Chapter 24: Middle Grades Master Teacher Interview Guide

After two years of collaboratively building a PDS structure from the ground up, building coordinators, serving as lead teacher liaisons in each of six middle level PDS’s, met with their university counterparts to develop a new process to evaluate master teachers. These teachers were selected to work with a cohort group of 15–20 pre-service apprentices during their full time, 15 week, culminating field experience, leading to full middle level certification. Prior to this, master teachers were selected using a traditional process, which relied heavily on nomination, by the building principal. Interested teachers completed an application, which included a statement of philosophy, and three recommendations/ratings completed by the principal, and two other professional references. These applications were then reviewed by university faculty, who decided which teachers to select, and then attained approval from the building principal.