Teacher Interview Questions

Teacher Relationships With Students

1. What kind of students do you like to work with? What type of students could you teach most effectively?

2. You give an assignment. A student ridicules the assignment, saying it doesn’t make sense. What would you do?

3. How do you help students experience success?

4. How would you individualize instruction for students?

5. What procedures do you use to evaluate student progress besides using tests?

6. How would you challenge the slow learner and the advanced learner within the same class?

7. How would you recruit students to your program?

8. How would you involve students in community projects?

9. Where should emphasis be placed: classroom instruction, student projects, or FFA activities?

Teacher Relationships With Colleagues

1. What kind of teachers would you prefer to work with? Why?

2. What activities would you like to work with in our school?

3. What quality or qualities do you have that would enhance our teaching staff?

4. What are some personality characteristics you find undesirable in people?

5. Who should be responsible for discipline in a school? Why?

6. What needs and/or expectations do you have of the school administration?

Teacher Relationships With Parents

1. What do you feel is the most effective way to communicate with parents? Describe how you have used this/these technique(s).

2. Describe the reasons why you would contact parents.

3. What would you include in your Open House presentations to parents?

4. What community activities would you like to be associated with? Why?

5. How would you involve parents in student projects?

Instructional Techniques

1. Describe any school experience you have had, particularly in student teaching (or in another teaching position) that has prepared you for a full-time position at our school.

2. How would you integrate technology into the curriculum you would teach?

3. Describe any innovative projects you have been involved in developing.

4. Give an example of how you have used cooperative learning in your classroom.

5. What four words would students use to describe your teaching strategies?

6. What rules do you have for your classroom?

7. Describe your teaching style and how you accommodate the different learning styles of the students in your classes.

8. What do you consider to be your strengths and how will you use them in your teaching?

A Potpourri of Topics and Background Information

1. Why did you choose to become a teacher?

2. What are your hobbies and interests?

3. What are your plans for continuing your professional growth?

4. Tell me about an interesting article you have read recently in a professional journal.

5. What contributions can you make to our school?

6. What current trends in public education please you? Displease you?

7. Tell me about the three people who have most influenced your own education and educational career.

8. Describe positive/negative student teaching experiences.

9. Describe a typical lesson in your classroom. What would I see you and your students doing?

10. What questions do you ask yourself when planning lessons or units?

11. What do you look for to evaluate that learning is taking place in your classroom?

12. How do you handle different ability levels of students in your classroom?

13. What principles do you use to motivate students?

14. What are some of the most successful strategies or techniques that have worked for you in the classroom?

15. What steps would you take to handle a student who is a consistent behavioral problem in your classroom?

16. How would you handle an attendance problem in your classroom?

17. How would you handle a personal attack from a parent? (For example: A parent tells you, "What do you know about teaching children, you don't have any!?")

18. What are your thoughts on the number of shows/contests you should attend each semester?

Questions you can ask the Interviewer:

1. What is the teacher/student ratio in your district?

2. Do you encourage teachers to earn advanced degrees?

3. How many classes a day will I be expected to teach? What is the typical class size?

4. Tell me about the students who attend this school? Can you give a profile of the 'typical' student?

5. What textbooks does the district use in this subject area? What is the district's policy on mainstreaming and inclusion?

6. Do teachers participate in curriculum review and change?

7. What kinds of support staff members are available to help students and teachers?

8. Describe the teachers at this school? Can you give a profile of the 'typical' teacher?

9. How do current staff welcome new teachers?

10. What discipline procedures does the district use? Is there a certain philosophy that you adhere to?

11. How do parents support the school?

12. How does the community support the schools?

13. Do your schools use teacher aides or parent volunteers? What is their role?

14. What allowances are provided for supplies and materials?

15. Describe the status of computer usage at your school? How do you envision it changing during the next three years?

16. Does the administration encourage field trips for students?

17. How are teachers assigned to extracurricular activities?

18. Does the district have a statement of educational philosophy or mission?

19. What are prospects for future growth in this community and its schools?

20. What kind of teacher job commitment is expected by the board, superintendent, principal and parents?

Using the Portfolio:

1. Use the portfolio as an integral part of your job interview, not as something extra you brought to the interview. For this reason, you need to be selective in what you include so that it is not bulky.

2. Use the portfolio to help you answer questions. There is only so much time for the interview so use it wisely. Use the portfolio to sell who you are.

3. Do NOT wait to be asked before showing your portfolio. For some interviewers, seeing whether or not you use your portfolio is part of the interview process. If you don't bring it out in the interview, you may very well leave without it every being seen.