Robert Armstrong, San Antonio Christian School, San Antonio, TX
Mr. Armstrong shares interview methods that involve his screening the applicant then pulling together a group of teachers who will also work with this candidate. Once the teaching candidate is approved, the School Administrator will determine whether the person is ultimately hired for the school. Three primary pieces determine whether the candidate will be considered, because it is a faith based school the candidate will need to be able to discuss their faith comfortably, secondly, the candidate will need to demonstrate mastery of their content area and show a passion for the subject, professionalism is third coupled with a gifting for the job prompting them to go above and beyond.
The key to being hired in Mr. Armstrong's perspective is to be able to connect with students, what are they doing to grow as a teacher.
Dr. Virginia Rhodes, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati OH Dr. Rhodes, the founding principal of Hughes STEM high school explains that many schools use an interviewing panel inclusive of some of the candidate's peers, the department chair, interdisciplinary team members. Most principals are looking for energy. It is difficult to project if you will have good classroom management but they can tell if you have an excitement or energy about getting into the classroom. Give the principal a sense that beyond the passion you have tools and skills to take into the classroom, and that you have taken training to improve. Demonstrate that you understand classroom management or curriculum design. Other things that make you desirable to a principal would be ideas about how you can get involved in clubs or activities ... certainly athletics but beyond that ... reading club, bicycling club. Ways to draw the students into activities and for you to bond with the school. Dr. Rhodes explains that she has hired student teachers in the past because she has had the opportunity to see them at work in the classroom. Sometimes there is an opportunity to have a deeper discussion about what the student teacher is seeing and what it means to them.
Not all schools interview the same way. Dr Rhodes explains her method of T-2 interviews where she has the candidate teamed up with another candidate. They are given a problem they need to solve or a task that needs to be completed. The purpose is to see how they manage with "on the fly thinking and collaboration." Most things in a school happen quickly and teachers are called on to work together to make things happen without a lot of time to plan it out.
Mr. Scott Toon, Principal of John Foster Dulles Elementary School, of Oak Hills Local Schools Mr. Toon shares the type of questions that he likes to ask that tease out whether or not the candidate can actually do what they say they can. One question is about students and their preferred learning style, how they would obtain a students' preference for learning. Secondly, pick a topic within the content area or explain how they would apply the knowledge of the different learning styles of the students in a lesson. You cannot think off the top of your head, you have to have given thought to these areas. Another question is how do you know that your students are learning or evidence that you have collected to demonstrate student learning. The last question would be regarding reading and the essential skills necessary to be a successful reader. The information Mr. Toon is looking for is your understanding of reading comprehension, fluency, and decoding. He wants specific answers that demonstrate understanding how a student learns to read and read at high levels because the Oak Hills District believes that the key to success in any and all content areas is the ability to read.