Primary School Teaching

The role of teachers is becoming very challenging these days. Especially with both parents working and the time they spend with the children for their studies is drastically coming down. Also the expectations of the parents on their children both in studies and extra-curricular activities are very high. All this becomes a great challenge for the teachers in giving individual attention to each child rather than just delivering the lesson.

Also the improving technology and communications are giving children a great exposure to the happening around the world and tinge of innocence is completely missing. Children are able to get any sort of information in a click of mouse on the internet. Hence the teachers are facing a great challenge in handling students in the current day. Teachers need to really pull up their socks and improve their knowledge and not just rely on the text books.

Think of your own interests and share opinions in different areas like coaching the students in sports, counseling the student on creating awareness on harassment and molestation, creating awareness on healthy food habits etc which can help the society as a whole.

Describe your relations with the principal and other teachers in the current job.A good interpersonal relation with the principal and teachers is very much necessary to fulfill the objectives of the institutions. There would be some differences of opinions which need to be sorted and handled with maturity. Illustrate the situations when you have shared happy moments both professionally and in personal life with your team.

This is an opportunity to talk about your previous experiences of working or volunteering with children and what you enjoyed and learned. Even if your experience is limited to babysitting or volunteering try and bring out pertinent information a positive way:

I volunteered in my local school and listened to the children there read. I enjoyed working one to one with the children, helping them with new words and found watching them gain confidence very satisfying.

I was a helper at a local Brownie group and enjoyed helping prepare the games and craft activities every week and helping the children carry out the planned tasks.

I have spent some time working at an after school club and had to supervise children of all different ages making sure everyone had age appropriate toys and games to play with, stepping in if things became rowdy and making sure everyone behaved and was safe.

This involved setting up the play equipment before the children arrived, giving them a drink and a snack and clearing and tidying the room afterwards. I particularly enjoyed interacting with the children and would love to work alongside the class teacher to help them learn.

This type of question can take various guises:

Describe a successful lesson.

Would you say you make learning fun?

How do you engage the children?

All these questions are designed to see what type of teacher you are. You should try and answer using examples from previous experience and what you do day to day in your teaching.

The answer will change depending on which question you answer but there are ways you can include a lot of the information in each of them.

A model answer could be something like this:

"First and foremost I plan fun and engaging lessons for the children so they are keen to participate and learn. This is my number one strategy in dealing with behaviour issues because if they want to take part they will behave. So when you walk in you will see every child engaged in a learning activity which is relevant to the lesson and their individual needs. This is achieved through differentiation, with the likes of support or use of resources or even doing different tasks."

"An example of this was when I took the higher achievers out of the previous lesson and taught them a new skill that would allow them to push on in their levels. The next lesson each of the higher achievers had a group that they had to teach this new skill to, while I took the lower achievers and carried on with more examples of the previous learning they had done. Everyone was engaged and learning in this lesson which I was observed for and received a good to outstanding."

This question will probably be asked. Now, if you researched the district/school and found out what they are looking for in a candidate, you will be able to focus your response on that information, keeping in mind it is important to tell the truth. With every response you must show your VALUE to the district. This will also give them an idea on how you view your talents and skills as a teacher. Perception is critical... you must be able to confidently discuss your skills using a convincing approach.

It is important the answer shows your hard/tangible skills. For example, classroom management, curriculum development, or technology integration. These skills will show the interviewer(s) what you can do on the job. Don't stop there, you will set yourself apart from the pack if you can back up your claims with actual stories. This will build credibility... it shows you really are good at what you are claiming. Tell them about what you have done to incorporate technology into the classroom and what was the result. The result part of the story sells value... and that produces job offers.

With teacher interview questions and answers like this it is a good idea to have a well organized statement about your approach to discipline.

Your interview answer will depend on your teaching style, the position (including age group) you are interviewing for and your past experience. Do some research about this school or district's approach to discipline so that you are on the same page with your answer. Provide a clear and concise statement and back it up with examples.

"The purpose of discipline is to facilitate learning and foster better relationships and respect between the students. It is also intended to help students become more self-directed, self-disciplined and accountable for their behavior. I have found that students respond poorly to forceful discipline but well to discipline that is helpful. My philosophy is to provide clear limits and rules that are communicated to the students so that they have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. The rules are discussed and agreed upon to encourage accountability from the students........."