Learning from experience... Interviews

Some important advice that I think got me the position I am in today.

Go the extra mile (and a half): One reason I was selected for the position is because I made it extremely clear that I was not lazy.  I had two fully developed units from two different grades with pre- and post-assessment data and analysis organized in binders, a binder portfolio with normal interview materials (resume, letters of recommendation, letter of application, business cards, transcripts, my teaching license, assessment scores, etc.) plus photos of my classroom library, examples of my classroom expectations, behavior plans, a plan for the first six weeks of school, and a lesson plan I had designed.

Pull out all the stops: Part of the interview process was teaching a lesson in the classroom.  Besides the obvious part of being overly prepared, I also planned to include nearly every teaching tactic I had learned in my training to show off my skills.  This included: positive reinforcements, clear expectations, think pair share, hand signals (when I raise my hands it means think, when I lower them say the answer and point to your temple if you are thinking the same thing), cooperative learning, etc.

Have examples prepared: While I had only student taught I still scraped up examples for every possible interview question I could think of to illustrate my opinions and ideals.  I followed the format of: think, answer, example(s), project to future experiences.

What I could have done better:

Thorough answers:  As a first year teacher it was hard to give thorough answers to questions such as: "What kind of assessments are you prepared to use in your classroom?"  Make sure that you have prepared yourself as much as possible to answer questions such as these.  Read up on new assessment techniques, teaching practices, authors, programs, etc.

Transitions:  I taught a math and a writing lesson and it was brought to my attention that I should have done some sort of physical activity to transition between the activities and get the students ready to switch gears.

Know the school you are applying for:  While I had done a lot of research on the school I hadn't realized the extent to which they depended on direct instruction, which was in contrast to the training I had received.  While I don't think you should lie about your theory of pedagogy, what you say can be adjusted to incorporate both your theory and the theory of the school.