How would you answer this important teacher interview question: What things do you do to ensure your lessons focus on the real-world?
It is important that the response you give to the job interview question is truthful, relevant to the position, and shows value to the school district. The following could be a possible answer… or it may provide some ideas for you to tailor your response:
I think it’s essential that students understand why they are learning something. If students understand why they are learning something related to the real-world, they will be much more apt to pay attention and retain it.
‘Real-World’ activities allow students to experience learning in the classroom that is modeled on activities in the workplace or stimulate commercial, organizational, and workplace understandings. Some activities that I implement in my classroom include:
project-based learning
case studies
experiments
field trips
role-playing
simulations and games
In addition to developing workplace awareness and understanding, students also develop skills such as negotiating, decision making, working under pressure, and commercial awareness through these activities. These various forms of ‘real world’ scenarios provide a useful complement to work experience. I use them to prepare students for work experience and practice understandings and competencies developed through work experience.
‘Real-world’ activities can be rich and intense learning experiences in their own right, providing students with authentic learning experiences that help them solve real-world problems by doing rather than by passively listening.
The importance of focusing lessons on the real-world ensures that students understand why they are learning something, provides concrete examples for abstract concepts, and gets students actively involved in their learning.
Do you need help preparing for your next teacher interview?
