Discussion Questions For Potential Teachers

To make a valid and reliable assessment of my candidate’s knowledge I normally hold a professional discussion with them and also given them questionnaires to complete.

Red Clay School District has played a tremendous role in educating our youth in Delaware. The district’s principle is that the whole school community takes responsibility in students learning. As an educator, I believe that it does take a village to raise a child. I am applying for the position as a Math Instructional Coach for Warner and Shortlidge School because of a desire to be a part of a school that share interest in a similar principle. I have a strong educational background coupled with my 6+ years in the education sector make me a very competitive candidate for the position. During my tenure, I have worked with students in inner city schools, and I have also developed a strong background and interest in the intellectual development

I chose to interview the 6th-12th grade Principal at our on-line school for the administrator interview. It was wonderful to visit with her and develop a better understanding of her perspective. Our 6-12 Principal has been an administrator for 5 years. She has spent 13 years in education and has been everything from a 1st grade teacher to a MS teacher. She has also served as a Master teacher, MC Principal, and is now the 6-12 Principal which also includes a separate alternative high school. Her dad was an educator and also served as an administrator.

For this assignment, I chose to interview Ms. Lisa Parker, who is a Math co-teacher and resource teacher for grades K-5 at Krahn Elementary which is a part of the Klein Independent School District and is one of the teachers I have been observing for my field experience. Ms. Parker has been a teacher at Krahn Elementary since 17 years. She started as a 1st grade teacher and was moved to 3rd grade after three years. The administration saw that she was really good with management and math, so she was given the below average, special education students and kids with adaptive behavior after seven years of teaching. With this, she adopted a style for teaching kids with special needs and decided to get a certification in Special Education. Ms. Parker has been teaching specifically in Special Education (SPED) since five years now and the special populations served by her in Krahn elementary include Gifted and Talented students (GT), students with Autism, students with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), students with Learning disabilities (LD), students with Other Health Impairments (OHI) and Emotionally Disturbed children (EBD)

For the first informational interview, I interviewed a credentialed teacher, who is part of a program called Urban Teachers. I selected her because I wanted to know other ways or path to become a teacher. Additionally, I always dream of becoming a teacher, but I am hesitant on whether I have the skills to teach students. Lastly, my interest assessment showed that one of the possible careers that are suitable for me is teacher. Therefore, I decided to interview a teacher, who was referred by my mother. The interview was done through Skype because she is currently working at Washington D.C since the program Urban Teachers is from John Hopkins University. The question that I asked were: what was her hesitation in becoming a teacher, what is her

This is a very important component in education to be aware of and when you are a teacher. I interviewed a first-grade teacher at my local elementary school to gain more information about the processes that our local schools go through for professional training, interventions, and in the classroom to ensure that students are developing their abilities in reading. My main focus was on what our school’s process was, how support is given, professional training offered, and what more is needed to be done to increase success for students.

When doing the interview with a school administrator, she explained to me that the school that she works in is very big on using the common core standards. She informed to me that teachers use this curriculum because Common Core standards let teachers know what students are expected to learn at every grade level. This is an outline for teachers to use and it is very effective. She mentioned to me that common core is great because after every math lesson there is an exit ticket that students must fill out. The exit ticket is a type of formative assessment that teacher check to see how well the students understood the concept. This is also given to students daily. The school administrator also mentioned to me during the interview that the school must give students the English Language Arts and Math State Test to students from the grades of 3rd to 5th grade. It was mentioned to me that the common core standards help the students prepare for the state test that the students take towards the end of the school of the year.

Professor Heather Synder is a new professor of Washburn who came all the way from Michigan to be an instructor here at our University; she is currently teaching Biology in the Stoffer Science Hall. Looking back at the interview, it is evident that Professor Synder truly wishes for the best of her students and genuinely enjoys teaching at Wasburn University.

The special education teacher interviewed, did not expect to teach special education when she graduated college. She got a job helping at a personal home with children ages 5-6 years old with some disabilities. After her experience with this first job she loved it, and began to seek positions in Elementary special education. However she was only able to obtain a position in a High School special education classroom.

