Dress Professionally And Have Good Hygiene
This might seem obvious but it often occurs that individuals come to interviews dressed inappropriately. Remember, you are making an impression of your professionalism so be sure to iron your clothes and keep your skirts at an acceptable length. Brush and use mouthwash. If you are a smoker, don’t smoke right before you go into the interview to avoid smelling like smoke.
Sample Teacher Interview Questions And Answers To Help You Land Your Dream Teaching Job
Are you trying to become a teacher for the first time, or maybe shooting for a new position in a different school? If so, these fifty teacher interview answers and questions, along with tips for each, will help you prepare and ease any anxiety you have!
The broad range of example questions will provide you with helpful suggestions and reminders regardless of what type of teaching position you’re looking for whether it be preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, high school, PE teacher, art teacher, special education, etc.
Be Ready To Discuss Your Teaching Philosophy
Interviewers may ask you to explain your philosophy for teaching students. You should have an idea of your philosophy prepared before your interview to make answering this question easier. Describe your structure for educating students. Do you teach them by showing or doing? Do you believe they learn by completing more homework than tests? These are questions you can ask yourself and provide answers for as you explain this philosophy to your interviewers.
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Additional Questions To Consider Asking In Your Teacher Interview
Here is a selection of more questions to review so you can create your own unique set of questions that reveals your teaching style and values.
An interview is a give and take and a good opportunity to understand the requirements of the job and expectations of the future employer. Check here to discover real interview questions asked for thousands of job titles.
Be Polite And Tactful
Use your best mannersalways say please and thank you just like your mama taught you. You should also make sure that you are tactful when you make statements. For example, when you are speaking about your previous teaching positions and fellow teachers, do not stoop to idle gossip or petty statements.
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What Does A Teaching Assistant Do
If asked about the responsibilities of a teaching assistant, you should be able to give a relatively straightforward answer. As mentioned previously, a teaching assistant helps the teacher with anything they require while teaching, allowing lessons to go smoothly. They help students by handing out lesson resources, gathering necessary equipment, logging class attendance, updating grades on student profiles and lending assistance to students.
Example answer:’A teaching assistant helps lessons run smoothly by assisting the class teacher in any way which supports the teacher’s delivery of a lesson, including helping students requiring assistance’.
Avoid Asking Obvious Questions
It is a good idea to know what type of work environment you are entering into before you meet with an interviewer. The more informed you are about the institution, the more specific questions you will be able to ask the interviewer. Do your research beforehand in order to avoid asking questions that you could easily find the answers to on the schools website.
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Weve achieved this goal by being by the side of our clients to help them create and implement incredible leadership programs that deliver top results. From the first hello to measuring results, we commit ourselves to making your success, our success.
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Prepare Answers For Common Questions
In addition to talking about yourself, youre going to talk a lot about teaching! You can almost guarantee youll be asked these 3 essential questions, so make sure you have answers prepared:
The Big 3 Teacher Interview Questions:
- How do you differentiate?
- How do you plan? .
- How do you integrate technology?
Other Common Questions:
- How do you manage behavioral issues in the classroom?
- What is one strength? What is one weakness?
- How do you teach reading? How do you teach writing?
- How do you use data?
- Describe your teaching philosophy.
Additionally, Ive almost always been asked a What would you do if ? question. These can vary, but one I remember from one of my very first teacher interviews was What would you do if the veteran teachers of your department were doing or teaching something you didnt agree with?
Once again, I highly recommend drafting potential answers and practicing your responses if you can. I like to create a giant Google doc of possible questions and bullet-point answers. The more prepared you are, the more confident you will be!
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How Do You Cultivate Positive Relationships With Your Students And Create A Sense Of Class Community
This is an opportunity to share an experience with the interviewer of when you bonded with a student who required some additional attention outside of the classroom time. Its a chance to show that you care for the overall well-being of the student, and that you have a sense of empathy for your students.
Divide Your Teaching Interview Notes Into Clear Sections For Quick Reference:
*Introduce self Personally and professionally*Why am I interested in this school?*Teaching Philosophy*Difficult child what do you do?*Professional reading and development *Strengths and weaknesses*Good reading instruction what does it look like?*Good math instruction what does it look like in your classroom?*RTI and assessment experience*What sets you apart from other candidates?*What can you add to your team?
