There is a common mistake that candidates too frequently make when they interview, and I need to call it to your attention. You hear a question to which you believe you have a good answer. You know about this topic, and you are feeling somewhat relieved to have something "easy" with which to deal. As a result, you launch directly into your answer without full consideration of the question's real intent. I caution you on this. Sometimes you will be right; it is just a simple straightforward question. But before you reach that conclusion, I urge you to think the question through and examine its full range of possibilities. Today, I will give you two questions that are easy to mishandle. They have small traps that less prepared candidates will not see. Let's have a look.
Q. If we went back over a few classes you have taught and examined your grade distribution results, what would we likely find?
Here is a question on grades and be careful with your answer. Grades are a serious business in high school because they affect such things as GPA, college admittance, sports eligibility, and access to elite groups such as the honor society. With this question, many an interviewee assumes the real question being asked is "how many failing grades were given in his or her classes?" What was the general relationship between passing and failing grades? AVOID THE TRAP! Do not focus your answer on the low end of the grade spectrum. Do not overly concern yourself with failure rates. Balance your response so that you address both ends of the grade curve. Of course, the committee will be concerned if you tell them there was a ten or fifteen percent failure rate. In fact, such an answer might even knock you out of the race. But grades affect a variety of things and strong student performance is a central expectation of principals. The more astute candidate will focus on the upper end of the grade scale and speak to how students not only pass, but also prosper in his or her class. You might well wish to point out that in your classes the focus will be on content mastery for all. Do not assume that the committee believes the "bell curve" is something desirable. To my mind, it is not an acceptable model for teachers. Your intention (or history if that is the case) is that the majority of grades would be in the A/B range. Failures and marginal grades would be eliminated to the best of your ability. Committees want to know they are hiring someone who is a successful teacher; and that means students achieve acceptable results.
Here is a second pitfall to avoid. You cannot just leave this as a general philosophy or goal. To complete this answer, you must catalog the variety of ways that you promote and insure student mastery to a rigorous curriculum. Anyone can achieve high grade performance in a watered down curriculum. Be certain to tell the committee you intend to have a rigorous curriculum, but one that includes a number of success building strategies; one that will maximize student performance and success. I'm certain you have a number of ideas on how to develop success; strategies such as rubrics, multiple assessment opportunities, study guides, special help sessions, anchor papers, and the like. Tick off four or five of your most effective approaches along with the success they have created in the past. This will show the committee you are someone who understands how to put theory into action!
Q. Research has shown that when parents are positively involved in students' education, student performance is measurably improved. Yet, that same research shows a significant drop-off in parent involvement during the HS years. Is this something you can address in your class, and if so, how?
Many secondary school teachers give the concept of parent involvement very little thought. The trap is that we sometimes assume that because students are in high school, they are fairly independent learners and parents are not as interested as they once were. As a result we come to the interview with very few ideas on this particular topic. That is a huge trap just waiting to swallow you up.
If you hear a question like this, you can be certain the interview committee is very interested in promoting strong parent involvement and relationships. Should you already have a good program in this area, then you have my congratulations. Come ready to define what you do and the kinds of success it has shown. If this is an area where you might not have given it your best attention, then I would recommend you avoid this trap and look into it now. There are a great many things a high school teacher might do to promote strong home relationships. You could use MS Publisher to develop a handout brochure for Back to School Night. You can use the internet, email, class web-pages, homework hotlines, and other technologies to connect to every parent. If you are having special events, you can invite parents into the school. Very often, your teacher's edition for the textbook has an entire set of resources to use. Look these over and select a few that fit your style. The objective for you is to arrive at your interview with a very clear plan to promote positive parent involvement and communication. Be ready to talk about how strongly you believe sound parent support is to the overall success of your class. If you do this, you will set yourself apart from the many other candidates who have failed to formulate a strong position on this topic.
As you can see from the discussion of these two questions, your ability to analyze what is being asked is vitally important. If you have properly prepared yourself for the interview, you will have given these topics considerable advanced thought. Do this and avoid the traps that are so often contained in what look like simple questions.
Q. If we went back over a few classes you have taught and examined your grade distribution results, what would we likely find?
Here is a question on grades and be careful with your answer. Grades are a serious business in high school because they affect such things as GPA, college admittance, sports eligibility, and access to elite groups such as the honor society. With this question, many an interviewee assumes the real question being asked is "how many failing grades were given in his or her classes?" What was the general relationship between passing and failing grades? AVOID THE TRAP! Do not focus your answer on the low end of the grade spectrum. Do not overly concern yourself with failure rates. Balance your response so that you address both ends of the grade curve. Of course, the committee will be concerned if you tell them there was a ten or fifteen percent failure rate. In fact, such an answer might even knock you out of the race. But grades affect a variety of things and strong student performance is a central expectation of principals. The more astute candidate will focus on the upper end of the grade scale and speak to how students not only pass, but also prosper in his or her class. You might well wish to point out that in your classes the focus will be on content mastery for all. Do not assume that the committee believes the "bell curve" is something desirable. To my mind, it is not an acceptable model for teachers. Your intention (or history if that is the case) is that the majority of grades would be in the A/B range. Failures and marginal grades would be eliminated to the best of your ability. Committees want to know they are hiring someone who is a successful teacher; and that means students achieve acceptable results.
Here is a second pitfall to avoid. You cannot just leave this as a general philosophy or goal. To complete this answer, you must catalog the variety of ways that you promote and insure student mastery to a rigorous curriculum. Anyone can achieve high grade performance in a watered down curriculum. Be certain to tell the committee you intend to have a rigorous curriculum, but one that includes a number of success building strategies; one that will maximize student performance and success. I'm certain you have a number of ideas on how to develop success; strategies such as rubrics, multiple assessment opportunities, study guides, special help sessions, anchor papers, and the like. Tick off four or five of your most effective approaches along with the success they have created in the past. This will show the committee you are someone who understands how to put theory into action!
Q. Research has shown that when parents are positively involved in students' education, student performance is measurably improved. Yet, that same research shows a significant drop-off in parent involvement during the HS years. Is this something you can address in your class, and if so, how?
Many secondary school teachers give the concept of parent involvement very little thought. The trap is that we sometimes assume that because students are in high school, they are fairly independent learners and parents are not as interested as they once were. As a result we come to the interview with very few ideas on this particular topic. That is a huge trap just waiting to swallow you up.
If you hear a question like this, you can be certain the interview committee is very interested in promoting strong parent involvement and relationships. Should you already have a good program in this area, then you have my congratulations. Come ready to define what you do and the kinds of success it has shown. If this is an area where you might not have given it your best attention, then I would recommend you avoid this trap and look into it now. There are a great many things a high school teacher might do to promote strong home relationships. You could use MS Publisher to develop a handout brochure for Back to School Night. You can use the internet, email, class web-pages, homework hotlines, and other technologies to connect to every parent. If you are having special events, you can invite parents into the school. Very often, your teacher's edition for the textbook has an entire set of resources to use. Look these over and select a few that fit your style. The objective for you is to arrive at your interview with a very clear plan to promote positive parent involvement and communication. Be ready to talk about how strongly you believe sound parent support is to the overall success of your class. If you do this, you will set yourself apart from the many other candidates who have failed to formulate a strong position on this topic.
As you can see from the discussion of these two questions, your ability to analyze what is being asked is vitally important. If you have properly prepared yourself for the interview, you will have given these topics considerable advanced thought. Do this and avoid the traps that are so often contained in what look like simple questions.
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.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7031146
No comments:
Post a Comment