Interview Questions For Instructional Coaches

Coaching For Interview Questions

What Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Is Required For This Role

We need to learn that in our knowledge society, the design of learning processes for young people is a central challenge. An instructional coach should support and supervise young people in their learning processes. We should not forget disadvantaged young people with language deficits or learning disabilities. They must also be allowed to complete school or professional qualifications to find a place in society. Teachers and professionals working in this area need a lot of background knowledge to give young people the appropriate help. This knowledge should be supported and guided by an instructional coach. It is not just the knowledge possessed by educators, but how it is transmitted.

What Approach Do You Take When Your Team Is Struggling

Interviewers want evidence that you can solve challenging situations. When answering this question, try to use a specific example of how you previously worked through struggles on your teams.

Example:”When I notice my team is struggling, I first determine whether the issue exists across all players or at an individual level. If I decide the whole team is struggling with a specific technique or method of playing, I implement team drills during practices to explain my expectations and help them develop that skill. If it is an individual problem, I speak with them before or after practice and suggest drills they can do at home to improve.”

Don’t Miss: How Do I Prepare For A Star Interview

Can You Give An Example Of A Time When You Were Sensitive To Another’s Feelings And How It Impacted Your Workflow

Literacy coaches often have a high capacity for empathy, as these professionals typically support the growth of both educators and students with diverse learning needs. Therefore, as a candidate for such a role, it’s important for you to demonstrate your sensitivity to others’ emotions and willingness to work compassionately. An interviewer may ask you this question to evaluate your ability to understand teacher and student feelings as you try to close achievement gaps. In your answer, discuss an instance in which you acted compassionately and helped a coachee or student overcome a challenge successfully.

Example:”I think that empathy is a core tenet of working as a literacy coach since those in this profession must often accommodate the needs of educators and students overcoming significant challenges. In my past role, I worked with a first-year teacher who struggled with low self-esteem, as she wasn’t growing in her role as quickly as she had hoped. In our conversations, I was very attuned to her emotions, regularly expressed my compassion for her and offered extra support to help her reach her goals. By the end of the year, she was one of our highest-performing teammates.”

What Do You Expect From School Administrators And Other Staff Members At School

Again you have two good options at this point. One is saying that you expect an open communication and critical feedback, becasue you understand that each great school is a result of an excellent teamwork of admins, teachers, counselors, and other staff members.

You will try to build relationships of trust with your colleagues, and hope that they will share with you openly any information that could help you in your job of a literacy coach.

Another option is saying that you have the highest expectations on one person onlyon yourself. Other staff members know what they are supposed to do, and its not your job to consider their competency or whether they could do anything better in work .

Don’t Miss: What To Say In A Phone Interview

Other Questions You May Get In Your Instructional Coach Interview

• What motivates you the most in this job?
• If we hire you, what will be the first thing you do in your job as a new literacy coach at our school?
• What types of assessment tools do you use while working with teachers, and students?
• Writing, reading, comprehensionwhich one of the three do you consider most important in 21st century?
• What goals would you set for yourself as a literacy coach?
• Describe a conflict you had with one of the teachers in your last coaching job?
• When we talk about coaching, what do you consider your biggest weakness?
• Do you have any questions?

* You can also, and practice your interview answers anytime later:

Describe Your Daily Routine As A Coach

How does your day look? What do you do on a daily?

Tip #1: Your description should reveal a busy schedule.

Tip #2: Only mention activities relevant to the job.

Sample Answer

My daily professional life does not start as early as in other professions. Once I wake up, I write down the drills and strategies for the day before jogging and exercising. I later meet the players later in the day and practice what I had planned before gathering them for a meeting and having a talk. My day ends with reviewing what we covered during the practice sessions.

Read Also: What To Say In A Phone Interview For A Job

What Major Challenge Did You Face During Your Last Role How Did You Overcome It

Every job has its unique set of challenges. However, the interviewer is only interested in whether you can solve it.

