Search Institute

I read an interesting article this morning at teachhub.com. In it, they provide teachers with the 6 questions they’re most likely to encounter in an interview. Here they are:

1. Tell us about yourself.
2. How do you teach to state standards?
3. How will you prepare students for standardized assessments?
4. Describe your discipline philosophy.
5. How do you make sure you meet the needs of a student with an IEP?
5. How do you communicate with parents?

The article gives some excellent practical advice on how to respond well. Any teacher interviewing for a job – read this article in full!

But something struck me as I was reading these questions. Think of the questions NOT being asked. As English department chair for seven years, I had the privilege of conducting hundreds of interviews of teachers. It was a part of my job I really enjoyed. My favorite part was working with my department mates to come up with good questions. I can’t remember all of the questions we asked, but here are a few I can:

 If you could design a brand new elective course based around a single theme, what theme would you develop and what are some of the key pieces of literature you’d use to explore it?

 What kind of relationship are you looking for with your colleagues?

 What’s the best book you’ve read in the past few months?

 How would you describe your relationship with students?

Notice that these questions do more than find out the somewhat robotic nature of common questions. While we’re certainly interested in a candidate’s ability to manage a classroom and prepare students for tests, these questions do not offer much by way of learning who the person is, how they think, what kind of colleague they’ll be, or how they’ll relate to students.

In addition, 99% of candidates’ answers are going to be 99% alike. How else would you answer a question like “How do you communicate with parents?” other than this: “I treat them respectfully and contact them in a timely manner.” These types of interview questions are laden with a “correct answer,” one most teachers could learn rote.

To those of you heading into the interview process – either as the interviewer or the interviewee – I challenge you to create questions and a process that create an overall sense of humanity, personality, and creativity. You know. The sorts of things you’d like to learn before bringing someone on board!

WHAT QUESTIONS WERE YOU ASKED IN YOUR INTERVIEW?
WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU ASK?

Do you know that 500 of you visit this blog each week? If you comment, add your thoughts, share some ideas, they’ll be reciprocated! Let’s go readers! Speak up!