Primary School Teaching

For obvious reasons everyone will have a different answer; it will depend on your teaching style, grade interviewing for, and past experiences. The interviewer will be looking to see if you have a plan, you know how to implement it, and if you think that discipline is an important part of the position. What I have found from coaching clients is they fail to provide a clear action plan that can be backed up with examples. Also it is important to find out what is the philosophy of the school or district, this will give you some additional information. A few things to bring up when answering this question is the following:

It is important to develop ground rules the first week of class, this allows the students to understand what is and isn't acceptable behavior.

These rules are discussed and agreed upon with the students, this makes the students accountability and responsible. You may want to touch on your philosophy of classroom discipline. This of course would depend on your style; you will have to be honest with yourself. But you may believe that you reduce negative behavior by offering the students a intellectually stimulating, organized, and respectful environment.

You will want to get an example of your plan; use a real situation to show your expertise in this very important area. Whether you use the red light/green light, time-outs, or removing the student from the classroom, it is important that you can back up why it is effective and use examples. You will want to explain why you feel the discipline action is effective and why you enjoy using it.

It is also important to indicate there are always two sides to every story, so if the action involves discipline of two students, you must listen to both sides. Indicate that you try to get the students to resolve their own disagreements, which may involve compromise. And end the discussion by asking them, "How will you handle the situation next time?"

Again, you must be honest when answering this question or any other question during the interview, but by organizing your thoughts and stories will make your response concise, truthful, and show your skills to the district.

There really isn't an easy answer. Your best bet is to find out more about the school for which are you interviewing. Check out the website (if they have one). Try to talk to other teachers/parents from the school. Call the front office and ask if you can get info on the school (handbook, etc.). Just riding by the school can provide some info (maybe the school motto is posted, maybe a sign promoting an

upcoming event is posted). When you enter the school for the interview, be very aware of what is around you -- things hanging on the wall, etc. Then, use this info to structure your answer. Administrators love to see that you have done your homework (so to speak) and that you have taken the time and energy to know what their particular school is about. Even something as simple as explaining how a school's motto fits into your philosophy can do a lot.

One of the schools I used to teach at had their motto on a banner that hung over the front door, "Educating Everyone Takes Everyone." I used that during my interview to explain how I felt that teaching was a team effort which needed the cooperation of all the teachers, families, administrators, etc.

☛ First, tell us a little bit about yourself. (Almost every teacher interview begins this way.)

☛ Describe your college experiences.

☛ Tell us about your experiences working with students at this age level.

☛ Describe your philosophy of teaching?

☛ Why do you want to become a teacher?

☛ List three of your strengths your strengths and explain each one.

☛ Describe three of your weaknesses as a teacher.

☛ In what ways do you encourage creativity in your classroom?

☛ Tell us about a lesson in which you've used differentiated instruction.

☛ How do you teach kids to utilize higher-order thinking skills in your classroom?

☛ What do you do to prepare your students for state or standardized tests?

☛ Do you make learning fun for students? How?

☛ If I walked into your classroom on a typical afternoon, what would I see going on?

☛ How do you measure student performance in your classroom?

☛ Describe a successful lesson. Tell why it was successful.

☛ What would you do if a student wasn't handing her homework on a regular basis?

☛ How much homework do you give?

☛ Besides lecture, what methods of teaching do you use?

☛ Tell us about your discipline philosophy.

☛ What are your classroom rules? How do you make students familiar with the rules?

☛ What daily or weekly routines would be incorporated in your teaching?

☛ One student hits another student. What do you do?

☛ A student throws a pencil across the room. What do you do?

☛ Explain what you would do if a student was swearing in your class?

☛ What would you do if a student was complaining about an assignment you've given?

☛ What are some of the most important things you learned when student teaching?

☛ What was the most satisfying moment throughout your student teaching?

☛ What was the most frustrating thing about student teaching?

☛ Describe one college course that taught you the most about being a good teacher.

☛ Who influenced you to become a teacher?

☛ Describe the biggest challenge you've ever had to face.

☛ What books are you currently reading?

☛ A student confides in you and tells you that his parent abuses him. He asks you not to tell anyone. What do you do?

☛ What is your definition of a life-long learner? How can you promote life-long learning in your classroom?

☛ Would you be willing to help out with extra-curricular activities? Which ones?

☛ Have you ever been a substitute teacher in this school district?

☛ What do you look for in a principal?

☛ How do you communicate with administrators?

☛ Would you like to be part of our new teacher mentor program?

☛ What kinds of inservices would you be eager to attend?

☛ List five adjectives that accurately describe yourself.

☛ What professional teaching organizations do you belong to?

☛ Have you ever received an award for anything in your lifetime? Describe.

☛ Describe the differences between a good teacher and a great teacher?

☛ What were you like as a student?

☛ If you teach a lesson and your students don't seem to be "getting it," what do you do?

☛ How do you provide support for students who are not performing as well as they should?

☛ What can you do to meet the needs of students who do not speak English?

☛ In what ways can you teach students to be accepting of one-another?

☛ How would you teach conflict resolution to your students?

☛ Name a book that you'd like to read to (or with) your students. Describe the book and tell why you chose it.

☛ How do you feel about working in an inclusion classroom?

☛ How do you meet the needs of a student with an IEP?

☛ How would you teach the writing process?

☛ Describe a high-interest project that you might assign to your students.

☛ What can you offer our school that other candidates cannot?

☛ Do you think you are a flexible person? Explain.

☛ What do you like to do when you're not teaching?

☛ How do you incorporate writing into your curriculum?

☛ Can you show us what your lesson plan book would look like?

☛ How closely do you follow your lesson plans?

☛ Where do you plan to be ten years from now?

☛ What part of this job are you looking forward to?

☛ What part of this job scares you?

☛ In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges that teachers face today?

☛ Why do you want to teach in this, particular district?

☛ How can you make your teaching connect to students' real-world experiences?

☛ Tell me about your references. Who are they and how do they know you?

☛ If I were to call your references, what might they say about you?

☛ How can teachers reach out to the community?

☛ How do you make sure you are teaching to the state standards?

☛ What kinds of materials and supplies would you need to do your job well?

☛ How do you feel about noise in your classroom?

☛ Show us your portfolio.

☛ What questions do you have for us?

I went to school in Bethel Park and I am proud of the education I received. In elementary school, I had a teacher named Mrs. J. who cared about me and was an excellent teacher. Mrs. J. way of teaching and caring for her students has always been in the back of my mind. Through school and my past professional experiences I tried to model myself off of Mrs. J. and some of the other many wonderful teachers that I was lucky to have in Bethel Park School District. I want to give back to the community what it has given me... (This would be where I would make some corny line up about what being a BP graduate K-12 has done for me as a teacher) Ttalk about its reputation. Look online to find data about it's test scores and number of students that graduate...