2.

TOUR ME AROUND YOUR CLASSROOM

I am proud of my classroom actually. If you come inside the very first thing you will
notice is how spacious and large the area is. I deliberately tried to minimize the furniture and
the armchairs arranged to be are easily movable for the reason that I like to do a lot of
activities with my students which means that we usually move around the classroom so I
designed it to be flexible and appropriate for group or individual activities. Although I made
sure to put up colorful and educational posters and decorations around.
I also have personally bought a television and adequate sound system to better
facilitate my lessons and invested on my own internet connection for instances where we
needed to do online activities. Furthermore, we often go outside the playground just beside
our room, we visit out library and science laboratory and occasionally spend time on our
school computer laboratory. In summary, I can say that my classroom isn’t just limited to the
four corners of our building.

3. HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE YOUR STUDENTS

I like to implement the individual approach when it comes to motivating my students. I
understand that every child is unique and different from one another. They have different
ways of learning and so I try to pattern my activities and lessons around their abilities and
interests. Its challenging and there really isn’t one that works for every set of class that I
handled in the past.
However, based on experience I find that mostly I can motivate them by simply making
the lessons fun and engaging. I try to include some interactive content, educational games,
and mix up various teaching methods, so there is a variety and an element of surprise. In my
opinion, especially at this age group, children still love to play, and most of them hate “serious
work”. That’s why I like to design my lessons look like they were playing while they are learning.
Positive encouragement can do wonders, in my experience. By staying positive and
encouraging others, I could create a safe atmosphere in my classroom. I’ve noticed as well
that if I make my lesson more relatable to them like using places, people or objects that are
part of their daily lives makes them more invested and engaged.

4. IF I AM GOING TO ASK YOUR PRINCIPAL, WHAT WOULD HE/SHE SAY ABOUT YOU?
What’s interesting is actually my current principal used to be my co-teacher for a few
years back when I was still newly hired. She got promoted was assigned to other schools but
eventually ended up being assigned at our school and she had been our head for 3 years
now. So basically, she had seen my growth as a newly hired teacher to who I’ve become
today. And if you ask her about me as a teacher, she would say hardworking and
dependable. She has assigned me to a lot of important and big roles in our school knowing
that I’m capable of doing them. Every time she asks me do something whether it be a report
or to lead a program and activity, I always make sure to carry them out effectively and
efficiently. I don’t mind doing extended hours and I have even spent some nights in the school
together with other teachers just to prepare for some sort of contests that we had to finish the
next day. She is our District ICT coordinator and because of that we have done a lot of
projects, programs and activities together making her aware of how passionate and
dedicated I am to my job.

4. IF I AM GOING TO ASK YOUR STUDENTS, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY ABOUT YOU?
I’d like to think that they would say “FUN AND TECHY” only because I make it a point to
make sure that every lesson is not boring to them along with my constant effort of trying to
integrate technology in teaching.
I like to design my lessons and class activities where students are more active and
participative in our teaching and learning sessions. Because I believe that if the students take
more charge on their own learning, it becomes more fun, meaningful and lasting. I try to
achieve this by using varied teaching strategies such as game-based learning, using
Education Technological Tools both online and offline, project-based learning and other
group work activities.

5. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY INSIDE THE CLASSROOM?

The very first thing I made sure was not to wait from our department and purchase my
own gadgets and technology to use. To me this was a sound investment, I bought my own
laptop and television and had my own internet connection I can readily use. Being our ICT
coordinator, and ICT Regional school and Microsoft Education Ambassador gave me an
advantage to have the knowledge and skills on using a variety of technologies in teaching.
In our class, we have tried Kahoot, Padlet, Mentimeter, and other online tools. We try to
maximize our scheduled use of classroom laboratory. My students are fully enthusiastic in even
bringing their own cellphones and other gadgets if the need arises. But I understand that
these tools are simply an aid and they cannot replace the lessons entirely. I have to make
sure that every one of them is appropriate to my lesson or to the learning activity in a
responsible way.

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE STUDENT’S MISBEHAVIOR?

