What is your greatest weakness? What is your teaching philosophy? Where do you see yourself in five years? Anyone involved in the teacher hiring process has likely asked—or been asked—these interview questions. But what do the answers actually reveal?
Not much, according to Shawn Blankenship, veteran principal at Piedmont Intermediate School in Oklahoma. Teacher candidates tend to offer rote responses to these widely circulated questions, sometimes coming across like robots in interviews, he observes.
Opening an interview with "tell me about yourself," for instance, reveals little about a candidate's suitability for a position. They're apt to simply rattle off the accomplishments on their résumé, and they "might say they have two dogs and their hobby is golf," notes Blankenship. That information is "not telling me a whole lot."
Unfortunately, principals receive limited guidance when it comes to writing questions that do uncover a candidate's qualities. According to Jennifer Hindman, author of Effective Teacher Interviews (ASCD, 2014), 73 percent of principals aren't trained on how to conduct "effective, fair, and legal" teacher interviews. Often, she says, aspiring principals take one human resources course that covers "everything from hiring to firing."
Yet the quality of interview questions principals ask is key to hiring the right teacher. What should be considered, then, when designing questions that target a candidate's content knowledge and skills and assess their "fit" for the job?
Begin with the End in Mind
First, "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," advises Hindman. Sit down with your interview team to determine how your current questions align with the job description. Then, dig deeper into the skills required for the specific position, grade level, and content area.
If Piedmont Intermediate is hiring for a 5th grade math position, Blankenship and his team outline "the most critical concepts the kids need to know." Then, they determine, "What would we want to hear from a strong candidate?" The questions they develop, says Blankenship, "begin with the end [or answer] in mind."
Mary Clement, professor of teacher education at Berry College, says the "end" could be the district's teacher evaluation system. In 10 Steps for Hiring Effective Teachers, she recommends writing an interview question for each area or topic in the teacher evaluation instrument. Interviewers can also rate candidates' responses according to the rubric used by the evaluation (e.g., "needs improvement," "proficient," or "exemplary").
At the same time, "your questions must be tailored to your school," maintains Blankenship. And because "your needs, priorities, and initiatives change over time," revisit your list often and adjust accordingly for each position.
The Jennings School District in Missouri aligns its interview questions to the "three areas that move a district": relationships, pedagogy, and curriculum. Considering its population (100 percent of the district's 3,000 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch), the administrative team assesses candidates' knowledge of poverty research, as well as their comfort level working in a high-needs environment, says Superintendent Tiffany Anderson, who sits in on each interview. They ask questions like, Is there a difference teaching children in poverty? What do you think about home visits? and Can generational poverty be broken? These questions help them hire "hands-on problem solvers who are interested in understanding the story behind the behavior with kids," Anderson explains.
Drill Down to the "What" and "How"
Once your panel identifies the areas you want to cover, consider the type of questions you plan to ask. Hindman's book outlines several: opinion questions (which can be hard to assess), fact questions (which illuminate content knowledge), situational or hypothetical questions (which uncover job knowledge), and experience- or behavior-based questions (which can help predict job performance).
Blankenship relies on a combination of all four (read his Connected Principals post, "Teacher Interview Questions that Work"). His favorite is a series of hypothetical questions on classroom management:
- A student begins being disruptive and interfering with other students' ability to learn during your instructional delivery. How do you respond?
- Three minutes later, the same student begins disrupting again. How do you respond?
- Five minutes later, the same student begins disrupting again. How do you respond?
The third question "is where the surprise comes in," he says. One teacher replied, "I'd take out my phone and call their parent right then, making sure everyone saw." Another candidate said, "I would hand the kid the chalk and … have them stand in front of the class and teach. I would make an example out of them." The panel easily determined that such punitive measures would not fit their school culture.
Blankenship's eventual hire responded with sensitivity, noting that he would first ask the student an unexpected question to redirect his behavior. For instance, if "a student is tapping his desk, I might ask him to quickly tap to the beat of his favorite song" and try to guess it by the end of class. Then, if the behavior continues, "I would use physical proximity so that I do not bring any attention to the student." At the third occurrence, "I would [place] a sticky note on the student's desk asking him to see me after class. [Together, we] would more fully explore the misbehavior while searching for a solution."
That teacher's response "is a perfect example of [what happens when you] ask the right question," notes Blankenship. Presenting an authentic scenario clues the interview panel to the candidate's take on discipline more so than "Tell me about your classroom management."
Base Your Approach on Behavior
Although "there is never one right way" to approach interviewing, Clement recommends primarily using behavior-based questions. Her research finds that "asking about past experience and knowledge is a better way to ascertain if candidates can handle future situations."
In her book, Clement shares "starters" for writing behavior-based questions including "Tell me about a time when …," "What has been your experience with …," and "Characterize your work with …."
Reframing your questions to draw on experience is easy, Hindman indicates. "If you have viable questions and you change the stems, you're halfway there."
For instance, Anderson typically asks teachers, "If a student comes to the classroom and you notice her clothes aren't washed and other basic needs aren't met, what do you do?" Clement would rephrase the question as, "What have you done, or seen a teacher do, when a student comes to class with unwashed clothes or unmet basic needs?"
To deepen candidate's responses, Blankenship attaches a timeframe to behavior-based questions. He might ask, "Think about last week when you collaborated with a content colleague. How did you contribute?" or "Think about the last lesson you taught. What was the highest-level question you asked?"
Asking for specific evidence isn't meant to intimidate. Blankenship gives teachers adequate "think time" to respond—and he recommends other principals do the same. When candidates arrive for an interview, the front office staff hands them the questions to review. If the teacher needs additional time to contemplate a question during the interview, the team moves on but eventually returns to that question. Blankenship has even given candidates a full day to research an answer (e.g., on an unfamiliar textbook), following up with them later.
Throttle Back to Needs
"Hiring is a relationship-driven process," believes Anderson, and interviews require a personal touch. But always "throttle back to the job description and [your] school's needs," reminds Hindman. If your questions are job related, asked consistently of each candidate (although follow-up probes can change), and focus on the core competencies of effective teaching, you'll ensure a more objective approach.
"So many times we use generic questions, and then we pay for it the entire year. Spend the time designing questions that you can't Google," implores Blankenship. "If an interview results in a recommendation for hiring, the impact on student learning will be significant."
