TEACHER Interview Questions and Answers

In this article, you will learn the top 10 teacher interview questions and answers.

If you have a teacher interview coming up soon for any school, College or University, read this interview article from start to finish because it’s going to help you be the standout candidate at your own teacher interview.

Teaching Interview Tips

• Prepare for common interview questions for teachers. Learn the school’s needs. Then brainstorm accomplishments that show how you can help.
• Bring a portfolio: It’s not for them to read. It’s evidence of your teaching interview answers. Bring materials that shows achievements, like lesson plans, worksheets, and images.
• Dress professionally: More professionally than you would for work. That sends the message that you take the interview seriously.
• Listen: The more you ask and listen, the fewer interview questions for teachers you’ll have to answer.
• Make eye contact with the principal and all other interviewers.

10 most common teacher interview questions and answers

TEACHER Interview Question: Tell me about yourself?

Example Answer:

“My name is Mark and thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to be interviewed for this teacher position today. Before I applied for the role, I managed to read the job description carefully to ensure I have the necessary skills, qualities and attributes to perform to a high standard in the role.

I would describe myself as a positive, energetic, knowledgeable and industrious teacher. I have a flexible style of teaching that can cater for all students and abilities.

I would also say that I am a high achieving teacher. For example, in my last role, I managed to turn around an under-performing class and at the end of the year, their examination pass rate was 15% higher than the school average.

I would say that I am adaptable, I am flexible, I will be supportive of your school, and at all times I will uphold the school values in my teaching methods.”

TEACHER Interview Question: Why do you want to be a teacher?

Example Answer:

“I want to be a teacher because I’ve been drawn to teaching for many years and I also feel that I have a natural ability to teach. I want to be a teacher because the workload is significant, I’m the type of person who enjoys being busy and with teaching, no two days are ever the same.

As a teacher you get to have a positive impact on your students and you also, more importantly, get to instill really positive habits that the students can take forward and see the benefit of in their lives.

I believe teaching is an immensely rewarding career. It’s a job for life. You get to build really positive relationships with other teachers. And also, if I’m being honest, the holidays are attractive too.”

TEACHER Interview Question: What are the most important skills and qualities needed to be a teacher?

Example Answer:

“To be a competent teacher, you need several important skills and qualities. These include having patience, understanding, and you also need to be able to remain calm in difficult and potentially stressful situations.

You should also be inclusive in your style of teaching. So what I mean by that is making sure that all students, regardless of their abilities and their background, have the same opportunities. That’s really, really important.

You need to have a good level of knowledge of your subject. You need to be creative to be able to design inspiring classes and really interactive lesson plans.

You need to be energetic, motivational, be passionate about your subject, and you also need to have really good leadership skills and be able to plan and organize all lessons in advance of them taking place.

You need to be flexible to support the school. You also need to be open to change because if the school wants to alter or amend the curriculum, you need to be on board and support that. And you also need outstanding communication skills.”

TEACHER Interview Question: What is your teaching philosophy?

Example Answer:

“My teaching philosophy is based on the fact that I want the classroom to be safe and I want there to be a productive learning environment and it would be my responsibility as the teacher to use a teaching style that caters for all.

So my philosophy is always focused on the fact that nobody should get left behind, no student should feel isolated or excluded, and I would make sure that I cultivated a positive learning environment where everyone advances and reaches their full potential.”

TEACHER Interview Question: What’s your teaching style?

Example Answer:

“I like to use a variety of different teaching styles, dependent on the subject, the environment, and also the needs of the students. So these styles include instructional, discussion, and also visual and practical styles of teaching.

So the instructional style is when I want the students to listen and follow my instructions. The discussion style is where I want to encourage the students to ask questions and also debate amongst themselves. The discussion style is useful because it allows the student to improve their communication skills and also their ability to build relationships with each other.

My preferred style of teaching, however, is the visual and practical style where I will use practical demonstrations that the student can relate to because they will encounter these in their lives as they progress.

So, to summarize, I use a mixture of different styles that are designed to meet the needs of the student.”

TEACHER Interview Question: How would you manage behavior in the classroom?

Example Answer:

“Whenever I am managing behavior in the classroom, I always make sure that I set firm boundaries and expectations from the start. This is really important and I always focus on the three Rs and these are respect, response, and the right approach to learning.

Respect is based on the fact that I want my students to respect each other and I also want them to respect me as the teacher. If they learn respect, it helps them throughout their lives to build really good relationships with people once they have left school.

The response is the process that we will all follow whilst we are in the classroom. So I want my students to ask questions and to get involved in the lessons because this makes sure that they are then concentrating and they are less likely to be distracted and ultimately misbehave.

So the right approach, which is the final of my three Rs, is the student understands the benefits of learning. I always make sure that I motivate them and focus on teaching them how important lifelong learning is and how this will impact their lives in the future.

Finally, I will always use a style of teaching that is appropriate to the needs of the student and this really helps to minimize misbehavior in the classroom.”

TEACHER Interview Question: What’s your biggest weakness?

Example Answer:

“I think my biggest weakness is undoubtedly the fact that I find it really hard saying no to people. I’m naturally a people pleaser. And if somebody asks me to help them, I always say yes first of all, without checking that I have the capacity to assist them.

Sometimes in the past I would become overwhelmed with too much work. Whilst I would never let anybody down, what I do need to do in the future is be more mindful in situations like these and assess my capacity to take on extra work before saying yes.”

TEACHER Interview Question: Why should we hire you as a teacher?

Example Answer:

“I believe you should hire me for several reasons. To begin with, I’m a very energetic and passionate teacher and I will be able to impart really good knowledge onto my students.

You should also hire me as your teacher because I promise that I will always make sure the learning environment is productive and also safe.

You should also hire me because I will make sure that all students, Regardless of their abilities, will have the same opportunities. They will all receive the same high levels of tuition.

You should also hire me because I will always be supportive of the school. I’m adaptable and flexible, which means that I will be available to help out at short notice if required.

At all times, I will embrace change the change that the school needs to implement. I will embrace that positively and I will always uphold the values of your school.”

TEACHER Interview Question: How do you evaluate your students?

Example Answer:

“I evaluate students with formal and informal methods, including quizzes and tests. I also grade in-class activities like reports, recitations, desk work, and group activities.

One student, Kelvin, showed a strong grasp of concepts during in-class activities, but performed poorly during testing. Through working closely with him, I uncovered an undiagnosed vision problem. Kelvin got corrective lenses and his test scores rose to match his in-class comprehension.”

Looking for more interview questions? Here are the most common job interview questions and answers.