Search results
Marjan Glavac. How To Get A Teaching Job. Practice Questions for Teacher Interviews with Answer Suggestions. 1. What made you decide to become a teacher? Many teachers discover that their love of children draws them to teaching, or that their own love of learning makes them passionate about teaching.
- 148KB
- 9
be looking for three things when you answer questions: 1. Your answer 2. How well you can organize your thinking 3. How well you express yourself For more information about preparing for interviews and answering questions, refer to the Interviewing resources available on the Career Services’ website. Sample Interview Questions Background ...
- 249KB
- 5
- Teacher Interview Questions About Professional Experience and Goals
- Interview Questions About Teaching Experience
- Teaching Philosophies and Strategies Interview Questions
- Teacher Interview Questions About Handling Challenges
- Interview Questions About Communities and Colleagues
- Best Questions to Ask in Teacher Interviews
- Get Your Free Printable List of Teacher Interview Questions
Why did you decide to become a teacher?
It seems like a trite 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 with anecdotes or examples that paint a clear picture of the journey that you took to become a teacher.
Why do you want to teach at this school?
Research, research, and research more beforeyour interview. Google everything you can about the school. Do they have a theater program? Are the students involved in the community? What type of culture does the principal promote? Use social media to see what the school proudly promoted most recently. Then, ask around. Use your network of colleagues to find out what (current and former) teachers loved and hated about it. The point of all this digging? You need to know if this school is a good f...
Which component of your résumé are you most proud of and why?
Pride may come before a fall, but if asked about your accomplishments, don’t be bashful about conveying your worth. Have you won a grant for classroom materials? Share the details and how they helped your students succeed. Did you receive an award for excellence in instruction? Talk about how the application process helped you reflect and grow. If you’re a recent graduate, you can still brag on yourself: Describe your student-teaching experience and how it prepared you for opportunities like...
What has been your greatest teaching success so far?
Go ahead and brag! This is your place to share the time you reached a really troubled student, or raised your class’s average standardized test scores by five points, or were voted teacher of the year. Be sure to share how you achieved your success, including any help from others, and what you learned and carried forward with you from the experience.
What has been your biggest teaching challenge? How did you handle it?
Choose a challenge directly related to education that you’ve overcome or are actively working on. Include details about your own evaluation of the problem, help or advice you got from others, and the plan you made to work toward improvement. This question is really all about how you grow and change in the face of adversity.
What experience do you have teaching this age/grade level? What do you like most about it? What’s challenging about teaching students at this age/grade?
If you don’t have any experience at all with this particular age/grade level, this can be a tough question. If you haven’t taught kids this age, but you have worked with them in another capacity, like a club or other organization, use those examples instead. One note: It can be tempting to answer this question by saying, “Well, I’m a parent, and when my kids were this age I …” But remember that parenting and teaching styles are often very different, and your interviewers want to know how you...
What is your teaching philosophy?
This is one of the most common, as well as one of the trickiest, teacher interview questions. Don’t answer with a clichéd, generic response. In fact, your response is your teaching mission statement. It’s the answer to why you’re a teacher. It’s helpful if you write out your mission statement before the interview and practice reciting it. Discussing your teaching philosophy is a chance to show off why you’re passionate, what you want to accomplish, and how you are going to apply it in this ne...
What do you think students expect and need from their teachers? How will you meet those expectations?
This can also be a tricky question. Avoid phrases like “Students want teachers to be their friend.” Instead, target specific expectations, like “They want to be supported and feel that their teacher respects their opinions and feelings.” Consider other expectations like a safe classroom environment, the freedom to ask for help when they need it, flexibility under difficult circumstances, and open-minded approaches to teaching and learning.
How does a teacher’s personality affect their success? What would you say your “teacher personality” is?
Again, this answer is all about the wording. Avoid phrases like “I’m the mean teacher” or “I’m the fun teacher.” Instead, be thoughtful about how you present yourself to students and parents. Are you stern but fair? Entertaining but also focused on achievement? Kind but able to control misbehavior when needed? Think about how you truly approach teaching, and be honest. This question will help everyone determine if you’re a good fit for the position.
