Personalize your answers. Research the school and visit it if you can. Talk to anyone you know who works, trains, or studies there.
Mention at least some of your findings in your responses to show your genuine enthusiasm for them as a school or organization. This will help your answers stand out.
Ask someone you know to give you a mock interview for practice, such as a friend, tutor, teacher, or career advisor.
Why do you want to be a teacher?
You need to show that teaching is your first option, not plan B. Talk to them about your motivation and your goal to show your passion for teaching. Please provide good examples from your time at the school and the specific teaching elements that you find satisfying. Avoid broad answers like ‘I’ve always wanted to be a teacher’.
Why do you want to work at our school?
Often one of the first questions in most teaching interviews, preparation is vital to successfully answering this question. Think about why it would be a good option for work or study at school. Tell your interviewers why you are interested in their school and what you know about its ethos, values, demographics, educational goals and objectives, initiatives or extracurricular activities.
How will you handle challenges at work?
Interviewers will want to know that you are aware of the challenges in your PGCE, teacher training or NQT year and that you have the stamina and dedication to face them. Perhaps you will describe a demanding situation, giving details of how you successfully handled the different demands. This could be your experience of studying and working at the same time: the experience of preparing lessons and managing a number of teaching cases would be especially relevant.
What experience do you have in schools?
Look ahead at the experience they ask for and emphasize where you have it. Your interview is where you can give more evidence to support your CV and application. Use evidence from your teaching practice, school work, or observation at a school before your interview. Describe the school and reflect on your learning, as well as what interested or surprised you. You can also talk about experience in other settings and with different age ranges than the one you are applying to teach, such as nurseries, youth clubs or game plans.
What are the basic skills and qualities that students look for in teachers?
Match the skills you have with what you know the school is looking for, as outlined in the job description or person specification. Key skills to look for in interview teaching include:
passion for teaching/subject
good communication and organization
critical thinking
patience
sense of humor
ability to communicate new ideas and concepts
like the young.
Call attention to your assets, as obvious as some of the items on this list may seem, by giving great examples of when you’ve successfully demonstrated them.
What qualities do you have that would make you an effective teacher?
Reflect on a teacher you liked at school, college, or worked with in the classroom. Analyze what qualities made them successful; these may include:
enthusiasm
space
Resilience
knowledge of the subject
a range of teaching methods
an ability to hold the attention of the class
empathy
encourage children to think instead of being told.
Tell your interviewers about the qualities you have and what they are looking for – this is not a time to be modest. Speak positively about yourself, think carefully about the words you would use here, for example assertive instead of bossy, or calm instead of relaxed. Talk about what you would bring to your school.
Safeguard and equal opportunities
In any teaching interview there is always a question about protection, which can take the form of any of the following:
What is a teacher’s responsibility to keep children safe?
Tell us how you dealt with a protection issue at school.
What would you do if a child revealed xyz?
Prepare by reading a protection policy, preferably for the school you are applying to or attending. In general, don’t take care of a security problem yourself, but turn it over to the school security officer.
You are also likely to be asked an equal opportunity question, such as:
What does the term ‘equal opportunity’ mean to you?
How would you approach teaching a class of mixed-ability students?
What is your motivation to work in special education?
With any of these, show that you understand the issues for yourself and outline the theory if you can with a successful example from your own experience. Be honest: If you haven’t been in that situation, say so, but talk about what you would do if you were.
How would you evaluate [the lesson you just taught] And what would you do differently next time?
This is a crucial question. Don’t just describe the lesson, talk about what was successful and how it could have gone better. Be prepared with some suggestions of what you would change in hindsight.
Recognize that you just met the students and probably don’t know them very well. Before the lesson, ask if you can have a seating chart or a list of student names. Consider people’s progress through the lesson and try to remember some of their names if you can, giving the panel some suggestions of what to follow up on.
If you walked into your classroom during an outstanding lesson, what would you see and hear?
Please provide a complete list as they may have a checklist to see how much you mention. Show your passion for high-quality teaching, but limit your response to two minutes. Your answer will help interviewers see how you would deliver an outstanding lesson at your school. If you have a portfolio with you, show any examples of children’s learning and positive feedback you have received. You could bring certificates, resources you’ve done, sample lessons, things to help you remember what you’ve done that’s outstanding.
Tell us about a behavior management strategy you have used to help engage an individual student or group.
You could talk about how you have successfully handled a disruptive student or pupil. Give an example of a situation where a strategy you have used has been effective in the classroom. Think about behavior management strategies you have encountered or heard about and talk about what you have seen to be effective.
Give an example of when you have improved teaching and learning in the classroom and how you knew you had been successful.
Think about the evidence before the interview so you are prepared with clear examples of success. Consider taking a few examples of their work, perhaps feedback from others or data on student improvement. Don’t be shy when talking about where teaching and learning have improved, as this is something your interviewers really want to know.