ICT Teacher Interview Preparation Guide

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prepare a brief explanation. Focus on love of children, desire to give, enthusiasm for learning, and whatever motivated you.

The answer to this question will be personal to you. Try to work in phrases like “I’m passionate about helping students/children and I find teaching an incredibly rewarding experience.”AVOID saying things like “I’m in it for the paycheck and love my summers off.”

Always have a couple questions prepared to ask at the end of the interview. Possible questions: “What is it that YOU love about working here?” or “What originally attracted you to work at this school?”

The answer to this will be personal to you, but keep in mind that you may run into questions that you may not be prepared for. Sometimes you will get questions that are meant to “throw you off” a bit. Some are easier than others to improvise with an answer. Just stay calm and answer this question as best as possible. This may be testing to see how you react to unexpected things.

Communication is a key part of education, whether it be with a student, co-worker, administrator, or parent. Be sure that you are regular communication with the people around you. Have a specific describable plan to keep parents “in the loop”. Good communication with parents can be an incredible force to get a child to behave and learn in the classroom.

I feel I must play an important role in the child’s development of social competence and friendship skills. I will do my best to help these children develop peer friendships. My responsibilities involve not only imparting academic skills but social skills as well. Some methods are setting up study-buddies, team projects, etc.

Teachers have to maintain a constantly developing curriculum. In order to give the high quality instruction, you should express your willingness and competence to keep your subject district in line. A strong positive access between a teacher’s preparation in their subject issue and their implementation and influence in the classroom is presented in research. Show specific examples of resources which you have to update and improve your subject knowledge such as agreeing with related publications, joining seminars and on-line research.

Let your interviewers know that differentiating instruction is important and that you implement strategies on a regular basis. All students don’t learn in the same way, so it is important to present ideas in more than one way. It is also important to engage both gifted and struggling students. Think up a list of ways you differentiate instruction and be prepared to share actual examples.

If you interview in the United States, school administrators love to talk about state, local, or national standards! Reassure your interviewer that everything you do ties into standards. Be sure the lesson plans in your portfolio have the state standards typed right on them. When they ask about them, pull out your lesson and show them the close ties between your teaching and the standards.

You need to have an honest self-evaluation of your strengths. Present a clear understanding curriculum and explain why you consider those special districts as your strengths. Identify strengths that you want to enhance and the steps you will or are following to catch your goals.

This question refers to your teaching style. Think back to your teaching experiences or student teaching experiences. Think about what works best for you and what an ideal lesson would look like. In a perfect world, you want to be able to describe lesson that is fun, creative, connects to the real world, adheres to standards, includes a check for learning, and utilizes technology.

You use lots of positive reinforcement. You are firm, but you don't yell. You have appropriate consequences for inappropriate behavior. You have your classroom rules posted clearly on the walls. You set common routines that students follow. You adhere to the school's discipline guidelines. Also, emphasize that you suspect discipline problems will be minimal because your lessons are very interesting and engaging to students. Don't tell the interviewer that you “send kids to the principal's office” whenever there is a problem. You should be able to handle most discipline problems on your own. Only students who have committed very serious behavior problems should be sent to the office.

Teachers who are also learners themselves are being looked for by many schools. Show your goals that deal with self- improvement in the teaching skills and the profit which the students, the school and the community can get. Think twice before entering an interview so you can present your goals easily and fluently when being asked.

This is one of my favourite questions (it's based on a question my National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) coach used to ask me) because it gets candidates to think about their contribution to the school organisation and their team spirit. If I'm interviewing for a senior leader I would follow this up with: what would you want them to say about you in three years time? This way I can get a sense of where they want to develop as leaders.

There are standardized assessments at almost every grade level. Be sure you know the names of the tests. Talk about your experiences preparing students. You'll get bonus points if you know and describe the format of the test because that will prove your familiarity.

