10 Teacher Interview Questions and Answers to be Prepared For
Posted by IntroMagic Team on January 12th, 2021
10 Common Teacher Interview Questions and Answers
- Why do you want to be a teacher?
- What is the most challenging part about being a teacher?
- What is the most challenging part about being a teacher?
- How will you evaluate students?
- What role do parents play in a student's life and how will you integrate them into the teaching-learning process?
- Walk us through a sample teaching lesson
- What is your teaching philosophy?
- Why do you want to teach at this school?
- What is the significance of technology in modern classroom teaching?
- Do you have any questions for us?
1. Why do you want to be a teacher?
Why do recruiters ask this: This is one of the most common teacher interview questions. Every job requires passion and commitment.
So recruiters want to know what specific reason motivated you to choose the teaching profession. What is it that you value most about teaching, and in turn, what values you can add to their institution.
How to answer it:
- Plan out this answer carefully because it’s a game-changer. This question will help you stand out as a unique individual with a unique story.
- Avoid cliches and redundant answers. Go for something specific in your life. Share a personal experience to validate your explanations.
- Sample answer:
- I’ve always been good at explaining things. Whether it be telling a story or teaching a concept, I get into the heart of it and simplify it for my audience. To add, I am good with children. Being the eldest in my family, I developed that bond quite early.
- Most students hesitate to approach 2 times for the same doubt or don't feel understood. I want them to have that connection and transfer to them that clarity of thought I found while reading or studying.
2. What is the most challenging part about being a teacher?
Why do recruiters ask this: It’s mostly to measure your inner strength and how tactfully you overcome a classroom challenge.
How to answer it:
- Identify the most frustrating part of teaching that most teachers face, then chalk out your strategy to address it.
- Don’t minimize the focus on the challenge. Keep it fair. At the same time, put extra focus on how you overcome it through your teaching style or behavior.
- Sample answer:
- I hate to admit that the most challenging part is dealing with the ‘less-attentive’ students. Students can be inattentive due to multiple reasons. It could be a challenging subject or maybe they’ve already studied it or other factors outside the classroom.
- Instead of getting angry at them or dismissing them, I try to understand the reason behind their behavior. I then incorporate a more student-interactive mode of teaching than passive explanation. If possible, I even plan small activities around the subject.
3. Have you ever helped someone become more successful before? Tell us how.
Why do recruiters ask this: They know that teaching is often considered a classroom activity. Very few teachers take a genuine interest in the overall growth and success of students.
While it’s impossible to guarantee the success of every student, the recruiters mostly want to see whether you simply possess that quality or not.
How to answer it:
- Be sincere and cite a life example.
- It’s not necessary that you have helped only students. The person could be from any walk of life.
- Sample answer:
- My cousin always wanted to participate in inter-school debates but was afraid of facing the crowd. I told him about the time when I took part in my first debate competition in the 4th grade. Usually, parents push children with the motive of winning rather than performing. So I encouraged him to simply speak his mind.
- After a few attempts at school-level debates, he started participating in the district-level competitions. Everytime my advice to him would be the same: focus on performing.
- You can do it. Now he is one of the foremost event hosts of his state. All students need is someone to constantly remind them of self-belief and boost their confidence.
4. How will you evaluate students?
Why do recruiters ask this: This is to test how you approach the learning outcomes of students and what measures you take to bridge any gaps (if found).
How to answer it:
- Avoid giving generic answers.
- List down your teaching methodologies and real-life student performance observations.
- Sample answer:
- I take a holistic approach while evaluating my students. I don’t just judge them on score cards but through group activities, inquisitiveness, projects, creativity etc.
- One of my pupils, Damian, was unable to explain a concept on his own. I encouraged him to open up in a group-talk session, and the results were surprisingly good. Talking and discussing with peers helped him get a better grasp on the subject and that reflected in his test scores.
5. What role do parents play in a student's life and how will you integrate them into the teaching-learning process?
Why do recruiters ask this: This is to understand whether you know that parents are the key to a student’s success. Building a strong relationship with parents lets you check whether your inputs are noted and the right expectations are set or not.
