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 doesnt 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. What would your students say about you?
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?
7. How do you collaborate with your colleagues?
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?
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?
9. In what ways do you keep students on task and well behaved during collaborative group
activities?
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. Tell us about a golden teaching moment?
9. Tell us about yourself, and specifically what brought you to want to be an English, math,
science teacher?
10.
What is your philosophy about teaching English, math, science?
Questions for Management Expertise
1. Describe the management strategies and techniques you use to maintain an effective
classroom environment
2. In what ways do you keep students on task and well behaved during collaborative group
activities?
3. Describe your expectations for student behaviour? In other words, if I were to enter your class
on an average day, what should I expect to see with regard to student behaviour?
4. Keith is your busy seventh-grader. He is constantly moving in your class and always ready to
throw spit balls. Although his behaviour is not seriously disruptive, it is annoying. He is especially
active when he believes that you cannot see him. How would you deal with this situation?
5. Describe the management strategies and techniques you use to maintain an effective
classroom environment
6. Describe your expectations for student behaviour? In other words, if I were to enter your class
on an average day, what should I expect to see with regard to student behaviour?
7. Keith is your busy seventh-grader. He is constantly moving in your class and always ready to
throw spit balls. Although his behaviour is not seriously disruptive, it is annoying. He is especially
active when he believes that you cannot see him. How would you deal with this situation?

Personal Characteristics Questions

1. How would a colleague describe you?
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?
3. As a teacher, how do you relate to students, colleagues, and parents?
4. What do you consider to be a major issue in public education today?
Questions for Content Area Expertise:
1. Describe your knowledge and experience with the California content standards applicable to
your content area.
2. Describe any specific areas of strength within your content area (e.g., Physical
Science, Writing Workshop, Algebra, etc.).
3. If you could teach just one grade level and subject within your content area, what would you
choose? Why?
4. What sorts of assessment, both formal and informal, do you view as being important
indicators of successful performance for students learning your content area?
5. If you could teach any novel, what would it be and what would your students be doing?
6. How do you adjust for reading level differences within your classroom?
Questions for English Learner Expertise:
1. We have a large number of English learners in our district. What knowledge and experience
do you have that is representative of your ability to teach English learners?
2. What knowledge and experience do you have regarding the California English Language
Development Standards?
3. Imagine that you are teaching a regular mainstream class in your content area. A new
student arrives in your class one day, and you soon find out that this student possesses only
limited English fluency (that is, some oral fluency but very limited reading and writing fluency).
You realize that this is probably not the correct placement for the student, so you approach the
counsellor in charge of scheduling students. You are told that there is no room in the other
classrooms for the foreseeable future and that you will just have to do the best you can. What
would you do to accommodate this student until a better placement comes up?
4. In what ways, both formal and informal, might you assess a student with limited English
fluency to be sure the student is truly learning the content of your course curriculum?
Short Interview Questions

How would a colleague describe you?

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?
As a teacher, how do you relate to students, colleagues, and parents?
What do you consider to be a major issue in public education today?
Describe your knowledge and experience with the California content standards applicable
to your content area.
Describe any specific areas of strength within your content area (e.g., Physical
Science, Writing Workshop, Algebra, etc.).
If you could teach just one grade level and subject within your content area, what would
you choose? Why?
What sorts of assessment, both formal and informal, do you view as being important
indicators of successful performance for students learning your content area?
We have a large number of English learners in our district. What knowledge and
experience do you have that is representative of your ability to teach English learners?
Imagine that you are teaching a regular mainstream class in your content area. A new
student arrives in your class one day, and you soon find out that this student possesses
only limited English fluency (that is, some oral fluency but very limited reading and writing
fluency). You realize that this is probably not the correct placement for the student, so you
approach the counsellor in charge of scheduling students. You are told that there is no
room in the other classrooms for the foreseeable future and that you will just have to do
the best you can. What would you do to accommodate this student until a better
placement comes up?
In what ways, both formal and informal, might you assess a student with limited English
fluency to be sure the student is truly learning the content of your course curriculum?
Discuss a curriculum project you developed which generated high motivation and
engagement among your students. Tell us what the project looked like and what resources
you used to develop it.
How do you feel about participating in an advisory period or other master-scheduled
differences?
What kinds of strategies do you use to challenge students to have an in-depth
understanding of mathematics, science, English literature?
What strategies do you use to make curriculum meaningful and relevant to students?
Since we will be held accountable for standardized test results, what will you do in the
area of curriculum development to e3nsure that students do well on the test without
teaching the test?
Describe the evaluation instruments you use to assess student learning.

