When you receive a call for a teacher job interview, it is your chance to obtain the job of your dreams. To ensure a successful interview, you must be well-prepared in order to get the maximum out of this employment opportunity.
Even though every teacher job interview is different, all job interviews follow a definite pattern. There are different stages of a teacher job interview, and you can benefit greatly if you are aware of the stages and prepare accordingly.
The first stage is the introduction stage. This phase is very important because it helps to create a favorable first impression in the mind of the interviewer. In addition, this stage will set the tone for the rest of the interview, so it is important that you do well. This stage doesnt have too many questions; rather, it has more to do with your appearance, confidence, and the way you speak.
As soon as you are led into the interview room, you are under observation and every little detail about you will be noted. Appear calm, confident, and alert. Greet the interviewer(s) with a firm handshake and sit only when you are asked to do so. Maintain an upright posture and eye contact with the interviewer. If you can establish rapport with the interviewer, the next stages will be much easier.
The second stage is where your background will be discussed. You can expect questions on your academic background, work experience, accomplishments, and future goals. Apart from knowing more about you, the interviewer is trying to find out if you have the right skills for the teaching position that is available.
When you answer the questions with confidence, your passion for teaching will show through your replies. When asked about your accomplishments, mention them without sounding arrogant. Your answers in this stage should present you as the candidate having the best skills for the position available.
The third stage of the interview is the toughest, and it will determine whether you stand out from the other candidates. In this stage, the interviewer will try to determine whether you are the best candidate available for the job. You can expect a few tough questions like why you should be considered for the post, values you will bring to the school, your philosophies of education and discipline, how you deal with discipline, how you deal with parents, how to improve academic results, and many more.
Make sure you answer these questions honestly. It is a good idea to include teaching specific keywords in your replies. Feel free to include some real life examples from your teaching experience to justify your points of view. If you disagree with interviewer, make sure you can explain why (politely). If you are aware of the schools philosophies on education and discipline, try to align your answers with them. Your answers in this stage will convince the interviewer that you are the candidate who deserves the job.
The final stage of the interview is the conclusion. In this stage you may ask questions, so make use of this opportunity. You can ask questions about the position available, challenges faced by teachers, the schools philosophies on education and discipline, etc. This will show that you are genuinely interested in the job.
If you are looking for more teaching job interview strategies you have landed on the right website. We offer an abundance of interviewing tips for teachers to get a job offer.
Knowing the interview questions and their answers can also be pretty helpful as you can well . We have created two ebooks to do just that, the first is A+ Teachers Interview Edge and the second is A+ Principals Interview Edge.
SECOND INTERVIEW TIPS! (2nd Interview Questions you MUST PREPARE FOR!)
Why do you want to teach?
When youre asked this question during an interview, youll have an opportunity to discuss your dedication to teaching. Every teacher has their reasons for entering this profession so feel free to provide personal anecdotes in your answer. Be sure to explain your passion for teaching and any person or experience that inspired you to enter the profession.
Example answer: “I became a teacher because of my high school algebra teacher’s impact on my life. Math doesn’t come naturally to me but she took the time not only to explain the material in a way that made sense to me but also helped me understand that every form of intelligence is equally valuable. There’s no job more important than teaching the future leaders of our world the information they need to know, but more importantly, showing them their worth, potential and ability to form their own opinions by thinking critically and observing the world around them.”
Enthusiasm for the role
Its important that teachers enjoy teaching, as well as interacting with students and other teachers, and that they bring enthusiasm to the role.
Have your lesson plans been affected by standardized testing at the state levels?
Preparing for standardized testing is a crucial part of the teaching profession, especially for those in public education. When answering this question, you should describe how you incorporated different standards into your lesson plan but also how you developed a robust curriculum that wasnt based on testing standards alone.
Example answer: “You must take standards into account when developing a curriculum. Successfully structuring a school year depends on effectively planning a curriculum and regularly assessing students. My approach is to develop my lessons by building them around educational standards, but I dont only teach with the testing in mind. My lesson plans include more information than just what the students need to know for the standardized test. Regular assessments let me gauge how well my students understand the material, and I use my curriculum to make sure my students have acquired the skills that theyll need for the test.”
