Hello dear FLVS Students! Today I will be sharing AMAZING responses from a special teacher. I interviewed her and she was such an enthusiastic person and responded to all my questions very nicely. Her name is Joanne Cockrell and she teaches two courses: Peer Counseling and M/J Comprehensive Science 2. She teaches more than 160 students! Today, I will be sharing with you the responses as a science student. I hope you are inspired!
Conversation with a Science Teacher
#1. Why did you want to teach 7th-grade science? Mrs. Cockrell wanted to teach middle school science specifically because she enjoys teaching it. She has taught 6th, 7th, and 8th. Whatever science she teaches is her favorite. Her 6th grade science course is all about Earth Science, 8th grade science is about Physical Science, and the 7th grade science curriculum has a mixture of both.
#2. Have you taught in brick-and-mortar school? If you have, do you like teaching virtually or teaching in school? Yes, she has taught virtually 1 1/2 years and has taught in real school as well. In fact, she taught 6th and 8th grade science in brick-and-mortar schools. The reason she switched over to virtual is that she loves students who have a lot of flexibility and that she can talk to students more and give more resources. She can work with students a lot more deeply and gets to make many choices.
#3. What is the most fun part about your job? She says that making live lessons is the most fun part of her job. She can put a lot of creativity into them and also loves to plan them. Another one of her favorites is to read projects that students submit as she thinks it is very fascinating. She always learns from the work of other students.
#4. Are there days that make you very tired? If so, what do you do to keep yourself motivated? There are many days that make her feel tired, but she says she strives forward all the time. She makes sure to take a break from the computer. Other than teaching science, she loves to go outside and take a nice stretch. She likes to cook and is a very active person.
#5. What do you most enjoy about teaching 7th grade science? Out of the 7th grade science curriculum, she loves teaching life science such as genetics and heredity because she hasn’t gotten the chance to teach that in a real school. She loves to see students understand more about the world and new and exciting concepts.
#6. How do you improve your teaching skills as the years go by? Students give her suggestions on what they like, what is working for them, and also what she could improve on. She says that sometimes she likes to do her own things and make it a ‘science experiment.’ This changes how to teach the curriculum based on the lesson and student interest.
#7. How do you balance your work life with your personal life? She says that it is really important to stop working and do things outside of your schedule. Though it is very important to plan a schedule, sometimes taking a break for your brain and body is just as important.
#8. How long does it take you to make the presentations, quizzes, and nearpod slideshows for our live lessons? She says that it takes a long time for her to make them. (About 5 hours! She breaks it up over 2-3 days.) Since she enjoys making them and likes to play along with them, she doesn’t worry about the time. Sometimes she does make the lessons faster, so this varies.
#9. What do you love most about teaching as a whole? She loves learning new things from students each year, and even if she has taught something 50 times before, she learns new information and enjoys seeing other students learn.
#10. What do you like about HVK12 and FLVS in general? She said that a lot of students like this type of learning style. If they can take responsibility for learning and take time to do things at their own pace (while following deadlines), they can master the course content.
And that’s it! I really want to thank Mrs. Cockrell for taking such a long time and patiently (and wholeheartedly) answering my questions! I hope everyone feels inspired by the words of another amazing FLVS teacher!
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