We need you!  Try your hand at answering any of the teacher interview questions.  We will then post your answer by linking it to the teacher interview question you choose.

Everyday hundreds of pre-service teachers and other job seekers visit Road to Teaching’s Teacher Interview Question page – the largest collection of teacher interview questions on the web.  This is a free resource, maintained by a teacher.  So, with your help we could turn this to the web’s largest collection of teacher interview questions with ANSWERS!

Feel free to email your question and answer to eric [at] roadtoteaching [dot] com.  Alternatively, you can simply leave a comment to this post or comment on the teacher interview question page.  We will extract your Q&A and make the link.

Please help us expand the usefulness of Road to Teaching.

I just returned from a workshop that taught school administrators how to use behavior-based interview (BBI) question to hire quality teachers.  The basic idea behind BBI is that the candidate’s past behavior will be the best indicator for future behavior.  BBI has been around for years, but used primarily in business.

A BBI question may start something like:

• Tell me about a time…
• Describe your experience with…
• How have you…
• What has been your approach to…

Does BBI sound intimidating?  It doesn’t have to be.  There are two great ways to frame each BBI question you are asked.

PAR – Problem, Action, and Result

STAR – Situation/Task, Action, and Result

For every question asked, first describe the problem (e.g. keeping 6th graders on-task) or situation/task (e.g. organizing curriculum).  Then, explain what action you took.  Finally, describe the end result, trying to always tie into improving student learning.  Just remember PAR or STAR when answering BBI questions and you should do just fine!

Check the Teacher Interview Questions page at for sample BBI questions.

For additional information on BBI, visit http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/interviews/a/behavioral.htm

Below are 5 tips from Hubpages on How to Master the Phone Interview.  Check out the link to learn more.

#1: Be Available

#2: No Cell Phones

#3: Research Company

#4: Be Prepared

#5: Put Your Best “Phone Voice” Forward

Resources

http://hubpages.com/hub/masterthephoneinterview

Below are 5 tips from Hubpages on How to Master the Phone Interview.  Check out the link to learn more.

#1: Be Available

#2: No Cell Phones

#3: Research Company

#4: Be Prepared

#5: Put Your Best “Phone Voice” Forward

Resources

http://hubpages.com/hub/masterthephoneinterview

It is likely that you may have extended your job search outside schools and districts that you are familiar with. If offered an interview at one of these schools understand that you are already at a disadvantage. You may not be as knowledgeable about the school and students as another job candidate that student taught there. In my book, Road to Teaching, I offer some strategies to maximize your knowledge of the community, school, and, most importantly, the students before heading into your interview. Acknowledging time is of the essence, here are some quick tips to better prepare for your interview:

If you have only a day before the interview…

• Conduct on-line research of the community. A great resource for this is Yahoo’s Real Estate website. This will give you a good overview of the socio-economic and ethnic picture of the neighborhood.
• Visit the school’s website. Read everything, especially if the school posts a newsletter for parents. This will give you insight into the various changes/reforms happening.
• Review the school’s test scores. Check out School Matters for this. This will show the strength and areas of improvement in student achievement. Think of how your experience, skills sets, and professional training will improve student learning in these areas.

If you have a few days before the interview…

• Do everything mentioned above.
• Send an email to your teacher friends, explaining that you have an interview, and ask for their insight on the school for which you applied.
• Go to a cafe near the school. Observe and casually talk with people there.
• Drive around the school and local community. Plus, this will alleviate stress of trying to find the school on the day of your interview.

Hopefully, these are some ideas to get you started on preparing for your teacher interview. I will post these links on the website, under the link category Getting a Teacher Job, for future reference.

Also, thank you to everyone sending in teacher interview questions. Please keep them coming. In the last few days, we have doubled the number of teacher interview questions. Additionally, I broke down the general teacher interview questions into more specific categories, e.g. classroom management, discipline, professional development, etc

It’s not surprising that the most popular posts on my blog deal with teacher interviews. It’s that time of the season where aspiring teachers are working diligently to find job openings, land interviews, prepare for the interviews, and, most importantly, perform well. Hundreds of visitors have been visiting the teacher interview page and many teachers are posting or emailing me additional questions to add. Just another example how well the teachers community supports each other!

In the spirit of the hiring season, I am going to devote my blog this week to providing helpful advice (some from my book) regarding teacher interviews.

Slow Down and Take Control of the Teacher Interview

I have been on several interviews that I felt just flew-by and I ask myself, “What just happened?” What I realized was I wasn’t present in the interviews, feeling almost passive in the whole experience. I learned some tricks to regain control. The first step in taking back control, and not “just passing through” the interview process, is to slow down. Pay attention to your breathing, take deep, controlled breaths before going into the room where the interview will take place. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. This technique will relax you, steady your heart rate, and put you in a better state of mind for your interview.

Bring your research notes with your skill sets and how they match with the needs of the school and review them just before you go in to the interview. This will serve as a quick reminder of some points that you should address.

When you go into the interview, and after you greet everyone, ask if you can take some notes during the interview. Quickly jot down the names and positions of the interviewers. This will be critical information for writing thank-you notes after the interview. During the interview, write down any important points made. Likewise, make notes when something you said may have caused confusion or was construed differently than your original intent. You can clarify these points later in your thank-you notes. By applying these simple acts, you become a more active participant in the process and less of a bystander.

Resource Links

Road to Teaching: A Guide to Teacher Training, Student Teaching, and Finding a Job

List of Teacher Interview Questions