Interview miss editha

Summary

In this interview, Mar, a teacher from the Philippines, shares her teaching journey and experiences. With eight years of teaching experience, she discusses her roles in private and government schools before moving to Indonesia. Mar teaches English to students in grades 10 and 11 and emphasizes the importance of using rubrics, peer assessments, and flexible grading criteria to ensure fairness and consistency. She also highlights her approach to engaging students through games, managing classroom disruptions, and ensuring that absent students catch up. Mar’s focus is on being adaptable and providing students with clear guidelines for success.

Takeaways

• 😀 Mar has been teaching for about 8 years, starting in the Philippines and now teaching in Indonesia for 2 years and 5 months.
• 😀 Mar currently teaches English to Senior High School 8 (SM8), Grade 10, and Grade 11 students.
• 😀 Mar uses a rubric-based grading system to ensure fairness and avoid bias when assessing students' individual and group assignments.
• 😀 To help students understand the learning objectives, Mar starts lessons with a game or activity to engage students.
• 😀 Classroom disruptions are managed by involving student leaders and preparing additional activities for students absent during class events.
• 😀 Mar maintains a journal to track lesson progress, ensuring that missed lessons are caught up with additional activities or makeup classes.
• 😀 Makeup classes for students who miss lessons are held during vacant periods, lunch breaks, or after school.
• 😀 Consistency in grading is ensured by keeping digital records (Google Sheets) and involving peer assessments in writing tasks.
• 😀 Immediate corrections and feedback are provided to students after assessments, so they can improve in subsequent tasks.
• 😀 The criteria for scoring students vary based on the activity: roleplay focuses on delivery and expressions, while writing focuses on grammar and content accuracy.
• 😀 Mar emphasizes flexibility in scoring criteria, ensuring that the evaluation process aligns with the specific skills being assessed in each activity.

Q & A

How long has the teacher been teaching?

The teacher has been teaching for approximately 8 years, with experience in both private and government schools, and has been in Indonesia for over 2 years.

What grades does the teacher currently handle?

The teacher currently handles SMA 8, 10, and 11 students, focusing on English.

How does the teacher ensure fairness in grading students' assignments?

The teacher uses a rubric for all tasks to avoid bias and ensures consistent grading. This method prevents favoring certain students over others based on perceived intelligence.

What strategies does the teacher use to engage students at the start of the lesson?

The teacher starts lessons with interactive games to engage students and ensure they remain focused. This method helps students get into the 'learning zone' before beginning the actual lesson.

How does the teacher handle disruptions in the classroom?

The teacher prepares additional activities for students who miss classes due to events. They track missed lessons in a journal and ensure students stay on track with their studies.

What happens if students miss a lesson? How do they catch up?

If students miss a lesson, they can make up the work during vacant periods, lunch breaks, or after school. The teacher also prepares additional activities to ensure no important lesson is missed.

What method does the teacher use for peer assessment?

The teacher uses peer assessments where students evaluate each other's work. For example, in writing tasks, students exchange their papers, which allows them to learn from one another's strengths and weaknesses.

How does the teacher ensure consistency in grading over time?

The teacher keeps a digital record of students' performance using tools like Google Sheets. This allows them to track progress and ensure consistency when grading assignments.

What criteria does the teacher use for grading different activities?

The teacher uses different criteria depending on the activity. For role-plays, criteria may include facial expressions, gestures, and intonation. For writing tasks, criteria focus on punctuation, grammar, and content accuracy.

Why does the teacher emphasize flexibility in teaching and grading?

The teacher believes that flexibility is essential because one approach doesn't fit all activities or students. Different tasks require specific criteria to fairly evaluate students, ensuring each task is assessed appropriately.