Infant & Toddler Specialist Interview Questions And Answers

Creating and implementing curriculums and lesson plans to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, academic, and social needs of children, assessing and observing them to ensure that they are well-settled, ensuring that they understand concepts and participate in class, and making sure that their physical and emotional wellbeing is kept a priority, have all been part of my work as an infant teacher.

I would like to eventually train to work with children with special needs.

Working alongside a lead daycare teacher, I have been responsible for providing support in creating and implementing lesson plans, researching and developing instructional materials, observing and monitoring student behavior and providing basic care to children such as feeding, changing and washing.

Your answer should reflect the culture of the community in which you are interviewing. Find out the home languages spoken, the economic status of most families, and the kinds of family involvement encouraged by the school or program. Knowing these details, you can shape a response that demonstrates respect for the families. Would it make more sense to use email or to send letters home? Would it be beneficial to create a class website? Is there a teacher portal available? Be sure to mention that you chose a method because you are aware of the community demographics!

Most likely as a preschool teacher you will be working with students from ages three to five. The interviewer wants to make sure your curriculum will be relevant to the entire range of age groups.

"The most important thing I keep in mind when working with children of different age groups is to keep each child engaged and mentally stimulated. Everyone must have equal attention because often if a child feels neglected they will start to act out. All students physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs should be met and further developed. I make sure to keep a diverse curriculum that is specified and beneficial to each age. I develop cross-age activities as well."

This is a little like asking "Tell me everything you know" about quality early childhood education. Obviously no one can fully answer this question in the few minutes allotted to each question, but their selection of what they mention and, perhaps even more importantly, what they forget or leave out will tell you a lot about their values and perspectives as a teacher. You, of course, must be clear about your values and priorities in your program in order to determine if the candidate is a good match. I know that I like to hear each candidate include health and safety first and foremost. While we may all like to hear them explore the more exciting areas of curriculum, parent work, diversity, etc., if they don't start the job with an awareness of safety, the rest doesn't matter too much because you may have hired an accident waiting to happen. I'm also looking for them to talk about more than the children. What do they have to say about their relationship with and the role of the parents in their classroom? What do they mention about supporting the home culture? How do they develop curriculum? Have they talked about positive and healthy relationships with their co-workers? This question can also be a lead-in to more follow-up questions about specificskills. Take good notes as they answer this question so you can review it and compare with your own list later on.

Where little children are concerned, there is really no such thing as basic skills. All the skills that an infant teacher possesses have to be profound. These would include the ability to work with children while maintaining a “level” with them, exceptional patience, great insight into how a child’s mind works, and deep understanding of infant care principles and procedures.

Be sure the strategies you describe are developmentally appropriate and effective. It is best to share ones that you have implemented successfully, so you can use examples from your own experiences. Administrators seem to appreciate discussing guidance that reinforces positive behaviors and involves children in deciding how to work together in the classroom.

Group work allows students to interact and stay engaged. The interviewer is inquiring how you go about incorporating that into the classroom.

"I have a few strategies I use to encourage my preschoolers to work in groups. I am adamant about sticking to hands-on activities only, which are more likely to turn into a group activities versus individual work. Also, I like to take activities that can be done on an individual basis and turn them into group work. For example, in my previous position instead of having each student draw a separate picture, I allowed them all to work on a collaborative mural that hung on our wall for the remainder of the year. It encouraged team work and open communication among the students."

☛ What is your name?
☛ What are your mum and dad’s names?
☛ Do you have any sisters or brothers?
☛ Where do you live?
☛ Can you tell me when your birthday is?
☛ What is your favourite colour?
☛ Can you name this colour?
☛ Can you tell me what shape this is?
☛ What is your favourite animal?
☛ Do you have a pet at home?
☛ What animal is this?
☛ What bird is this?
☛ Which bedtime story is your favourite?
☛ What is the best thing you like to eat?
☛ Can you recite your favourite poem?
☛ When you grow up, what do you want to become?
☛ Which is your favourite cartoon?
☛ What colour is an apple?
☛ What is your favourite game?
☛ Do you like to draw?
☛ Can you pick up the biggest toy from this?
☛ What number is this?
☛ What letter is this?
☛ How many fingers do you have?
☛ What is your favourite toy?
☛ Can you tell me what the man is doing in this picture?
☛ How many wheels does a car have?
☛ Do you know when your birthday is?
☛ How old are you?
☛ Can you give me a high-five/Can you shake my hand?

☛ What degrees or certifications does your staff have? What training do they have? Do you conduct background checks on all your employees?
☛ How long has the current staff been here? Do you experience high employee turnover?
☛ Do you have a nurse on staff for medical care? Do you administer medicine and/or emergency allergy treatments?

☛ What do you like most about working with children?
☛ What do you like least about working with children?
☛ What age groups do you prefer to work with?
☛ Describe a time you resolved an issue with an unhappy parent.
☛ What’s the relationship between customer service and child care?
☛ How would you help new parents feel that you’re providing the best care for their baby?
☛ Define success as a preschool teacher.
☛ How do you know if your teaching strategies are effective?
☛ How do you handle misbehavior in the classroom?
☛ What five items would you put in an empty classroom?
☛ What would you do if children were fighting and got physical? (Biting, hitting, etc)
☛ How does the day of an infant in your classroom differ from the day of a toddler in your classroom?

☛ How do you keep parents up to date on their kid’s daily activities or behavior? Do you offer a daily report?
☛ What security measures do you take for your facility?
☛ Are you licensed? Are you accredited? By whom?
☛ Do you have references I can contact?

