Mock Interview Experience

On Monday, I participated in a mock interview. Three classmates, who would be the interviewers, were given questions that they were instructed to ask the rest of the class. The interviewers played a role as administrators and interviewed everyone to see who they would hire as teachers in their given schools. Each administrator had a different type of school: a direct instruction-only school, an inquiry instruction-only school, and a cooperative instruction-only school. Their questions were based off their provided instruction.

Before going into the mock interview, I didn't know what to expect and I was really nervous. It's nerve-racking to get interviewed by your peers. I've never been on an interview before so I didn't really know how to act. I knew I had to dress appropriately and come prepared knowing the information that we would be presented on. 

I was first interviewed by Christine, who was an administrator of a cooperative learning-only school. One question I liked from her was "What kind of dance would you relate cooperative learning to?" I had to take a minute to think but I said slow dancing with another person because in order to have a successful dance, both people must contribute and follow the right steps, and they have to work together, like cooperative learning. 

I was then interviewed by Kelli, who was an administrator of a direct instruction-only school. One question I thought was challenging from her was "How would you engage students in a direct instruction lesson?" I struggled with this question at first. I replied to ask questions for the students to answer to have them talk rather than only the teacher talking. I also said that when a student gives an answer, I would do the "thumbs up/thumbs down" strategy to make sure every student is understanding. Looking back at it now, I would also engage the students by giving them guided notes or graphic organizers to follow and take notes when given new information. I liked this question even though it was challenging because it is important aspect of direct instruction. 

Finally, I was interviewed by Lindsay who was an administrator of an inquiry instruction-only school. One question I liked from her was "If you could relate any type of music to inquiry instruction, what would it be?" I immediately tried to think of types of music that had lyrics that were challenging and made you think. I then thought of rap because I personally need to think more about rap lyrics rather than others and use critical thinking, like inquiry.  

Since it was my first time being interviewed, I struggled with coming up with answers on the spot and trying to stay professional. I also kept using "like" and "uhm" a lot which I also need to change. I found tips to have a successful teaching job interview. Overall, this mock interview was helpful because it gave me some experience as to what it would be like to be interviewed and how I should act.