How to answer it:
- Showcase the various efforts taken by you to maintain a good parent-teacher rapport.
- Sample answer:
- I always take a mental note to provide personalized feedback to my students along with test scores. I even try to establish a good relationship with all parents at the start and end of every term through parent-teacher meetings.
- I even rolled out a survey to collect all information starting from family background, members, family dynamics.
6. Walk us through a sample teaching lesson
Why do recruiters ask this: This is an important question for teacher interviews. Recruiters not only need to see you in action but also want to study your lesson-planning strategy. It gives them the scope to check your mindset and you the opportunity to note valuable feedback
How to answer it:
- This section requires preparation. If you have prior teaching experience then give it a quick run-through. If not, then plan your own lesson.
- Make sure your teaching style aligns with the school’s learning goals.
- Walk them through the entire process – why you took a certain approach, what can your students expect from the lesson, etc.
- Leave plenty of room for feedback from the recruiters.
7. What is your teaching philosophy?
Why do recruiters ask this: One of the best teacher interview questions. Every teacher is motivated by his/her own guiding principle. And the recruiters need to see what is your unique take on teaching and how it will benefit their school students.
How to answer it:
- This opportunity is similar to ‘why you chose to be a teacher’ question in the sense that it lets you stand out.
- Every teacher’s philosophy of teaching style is different. So make sure you don’t miss a chance to leave your mark.
- Focus carefully on your teaching methodology and articulate it thoughtfully.
- Sample answer:
- My teaching philosophy is to develop learner-centered course plans. I want all students to relate to the content and engage in the teaching process. I am an advocate of more than one way of teaching, focused on the different learning abilities of my students.
- For example, if the children are bored of indoor classroom sessions then a mathematics class can be planned outdoors as well. Then there are several activities that can be planned too to keep the subject interesting. Focus should always be on the student's advancement rather than a teacher's benefit.
8. Why do you want to teach at this school?
Why do recruiters ask this: Recruiters get multiple applications in a day. So what they want to test is whether you’re genuinely interested to be a part of their teaching mission or are simply passing through.
How to answer it:
- Take your time to research.
- Know about the school, their vision and mission values and tailor answers accordingly.
- Sample answer:
- After researching all the schools in this district, I found that this school has an award -winning staff and library. The teacher-student ratio is perfect, allowing more time for personalized teaching. Not to mention, the higher studies support and literature program that this school offers makes me even more interested in being a part of this school.
9. What is the significance of technology in modern classroom teaching?
Why do recruiters ask this: This is one of the interesting teacher interview questions. This question checks your awareness about the ongoing education trends. It also gives a glimpse into your intellectual and unique take on important global changes.
How to answer it:
- Do your research and give your honest opinion.
- Docus how being a teacher you can utilize tech to your best advantage in the classroom
- Focus on the cons as well (if any as per your research).
- Sample answer:
- With more and more educational platforms emerging day by day, technology has digitized education and made it available for all, with just a click of the button. AI-assisted and AI-powered courses are opted by schools worldwide.
- 3D projections and animations when strategically injected into the lesson plans can lead to better understanding of the subject matter. However, technology can never fully replace human intelligence. At least, the debate is still on.
10. Do you have any questions for us?
This is a standard teacher interview question and comes at the end of the session. This sets an open ground where you are welcome to ask anything. So make sure questions count. It shows your enthusiasm and preparedness.
How to answer it:
- Research your questions beforehand and make a list.
- Keep taking mental notes while the recruiter responds.
- Questions to ask:
- How is the work culture of your school?
- What are the ideal qualities you look for in a candidate?
- What does a typical day in your school look like?
- Are there any higher studies opportunities offered for teachers?
Always remember that from communication skills to teaching strategies, teacher interview questions and answers test multiple factors of your personality. Ensure that your answers are always tailored to the school’s learning goals. Just be confident, be you. All the best.
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