Teacher Interviews 1.0

Many people who are in the education field will tell you the interview process can be long and tedious. When compared to interviews in other industries, education interviews are often longer and include different questions. This blog post discusses parts of the interview process, stakeholders involved, and a variety of sample interview questions.

First, let’s talk about some of the individuals who will likely be involved in the interviewing process. The individuals involved will vary depending on the school district, but will generally involve the following:

  • Teachers (some will be from the position’s department/grade level you are interviewing for and some may be from other departments)
  • Department head
  • Assistant principal and/or principal

Depending on the school district, the interviews may also involve:

  • Parents
  • Students
  • Board of Education members
  • Other employees (teacher aid’s, secretaries etc..)

Next, let’s talk about the interview process.

A common type of interview used in the education field is carousel interviewing. Carousel interviewing involves engaging in multiple interviews from multiple parties. For example, you may interview with a group of teachers first, then a group of students, then a group of parents, and so on. The number of interviews will depend on the school district.

Another common part of teacher interviews is conducting a demo lesson. Interviewees will usually be required to conduct a brief lesson (30 minutes or less) in front of teachers and students. The school may provide you with a lesson, topic, or they may let you choose. It is recommended that you use a lesson that you conducted during student teaching. Practice in front of your friends/family as much as possible and be prepared to answer questions about the lesson/topic.

Finally, what are some questions that might be asked? The list below is a sample of questions they might ask you. Many of the questions asked will be situational questions. This means they will ask you to tell them about a time you did or how you would go about doing a certain task. For these questions, we recommend using the STAR method.

The S.T.AR. method stands for:

SITUATION/TASK: Describe a situation or a task you needed to accomplish
ACTION: Describe the action you took and the obstacles you overcame
RESULTS: Tell how the situation or task ended – what you accomplished, what you learned, and/or
the goal you achieved – give quantitative answers whenever possible.

Sample Questions Include:

  • How do you incorporate technology into your lessons?
  • How do you differentiate your lessons? (Beyond students or approaching students)?
  • How would you communicate with/involve parents?
  • What is your experience with RTI (Response to Intervention)?
  • What are some examples of formative/summative assessments you have used?
  • Talk about a lesson you had success with. Talk about a lesson that was engaging for students.
  • How do you work as a member of a team?
  • How did you assess mid-lesson and redirect your teaching to meet your student’s needs?
  • Tell me about a time when you had to deal with classroom management?

Remember this just a sampling of questions, they might ask you others as well. The best way to be prepared for an interview is to practice!!!

You can make an appointment to meet with a Career Coach for a mock interview, but I also strongly recommend you use Big Interview which is available 24 hrs a day by following this link .

For general interview, tips watch the video below:

If you have any questions about the interview process please do hesitate to contact me!

 

By Allen Rossetti
Allen Rossetti Senior Career Coach