Tip #1: Be careful. Do not mention a shortcoming that you are solely responsible for.

Tip #2: Convince the interviewer that you are a good problem solver.

Sample Answer

A parent recently came up to me to help coach her kid in sports. He was highly talented but did not want to listen, however much I tried to make him. Instead of reporting him to the parents, I used his favourite cousin to talk to him and make him realize just how far he could go if he chose to listen. We were friends in a week, and he turned out to be the best kid I have ever coached.

What Is The Biggest Challenge You Foresee In This Job

Motivation and emotions have a decisive influence on learning success and must be considered in the learning process. How do you generate motivation and interest? How to reduce stress and anxiety? Another aspect of instructional coaching is the question of how professionals can intervene when problems arise in the learning process of the learning biography and how learning disorders can be recognized and treated. Behavioral problems and developmental disorders can also disrupt the teaching and learning process and must be considered and treated. At the end of most learning processes, there is an exam. How can you optimize exam preparation to ensure success? The topic here is also dealing with blockages and test anxiety.

Also Check: How To Get An Interview With A Real Estate Broker

How Would You Build Relationships And Trust With Teachers

This is such a large piece of instructional coaching. You need to work extremely hard the first year to build relationships with the teachers. I have been working on a self-paced course called Simply Coaching & Teaching and have learned a great deal about the importance of building relationships. You want teachers to âbuy inâ to what you are doing and make them feel you are trustworthy.

You also want to make personal connections with teachers and try to find a common denominator to do so. Having an open door, being available, listening to the teachers, providing feedback, and just being genuine are all important in developing relationships with the teachers you work with. The more approachable you are, and the more you make the teachers feel at ease around you and confident within themselves, the more they will like and trust you.

What Are Some Of The Principles Of Your Instructional Coaching

• Focus on the process and not the results. Coaching is a method that pursues objectives but that focuses on the process and through the process, the objectives are achieved.
• To apply to coach we must maintain impartiality in the classroom and at home, and treat all boys and girls equally.
• Support. Coaching is based on supporting the student, but not on indoctrinating them. Support involves believing in them and helping them discover their strengths to further their development.
• Active listening. It consists of listening to what they say to us with words and what they want to tell us, making the other realize that we listen to them.
• Personalization. Coaching starts from the idea of the individuality of each person and therefore it is a unique and personal process for each one.
• Attention to needs. Coaching must be especially aware of the needs of each of the students to be able to attend to them.
• Overall development of the person. Coaching seeks to improve performance and for that, it attends to the entire development of the person, not only those aspects related to the more purely academic performance.

Also Check: What Questions Are Asked In A Customer Service Interview

How Would You Handle Criticism

Coaches can encounter criticism from fans or other interested parties who are disappointed when the team loses. Interviewers want to know you are prepared for these situations and can respectfully handle them.

Example:”It is never fun to receive criticism from fans, but I stay focused on my players. I set an example for my team by responding in a calm, collected manner and avoiding arguments. I want to show them that a negative comment does not require a negative response, so we should focus on staying optimistic about future games. In response to criticism, I explain to my athletes how we can improve rather than what we did wrong.”

Related:How To Accept Criticism

General Literacy Coach Interview Questions

Here are 20 general questions literacy coaching candidates may receive in an interview:

Related:Interview Question: “Why Do You Want To Work for Our School District?”

Also Check: Interviewing Realtor Sell Your Home

What Are Your Favorite Training Methods

You should definitely not rely on lecturing as your main training method. Oppositely, ensure the interviewers that you plan to do the coaching in the most effective way, that means 1. practice, 2. asking right questions and letting the coached person to find the answers.

Many teachers are stubborn, and they wont necessarily recognize the authority of your position. Telling someone what they should do, and letting them to decide about the right action on their own , are two completely different things. The second approach can do wonders even with uncooperative teachers.

