Practice Makes Perfect- Assignment #9

As I complete more and more of my assignment's for the semester I am beginning to see how relevant they are and how they prepare us to enter the next chapter of our lives...in front of  a classroom full of children.

"Administrator Interview" Assignment 9

Now I thought I knew what happened in an interview, the types of questions that are asked, and what to bring to an interview. I was fairly confident in my ability to interview, practice, and keep my cool. That was until I got my first teaching interview...I had a mini panic attack..I started to doubt in my abilities, my strengths, and my people skills. We hadn't learned any of this yet, how was I prepared to enter an interview confidently and succeed? And then it hit me, why not have a practice round before the real deal? I talked with the Principle Mr. Shrieve and we set up a date and time the Monday before my interview, I gathered my resources and asked for help to develop my portfolio and on Monday I had my first Mock Teaching Job Interview. After the interview I gained my confidence back, I got my jitters out, and had time to review potential questions and re-vamp my portfolio.

The questions that were asked were not what I was expecting, I wasn't asked what my key qualities are, or what experiences I had. I was asked about

• classroom management
• If I wanted a student or teacher centered classroom
• How I worked with others
• My future goals for myself
• My expectations for my class
• How I would incorporate Math and English into my lessons
• How I would asses my students
• And what I would include in a lesson plan

The last and final BIG QUESTION!!!!! Why do you want to teach at _( insert school name) and what will you bring to the table?

Going into the interview I wasn't sure what types of questions would be asked, but after the mock interview I felt very confident in entering an interview. Once I had my first interview a lot of the same questions that Mr. Shrieve asked were almost identical to those asked of me at my interview.

I knew I would need to ask the administrator a few questions and I pondered them on my way into school, what things would I need to know to be successful at this school? What improvements would I need to make for myself to be better suited for the position? What do they look for in an employee?

I asked 3 questions: What does a typical day for a teacher look like?
How supportive is the school with professional development?
What are key qualities you look for in a teacher?

I discussed these questions with Mr. Shrieve, he helped me develop my articulation to make sure my first question didn't come off as when do I show up and how soon can I leave? He really liked my question about professional development, and helped me create better wording for my qualities they seek in a future candidate.

During the interview the one thing that impressed me the most was how calm I was, I thought it would be a very stressful environment however it was calm and Mr. Shrieve talked to me as if we were just talking in the hallway.


I was a little put off by the length of the interview, I had imagined the interview taking 45-60 minutes, or at-least 30 minutes. For some reason I had imagined since this was a "Big Kid Job" my interview would be comprised of more than 10 questions and a few comments.

One area I had to improve on was slowing down when I talked, I know I talk fast when I get nervous so I used the questions from the Mock Interview to help prepare myself, I was asked different questions however I used points from Mr. Shrieve's interview and by having these prepared points I felt more confident and talked a lot slower. One other area I need to improve on is summarizing my answers. With interview questions there is a lot of content I want to get out, I need to work on picking out the big parts and summarizing the minor details.

This Mock interview helped me tremendously! I am so glad I completed this assignment the week of my first interview, and I plan on working with the administration again soon to help me prepare for a second round interview and preparing a "bag lesson" to take in with me.