Get the Edge: Practice Interview Questions
Interview Strategies Eric Hougan Interview Strategies Eric Hougan

Get the Edge: Practice Interview Questions

Feeling prepared and ready for your upcoming interview is a surefire way to boost self-confidence and increase your chances of being hired for your dream teaching position. A prepared job candidate will be ready to address any question in an interview. Certainly, there will be an unexpected question or two, but the effective candidate will always be able to respond to interview questions in a thoughtful and deliberate manner. Proper preparation consists of ongoing reflection, research, and practice.

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Reflections on the edTPA: What Got Me Through It
edTPA Leann Schumacher edTPA Leann Schumacher

Reflections on the edTPA: What Got Me Through It

It wasn’t until mid-July when Leann had interviewed for and accepted a teaching position that she even began to start working on her edTPA. Looking back, it was most definitely not the smartest decision she could have made, but in the process, Leann learned a lot about herself and how to approach the edTPA in a way that is manageable. This article offers strategies for writing for the edTPA™.

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Ready to Start Writing for your edTPA?
edTPA Eric Hougan edTPA Eric Hougan

Ready to Start Writing for your edTPA?

This article offers strategies to prepare for writing for the edTPA™. Once you are ready to begin writing, start with high-quality and detailed lesson plans, establish a consistent writing routine early on, and leverage the edTPA’s Understanding Rubric Level Progressions handbook throughout the entire writing process. These simple yet practical strategies will put you in a more solid position to successfully address the writing component of your edTPA portfolio.

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Educators: Want Productivity, Focus on Self-Care
Eric Hougan Eric Hougan

Educators: Want Productivity, Focus on Self-Care

Every child deserves an educator that is present, rested, positive, and passionate about the work. To start your self-care efforts, strive to be imperfect, set boundaries, build healthy habits, and continue learning.

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Instruction Eric Hougan Instruction Eric Hougan

Engaging Vocabulary Strategy - Flash Vocabulary

A quick, fun and engaging activity to have students learn and interact with vocabulary is a game called Flash Vocabulary. A teacher may use this strategy as part of an anticipatory set, or treated as an enacted-on-the-spot strategy when student engagement is running low.

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Instruction Eric Hougan Instruction Eric Hougan

Take the Leap: Go Ahead with Those Crazy Ideas.

I taught Business and Personal Law to juniors and seniors.  We were learning the sources of law.  After polling the students regarding their comfort level with understanding these sources of law, I realized most of the students were vague about 1-2 of these sources.  Based on this formative assessment, I had to adjust my instructional approach and began to brainstorm ideas to accomplish this.  A crazy idea popped in my head 

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Interview Strategies Eric Hougan Interview Strategies Eric Hougan

Applying for a Teacher Position in an Unfamiliar School? Be Prepared.

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

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Job Search Eric Hougan Job Search Eric Hougan

What does Obama's Immigration Plan mean for our School Children?

According to Education Week, "President Obama unveiled plans for the most sweeping executive action on immigration in decades, easing the threat of deportation for the parents of millions of America's K-12 schoolchildren."  This is a huge deal, and it's important - as a teacher - to grasp the basics of the plan, especially if you are teaching students that have undocumented parents (approx. 4 million)...

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School Administrators Turn to Behavior-Based Interview Questions

School Administrators Turn to Behavior-Based Interview Questions

I attended 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...

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Teaching with Learning Objectives
Instruction Eric Hougan Instruction Eric Hougan

Teaching with Learning Objectives

It’s a simple premise:  our students should know what they are learning and why.  The best way to accomplish this is through having learning objectives for every lesson.  Yet, teachers tend to make some common mistake around learning objectives.  Knowing these common mistakes will help you maximize your practice of using learning objectives...

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