This kind of teacher interview question is created to discover your values and motivation. You need to prepare some examples in which show their behavior and teaching styles that inspired you. How have you tried to transmit the lesson you learned from him or her to your students? Emphasize qualities that would be valuable in the teaching position you are applying for in your answer.

It is common to get a question about classroom management and behavior. You should have an anecdotal account of how you turned a bad situation into a positive one. Explain that teachers should always have a backup plan and that they should expect the unexpected. Also, make sure you note that classroom management begins with your own preparation and lesson plan. An engaging lesson, means engaged students and engaged student leaves them no time to misbehave.

By having a set of classroom rules and consistently following your own guidelines – a clear set of behavioral expectations with clear consequences – you have a good chance of controlling the class. Give examples of rules and consequences. Simultaneously, present yourself as a good listener and adapter, flexible to individual students’ needs. If possible, give an example of where you had to work around your rule for a difficult student.

☛ What would you do if a parent complained about an assignment?
☛ Describe some methods of "positive reinforcement" that you might use in your classroom.
☛ Would you describe yourself as a "tough" teacher or an "understanding" teacher? Explain.
☛ How would you create a behavior modification for a student with ongoing behavior problems?
☛ What are some ways you can avoid behavior problems?
☛ Without giving any names, describe the most challenging student you've ever taught.
☛ What would you do to calm an angry parent?
☛ Do you have an example of a parent newsletter that you can show us?
☛ In what ways do you communicate with parents on a regular basis?
☛ A parent calls you because they are worried about their child's low grades. What would you say to the parent?
☛ A parent writes a note and tells you that their daughter could not complete their homework assignment because she had a dance recital the night before. What do you do?
☛ How do you keep parents informed of their childs' progress?
☛ How do you use technology to enrich your lessons?
☛ How computer literate are you?
☛ Do you think it is appropriate for children in school to be using the Internet?
☛ Give an example of a time when you've worked on a team.
☛ Describe one time when you've acted as a leader.
☛ How do you feel about team-teaching?
☛ What can you do for a student that is extremely gifted?
☛ Describe a gifted student.
☛ How would you recommend a child for special education services?
☛ Most classes have students with a wide-range of reading abilities. What can you do to meet the needs of students with high reading abilities and low reading abilities at the same time?
☛ Tell us a little about your student teaching experiences.
☛ What is your least favorite age/grade/subject to teach? Explain.
☛ What is your favorite age/grade/subject to teach? Explain.

☛ Give us examples of how you communicated with other teachers in your department?
☛ Give us an example of effective communication with an administrator.
☛ Have you ever utilized a class newsletter? What did you include in the letter?
☛ How would you deal with an angry parent if they called you?
☛ How do you communicate with parents on a regular basis?
☛ How do you keep parents aware of their son’s or daughter’s grades?
☛ How would you react if a parent complained about your class?
☛ What would you tell a parent if he or she was concerned about their kid’s grades?
☛ What would you do if you received a note from a parent asking for their son to be excused from last night’s homework because the student was too busy with another activity?
☛ What course of action would you take if a student says he or she is being abused at home?

☛ Where do you see yourself in ten years?
☛ What are your three greatest strengths?
☛ Name three of your weaknesses.
☛ What is the most satisfying thing about teaching?
☛ What is the biggest challenge in teaching?
☛ What is the scariest thing about teaching?
☛ What part of teaching do you look the most forward to?
☛ What is the last book you read? When did you read it? Tell us about it.
☛ Are you interested in extracurricular involvement at our school?
☛ What are the important aspects of a good principal?
☛ What is your least favorite subject, and age group, to teach?
☛ Have you ever been a substitute teacher? Describe that experience.
☛ What type of in-service topics would you be most interested in?
☛ Do you belong to any professional teaching organizations?
☛ What is the difference between a good teacher and an outstanding teacher?
☛ Have you ever received an award?
☛ What type of student were you in high school?
☛ What are your interests outside of teaching?
☛ Do you belong to any social networking websites (Facebook, etc.)? Do you mind logging in and showing us your profile right now?
☛ What do you feel is wrong with public education?
☛ Are you a flexible person?
☛ Why do you want to teach in this district?
☛ Tell us about your references and what they would say about you if they were here with us today.
☛ What would your last boss say about you?
☛ How would one of your students describe you?
☛ Are you actively involved in any type of community service?
☛ Imagine you are at your retirement party at the end of your career. How would people describe you as a teacher?
☛ Do you want students to like you? Why or why not?
☛ Who do you look up to and want to emulate?