Ensure the interviewers that you understand the nuances of this job, and of effective coaching. Mock lesson is another effective training method. You ask them to mock a lesson, record it, and then the two of you together watch it, trying to find areas for improvement

Can You Describe What A Typical Practice Looks Like For Your Teams

The interviewer wants to get a better idea of your coaching and team-management skills. Talk them through a typical practice and the types of drills and activities it entails. You can further impress the interviewer by bringing a sample practice plan, which shows them that you are organized and well-prepared. Remember to mention any unique or fun activities, as these will help you stand out from other candidates.

Example:”I start all of my practices with warm-up exercises and stretches to prepare the players. After that, we move onto individual and group drills to improve specific techniques and skills. The types of drills we practice vary based on their recent game performance and the areas I think need improvement. I brought along an example of one of my practice plans from my prior job if you would like to take a look at it.”

Read Also: Ci Cd Pipeline Jenkins Interview Questions

Question #: Have You Ever Received Pushback From A Teacher

How to answer: The interviewer wants to know how you handle conflict with this question. Explain a time you had to work with a teacher who was unhappy with the direction the department was going in. Provide some details about how they made you aware they were unhappy and how you handled it. Be as specific as possible to show how you work through conflict and how you can focus on the work.

Question #: How Will You Work With The Different Skill Levels And Needs Of The Teachers In This District

How to answer: This question is asking how much you know about the district and if you have learned enough about the teachers to come up with a plan. Do your research before the interview and provide some details about how you will first get to know the teachers and get a feel for their needs before coming up with a plan for each of them.

Also Check: How To Make A Teacher Portfolio For Interviews

Tell Us About Yourself

You should already know what the job description is as an instructional coach. Use that knowledge to your advantage and give your interviewers all the key qualities an instructional coach should have. You want to boast about your skills and relate your information to give them a better idea of how you will do with the job.

Instructional Coach Interview Questions

Prepping for an interview to become an instructional coach is just like any other type of interview. It is essential to jot down all experiences you feel relevant to why you would be a great candidate for this position. As a loose instructional coach job description, you are a supporter of student learning and effective instruction, a facilitator of curriculum, content, and professional learning, a data coach, and a change agent, so it is important to reflect on what you do in each of those capacities that would benefit the teachers and students.

You May Like: How To Sell A Pen In Interview

Advice For Instructional Coaches And Teachers

Gonzalez: Thank you so much. Is there anything else that you would like teachers to know about instructional coaches?

Bridgers: So I have something I want to share with teachers and then something I want to share with the coaches.

Gonzalez: Okay.

Bridgers: So if youre a teacher, I just want you to have an open mind. You know we all have different experiences, but I think if you just give it a shot you might be surprised how something might work or develop into something else. You might have a brainstorm in the middle of trying something and make it your own. But I want you to come in with an open mind that this could actually be super helpful and a pivotal moment in your career. I also want you to just focus on growth every day. You might not make it up to the next performance level on that rubric, but that doesnt mean youre not better than you were before. So look at the little tiny steps youre making and celebrate it because it wasnt happening before. So its worth the attention that you give it. Also thank your mentor. Thank whoever has been pouring into you and giving you advice because one day youre going to be doing that for someone else and its really going to make them feel great knowing that they had an impact on you. So thats my advice for teachers.

Gonzalez: Fantastic advice Gretchen, thank you so much.

Bridgers: Yeah, youre welcome.

Gonzalez: Thank you so much Gretchen.

Bridgers: You are so welcome. Thank you.

For A Handy Guide To Support You With Preparing For An Instructional Coach Or Leadership Position Interview Please Check Out The Interview Prep Planning Kit I Recently Created

This planning kit includes a list of questions youll most likely be asked, planning templates for artifacts to bring, and much more.

Although Im not actively interviewing, thinking through this process has really helped me reflect on my own practice and consider ways I can improve.

Thanks for reading!

Read Also: Interview For Supervisor Position Tips