Why did you decide to become a teacher?
It seems trite and like a softball question, but don’t let that fool you. Most administrators are looking for something more than, “I’ve just always loved kids.” If you don’t have a substantive answer, then why are you even applying? Schools want to know you are dedicated to enriching the lives of students. Answer honestly and with anecdotes or examples that paint a clear picture of the journey that you took to become a teacher.
Example Answer
I’ve always believed our future depends on regular people using science in day-to-day decisions. Science is at the core of a sense of wonder for our natural world. That wonder can drive students to improve their learning skills. It can take them places they never thought they’d go. Bring a lesson plan, transcripts, and Praxis scores. Be ready to answer a question about teaching philosophy. Be familiar with newest lingo, assessments instead of tests, and the use of
How do you evaluate your students?
Common teacher interview questions like this examine how you measure your performance.
As usual, avoid generic answers. Cite an accomplishment and how it helped your students.
I evaluate students with formal and informal methods, including quizzes and tests. I also grade in-class activities like reports, recitations, desk work, and group activities. One student, Terry, showed a strong grasp of concepts during in-class activities, but performed poorly during testing. Through working closely with him, I uncovered an undiagnosed vision problem. Terry got corrective lenses and his test scores rose to match his in-class comprehension.
Beware. Teaching interview questions like the above may look for whether you use assessments vs tests. Know what differentiation and universal design are. Be ready to discuss working with students with both identified and unidentified disabilities. Be able to explain how to flip a classroom. Explain that you’ll be very willing to communicate with and work with parents. Explain scope and sequence. Know who
Are the Teaching Skills There?
With the background information out of the way, its time to dig a little deeper. Its time to get a sense of what kind of teacher the applicant will make. Some principals, like Les Potter, prefer to interview candidates who have teaching experience. “I am fortunate I can get experienced applicants,” said Potter, principal at Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange, Florida. “I can get a better read on them because I can check references. I will probably need to spend less time working with them one-on-one, plus experienced candidates know what they are getting into.”
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Whether the candidate is experienced or not, Potter always asks one question:
Describe for me a lesson you taught that went very well. Why did the lesson work so well?
“That question helps me get a sense for how the teacher plans, thinks, and reacts,” Potter explained.
Don Finelli, principal at Catskill (New York) High School, also wants to get a read on a candidates lesson-planning abilities. “I feel the most important times in class are the first moments and the closure of a lesson,” Finelli told Education World. So he poses a specific situation and topic. “I say, You are going to teach this topic this period, and the bell has just rung to begin class. Describe what the next 15 minutes are like. What are you doing? What are your students doing?”
That question helps Finelli see if the candidate can think quickly. “I look for knowledge, confidence, and passion,” said Finelli. “Does the candidate visualize what a classroom should be like, and already know what he or she is doing?”
Principal Jim DeGenova likes to see a potential new-hire present a lesson. He lets candidates know in advance that teaching a lesson will be part of the interview, but he doesnt get more specific than that. “Wing-it lessons are a part of life,” explained DeGenova, who is an elementary school principal and an assistant high school principal in Pennsylvanias Slippery Rock Area School District. “Those of us who live in the real world know that things go wrong and unexpected interruptions occur. So I ask for a no-prep-time lesson to be taught on a topic in the applicants certification area. Some lessons are only five or ten minutes in length, but they give me a better idea of what I might see when I do observations.”
Principal Marguerite McNeely wants to learn during an interview that a candidate is more than a one-note teacher. She asks
What methods of teaching, besides lecture, would you use to present material to your students?
“Since that is what I am looking for, I make certain to screen for it during the interview,” said McNeely, principal at Alexandria Middle Magnet School for Math and Science.