☛ What importance do you place on ICT in the curriculum?
☛ As a subject coordinator, what would be your first plan of action upon starting work?
☛ What, do you feel, are the important skills an (ICT etc) coordinator should possess?
☛ How would you help other staff members to overcome their difficulties/reluctance using computers in the classroom?
☛ Do you see the teaching of ICT as a separate subject or can it be integrated?
☛ What are your curriculum interests?
☛ What are the advantages/disadvantages of ICT in a integrated curriculum?
☛ Are you willing to take responsibility for areas that aren’t necessarily in your specialism?
☛ What makes a good Scheme of Work?

☛ Would you say that you are a tough teacher?
☛ Describe an example of when you used positive reinforcement.
☛ How do you integrate technology into your lessons?
☛ Are you a team player? Give us an example.
☛ How do you allow students to express their creativity in your classroom?
☛ Do you have students use higher order thinking in your class? Give an example.
☛ How do you develop self-esteem within students?
☛ How do you prepare students for standardized testing?
☛ How do you make learning fun?
☛ Describe a typical lesson.
☛ What are techniques you use to teach besides direct instruction?
☛ What do you do if the whole class is “not getting it”?
☛ How closely do you follow your lesson plan?
☛ What do you put in your learning objectives of your lesson plan?
☛ How do you incorporate writing into your lessons?
☛ Describe the most effective teaching techniques.
☛ How do you connect your lessons to the “real world”?
☛ Is it ok for a classroom to be noisy?
☛ How much homework do you assign and how often do you assign it? How do you know this is a good amount?
☛ How do you stay current in your field?

☛ What are some of the most important things you learned when student teaching?
☛ What was the most satisfying moment throughout your student teaching?
☛ What was the most frustrating thing about student teaching?
☛ Describe one college course that taught you the most about being a good teacher.
☛ Who influenced you to become a teacher?
☛ Describe the biggest challenge you've ever had to face.
☛ What books are you currently reading?
☛ A student confides in you and tells you that his parent abuses him. He asks you not to tell anyone. What do you do?
☛ What is your definition of a life-long learner? How can you promote life-long learning in your classroom?
☛ Would you be willing to help out with extra-curricular activities? Which ones?
☛ Have you ever been a substitute teacher in this school district?
☛ What do you look for in a principal?
☛ How do you communicate with administrators?
☛ Would you like to be part of our new teacher mentor program?
☛ What kinds of inservices would you be eager to attend?
☛ List five adjectives that accurately describe yourself.
☛ What professional teaching organizations do you belong to?
☛ Have you ever received an award for anything in your lifetime? Describe.
☛ Describe the differences between a good teacher and a great teacher?
☛ What were you like as a student?
☛ If you teach a lesson and your students don't seem to be "getting it," what do you do?
☛ How do you provide support for students who are not performing as well as they should?
☛ What can you do to meet the needs of students who do not speak English?
☛ In what ways can you teach students to be accepting of one-another?
☛ How would you teach conflict resolution to your students?

☛ What is your classroom management plan and what do you hope to accomplish with it?
☛ What does a model classroom look like to you?
☛ How do you avoid misbehavior altogether?
☛ What was the most difficult child you have ever dealt with?
☛ Would you create a behavior modification plan for ongoing misbehavior?
☛ What is the most challenging behavioral situation you have ever dealt with? How did you react?
☛ What are your classroom rules?
☛ Is there anything we have not talked about that you would like to share with us?
☛ Do you have any questions for us?