What Are The Most Common Teacher Interview Questions?
For many teachers, interviews are simply frightening. No matter how much they prepare for it, they always end up facing questions that they cannot answer. Are teacher interviews really that difficult?
Before you prepare for your teacher interview, you must realize that the interview questions are designed to test your skills in different areas. This is because schools expect a great deal from teachers and merely having knowledge of your subject is no longer enough to land a job.
When you realize this, you are ready to prepare for interviews and the competition for a teaching job. You should take one category at a time and research questions and answers. You can even reflect on your teaching experience to create possible questions for each category.
Here are some of the most important categories of teaching interview questions:
Teaching and Instructional - The questions in this category will focus on your teaching experience and instructional skills. You can expect questions on the content of your lessons, how you deliver them, the manner in which you engage students in the lessons, how you approach students of different abilities, your ability to motivate students, and your best and worst lessons. From your teaching experience and professional perspective, you will be expected to answer questions about preferred grade levels, subjects taught, and challenges and rewarding experiences that you have faced. Be open to teaching different grade levels; do not insist on just one level. Our 101 A+ Classroom Management Tips ebook is a great resource for answering those tough classroom management questions. Find out more here.
Discipline - This section will focus on questions related to discipline. Be prepared for questions about your philosophy on discipline, how you will implement discipline in your classroom, how you deal with students who do not behave well, the challenges you have faced in the past, the role you expect the principal to play in discipline, and many other, similar questions.
Planning - This section will focus on your planning skills. You can expect questions on lesson plans, how you implement them, short-term and long-term plans, strategies to deal with missed deadlines, and your organizational skills.
Subject - This section will focus on the subjects that you have taught (or want to teach) so the questions will depend on your qualifications, skills, and experience. For example, if you are an English teacher, you will be asked questions related to teaching English, and, if you are a special education teacher, you will face questions related to special education.
Technical Skills - This section will focus on the technical skills that you have acquired. You can expect questions on how to use technology for improving the learning process and how your computer skills match the technology that the interviewing school district is using.
Interpersonal Skills - This section will focus on your interpersonal skills. You can expect questions on your relationships with students and colleagues, how you deal with parents, your ability to manage conflicts with colleagues and students, and your desire to become involved in extra-curricular activities.
Apart from above categories, you can also expect questions on your personal traits. You can expect questions on your values and behaviors, your future goals, and your philosophy of education. For more help with these questions please view our ebooks on answering interview questions. A+ Teachers' Interview Edge and A+ Principals' Interview Edge contain 101education specific interview questions and potential answers to prepare you for your next education interview
Please note that there are some personal questions that an interviewer cannot ask you. Such questions include those related to age, marital status, race or ethnicity, disabilities, or any other question that puts you at a disadvantage in the selection process. You can choose not to answer such questions, but do it very politely.
Make sure you have the perfect resume and cover letter prior to embarking on your job search. You can review our resume and cover letter samples here.