Chris Vail, assistant principal at Groveport Madison Middle School South in Groveport, Ohio, is interested in getting a handle on the ability of teachers to structure a good lesson, but one of the questions he asks is intent on getting a read on whether or not a teacher knows what to do if a lesson is not working. Vail often asks candidates
What if your students dont “get it”? In other words, if a lesson is not working for all your students, do you have a plan for remediation? How do you carry out that plan?
“All good teachers are effective when the students get it,” said Vail. “I am looking for those teachers who have several alternate plans in mind when kids dont understand the material.”
A Teacher in the Making
Some people believe teachers are born. But most principals think it takes more than that. Even the best teachers are always searching for ways to improve themselves, they say. In an interview setting, principals are often looking for candidates who recognize that they have a long way to go to become the teacher they want to be. In order to discern a new teachers attitude toward professional development, principals pose questions such as…
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What would your previous employer or college advisor say were your greatest strengths for teaching, and what areas would they suggest were areas that need growth? And do you agree with those assessments?
Thats a question principal Teri Stokes often asks. “The question helps me gauge the applicants understanding of where they are in the developmental process to becoming a great teacher,” explained Stokes. “Then I always ask what plan the applicant has to grow in those areas. I want to see if they plan to do some reading, attend workshops, observe a specific teacher who has fine-tuned those needed skills”
Principal Larry Davis also asks candidates to focus on areas in greatest need for professional development. “This lets me know where weaknesses may be without being negative or making the candidate feel uncomfortable,” said Davis, principal at Doctors Inlet Elementary School in Middleburg, Florida.
Brian Hazeltine, principal at Airdrie Koininia Christian School in Airdrie, Alberta (Canada), asks a similar question. “I want to see how honest the candidate is about his or her skills and how self-aware they are.”
Patricia Green gets candidates to tackle the traditional strengths-and-weaknesses question from a little different perspective. She asks:
If your greatest supporter was in the room with us today, what five words would he or she use to describe you as a person, a teacher, or a colleague?
“That question shows whether candidates can think on their feet — and if they can truly sum up themselves using just five words!” said Green. “The question allows us to see if the person is self-confident and whether or not he or she is willing to share some depth in a single-word set of answers.”
Another way to learn whether or not a candidate might be proactive in the professional development area is to ask a question Deborah Harbin often asks:
What have you read lately that led you to change the way you teach?
“That question helps me set a tone,” explained Harbin, principal at Duryea Elementary School in Houston, Texas. “I expect my teachers to be lifelong learners, and to want to take some responsibility for their own professional development.”
Andy Wood — who is college head (equivalent to a U.S. principal) at Seaforth College, a birth-through-high-school school in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa — is another who likes to ask about reading habits. He always asks what book is at a candidates bedside table at the time of the interview. “The response gives me insight into a candidates personal and academic values,” said Wood.
Many principals recognize the importance of a teachers writing skills. Principals want to know that communications between school and home — whether a class newsletter, report card comments, or responses to parents emailed questions — are going to be clearly and correctly written.
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In order to get an idea of a candidates writing skills, principal Betty Peltier sets aside time to get a writing sample from a candidate. She poses a question that any applicant for a teaching position should be able to answer:
Explain — in writing — in 100 words or fewer your philosophy of teaching.
Marguerite McNeely presents a similar assignment. “I check for writing ability and cohesive thoughts,” said McNeely.
FAQ
What questions do they ask in a second round interview?
- Tell me again what interests you about this job and what skills and strengths you plan to bring to it. …
- Do you have anything you want to revisit from your first interview? …
- What is your greatest weakness? …
- Can you tell me a little more about your current/most recent job?
What questions do they ask in a second interview for teaching?
- Why did you decide to become a teacher? …
- How do you cope with stress? …
- What is your teaching philosophy? …
- What did you like/dislike about working remotely? …
- How do you use technology in the classroom? …
- Describe your classroom management structure.
What are the 10 most common interview questions and answers for teachers?
- Why are you interested in teaching at this school?
- What is your greatest professional accomplishment?
- How do you use technology in the classroom?
- What would you do if a student is in danger of failing your class?
- What adjectives would you use to describe your presence in the classroom?
What happens in second interview for teacher?
