For this video series, we identified teachers across North Carolina that were selected as a district, region or state teacher of the year.
We sat down with each teacher and asked them a series of six questions. The questions we asked each teacher were:
- Imagine someone visited your class several times, what would they say the principal teaching strategies you use are? Could you talk about teaching strategies you use that are universal, and as well as strategies that are somewhat unique to you and your personality?
- How do you organize your class to maximize learning opportunities for your students? How do you help them become better learners?
- How do you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of students with special needs (EC, ESL, AIG, etc.)?
- How do you know when learning is occurring and what do you do when you question whether learning is taking place in the classroom?
- How do you “hook” a reluctant learner to your content?
- If you were to give advice to a new teacher in North Carolina, what 2-3 learnings would you share?
In addition to the answers shared in the interviews, we invite visitors to this site to share their answers to these questions by using the link to a reflection activity where you can share your unique methods and advice with others.
We were able to videotape some of the teachers in action in their classrooms. We’ve posted the classroom lesson as optional material below the interview in each of these cases. We encourage you to watch these videos in addition to the interviews, as they provide some great insight into the classroom methods of these educators.
Our goal in the Educator Effectiveness Division at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is to provide educators with the tools, resources and insights to support education across the state. Our hope is that you will view the videos within this website, integrate what you’ve learned from these expert teachers, and implement similar lessons and ideas within your own classroom.
This project is based on the work of Ken Bain and his book, “What the Best College Teachers Do.” This book can be found in many bookstores and online. We recommend you read his work as well, since much of what he found with his study is applicable in K-12 classrooms.
Acknowledgements
As we have developed this project, we have had the opportunity to work with many excellent educators in the state of North Carolina. We would like to say a very special thank you to the following educators:
Karyn Collie Dickerson
Grimsley High School, Guilford County Schools
Glenda Crocker
1st Grade
Grantham School, Wayne County
Jill Francis
High School Science
Rutherford County Schools
Shannon Godfrey
High School Social Studies
Harnett County Schools
Thomas McGeachy
Weldon STEM High School, Weldon City Schools
Pam Mills
8th Grade – English/Language Arts
First Flight Middle School, Dare County
Carrie Morris
Swansboro Elementary, Onslow County Schools
Crystal Taylor-Simon
Grades 9-12 – Spanish
Jones Senior High School, Jones County
Linda West
Grades 9-12 – Health Sciences
Plymouth High School, Washington County
NC Department of Public Instruction
Andrew Horne, MSIT
Web Content Manager
Educator Effectiveness Division
NC Department of Public Instruction
Geetanjali Soni, Ph.D.
Educational Consultant: Instructional Design Team Lead
Educator Effectiveness Division
NC Department of Public Instruction
David Walbert, Ph.D.
Consultant, Online Module and Technical Development
Educator Effectiveness Division
NC Department of Public Instruction
Beth Ann Williams, MSIT
Web Content Manager
Educator Effectiveness Division
NC Department of Public Instruction