Julie H. Rucker
|
 |
Interview Assignment
Interview Assignment: Six Possible Questions
Prior to the interview, I would have a list of questions ready for the candidate. I would take a semi-structure approach because some things the candidate says may lead me to ask questions that are not on my list. The list I have will be the outline/major questions I follow for the interview. I would also make sure that no interruptions would occur, unless there was an immediate emergency, by asking the secretary to hold all calls and avoid any interruptions.
I would want the candidate to feel comfortable and at ease during the interview, so I would not place myself in a position of power over him/her by my body language or my tone. The office would also have an area where we would sit without a barrier, such as a desk, between us.
After greeting the candidate and giving her/him an overview of what I'd like to discuss during the interview, I would start with an open ended question that would get the applicant to talk about himself/herself.
Question #1: “Why did you decide to pursue a career in education?” Through this question I would expect to learn information about the candidate's educational background as well as the primary motivation in seeking a job in the teaching field. I would hope the candidate would primarily want to work with the students. I would also remember that the candidate would bring his/her own unique background to the interview (i.e., s/he may be a new teacher or a veteran teacher, someone who is pursuing education as a second career, etc.). Depending on the initial answer, I may continue to ask questions, some which may be close-ended if I decide to look for specific information.
Question #2: “Where did you do your undergraduate work?” This would be a more specific, close-ended question that I could ask if I had not received a resume yet from the individual. Or I may need clarification about the focus of his/her studies at the institution and may ask “What types of History courses did you take during your course of study at University ABC?” This would tell me the preparation the teacher had in his/her area, especially if I am seeking to hire only highly-qualified teachers in the subject area.
Question #3: “What do you think the biggest challenge facing English teachers (or another subject area) is today?” The way the candidate answers this question could tell me many things. For instance, if the candidate said “NCLB,” of course I would ask him/her to explain why. From the answer, I may understand whether or not this teacher understands the implications of what happens to schools who may not make AYP, what the teacher thinks about accountability and his/her role in school accountability. If the candidate answers that student behavior is the largest challenge, then I may ask questions to probe whether or not student discipline is difficult for that person.
Question #4: Next, I may give the candidate a scenario of something that could happen in her classroom and ask him/her how s/he would deal with the problem. “How would you deal with this situation if it happened in your classroom? A student in your classroom who has been diagnosed as ADHD cannot sit still, is up and down constantly, and is becoming a disruption to the rest of your class.” I would hope to her the teacher talk about strategies she could use to help the student stay on-task in the classroom and deal with the need to move around often. I would also want to know whether or not the candidate would seek support from guidance counselors, the student's parents, the student's special education teacher to help her come up with strategies to help this student learn in the classroom without being a disruption to others.
Question #5: “Our school is a Learning Focused School , which basically means we follow the Learning Focused Schools school improvement program. Our teachers use certain strategies when planning their units. In fact, we focus on units rather than discrete, daily lessons. Have you used LFS or any other school improvement program's strategies in your own classroom?” I would make sure that the “jargon” I use with this question is understandable to the candidate in case she/he is not familiar with it. If the candidate seems unsure of an answer, I could also provide examples of strategies some of our teachers use and ask if the candidate has used any of these strategies, and if so, which one or ones did s/he find helpful.
Question #6: “Would you be willing to work with a club/team?” From this question, I could learn the candidate's willingness to work with students in extra-curricular activities or possibly after-school sports activities. This would naturally lead to a question about activities/clubs s/he has sponsored at a previous job and would give me a better idea of what types of experience the candidate brings to the position.