Recently, I had worked on a presentation with University of Regina about going into the field of Education. Some of the feedback that I had received from this session was that they would have loved to see some more questions that could be possibly asked in an interview. I have put together a few questions that I have used/will use in interviews that could at least, help people possibly get some ideas in your head before going into that process. Most of the questions will hopefully lead to a conversation with new teachers to the building, as I want to get to know possible additions to staff as well as possible.
Here are some sample questions:
Teaching Practices:
1. Tell me about a lesson that you thought went incredibly well. Is there anything that you could change about it?
2. What does a great assignment look like?
Lifelong Learning:
1. What is an area that you are particularly interested in and what have you done to further your understanding?
2. If you were to come into our school today, what would be an area that you believe you could show leadership in to staff?
Relationships
1. What have you done in the past to ensure students feel that they are a part of your classroom?
2. As a teacher in the classroom, what are some of the roles you believe that you play in the lives of students?
3. Parental involvement can be a key component to the success of a child. What have you done in the past to bring parents “on board” to what is going on in the classroom? Do they have a say in what happens in the classroom, or do they simply need to be notified of practices, events, etc?
Motivation
1. Do you believe in a rewards system and/or honours? Why or why not?
2. What is your understanding of “Performance Goals” and “Learning Goals”? Which would you prefer?
Classroom Management
1. Are all consequences the same for each action in your classroom? Why or why not?
2. Do you have a set of rules for your class? If so, how do you go about creating this?
Contributions
1. What is something you are passionate about outside of “basic curriculum” that you could share with students in our school? How would you go about sharing your passion with others?
I always end interviews giving candidates an opportunity to ask questions, and then finally share anything that they wanted to highlight that may have been missed through the interview process.
Any comments or questions are welcomed on these questions as many administrators have different philosophies on interviews. This is just a possible sample that I may use for different positions.
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Great post George. My sister is just coming out of T school at the university of Calgary. I have sent the link to her in lieu of my own advice.
I am glad that I could help out! I think these are not only good questions, but stuff you should focus on as a teacher, but that is my own opinion.
Thanks for the comment
I am so excited by your list here George. It's funny because it says so much about you as a leader.
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Oh my! I can see I'm going to have to learn to concisely communicate my opinions. Thank you for sharing these. My Alternative Certification packet is ready to mail, and I've been starting to think about interview questions. These are very helpful… and I feel like I could answer almost every one right now… just need to streamline my thoughts before I have to really answer questions like these.
I'd like to hear what you think about the Classroom Management #1 question. That question really encompasses some things I'm working through right now, as I just reflected on here in Heartfelt Consequences.
Hey George! Thanks for sharing. We use similar questions as well in our process. We have also added to our process. We have been using evidence-based hiring for the last few years that consists of:
- completing a self-assessment with Assessment for Learning type questions before the interview
- teaching a 40 minute lesson after the interview and
- completing a typed reflection about the lesson they just taught
We have found that some candidates that seem mediocre in an interview are superstars in the classroom and vise-versa. This format has been very valuable.
[...] Couros @gcouros just posted a list of potential interview questions on his blog, The Principal of Change. One of them struck me because it cuts straight to the heart [...]
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