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If Students Disrupt The Class Environment How Would You Address The Situation
This question evaluates your ability to cope under pressure. It only takes one student to disrupt a classroom, and you might have a part to play in helping the teacher defuse any situations that arise. Your ability to directly influence the outcome of such situations will be limited as a teaching assistant, but you might be required to monitor the other students while the teacher speaks to the disruptive member of the class, for example.
Example answer:’In a situation where the class is disrupted, the way I can benefit the situation most is by helping the other students continue their work, preventing them from getting swept up in or upset by the disruption and helping normality be restored to the classroom more quickly’.
Graduate Teaching And Supervision
- Does this person have the competencies and skills to meet the graduate teaching needs in his/her area?
- Would this persons research area be seen as attractive to graduate students?
- Will this person be a good team player?
- Does this person have graduate teaching skills beyond his/her special area of research?
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How Do You Assess Students Progress
Heres your chance to preview your lesson plans and reveal your methods for keeping on top of students social, academic, and physical development. Explain the types of quizzes you give because you know that theyre most telling about students strengths and weaknesses. Give insight into how you use oral reports, group projects, and seat work to determine whos struggling and whos ahead. And, share how you implement open communication with your students to discover what they need to succeed.
Tell Me About A Time That You Encountered A Child Who Didn’t Want To Participate In A Classroom Activity
Children sometimes refuse to participate in activities in the classroom. The interviewer asks this question to better understand your strategies for motivating kids. A great answer is one that talks about how you will positively encourage a child rather than just focusing on negative consequences. Your answer should include steps like finding out why the child is reluctant to participate, offering support where it’s needed and helping the child understand the value behind the activity.
Example:”I would start by sitting with the child one-on-one to find out if there was a specific reason they didn’t want to participate. I would then explain the ultimate purpose behind the exercise and look for ways to overcome their objections and make it fun. If they completely refuse, I generally won’t force them. I would simply offer another alternative that would help them with the same lesson, one that they could do independently and that I think they would also enjoy. I understand that sometimes kids learn in different ways and ultimately my goal is to encourage their love of learning.”
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What Is The Teacher Evaluation Process And How Frequently Is Teacher Performance Feedback Provided
An inquiry into the evaluation process shows your readiness to perform your duties and your eagerness to improve your skills. Most states have a standardized process to measure teacher performance that includes a number of elements such as an evaluation of lesson plan delivery and classroom management skills. Other aspects that are often considered in educator evaluations are the instructors parent outreach efforts, campus involvement, and student performance on district and state examinations.
Review The State Standards And Discuss How You Will Incorporate Them Into Your Lesson Plans
Many schools and institutions are required to follow standards for their curriculum provided by the state. Teachers must center their lesson plans and curriculum around the required subjects listed in the state’s standards. Research the state standards to understand what they require and prepare sample lesson plans that revolve around it. Sharing these sample lesson plans in your interview may impress interviewers as they realize how aware you are of the standards and your willingness to follow them.
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What Constitutes An Effective Lesson Plan
This a more specific question, intended to gauge whether or not you understand the requirements of a lesson and how it should be structured. Try to answer questions of this sort as accurately and succinctly as possible. Interviews aren’t always about giving the perfect answer , but showing that you have the confidence and logic to tackle problems is a positive quality in itself.
Show that you understand the nature of lesson goals and objectives, and that there are many different ways of accomplishing these.
Example answer:’An effective lesson plan is well thought out but adaptive to the children’s participation in the lesson as it unfolds. A clear and effective lesson plan has well-defined goals and objectives, and a teaching assistant can help meet these by contributing to the lesson as directed by the teacher or through their own initiative’.
Remain Professional When Discussing Parents
Interviewers may ask you to share your experience working with students’ parents. Since working with parents can sometimes be challenging, they will want to know how you overcome these challenges. You can share stories about times when you had to handle instances like explaining a student’s low grade to a parent. Try to remain professional when sharing these stories and talk about how you worked to solve any problems with parents.
Principals want to know that you can remain professional when handling challenging parents, so displaying professionalism when answering this question may impress them.
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Let Your Light Shine Naturally Dont Force It
You didnt decide to get into teaching to go into the office and have a boring and miserable time every day. Guess what? Neither did the people who are interviewing you. So keep it light and keep smiling. You want to be the bright spot in their day.
