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What are some strong questions a teaching candidate might ask at a Special Education job interview? |
I am looking for good questions. Please, no smart-alec remarks; serious answers only. Here are some possiblities: 1) How much in-service training regarding special needs is given to the regular ed teachers, especially with inclusion situations? 2) What standard curriculum packages are used in the general education classrooms, and how much leeway will you be given to deviate from those packages in order to implement research-based special education methodology? (Observe closely here how flexible the interviewing administrator is... if he/she is adamant that regular ed practices be used in the special education classroom with smaller group size being the only adaptation, never mind special education researched practices... DON'T TAKE THE JOB!!! RUN AWAY!!! RUN FAST!!!) 3) In planning the school site schedules, how much consideration is given to the special education programs, especially since each child is usually affiliated with a different regular ed teacher? 4) How does the school, and the district, define and assign case loads and classroom types? Are you going to be given predominantly one kind of disability to work with, or a diverse group? (For example, in my district, Low Incidence and Behavior Disorder are the only elementary-level self-contained classroom types... ALL other students, including severe SLD, are covered by the Resource pull-out program teacher, up to C-level services. At the middle and high school level, they do also have self-contained for severe SLD and similar issues.) 5) Will you be directly supervising Educational Assistants? Will those predominantly be 1:1 EA's for severe/profound, or will they be classroom assistants assigned directly to help you? Good luck! Source(s): I am an Elementary Resource room teacher, supervising 3 educational assistants last year, and servicing 2 severe/profound MR students who did not "fit" our school site Low Incidence program, pull-out Resource programming for SLD, SLI, HI, OHI, Autistic, and DD category students, and running a pull-out Gifted Enrichment program (in my state, Gifted is under special education). My caseload ran up to 32 students, and averaged 28 kids (yes, I was on overload...they are hiring an additional sped teacher for this year). How large are your class sizes? What will I be teaching, inclusion, emd, bmd, or cross categorical? What sort of special programs does the school have? Of course you want to do your homework first, find someone if you can who goes to the school or who has kids who go to the school, better if you can find someone who works at the school. You might want to check out the school's website and the school district's website, if they have one, to get a idea. I am a teacher so I remember that first interview, I don't teach special ed, but was scary non the less, having to be in the principal's office. You shouldnt have a problem as there are a large need for special education teachers, the interview is probably a formality. Good luck! I'd definitely ask about the type of program they use--inclusion, pull-out, content mastery, etc. I'ad also clarify what type of special ed kids you would be teaching. There's a pretty big difference between severe/profound and OHI. I sat on an interviewing committee this Spring when we were looking to hire new teachers. All of our teachers are required to be dual certified in cntent and special ed. I loved it when the applicants would ask about a mentoring program. It showed they were willing to look for assistance and guidance Another good question concerns IEPs and BIPs. Ask about how much influence the classroom teacher has when these documents are created. Some schools have the diagnostician write all of the ARD paperwork with minimal input from teachers. It's not usually a good fit. I'd also listen for certain words. You want to make certain that the school isn't too quick to qualify a child for services. Nor do you want to work someplace that refuses to qualify a child because of some arbitrary % set by the federal government. Make certain their answers deal with what is best for the students. Good luck! Special Ed teachers are a unique breed. Welcome to the fold. I'm not a special ed teacher, but I just graduated from a nationally recognized teaching program through my school district. The big thing that they told us not to do in an interview is to ask questions that make the interview panel think you will not work with certain students. Unless your absolutely opposed to working with students with certain disabilities, don't ask about what types of disabilites you will be working with. You should already know by looking at the school's SARC report before the interview, or they will tell you during the interview. When I was interviewing, I liked to ask positive questions like: "If I am hired here, what can I specifically do to help your special needs students achieve?" "What are the qualities you and the school are looking for in a teacher?" Interview Questions Why did you decide to become a teacher? When did you decide to become a teacher? Are children born with the ability to learn, or is that provided by you, the teacher? What was your best lesson? What was your worst lesson? Tell me an adjective to describe yourself. What was the last educational article you read? How would you handle working with someone you do not get along with? What are the duties of your assistant? How would you use an assistant in your classroom? What is your weakness? What is your strength? How have you used technology in your classroom? How do you handle discipline in your classroom? Do you contact parents? How often? Would you send a child to the principal's office? How have you used parents in your classroom? How do you include parents in their child's education? What have you done to improve your school? What have you done to improve your classroom? How do you teach a classroom of children with differing intellectual abilities? How do you teach reading? What is your favorite subject to teach? What is your least favorite subject to teach? How do you help those who are below level? How do you help those who are above level? Tell me about your past teaching experiences. Tell me about yourself. Describe your personal and educational background. Why did you choose to enter the teaching profession? Describe positive/negative student teaching experiences. What techniques or model do you utilize to ensure good classroom management? Describe a typical lesson in your classroom. What would I see you and your students doing? What questions do you ask yourself when planning lessons or units? What do you look for to evaluate that learning is taking place in your classroom? How do you handle different ability levels of students in your classroom? What principles do you use to motivate students? What are some of the most successful strategies or techniques that have worked for you in the classroom? What steps would you take to handle a student who is a consistent behavioral problem in your classroom? How will you interact with parents of the students you teach? What is the most difficult aspect of teaching today? What qualities make a "superior" teacher? Three words to describe yourself. How would students, colleagues, friends, etc. describe you? In what areas would the district need to provide support for you in order to help you become an excellent teacher? Goals 5 years from now? Changes to educational system? What is your philosophy of education? With what kind of student do you least/most like to work with? Describe your teaching style. Describe student teaching experience(s). How do you individualize your teaching? Why should we hire you? Write a letter home on the first day of school. What would you say in your "Back-to-School" letter? Compose a weekly newsletter. What information would you include? Why? How would you handle an attendance problem in your classroom? How would you handle a personal attack from a parent? (For example: A parent tells you, "What do you know about teaching children, you don't have any!?") Respond to the following education terms (usually they have 4-6 of these): Constructivism--Piaget SOL'S (Standards of Learning in Virginia) Cooperative learning At-risk students Assertive Discipline Madeline Hunter State regulated questions (for VA teachers, see #2!) Grouping practices (tracking) Site-base management schools of choice national standards (curriculum/assessment) ungraded/non-graded middle level higher level thinking gifted education (Talented and Gifted program) authentic assessment whole language peer coaching parent involvement restructuring National goals interdisciplinary curriculum learning to learn portfolios developmental appropriateness learning styles special education (mainstreaming and inclusion) outcome-based education Home bound home-schooling vs. public schooling home-schooling vs. private schooling Lee Canter MATH-RELATED QUESTIONS: What techniques do you administer in your classroom for teaching mathematics? (open ended questions, schema, constructivism, etc.) How do you keep enforcing student involvement? Do you incorporate technology into your instruction? What's been more effective/less effective? What manipulatives do you use? How effective are they? Do you teach in whole group settings or individual instruction? How do you provide instruction for a cultural diverse classroom...what modifications are made? Some of the interviewers asked "situational" questions. For example, "You know that a colleague has been talking behind your back about what he or she sees as an ineffective teaching method. What would you do?" OR "A student is consistently late with assignments. How do you handle the situation?" And, the final and probably most important question: What questions do you have? I hope these help any teachers getting ready for an interview, whether it's your first time or 15th time! Good Luck! http://members.aol.com/amberp813/intervi... |
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