Teacher Interview Essay

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As a future teacher I was curious about the different types of assessments they do in elementary grade levels. I know a lot has changed since I was in elementary school. There is a lot more technology and new standards that teachers should aim for. To learn a little more about assessments in the elementary level I decided to interview a teacher who teaches at Wings Park Elementary, the same school I went to several years ago. The teacher I interviewed was Katie Kregel, a second grade teacher. Katie graduated from Central College in Pella, Iowa. She has been teaching for eight years now. She spent her first two years teaching at an elementary school in the North Scott school district. She then came to Oelwein and has been teaching here for the past six years. Mrs. Kregel was very nice and answered all of the questions I had.
Although she prefers informal testing, such as homework, Katie still uses formal tests at the end of chapters or units. All of the second grade classrooms at Oelwein have the same tests for reading and math. Katie prefers informal testing and observation because she is able to check her students understanding of a certain topic or skill. I agree with Katie that using performance assessments and naturalistic observations is the best way to check students understanding because they do not feel the stress and pressure, which can cause them to do poorly. I think it is also easier to do informal assessments with second graders instead of doing essays, fill in the blank tests, and other types of assessments that are meant for older students.
Katie uses assessments on a regular basis to make sure her students are where they are supposed to be. During their reading lessons in second grade, they have five lessons in e...

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...r talking so much about how Katie assesses her students, I was curious on how she was assessed as a teacher. She said the principal does regular walkthroughs and each teacher is assessed formally every three years. This requires the principal to sit in on a teacher’s class for about an hour and then write a report on whether they are meeting all the standards or not.
Overall, I thought doing this interview was a great opportunity and it taught me a lot about assessments and how they are used in an actual classroom. It gave me an idea on the different things I will have to do when I become a teacher and how assessing elementary students is a lot different than I remember. I really appreciated that Katie let me come into her classroom and interview her. She gave me many different aspects about teaching and made me even more excited to become a teacher in a few years!

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