☛ What’s your general philosophy on childcare?
☛ How many children attend the daycare? What is your child to caregiver ratio?
☛ What do you serve for meals and snacks? Or do parents need to provide food? (If your child has allergies, be sure to ask about how they handle that.) If babies are taking bottles, ask how they handle frozen or pumped breast milk or formula preparation.
☛ What activities do you do with the children? What is a typical day like?
☛ How do you handle discipline or behavioral problems? For instance, how do you handle biting, hitting, or bullying situations?
☛ Family-specific questions: if you use cloth diapers, be sure to ask about that, or if you have an unusual schedule that requires some flexibility, bring that up as well.

☛ Can parents drop by whenever they’d like or swing by to breastfeed? What are your visitation policies in general? Who else is allowed to visit during care?
☛ What happens if we’re late to pick-up or need to miss a day due to vacation or illness?
☛ What’s your sick-child policy? What are your policies regarding immunizations?
☛ What is the potty-training procedure? (Some daycares will start potty training your child once they reach a certain age.)
☛ Do you transport children in a vehicle? Where would you go? Ask to see the vehicle or bus, and inspect the seating arrangements.
☛ How, and how often, do you sanitize the toys and materials used by the children?
☛ What are the tuition and fees? Is there a waitlist? Are there any types of discounts available (paying in advance, second sibling discount, etc.)?

This question is a variation of the classic "tell us about your previous work experience and education" and I like it better because it should tell you more than you'll find on their resume. When I ask this question I'm listening not just to find out where they've worked and what they've done, I'm asking what they got out of those experiences. Have they grown with each job experience, and how? Hopefully I'll know if their experiences fit with what we do and if there's a solid foundation to build on. If they answer with a recitation of what's on their resume then I ask them to clarify further what happened at that job that significantly affected how they now work with children and families. Let them tell you which of their previous experiences were important. Finding out which jobs weren't helpful to their growth and why can also be revealing.

It is a fairly common practice to have a prospective teacher come in and teach for a morning in order to see them at work. However, you should consider also asking them to perform a written observation on a specific child. When they are done you'll not only have a sample of their writing (no, they won't have to time to correct their work) but you'll be able to have a glimpse of what they see when they look at children in the program. Do they catch nuances of emotional displays by the child? Do they notice how a child connects with other caregivers or children? What have they said about how a child uses a specific toy? Gathering and sharing information about the child with the parent is a critical function of every teacher. As the applicant answers this question try to determine what observation skills and techniques they've used successfully. Find out if, in their previous jobs, was there time to do observations, or will this be a fairly new skill to them that they'll need to develop? What, if any, observation tools have they used? You may use a specific tool in your program and you'll want to try to gauge how much training you'll need to do.

If you're tired of the old "tell me your strengths and weaknesses," give this question a try. This will tell you about their interests and their capacity for self-reflection. You might want to weigh how enthusiastically they answer the question. Do you pick up that they're hesitant to try new things or haven't given much thought to their growth at work? A quick answer on their part may mean they've already given some serious thought to their own professional development. Also you can compare their proposed area of growth with the current and future needs of the program. If they received education/training in their desired area, how would that help your program?

This answer can be a bit lengthy, because you want to explain your intentional planning and the activity’s learning goals. Speak at a steady pace and stay on topic, and the length won’t be a problem. Your answer depends on the children you would be teaching and your teaching style’s fit with their unique characteristics. Are you leading a small group, working one-on-one, or working with the whole group? Explain how you would get the children interested at the beginning of the activity. During the activity, what will you be doing? How will you end the activity? Think about your teaching strategies, and tie them in with the curriculum (typically found on the program or district website). Using the name of the curriculum shows interviewers you are interested in their school or program and that you researched it.

I believe that my strengths lie more in nurturing young minds than dealing with older ones. Since nurturing is needed more at the preschool and daycare level, I chose to channelize my energies here.

While an infant teacher needs to be hands-on in many areas, it is her prime responsibility to ensure that children are kept safe at all times. I make sure that all the children under my care are well looked after.

This question is a good way to get to know the person behind the application. It asks them to talk about how their personality interfaces with their work. Asking them about what provides satisfaction will help you understand what motivates them to do high quality and help you determine if the applicant is likely to find that satisfaction in your program. By asking them what's difficult for them, you may learn whether or not this candidate will be happy working in your program over a long period of time. You may determine that it's unlikely you could provide those things that give them the greatest satisfaction, or prevent things that are problematic for them. This question will help you determine if it's a good match or a good fit between what it is that you do, and what they need to be a productive and happy employee. This question may require you to press a little bit further. It's not enough for them to respond that they do this work "Because I love children." They need to elaborate on this and be specific about what aspects of their work are the most exciting. It's also interesting to note how much they respond to this question by separating out the child from the family context. How do they feel about working with parents or other family members? Do they find satisfaction in working with children but frustration in working with parents? This isn't an unusual dichotomy, but it will be problematic further down the road.

This is a loaded question! Of all your qualifications, state the ones that put you over the top. Although you need to maintain a professional demeanor throughout the interview, this question calls for your personal views on early childhood education and how you see yourself contributing to the program. When preparing for the interview, consider the following: Why did you choose the field of early childhood education? How dedicated are you to the young children you teach? How has the field affected your thinking, previous jobs, and life experiences? This is the last message you will share with interviewers, so be sure to give an answer that represents you as a unique individual.

I have been fortunate enough to work with several children with “special needs” as we insist on calling them. I find these children to be highly intelligent – they do not conform to ordinary channels of communication or instruction but their achievements surpass anything that I have ever seen.

Basic care, supervision and instruction are the three most important duties that any daycare teacher performs.