What is the greatest challenge facing teachers today?
Remote learning? Hybrid learning? Diversity and inclusion? Social-emotional learning? Engaging parents? The challenges are plenty! Think about your specific school, district, city, and state. What issue is most pressing, and what can you, as a teacher, do to help?
What is the greatest challenge facing students today?
Think about the specific population at the school where you’re interviewing. What major issues do those kids face? Prejudice and intolerance? Parental support? Uncertainty about their futures? Remember to include how you feel you can help address those challenges in your response.
How would you handle a parent challenging your teaching methods/curriculum/classroom management?
Even a district that is going to strongly support its teachers against parent complaints may ask how you will handle such conflicts when they arise. This is a great opportunity to discuss how you stay calm in tense situations. Discussing how you prefer to call parents who are upset rather than emailing, or how you would forward particularly angry emails to a supervisor just to keep everyone in the loop, are excellent ways to show that you are a calm and proactive educator.
Tell us about your experiences with team teaching or co-teaching. Do you find it beneficial?
Classroom collaboration is becoming more common, even if you’re not applying specifically for a co-teaching position. Share any experience you have working as part of an educational team, especially when you’ve shared classroom duties. Be honest about how you feel about sharing your classroom with another teacher, and don’t be afraid to ask if co-teaching is expected in this role. See our co-teaching tips here.
Which activities, clubs, or sports are you willing to sponsor if you are offered a position?
While this expectation may be more real for middle and secondary teachers, being the new kid on the block often comes with a conversion of your title from teacher to coach. If athletics isn’t one of your strengths, you can still get an edge on your competition by sponsoring a science club, yearbook, or academic team. You might also share a special skill, like knitting or creative writing, and offer to teach it to interested students.
What do you feel you can contribute to our school’s PLC for your subject?
The days of shutting your door to do your own thing are out, and professional learning communities are in! Go in ready to discuss topics such as common planning, benchmarks, and data analysis. This is a key time to highlight your strengths. Whether you shine in making high-level DOK assessment questions or have a plethora of student-centered activities for your subject, let the interviewers know what you have to offer to your prospective peersandwhat you hope to glean from collaborating with...
At the end of almost every interview, you’ll be asked, “Do you have any questions?” This might seem like it’s just a way to wrap things up, but it’s actually one of the most important parts of the interview. In addition to practicing your answers to the most common teacher interview questions, you should prepare a handful of questions to ask your i...
Just fill out the form on this page for instant access to a printable list of teacher interview questions. Keep it on file with your résumé, and use it to prepare for your next interview. You can practice answering the questions on your own or give the list to a friend or family member to role-play your answers.
Nov 30, 2023 · If you're preparing to interview for a teaching position, consider this list of 50 possible interview questions you may be asked and review our sample answers.
- Why do you want to be a teacher? “You have to know who you are as an individual and as an educator, and you have to know what you can bring to the school,” says Calvin Brown, a former recruiter at Alignstaffing, an education staffing firm.
- What’s your teaching style or philosophy? Interviewers want to see that you really want to help students develop inside and outside school—not just push them toward some academic result.
- How would you handle a student you found difficult to teach? Students don’t all learn or behave the same way, which may make it a challenge to have them all in one classroom at the same time.
- How do you motivate students? Interviewers want to see how you influence students to do what you need them to do. Findley adds that this is an especially important thing to vet for when hiring remote teachers, because motivating others over video requires a lot more creativity than when you’re teaching in person.
Express genuine interest and enthusiasm when you answer questions. Be specific and give examples. Organize your thoughts and show an understanding of the issues.
People also ask
What do interviewers want from teachers?
How do you prepare for a teacher interview?
What questions do teacher interviewers ask?
How important is a teaching interview?
Sample Interview Questions. • How do your own identity and background influence your work as a teacher? How do you build relationships with students, families, and colleagues who have similar or different backgrounds or identities? • How will you learn more about our school community and context?
