The first day of class, a teacher should start to get to know her
students. The teacher needs to know their attitudes about the subject
area being taught as well as information on what interests the students
including the activities they participate in, the
music they listen to, and the movies they watch. Some teachers like for
students to write an essay about themselves, other teachers ask questions that
guide students into giving the information that the teacher thinks is
important. The interest inventory is usually given the first day of
class. It is recommended that the teacher orally ask the students the
questions about movies, music, etc to help establish a rapport in the
class. The teacher should also answer the questions so that the students
get to know the teacher on a more personal level. This sets the tone for
the classroom environment. It also gives the teacher ideas about rewards
that may work with that particular set of students.
It is also recommended to establish a file for each student and to place this completed document in the file. If a students has academic difficulty or behaviioral issues in the class, the teacher can refer back to the interest inventory and open up conversation based on the information within the inventory. For example; a student does not turn in homework assignments. Check the interest inventory and see if he/she works late hours or maybe participates in a sport. A brief converstaion with the student about solutions to the late work night homework woes may work out a compromise that both teacher and student can live with. A conversation with coach of the sport may end all of the homework problems in your class. The Interest Inventory paves the way to get to know your students, what they like in a class and in activities, extracurricular likes and dislikes, and various interests.
You are to create a set of questions that will help you get to know your
students' thoughts on your subject area, their interests,
and basic background information about them as well as their
family. There are no minimum or maximum number
of questions. Just make sure that questions are asked about:
1. your subject area and school in general,
2. interests in sports, music, and movies
3. work schedules and homelife (how many people live in your house, brothers and sisters, etc)
Browse the internet resources below
2. Identify a format and question structure that you will use to create your interest inventory.
3. Write a set of directions that allow the students not to answer all of the questions
4. Write questions about your subject area to get to know your students' thoughts and attitudes about your subject area better
5. Write questions about what interests students (music, movies, sports, etc) to get to know what may motivate students and give the teacher a place to start building a rapport.
6. Write questions about the students background information (address, brothers, sisters, work schedule, schools attended, etc) to better get to know students on a personal basis.
7. Double or triple space the questions to give students room to write.
8. Make the font fun and entertaining making the inventory look user friendly.
You should now create an interest inventory of questions that you think would help
you to get to know your students better. You can use questions from the webquest resources if you would like. Make sure that
the questions have 3 themes:
1. Your subject area (do students like your subject area, what is the hardest thing about your subject area, and other questions to give you an idea of their thoughts and attitudes about your subject area).
2. The students' interests and extracurricular activities (favorite music, movies, sport, and anything else that would help a teacher learn about what interests and motivates students).
3, The students' background information (brothers, sisters, work schedules, schools attended and any other piece of information that helps the teacher better understand the students).
Make sure that your interest inventory has a set of directions that permits students to not answer all of the questions and also be sure to provide a space for the students to write their names.
Examples of Interest Inventories:
Interest Inventory Assessment:
Rubric is located in the syllabus under assessment and grading.