Possible Questions for a Professional Educator Interview
Principle and interview commitee:
General questions for all teaching
Principal, "Tell me how you believe children learn?"
Principal, "If I walk into your classroom what will I see?"
Principal, "Describe how teachers can use a theory on how children learn and incorporate it into their classroom instruction."
Principal, "Tell me how you will teach so children can learn?
Principal, "Tell me how do you motivate students?"
Principal, "How will you manage your classroom?"
Learning theory
What is a learning theory
Answer : Learning theory
How does planning relate to a learning theory?
Answer: Teachers' beliefs or theory on how students learn affect their planning and instructional decisions.
All plans should be based on a learning theory supported by research and wisdom of practice.
Piaget/ constructivist learning theory
Instructional strategies and sytntax related to learning theory
An instructional model should be designed to fit a particular learning theory and it should describe how students learn what they are intended to learn.
How does constructivism fit with planning?
Answer: The simple answer is ... but the problem with a simple answers is that it doesn't reflect all the complexities of its implementation. Take time to do this sequence of activities.
What makes an activity developmentally appropriate?
Answer: There are several characteristics to consider to achieve this, but first a person must have a good understanding of developmentally appropriate. See notes and activities for development.
One important factor to consider is making instruction hands on. To better understand what a hands on lesson is, look at some good and bad hands on lessons. Hands on doesn't necessarily make a lesson good. Students must be engaged in collecting their own information, but must also be mentally engaged in thinking. Hence the saying, hands on and minds on.
Instruction
What are different modes of instruction?
Answer Modes of instruction can be thought of as the kinds of sensory input that a person uses to create meaning durinng a learning experiences. Chart comparing modes of learning and instruction to their effectiveness and expense. Also check suggestions on communication of directions.
What is an instructional theory/ model?
Answer The way teachers teach or the way they believe instruction should take place. Everyone has a theory or model on how to teach that varies in complexity. Some of the more common instructional theories are: the learning cycle, common knowledge construction model, cooperative learning, and directed instruction (APL and ITIP). Instructional theory/ model directory.
What is an instructional strategy?
Answer An instructional strategy is a procedure or sequence of possible events that can be used to facilitate learning. It isn't as general as an instructional theory. Samples.
How do instructional theories/ models relate to inquiry?
Answer An instructional model should provide experiences for students to inquire and learn how to inquire better. A lesson can be planned around an investigation. This means steps of inquiry are followed during the lesson. The teacher and/or student could decide what happens at each step. Who decides at each step is one way of measuring student empowerment. If the teacher makes all the decisions, it is low student empowerment and if the student makes all the decisions, it would be high student empowerment. A mixture of both is required for ultimate gain. Critical thinking, problem solving, scientific method, and creative thinking all have a fairly similar inquiry process but ther can be greater variety in the attitudes, skills, and abilities for each. Instruction and inquiry ideas
What about high order thinking?
Answer: Taxonomies used to classify thinking, questioning, and activities, such as Bloom's, are helpful. Teachers familiar with these taxonomies can use them to guide their decision making by asking if the questions they are asking students and the activities they are presenting are at an appropriate level or could be presented at a higher level.
What is mapping and webbing?
Answer: Map or web defined - Sample maps and webs
What research ideas might be useful to help recognize
talented students?
Answer: List of common characteristics
among talented students
How can multiple intelligences be used for planning and teaching?
Answer: List of multiple intelligences and how each relates to thinking, activities, and actions
Are we teaching technology to meet students' future needs?
Answer: See Essay
Possible questions related to different subjects: science
"What does science mean to you?"
"How important is it to teach science?"
"What do you think about the Science Standards?
"What do people need to know to be scientifically literate?"
"If you were to develop a science curriculum any way that you choose, what categories would you include?"
"If I walked into your classroom during a science class, what would I see?"
"What basic ideas would you use to guide you when teach science?"
"What does hands on mean to you?"
"What does inquiry science mean to you?"
"Many teachers don't plan a lot of time for teaching science. How much time do you think should spent on science and how will you schedule that time?"
"If a primary teaching colleague, in a faculty meeting, stated that s/he had enough to do to teach reading. That young children weren't ready to understand real science. Therefore, it would be far better to teach young students how to read so when they are older they will be able to read really good so when they are older and really ready to understand science, they will be ready to do so. How would you respond?"
Technology
Article to review a philosophy for technolgy in schools. It is imperative Technology is embedded in schooling, but not for the reasons we all think.