Pre-Career Interview

Activity
Information
Points
Due Date

Description
Pre-Career Interview
This project will assist students interested in pursuing a
teaching career by helping to prepare them for a successful
interview.
100 Points Total
Interview will be held in class on November 23, 2016
(If you are unable to make it to class you will be expected
to have a fully filled-out copy of this assignment submitted
to Assignments by the end of November 23, 2016.)

Directions:
This interview will be held in class and be graded based on how prepared you are for
tough interview questions. Questions will be asked by the professor with the
expectation that students have prepared for this assignment as if they were applying
for a first-time teaching position at a grade-appropriate level. Although most of the
questions will be asked directly from this questionnaire, there will also be some tough
and unusual questions which will be thrown in to test the ability to think outside of
the box.
If, for some reason, you are unable to attend this class session, written responses
using the following criteria will be expected:
Answer each of the following questions as appropriate. For those questions that
require a more in-depth answer please be sure to compose 3-4 complete sentences.
Be sure to respond to each portion of the question as there may be more than one
required answer.
As teaching interviews will be a necessary part of your future educational pursuits, it is
always a good idea to prepare yourself for potential questions. Each of the following
questions relates to a different area of teaching and are some common questions that
you may be asked. Using the information from this course and your personal
experience, take some time and respond to the questions as if you were in an actual
job interview.

1)

First, tell us a little bit about yourself. (Almost every teacher interview
begins this way.)

2)

Describe your philosophy of teaching?

3)

Why do you want to become a teacher?

4)

List three of your strengths and explain each one.

5)

In what ways do you encourage creativity in your classroom?

6)

What do you do to prepare your students for state or standardized tests?

7)

How do you measure student performance in your classroom?

8)

What would you do if a student wasn't handing in their homework on a

regular basis?

9)

What are your classroom rules? How do you make students familiar
with the rules?

10)

Explain what you would do if a student was swearing in your class?

11)

In what ways do you communicate with parents on a regular basis?

12)

How do you use technology to enrich your lessons?

13)

Give an example of a time when you've worked on a team.

14)

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?

15)

Who influenced you to become a teacher?

16)

Describe the biggest challenge you've ever had to face.

17)

A student confides in you and tells you that they have been abused by
their parent(s). The student asks you not to tell anyone. What do you
do?

18)

List five adjectives that accurately describe yourself.

19)

If you teach a lesson and your students don't seem to be "getting it,"
what do you do?

20)

How do you meet the needs of a student with an Individualized

Education Plan (IEP)?

21)

What questions do you have for us?

CRITERIA

Content:
Interview
Questions

Few questions
are answered and
defined.

Some questions
are answered and
defined.

Most questions
are answered and
defined.

All questions are

answered and
defined.

Content:
Knowledge of
Interview
Material

Knowledge is
minimally
defined.

Knowledge is
somewhat
defined.

Knowledge is
mostly defined.

Knowledge is
clearly defined.

Content:
Creativity

Few interview
answers are
creative.

Some interview
answers are
creative.

Most interview
answers are
creative.

All interview
answers are
creative.

Content:
Accuracy

Few questions
are answered
with clarity and
accuracy.

Some questions
are answered with
clarity and
accuracy.

Most questions
are answered with
clarity and
accuracy.

All questions are

answered with
clarity and
accuracy.

Grammar /
Mechanics /
Spelling

More than 5
errors

4-5 errors

2-3 errors

0-1 errors