I interviewed a childcare teacher engaged in the Early Childhood Development. She graduated from East Tennessee State University. She has been intrigued by children her entire life, she has volunteered with children with disabilities and worked with children since age 16. You can say that teaching has been a dream job of hers. Going through the interview I went through a series of questions as follows. What are positive and negative parts about being a teacher? What disciplinary styles work the best? And how can teaching in America be improved?

I appreciate you interviewing me today for the position of music educator at Greenview Upper Elementary in the South Euclid Lyndhurst School District for 2018-2019 school year. It was a pleasure getting the opportunity to meet with you and express my passion for teaching music.

I learned a lot from doing this interview. One thing thing in particular that I appreciated was that he said he did not always anticipate becoming a principal or wanting to be a one and decided to become a principal after several years as a teacher. I have been very indecisive about my career path so learning that you can decide later and still succeed helped calm my nerves. When I asked, Mr. Evans stated that he does not regret becoming a principal, which is a big fear of mine; that I will spend years working towards a position and then regret it or wish I had taken another path. Another point I learned is that, according to him, the current climate in the country is generally not so favorable toward teaching in a public school. He said that because of this, as a leader, it is especially important to give positive feedback whenever possible and to let the teachers know they are doing a good job. One of the most interesting points Mr. Evans made during the interview was when he said he needs to be as much of a cheerleader as anything else. I also learned that, a lot of the times, moments when your ethics will be questioned are the result of miscommunication or misperception. Leaders must always be reflective in those situations and look at whether there was something that could have been done better or differently. Even if a person does not have any facts right, it is best to at least apologize for how they are feeling about a situation and then go from there.

No matter who asks a question for an interview does not matter if it’s the teacher, HR manager, student or even the principal or members, it will always be important. Though the applicant's resume, cover letter and job application give interviewers an impression of his or her background and skills, the interview may be the finest chance the applicant must make a satisfactory impression. To hire to most qualified applicants, HR Managers must know enough information on how to perform the interviews effectively (SHRM). The way human resource professionals and hiring managers interview applicants can be crucial in classifying the top applicants for a job. But there would be a few questions that would be important to me and one of those would be: What are your strengths and weaknesses? That is an amazing question to ask individuals because from the start you will of course know that they are good at and what they are not good at. You will know what they must work on and what kind of training that they individual would have to attend. That would be a good question for me because I would know what I would have to improve on for me to be proficient in my job, to make my job a lot easier, and to just make me feel good about myself. It would also make me enjoy my job more if I were to fix my weaknesses and turn them into my strengths. Another good question would be: What innovative teaching methods have you used successfully in the past?

On Thursday September 14th in education class me and my fellow classmates had the honor of interviewing a new teacher whose name was Mr. Ian Cole . During the interview I was able to learn a teacher's perspective of what teaching is and all the different aspects of it as well. Mr. Cole chose the teaching profession because he believes that all children are able to learn no matter their differences. He wants to make a difference in his students lives and show his students what it is like to have a teacher who cares. He believes that each child is their own unique individual who needs a secure and caring atmosphere in order to grow and mature. He hopes that as a teacher he can help students strive to their fullest potential and reach their goals. He plans on doing this by providing a class environment that is comfortable and secure.

Students do not all learn the same, some students learn by seeing, others by hearing, and others through hands on experiences. As a future educator, it is important that I have flexibility in my teaching methods to ensure that I am able to accommodate unique learning styles of my students. I also feel that I need to remember how I was as a young student and the difficulties I experienced trying to understand simple math and reading simple passages. Additionally, I need to remember how my adolescent patients at the hospital described their experiences with teachers and school counselors and their lack of understanding of their mental health issues they were facing at the time. I feel that as a future educator, I need to inspire, encourage, and promote the healthy development in the personal/social, career, and educational domains of my students through enthusiasm, advocacy, and collaboration. I believe that all students are capable of being successful through appropriate support and differentiated instruction.