EDUC 500
CHARACTER EDUCATION INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
You will select either a teacher or a parent to interview about his/her school experiences
regarding character education. Note: you may not interview yourself. You must explain the
requirements of your assignment and ask permission to take notes as you will then record the
participant’s answers. Any direct quote that you include must have quotation marks around the
words and be cited correctly as a personal interview response. You are responsible for locating
this person. The School of Education Field Office will not assist you in locating a parent or
teacher. In addition, school districts are not responsible for assisting you in locating a parent or
teach to complete this assignment.
List each question and then give the response underneath the question in a double-spaced typed
format. Responses must be rich and detailed. It is appropriate to use first-person language
throughout all 4 parts of this assignment.
Part 1: Demographics
1) First and Last Name of person you are interviewing:
2) The person’s role:
3) Age level of children/students:
4) Date of the Interview: MM/DD/YYYY
Part 2: Questionnaire Interview for Parent of a Child(ren)
1) As a parent, what goals do you have for your child?
The goals I have for my children are for them to be good people, be successful at
anything they do and to contribute something to society
2) Do you, or have you, given any thought to the moral development of your child?
Yes, I think about how well my children are raised and if they will take the lessons that
we teach them into adulthood.
3) What values do you try to teach?
I teach my children to be respectful and treat everyone the way they want to be treated.
To always do their best at whatever they are doing.
4) What family traditions do you try to maintain, and what is the importance of these
traditions to you?
I teach my children to be clean and work for what they want. I also teach them that
school is important and that they should learn as much as they can anytime they can. I
feel like it is important for them to continue getting an education for as long as they can
so that they will be well equipped to handle the world. Cleanliness is very important to
me and it is something that I stress on a daily basis, I believe you can tell a lot about how
a person was raised by how clean they are.
5) When do you have discussions about values?
EDUC 500
We talk about values and other lifelong lessons almost always. Every conversation I
have with my children, I try to add some value to their life and increase their knowledge
in some way.
6) What are your concerns or worries about your child’s moral development?
I always pray that we have enough of an influence on our children that they will not give
in to peer pressure and do the wrong things. We talk about bad decisions that other
people make openly and we use those examples as lessons to let them know what
happens when you do the wrong things.
7) How do you feel about our society, media, and moral development?
I believe that society and the media play a big part in how children think and act. It is our
job as parents to overpower the outside influences and have more of a presence in our
children's lives. We should be their role models instead of them looking to strangers who
make life look easy and carefree.
8) How do you feel about character education programs in schools?
I think those programs are important and they should be in every school. Children should
not only learn respect and other things that build character at home, school should be a
place for that as well,
9) What words of advice would you give teachers for teaching character education or
integrating character in the classroom/curriculum?
I would not give them advice but I would tell them thank you for reinforcing what we are
teaching at home.
Part 2: Questionnaire Interview for Teacher
1) Tell me about character education in your classroom/school/district.
In my class room we reinforce the Army values. Some students still struggle with the
values that they learned in Basic Training so we often remind them.
2) In your opinion, is character education a new initiative of schools?
I am an Army instructor so no I do not think that it is a new initiative. Values and morals
have been around for a long time. We teach them that they need to care for each other
and to watch out for their battle buddies.
3) Do you believe character education should be left up to the family or church?
No, its like the old saying. It takes a village to raise a kid. We all should practice and
show respect, empathy, compassion, and integrity. If we are doing it while we are
spending most of our day with out student they may see how we act and it will rub off on
them.
4) What has been the reaction of parents and community members to character education
programs?
I would like to think that the community is proud of what we do and how we help their
children and loved ones become successful productive members of the community.
5) Please tell me a little bit about any resistance you have found to character education.
EDUC 500
Some students find it hard to leave home at home. A lot of them come from not so good
home situations. When some of them go home on leave to visit they fall back in to that
trap and sometimes end up getting in trouble. They forget what they have learned and
can unfortunately cost them privileges, money, rank, and even their career.
6) Which types of programs or activities do you believe are most successful in promoting a
sustained character education program?
We have quite a few. Our Equal Opportunity Program (EO) and the Sexual
Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program are just two that we
have. They teach the soldiers how to respect each other and their differences. The Better
Opportunity’s for Single Soldiers (BOSS) program also dose thing like take the soldiers
on trips and they go out in the community to help out.
