask the teacher what advice he/she would give to future leaders on successfully leading a
change in a school.
This teacher felt that too much has been attempted in the last year or two all at once, so one of her
pieces of advice was dont implement a lot of things all at one time. Focus on the most important one
and master it before adding more changes. Also getting teacher buy-in is crucial. She also stated that
implementing a brand new program from the bottom up takes a lot of time and funding, so her advice
was to prepare and support new programs like STEAM with patience and determination.

4. What conclusions can you make from interviewing this teacher?

I concluded that our administration has been very proactive and trying to make changes for the
better over the last two years, which is great. However, these changes dont just take place overnight
and require a great deal of time and energy, not only initially, but also over time to create continuity
and consistency. Furthermore, implement changes strategically and timely. This teacher really likes
the changes that have been attempted, but didnt seem to be very confident in some aspects, like
consistency and time spent on the initiatives.

Interview Teachers on Changes at their School

2nd Grade Teacher
Teacher #2: Position in School:______________________________________________________________
Ask the teacher to list all of the changes that have previously been attempted at their school
over the last year or two.
Discovery, Plateau Place-Based Education, Experiential Education, Walking Permission Slips, Math and
Reading Groupings based on ability (not grade-level), K-5 STREAM program, Interest Reading Groups K5, Literacy Design Collaborative

2. Ask the teacher to pick the three largest changes and complete the table based on these
changes
Change #1
Change #2
Change #3
Brief Description of
the change
K-5 undertaking of
Discovery
Math and Reading
experiential
Groupings
education, including
many field trips and
hands-on learning.
On a scale of 1-10 what is
your predicted level of
impact this change will
have or had on improving
student learning?
On a scale of 1-10 what
is, or will be, your
predicted level of
successful
implementation of this
change?
On a scale of 1-10, what
is your prediction of the
consistency of
implementation among
classroom teachers?
On a scale of 1-10, what
is your prediction of the
consistency of
implementation among
school administrators?
Estimate how much time
you spend on this
initiative each day.
What level of change is
this: Procedural,

1 hour

30 minutes

3 hours

Structural

Cultural

Procedural

Structural, Cultural

3. Ask the teacher what advice he/she would give to future leaders on successfully leading a
change in a school.
This teachers biggest piece of advice was that it takes a strong leader, often an administrator that
declares a change, in which everyone is required to participate. They are having some trouble with
this at the Elementary right now with teachers agreeing to the groupings, and she feels like the
Principal really needs to step up and take control of the matter in order to make it happen. She also
said more professional development time would be beneficial, as not enough time was given for the
implementation and re-implementation of Mastery Connect and Discovery, which are both really big
changes.

4. What conclusions can you make from interviewing this teacher?

Change is a difficult thing for a lot of people, as it forces them out of their comfort zone.
However, progress, and therefore change, is necessary in the field of education. I found it
interesting that both teachers interviewed felt that there was simply not enough time to
implement these changes to the best of their abilities. Perhaps, more offered professional
development would help this concern.

Rationale for Course Work Assignments

Now that you have completed this assignment, please use the Holistic 4-Point Rubric to selfassess your performance on this assignment. Then, in the box below, indicate the level of
performance you feel you achieved. Provide a rationale for the grade you feel you deserve. If you
have assessed this assignment at the exemplary level 4, please be sure to provide specific
information about how this assignment exceeds the proficient expectations (i.e. how does the
assignment go above and beyond?)
Level of Performance I feel I achieved on this assignment using the Holistic 4-Point
Rubric is a: __4___
Rationale:
I had some excellent conversations with these teachers and learned a great deal.
Change is necessary and can generally be a positive thing. However, it takes a lot
of work and determination on the part of the administrators and teachers for these
to be successful and permanent changes. Also, for these reasons, making too many
changes at once, although well intentioned, can be overwhelming for already
swamped teachers. Then, unfortunately, these initiatives sometimes get pushed to
the side. Lastly, I was surprised to hear that a few teachers are attempting to
sabotage a movement toward math and reading groupings by skill level at the
elementary level. Even though teacher leaders in that building are spearheading
this change, it sounds like it will take a strong administrative leader to put their
foot down and require this change be implemented consistently by every single
teacher, in order for it to be successful. I feel like I had exceptional interviews with
these two teachers and I think I also contributed a great deal to these excellent