When working with prospective teachers, I quite often hear the phrase; "What questions do you think I'll be asked?" It's a normal concern, and one I believe is on the mind of most every person who is about to interview. We all want to be prepared and avoid being caught by a tough question where we might not have a good answer. As we all realize, however, there is no way to know what our interviewers might ask. That said; we can still spend time preparing for the broad themes likely to be part of most interviews. Today, we will examine a question that deals with cultivating creativity in our students.
Thomas Armstrong, in his book, Awakening Genius in the Classroom contends that schools too often do an outstanding job ofkilling creativity, curiosity, and the actual joy of learning. He suggests this is partially due to the failure of teacher training institutions to provide the skills and understandings required to actually cultivate such characteristics in students. With our current almost maniacal focus on testing and student performance, this situation has become worse, not better.
In speaking with a few school leaders at a recent conference, I was happy to hear that some schools are now beginning to pay more attention to things like creativity, multiple-solutions, investigative research, and such higher order skills. Within the group, there was almost unanimity that to be successful, these skills should begin at the earliest grades and move up through the middle school years. To that end, some officials have begun to select teachers who demonstrate an understanding of this critical teaching area. Below is a question that might be asked to test your knowledge on teaching for creativity.
Q. Creativity is something we believe benefits every person. Yet, we seem to not always spend much time with this in our classes. What do you see as the benefits of this skill, and do you have specific thoughts as to how you might cultivate this in your students?
Your answer must obviously be tailored to your own teaching stance and the grade level for which you are interviewing; however, there are some central ideas you might want to convey. Attack the first part of the question and begin with what creativity means to you; what are the benefits for its development. Here is an example of how that might sound.
To my mind, creativity is simply the way we apply our knowledge to come up with new ways to achieve a product or outcome. The benefit to this skill is that we become better problem solvers and are often able to see multiple paths to solutions as opposed to just looking for "the right answer." A second, and perhaps more powerful advantage, is students often see such engagement as fun! It's novel and different from standard day to day routines. Such adventures bring back the joy of learning and the excitement of new ideas.
With this foundation, you can move on to how you promote this characteristic within your lessons. Here, I advise you not suggest independent units or lessons that focus entirely on this skill. Such units often have short lived value, and the committee is likely to see more worth in ongoing attention to creativity within your regular teaching. The difficulty you face is creativity is a huge area that encompasses hundreds of great ideas. Look at the research on this topic and identify a few age appropriate activities or approaches you might employ. Limit yourself to just three or four general ideas you can tick off in succession. Compact delivery will make a far better impact on the committee than a long, convoluted ramble with no central theme. Here is a simple example of how that might sound.
I prefer to foster creativity as a normal part of my everyday teaching as opposed to specific, stand alone units. In doing this, I start out small and utilize simple familiar tasks with which students feel comfortable; something like having them create their own ending to a short story. The second element is to look for activities within my units that capitalize on "inquiring minds" kinds of thinking. For example, if I were teaching a unit on local government in my 4th grade social studies, I might have the students construct a montage that reflects their own ideas on how it worked. There are lots of internet sites that catalog dozens of creative ideas on inquiring-mind activities. I look for experiences that look like fun and have a bit of novelty. Finally, I like to use my long term projects such as science fairs or young inventor competitions to allow students to really let their imaginations fly. That is where creativity and adventure really take shape!
The strength of this approach is that you've provided three concrete teacher actions along with a good example of each. Be prepared for a follow-up question or two regarding the specific mechanics of your examples, but look at such questions as a very positive sign. Candidates who have never thought of this question before the interview day will find it very difficult to organize their thoughts in such a cohesive and compact way. This gives you the advantage!
The last question you might have is; what if this question is never asked? Won't I have spent a lot of time for nothing? Absolutely not! Within every interview, there are opportunities to showcase good classroom teaching ideas. You would just need to look for a place where you might insert some or all of what you have prepared. Trust me when I tell you that very few, if any, of the candidates in your interview pool will even go near this subject unless the specific question is asked. Your ability to slot something like this into your responses will help separate you from the pack. It will be unique and memorable. Take the time now and put something together on this topic. Then go WOW the committee with a great set of instructional ideas.