Youll have to read the room to draw a line between being hilarious and being inappropriate. Not everyone wants their staff to be a laugh machine, and gimmicks are never a substitute for real teaching skills and the ability to turn curriculum into a real learning experience. You can try out the classroom karaoke with your students down the road, but our advice is to keep it out of the interview. Something really fun and unorthodox could be incredibly effective with students and become part of your repertoire for years to come, but it might not hit the right note with an interview committee. Have fun but keep it professional. You dont want to give the impression that youre putting on an act, or that youre a one-trick pony who feels they need to sell every lesson with something overtly performative.
Always Make It More About The Students Than Yourself
A teaching interview is a big deal for you personally, but for the principal and other folks on the other side of the table, its really about the kids you are going to be working with. Are you talented enough to manage them? Do you have the work ethic to get the slow learners over the hump and the patience to deal with the too-smart and the too-impulsive?
So while you absolutely need to talk up your attributes in the interview, you need to do it through the scope of your students. A question about your best asset in the classroom cant end with the answer, Im creative. You need to present everything you have to say about yourself through the lens of your students to convey your student-centered teaching philosophy I like the idea of creative approaches to classroom management. I came up with a simple reward system for managing student behavior, tried it with my niece and nephew one weekend and couldnt believe how well they responded to collecting little gold star stickers on the back of their hands. It was so funny seemed like the only thing they cared about that day was more gold stars! This is a far better way to showcase that talent. It shows off your style and substance, while demonstrating that you know how to apply those qualities to make a difference in the classroom.
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Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years
Sample Answer: Teaching, of course! I have wanted to be a teacher all my life, since I was a child. I have never imagined doing anything else. In five years, I hope to have settled into the community and become a staple in your teachers lounge! I also hope that in five years I will have found my “niche” within this school system and community. I would really like to find where I can best be used outside of the classroom as well, whether it be as a coach or head of a club. No matter where I am, I hope to be doing what I love five years, ten years, even twenty years from now.
Tip: Interviewers want to hire teachers who plan to stick with it. The process of recruiting and hiring qualified teachers can be cumbersome on already over-burdened human resource offices. If they think youre just looking for a job for a year or so until you move to another location, they may decide to go with someone else.
Questions To Ask In A Teacher Interview And Why
The following questions to ask in a teacher interview can reveal to the interview committee or principal your values and expectations. They show how well you understand your role as an educator and the value you place on authentic relationships with colleagues and students. Consider asking your interviewer some following questions.
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What The Interviewer Wants To Know
School principals and any other members of a hiring committee craft the questions they ask in order to determine whether you will be a good fit for their school as well as a champion for the policies established by their school district.
Learn as much as you can about the schools you are applying to so that youll be better able to anticipate the sort of questions youll be asked about your teaching philosophy and classroom management style.
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How Will You Meet The Needs Of The Students In Your Class Who Are Advanced Or Say Theyre Bored
School leaders dont want to hear canned responses about how you can differentiate they want you to give some concrete answers and support your ideas. Perhaps you help get kids prepared for scholastic competitions once theyve mastered the standard . Maybe you offer more advanced poetry schemes for your English classes or alternate problem-solving methods for your math students. Whatever it is, make sure that you express the importance that all students are engaged, even the ones that are already sure to pass the state standardized test.
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Research The Institution Where You’re Interviewing
Every institution is different, so you should research the specific institution you’re interviewing for to elaborate on its uniqueness and why you want to teach there. You can do this by researching the institution online or reaching out to teachers who currently work there. Viewing their website is a great way to gain an understanding of their values, extracurriculars they offer and to learn more about what the other teachers at the institution are like.
If you know more about the institution, you can provide more detailed answers to the interviewers. This can also help you connect your own qualifications, skills and abilities to the institution to better explain why you believe you’re a good fit for the school and its team members.
Why Do You Want To Work In Our School
Often one of the first questions in most teaching interviews, preparation is vital to successfully answer this question. Think about why you would be a good fit to work or study in the school you’re interviewing at. Talk about why you’re interested in their school specifically, mentioning what you know about its ethos, values, demographics, educational goals and objectives, initiatives, or extracurricular activities.
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