Interviews

Wow, what an amazing experience the interview process was. It was definitely a worthwhile learning experience. I’m so grateful that Dr. Smirnova included this activity in her class because of important it is for us. I really think that other teachers should include this activity in their classes as well.  

I learned so much from this experience, most importantly, I learned that I need much more practice interviewing. During this process, I was told that I need to OWN my philosophy statement not just be able to recite. Additionally, I learned that I need to have confidence during the interview process and to be myself so that the interview knows that I’m a confident teacher. I also learned that it is important to turn your negatives into positives. For example, even though I do not have actual teaching experience, I do have a lot of experience working with autistic children, subbing, and I was fortunate enough to observe a wide range of classrooms for fieldwork. Everyone has negatives, what is important is that you do not dwell on them, and you are able to show what you do have. When being interviewed, it is your time to show what you can do and the experience you do have.

The questions were an eye opener. I was not at all prepared for the abstract questions that were asked. One of the questions was, “What color do you think of when you think of an inquiry lesson?” When I first heard this question, I was like =0  I responded tie dye because in inquiry lessons students work together. I thought this was a great response, but I was not at all confident in my delivery and also it took me a little while to come up with that. Faith however, was able to very quickly come up with yellow because she thought of a yellow rose which represented friendship. What a great answer she had and she was confident in her response!!!!

I’m so grateful that I had this opportunity because it gives me time to practice and really work on delivering confident responses. The questions that I thought were easier to respond to where the scenario questions. Basically, they asked “What would you do if students were working in groups and some students were not doing any work or were fooling around?” Like many on my peers, I thought of the JIGSAW activity because all students have equal responsibility and they are all responsible for their own learning.

I can’t say it enough this was definitely such a valuable experience and something that I wish we could have practiced more. With so many teaches and so few teaching jobs, it is so important that you stand out. One way to do that is to give a great INTERVIEW.