Describe your ideas for ensuring that you have positive communication with parents and
the larger community.
What do you envision will be your biggest challenge this year?
How do you excel in working with students from diverse populations?
Why are you interested in working at this school?
Share with us your philosophy of teaching and learning?
What is the role/responsibility of a teacher in a classroom?
Tell us about a time when a student really got what you were hoping they would. An Ah
HA moment.
Why do you think students from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds do not excel
in school in comparison to more traditional students?
What kinds of things can be done to compensate for inadequacies in English or prior
knowledge?
Tell us about your approach to classroom discipline how do you ensure your students are
on-task, and what steps do you take when they are not?
What do you think was your most successful lesson you have taught and why?
What was the most challenging lesson you have had to teach, and how did you overcome
the obstacles?
What would be the ideal teaching position be?

Introductory questions at teaching interviews

Have you enjoyed your visit to the school?
Why have you applied for this post?
Questions about yourself
Tell us about yourself and what inspires you.
What personal interests do you have that could be of value to the school?
What unique qualities can you bring to the school?
How do you know when you have had a good day?
How do you handle stress?
Explain your choice of school or local authority
What makes a successful school?
How would you support the ethos of this school?
How could you integrate the community into your teaching?
Handling professional issues in the classroom
What are your particular strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?
Describe the worst or best lesson you have given. What would you do differently? Say why
it was successful or unsuccessful.
How do you judge the achievement of pupils in your subject?
If we visited your classroom in October, what could we expect to see?
What is the role of target setting?
How would you ensure that you respond effectively to the differing needs and abilities of
pupils?
How would you foster equal opportunities in the classroom/school?
How would you accommodate children who have English as an additional language?
How would you raise a child's self-esteem and aspirations?
How far do children in your classroom direct their own learning?
What are your views on the value of homework?
Which is more important, teaching or learning, and why?
Behaviour management
What are your views about discipline?
How much noise and moving around the classroom would you permit?
How would you cope with a child constantly interrupting the lesson?
How would you deal with bullying?
What would you do if your strategies for behaviour management were not succeeding?
Primary interviews
How would you evaluate the effectiveness of the literacy strategy?
What is the place of topic work in school and what is your experience of it?
Which reading/mathematics schemes have you used?
What are your views on the balance between creativity and basic skills?
How might you use ICT in your teaching?
How would you ensure the continued improvement of numeracy standards in your class?
How would you structure literacy lessons to ensure equal access for all pupils?
Secondary interviews
Why do we teach (your subject) in schools?
How would you motivate year 9 pupils who have lost interest in the subject?
What would you say to a student considering taking your subject at A-level?
What are your views on cross-curricular teaching?
What are your views on streaming/sets/mixed-ability teaching?
How would you address the underachievement of boys/girls in your subject area?
Have you had any experience of vocational education?
What bearing do you think future developments (in your subject) will have on your
teaching?
How would you teach (an area relevant to your subject) to a year 8 mixed-ability group?
Pastoral care
What is the role of a form tutor and what relevant experience have you had?
How would you seek to promote the moral, social and cultural development of the pupils?
To which aspects of personal and social education could you make a contribution?
How would you get to know your tutor group/class?
Your approach to working with parents and other adults
What is your experience with parents in school? How could this be developed?
How would you deal with a hostile or aggressive parent?
How would you seek to work cooperatively with your colleagues?
What support would you expect from staff as a newly qualified teacher (NQT)?
How would you seek to work with adults other than teachers in your classroom?
Give an example of when you have worked effectively within a team?
Your career development
How will you develop yourself as a professional teacher?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Answering questions: interview performance tips
Panels are interested in how you answer as well as what you say.

Answers should be sufficiently detailed to show how you stand out from other applicants
and should include examples wherever possible.
Taking time to think before giving a well-constructed answer is fine.
Remember to ask for clarification if the question is unclear.
When you are offered a job, most schools will expect a prompt response. Some may even
ask at the interview if you will accept the post if it is offered.