Thomas Armstrong, in his book, Awakening Genius in the Classroom contends that schools too often do an outstanding job ofkilling creativity, curiosity, and the actual joy of learning. He suggests this is partially due to the failure of teacher training institutions to provide the skills and understandings required to actually cultivate such characteristics in students. With our current almost maniacal focus on testing and student performance, this situation has become worse, not better.
In speaking with a few school leaders at a recent conference, I was happy to hear that some schools are now beginning to pay more attention to things like creativity, multiple-solutions, investigative research, and such higher order skills. Within the group, there was almost unanimity that to be successful, these skills should begin at the earliest grades and move up through the middle school years. To that end, some officials have begun to select teachers who demonstrate an understanding of this critical teaching area. Below is a question that might be asked to test your knowledge on teaching for creativity.
Q. Creativity is something we believe benefits every person. Yet, we seem to not always spend much time with this in our classes. What do you see as the benefits of this skill, and do you have specific thoughts as to how you might cultivate this in your students?
Your answer must obviously be tailored to your own teaching stance and the grade level for which you are interviewing; however, there are some central ideas you might want to convey. Attack the first part of the question and begin with what creativity means to you; what are the benefits for its development. Here is an example of how that might sound.
To my mind, creativity is simply the way we apply our knowledge to come up with new ways to achieve a product or outcome. The benefit to this skill is that we become better problem solvers and are often able to see multiple paths to solutions as opposed to just looking for "the right answer." A second, and perhaps more powerful advantage, is students often see such engagement as fun! It's novel and different from standard day to day routines. Such adventures bring back the joy of learning and the excitement of new ideas.
With this foundation, you can move on to how you promote this characteristic within your lessons. Here, I advise you not suggest independent units or lessons that focus entirely on this skill. Such units often have short lived value, and the committee is likely to see more worth in ongoing attention to creativity within your regular teaching. The difficulty you face is creativity is a huge area that encompasses hundreds of great ideas. Look at the research on this topic and identify a few age appropriate activities or approaches you might employ. Limit yourself to just three or four general ideas you can tick off in succession. Compact delivery will make a far better impact on the committee than a long, convoluted ramble with no central theme. Here is a simple example of how that might sound.
I prefer to foster creativity as a normal part of my everyday teaching as opposed to specific, stand alone units. In doing this, I start out small and utilize simple familiar tasks with which students feel comfortable; something like having them create their own ending to a short story. The second element is to look for activities within my units that capitalize on "inquiring minds" kinds of thinking. For example, if I were teaching a unit on local government in my 4th grade social studies, I might have the students construct a montage that reflects their own ideas on how it worked. There are lots of internet sites that catalog dozens of creative ideas on inquiring-mind activities. I look for experiences that look like fun and have a bit of novelty. Finally, I like to use my long term projects such as science fairs or young inventor competitions to allow students to really let their imaginations fly. That is where creativity and adventure really take shape!
The strength of this approach is that you've provided three concrete teacher actions along with a good example of each. Be prepared for a follow-up question or two regarding the specific mechanics of your examples, but look at such questions as a very positive sign. Candidates who have never thought of this question before the interview day will find it very difficult to organize their thoughts in such a cohesive and compact way. This gives you the advantage!
The last question you might have is; what if this question is never asked? Won't I have spent a lot of time for nothing? Absolutely not! Within every interview, there are opportunities to showcase good classroom teaching ideas. You would just need to look for a place where you might insert some or all of what you have prepared. Trust me when I tell you that very few, if any, of the candidates in your interview pool will even go near this subject unless the specific question is asked. Your ability to slot something like this into your responses will help separate you from the pack. It will be unique and memorable. Take the time now and put something together on this topic. Then go WOW the committee with a great set of instructional ideas.
My name is Robert W. Pollock. I am an educator, with over 34 years experience, a speaker, a consultant, and the author of 'Teacher Interviews. How to Get Them & How to Get Hired!. I have spoken to 1,000's of prospective teachers on how to interview and get the job. I have consulted with numerous schools around the country. Currently I am a professor of Education at Tusculum College, Knoxville, TN, where I also serve as the president of their alumni board.
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