Classroom management is part and parcel of being a teacher. I fully understand that
any method, approach and strategy I will implement will be rendered useless if I cannot
effectively manage my class.
I believe that among anything else, you must explicitly teach classroom expectations
and routines to your students right at the very beginning of the school year, at your very first
meeting. It would be better if you involve them in making these rules and regulations so as
they would take more ownership and follow them more diligently.
At the start of the day and every group activity we do, I always remind them of our
rules. For group activity, we have an established roles for each member of the group so they
can be more accountable with their actions.
Meanwhile, giving positive feedback and rewards are one way of encouraging them
towards positive behavior.

6. HOW DO YOU INCLUDE PARENTS

I think it’s really important to get to know the important family members in each
student’s life. We conduct constant parent-teacher meetings or conferences and I always
make sure to maximize this opportunity to get to know them, to let them know their child’s
progress and to work with them on how to improve the performance of our students. Having
an open communication is super important as well and with the presence of various social
media apps I was able to send updates more regularly in addition to discussing any
challenges the student might be facing academically or behaviorally.

7. WHAT WILL BE THE REASON OF YOUR ABSENCE

I believe it would have to be an extremely valid reason. I am dedicated to my job and
I understand my role as a teacher that if I miss a day just because I was being lazy it wasn’t
just my salary or my work being affected but more importantly my students would be missing
an opportunity of another day’s learning. So, I never take my work for granted. I have never
taken a leave of absence before due to personal gains or reasons. It would have to be an
emergency, health reason or important family matters. But what I would like to point out is if
in the instance that I would need to do so, I would make sure to inform my superior plenty of
time beforehand while being transparent on the exact reason behind it and making
necessary arrangements so my work or my class wont be too much affected or disrupted.

8. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO GO TO THE UNITED STATES?

I have been a teacher for over 7 years now and throughout those years of service I
have developed a sincere passion for teaching. This passion continually drives me to innovate
and explore on how to improve my craft in the diverse and complicated world of education.
However, I feel that there is still a lot that I have to learn and there is still so much that I can
do to improve and grow.
I heard about this program from a co-Microsoft Ambassador and I realized that this is
what I must be missing. This opportunity to become a culture exchange teacher will most
definitely widen my perspective and range as an educator. I understand that this opportunity
will not be a walk in the park and shouldn't be taken lightly. But it is a challenge I am beyond
willing to face knowing I could get to immerse in other country's culture and more importantly
share my country's culture to the United States. As a 21st century educator, I want to take this
opportunity to grow beyond my comfort zone and hone my capabilities so I could return and
share them as well to educators in my country.

9. WHAT IS YOUR STRENGTH?

I think it would be my love for teaching and technology. I am earnestly passionate and
proud of my job as a teacher. There is just something satisfying at the end of every day of your
work knowing that you have made a difference and impact among these children. And with
that passion, I was motivated to keep on learning and growing. Evident on that is despite my
young age and just being a few years into my career I have built an adequate experience
and accomplishments that made me grow as a teacher. On top of that, I am an eager
learner and could adapt easily to my environment; a problem solver and efficient with tasks
without wasting too much time.
 [email protected]
Furthermore, I think that is one thing that separates me from most of the other teacher
because I did not limit myself just on the four corners of my classroom. I went out and eagerly
grabbed opportunities where I could grow and evolve. So, I became an ICT Trainer on our
division, an ICT scholar of our region and a Microsoft Education Ambassador. And now I am
trying to become a cultural ambassador for my country on the United States. All of this simply
because I want to become a great teacher to my students and make a difference.

9. WHAT IS YOUR WEAKNESS?

My inability to say no. When I first started teaching, I was young, energetic and
enthusiastic and was too afraid of my superiors and seniors to decline. I’d be called away for
trainings, for speaking engagements, for urgent reports or I’d have to do an overtime to finish
a task somebody else was supposed to do. Sooner I realized how it affected my job as a
teacher, I was taken more and more out of my classroom from teaching due to reports,
meetings and other stuff. It wasn’t until a few years later when I’ve started to slow down and
train others to do the tasks themselves independently or to hand opportunities to other
teachers so they could have a chance to grow themselves. Effective time and work
management plus healthy communication and work relationship made it possible for me to
slowly overcome this weakness.

10. WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF A TEACHER (GIVE 3)

First and foremost, it would have to be passion and love for teaching. You need to
genuinely love your profession in order to be great at it. From it, other qualities would just
naturally flow. If you love your work, then you’d naturally want to be good at it, to continue
improving, to find ways and opportunities where you can grow. Passion comes with
dedication. You will be dedicated to ensure that your learners are making the most out of
their potential and turning into a person that they need to become. Passion makes you
extend your effort and sacrifices all for the betterment of your profession.
Still, even with passion a teacher must be adaptable. I have seen some of other old
teachers who genuinely love their job but cannot keep up with recent trends and
developments in teaching. You need to be able to work in a constantly evolving environment
particularly with the rise in access to the internet, computers and other technology.
And lastly, empathy. Having wide knowledge on every subject, practicing various
teaching techniques and knowing a lot of technologies would be useless if you cannot
connect and empathize with your learners. They are your main reason. Thus, you need to
engage and improve their learning by treating each student as individual. Getting to know
their background, habits, skills and interests and utilizing everything you have and know as a
teacher to what fits to them. This is how as a teacher, one of your qualities must be how to
become a student or more so how you can learn about and from your students and you’d
be surprise who long it can take you to become effective in your profession.

11. HOW DID YOU APPLY COLLABORATION AND HOW WAS THE END RESULT?
I like to design my lessons and class activities where students are more active and
participative. And one way I can achieve this is by providing various learning activities where
my students can work together and collaborate with each other.
One of my favorites is inspired by Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory
wherein I design my group work according to my student’s interest, preference and skills. Then
I provide different activities according to their what groups they might want to belong,
whether they like singing, dancing, writing, acting, etc. This made sure that the students would
be comfortable and can work effectively within their group. Although from time to time I
switch it up to provide them opportunities to explore other skills that they don’t know they
might have. Whichever strategy I might use, I make it a point to have a system of rules and
expectations for our group activity. Every member has a role to play and understand that
they are accountable on their actions based on criteria and scores we have in place for their
group performances.
Furthermore, I apply collaboration not just inside the classroom but there are instances
in our projects and activities where they could recruit and work with other students from other
classes or their family members are home. Online collaboration is something that I want to
explore more in the future given the opportunity and means to do so. The end result of having
the students collaborate with one another not just boosts their confidence and self-esteem
but it develops their social and interpersonal skills as well.

12. WOULD US THROUGH YOUR LESSON.

Usually, I adapt the 5Es in lesson planning: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and
Evaluate. I start my lesson with fun activities to set the mood and get the attention of my
students. Then I try to come up with a meaningful activity where the students the explore and
learn our lesson their own way. Afterwards, we analyze the result of their activity, what they
have learned so far, I then provide additional explanation or clarification. The next part of my
lesson will be a series of activities that will allow the learners to apply or expand the skill they
have gained whether through individual, paired or group activities. And finally, we proceed
to the Evaluation portion.
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES
• Microsoft Teams
• One Note
• Sway
• Zip Grade
• Padlet
• Kahoot
• Phet Colorado
• Google Forms
• Minecraft Education Edition
• Wakelet
• Plickers

VIDEO
• Youtube
• Live video streaming sites
AUDIO
• Podcasting
 INTERACTIVE
• Video aames
• Simulations
• Virtual reality
VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS
• Microsoft teams
• Google classroom

1. INTRODUCE YOURSELF
2. TOUR ME AROUND YOUR CLASSROOM
3. HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE YOUR STUDENTS
4. IF I AM GOING TO ASK YOUR PRINCIPAL, WHAT WOULD HE/SHE SAY
ABOUT YOU?
5. IF I AM GOING TO ASK YOUR STUDENTS, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY
ABOUT YOU?
6. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY INSIDE THE CLASSROOM?
7. HOW DO YOU MANAGE STUDENT’S MISBEHAVIOR?
8. HOW DO YOU INCLUDE PARENTS
9. WHAT WILL BE THE REASON OF YOUR ABSENCE
10. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO GO TO THE UNITED STATES?
11. WHAT IS YOUR STRENGTH?
12. WHAT IS YOUR WEAKNESS?
13. WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF A TEACHER (GIVE 3)
14. HOW DID YOU APPLY COLLABORATION AND HOW WAS THE END
RESULT?
15s. WOULD US THROUGH YOUR LESSON.