7) Which type of activities or programs do you feel are least successful?
I don’t have an answer for that. If the soldiers utilize the programs they are successful
8) Are there any noticeable changes in student behavior or morale since you have started
integrating character education?
Defiantly, when some soldiers get in the classroom on the first day they are shy and don’t
want to talk to anyone. I make them talk but introducing themselves or making them talk
to their classmates. This help them build courage. We also teach them about integrity.
You know no cheating on the test and no talking about the test with other students. The
soldiers learn that they can get in a lot of trouble for this, so they will show integrity if
they even hear someone talking about a test. It lets you know that they are learning and
maybe you are doing something right. Responsibility is another big one. They must have
accountability of each other, make it to PT, class, and formations on time or they can get
in trouble. They will start out coming late but they learn fast that sometimes you must
wake up or drag your battle buddy along to be on time.
9) What words of wisdom, advice, or caution do you have regarding character education or
integrating character into your classroom/curriculum?
Just remember you values and morals, if you display them everyday I think the students
will puck up on those habits. Some of them will even begin to emulate you. Stay tru to
yourself.
Part 3: Integrating Character Education in your Classroom: Summary of Research-Based
Strategies
On the basis of the information collected in the interview and the information you have obtained
from your research and readings, write 2–3 solid paragraphs describing how you can integrate
character and cultivate social, emotional, and moral development in your students. List key
character qualities that you will seek to integrate within the classroom. Include citations from at
least 1 scholarly journal article and at least 1 of your course textbooks. Cite information from
your personal interview of either the teacher or the parent. Include instructional methods,
teaching strategies, effective lessons, and various aspects of your classroom environment that
will contribute to cultivating good character into your students.
Your 2 summary paragraphs are to be at least 500 words each. Use your textbook and at least 1
scholarly journal article outside of your textbook to answer Part 3, and cite your references on a
EDUC 500
separate reference page using current APA format. Note: This section should be able to be used
in your Final Paper in the Part 6: Addressing Behavior and Character Development section.
Part 4: Conclusion – Reflection and Discussion
Give a well-constructed conclusion in which you clearly reflect on this assignment and present a
summary that conveys the significance of the knowledge gained from this interview, as well as
your summary. This reflection must clearly tie your interview and summary of instructional
strategies together in a clear, concise conclusion. Your conclusion must be at least 500 words.
This assignment must follow current APA guidelines and will include a title page and reference
page. However, it is appropriate to use first-person language throughout all 4 parts of this
assignment.
Submit this assignment by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of Module/Week 4.
A Special Note Regarding Citations in APA for this Assignment:
A personal interview is considered personal communication. In your APA Manual (6th ed.) you
will see 6.20 Personal Communication. (p. 179). You will need to cite information regarding
your interview in this way:
J. Doe (personal communication, June 19, 2017) or (J. Doe, personal communication, June 19,
2017) depending on how you construct your sentences. Note: you will be using these citations
continually as you write your responses for Part 2, and you may need to use these citations if you
refer to the interview during Parts 3 or 4 of your paper.
For example, if you are interviewing Jane Doe regarding the character education programs used
in her classroom/school/district, and Jane Doe stated, “I use Character Counts in my classroom. I
find that my students really enjoy discussing character traits in their literature stories.”
In section 2 you could write,
J. Doe (personal communication, June 19, 2017) stated, “I use Character Counts in my
classroom. I find that my student really enjoys discussing character traits in the literature
stories.”
Or
“I use Character Counts in my classroom. I find that my students really enjoy discussing
character traits in the literature stories” (J. Doe, personal communication, June 19, 2017).
Or
In section 3 you could write in the text of your paper,
Some educators have found that when they use reading stories with character themes, that
students enjoy identifying and discussing the character qualities of the characters (J. Doe,
personal communication, June 19, 2017).
Key Reminders:
EDUC 500
•
In Section 2 you will be citing information for each question using the format for
personal communication listed above.
•
In Sections 3–4 you may cite information from your interview just a few or many times.
It depends on how much you wish to use that information in Sections 3–4.
•
In Section 3, cite information from at least 1 of your textbooks, 1 scholarly journal article
(not a website), and your interview.
•
In Section 4, it is up to you if you want to use citations.
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