1. Why do you want to work here?
2. What learning theories have informed your teaching?
3. What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of a collaborative environment both in the classroom and among the faculty?
4. Students have difficulty being in class, reading the assigned material, and doing good work. What do you do to motivate them to show up, read, and do their best?
5. How do you account for the diversity of styles for reading, writing, and abstract thinking in your classroom?
6. How do you stay current on theories and research?
7. Do you have any questions for us?
My questions for them:
1. This (fill in a long blank) is the picture I have gotten of your students. Is that accurate or not? In what ways could you fill in the gaps to make my picture clearer?
2. Why do you like working at the school?
The best part of the interview was probably that they love their jobs. Two had worked there for 16+ years. Two had worked there for 5. The others didn’t say.
I enjoyed the interview. I hope they did as well.
I like your questions a lot, and theirs strike me as better than average: challenging, but also a refreshing interest in the learning process and the classroom environment. Maybe a little intense. I like to see the interview begin with something more innocuous and personal to put everyone at ease. Best of luck.
I’d be interested in how you answered their questions, especially that #3, which sounds to me like there’s something behind it, some institutional issue or story.
Dale
Pretty good questions for future teachers.
I would study even more questions before going into a teaching position, there are over a thousand possibilites an interviewer may ask. Practice makes perfect!
Bob
Mock Questions
Quite interesting. I’m in the middle of a search for a job teaching English (EFL) overseas. The interviews have ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. One was reasonable.
My blog has those for anyone who’s interested.