Sample Interview Question Conversion Chart
Note to users: The left-hand column of this list represents some typical traditional interview
questions that we might have already heard within our own career pursuits in education. The
column on the right shows examples of how you might then alter a traditional interview question
in order to more deeply mine for your candidates’ attitudes about a particular topic.
*Traditional Interview Questions
Interview Questions that Mine for
Attitudes/Dispositions
1.) Tell us about yourself.
What makes you a unique educator?
2.) What is your educational preparation?
What should someone do to prepare to be a teacher?
3.) Why did you decide to become a teacher?
What were your attitudes about school when you were
growing up?
4.) Why should we hire you?
How did you prepare for this interview? Is preparing for
an interview necessary?
5.) What is your philosophy of education?
Is writing down your philosophy of education important
to you? If so, what makes it important for this interview
team?
6.) What do you like best about teaching? What do you
like least?
Talk about a hot topic in education that is going on right
now and what your position is in regards to that topic.
7.) What three adjectives would your
(students/cooperating teacher/colleagues/supervisors)
use to describe you?
Are others’ perceptions of you important?
8.) What three adjectives would you use to describe
yourself?
How do you perceive yourself as a person? A teacher? A
community member?
9.) What extracurricular activities would you like to be
involved in?
How can you grow and nurture your students outside of
the classroom?
10.) Teaching requires time management and
organization skills. How do you address these
challenges?
How would you feel if you did not finish the goals of
your lesson on a particular day?
11.) How do you cope with stress?
Do you think that stress is a normal part of life? Who
creates teacher stress?
12.) What hobbies, recreational activities, and/or
interests do you enjoy?
How does your own personal life strengthen your
professional life?
13.) How will you develop a productive relationship
with your supervisor?
Is it OK to go to “happy hour” with your boss and other
school staff members?
14.) What questions do you have for us?
Take a moment to ask the interview team something that
you want to know about our attitudes toward an
* Source for Traditional Interview Questions: How to Get the Teaching Job You Want,
by Robert Feirsen and Seth Weitzman (2004), Stylus Publishing. Used with permission.
educational topic or issue.
15.) Describe your goals for the first few days of
school and how you would achieve them.
How is the first day of school different to the last day of
school (aside from the literal meaning of first and last)?
16.) How would you maintain student discipline?
Who is responsible for how students behave?
17.) What have you found to be the toughest aspect of
discipline?
What types of discipline issues upset you to the point
where you have a zero-tolerance policy?
18.) What is the role of a teacher in the classroom?
Outside the classroom?
Is it OK to be friends on social media with your students?
Is it OK to be friends on social media with your students’
parents?
19.) What characteristics make a master teacher?
What would it mean to you if someone called you a
“master teacher?”
20.) Describe the physical appearance of your
classroom.
Does it really matter how your student desks are
arranged?
21.) If I walked into your classroom on a typical day,
what would I see taking place?
Should classrooms be generally loud or quiet?
22.) How would you describe your teaching style?
Was there a teacher from your past whom you didn’t
like? Why? How does that impact your teaching craft
today?
23.) Why is your field important for a student to study?
Should schools still teach sewing? Dance? Welding?
24.) What are some of the best practices for teaching
(in this field, at this grade level)?
Are there such things as “best practices?” What is a best
practice?
25.) What are the key standards for this subject area?
Describe how you would feel if we asked you to recite all
of your content standards right now and you couldn’t do
it.
26.) How do you teach study and organizational skills
to your students?
Is keeping a neat binder necessary for student success?
27.) Describe how you would modify a lesson to meet
the needs of a (student with disabilities, [Limited
English Proficient] LEP student, gifted and talented
student).
Is it fair for one student to have fewer problems on their
homework assignment than the other students?
28.) What techniques do you use to check for
understanding during a lesson? What techniques do you
use with students who don’t “get it” the first time?
Is there a time when you just have to move on to other
content even if students didn’t “get” the previous topic?
29.) Describe the format you would use to develop a
lesson.
What are your feelings about formal lesson plans?
30.) How would you differentiate instruction to meet
Isn’t it virtually impossible to meet the needs of all
* Source for Traditional Interview Questions: How to Get the Teaching Job You Want,
by Robert Feirsen and Seth Weitzman (2004), Stylus Publishing. Used with permission.
the needs of all students?
students?
31.) What principles do you use to motivate students to
learn?
Do you think it’s fair that teachers are held accountable
for their students’ motivation?
32.) Describe curriculum trends in your field of study.
Which is most interesting or exciting to you?
Do you feel that it is important for teachers to be excited
about their curriculum?
33.) How would you plan differently for a
homogeneous or heterogeneous classroom?
What are your attitudes about an all-boys or an all-girls
school?
34.) What is your grading philosophy? How do you
decide what grade to assign to a student?
Do you believe in grading systems that only use pass/fail
as a standard?
35.) How do you use standardized test results?
Is standardized testing necessary?
36.) Describe independent projects that you might
assign.
What are your thoughts about assigning student projects?
37.) What is your philosophy regarding homework?
Describe some types of homework assignments that
you would require from your students.
Do you fail a student who does not hand in any
homework all year long?
38.) What is constructivism? How would you use this
approach in your classroom?
How does educational theory drive your practice?
39.) In a cooperative learning lesson, how would you
ensure that every group member actively participates?
What are your feelings about having students work in
groups?
40.) Describe how you would develop interdisciplinary
connections in the lessons you present to students.
Why can’t an (i.e.) English lesson be just that: an English
lesson? Why are English teachers expected to teach with
an interdisciplinary focus?
41.) How would you use computers as a tool for
teaching and learning?
Which is more important to you as a teacher: an iPad or a
book?
42.) How would you deal with controversial subjects
in the classroom?
Is it OK to discuss something uncomfortable in your
class?
43.) What curriculum materials have you developed?
Do you use borrowed lessons from the internet or from
your colleagues?
44.) When you try something new in the classroom,
how do you know if it works?
How important is it to ask students about their opinions of
your lessons?
45.) Would you group students in the classroom? If so,
on what basis?
Are seating charts important? Is tracking students helpful
for schools? Do you think that inclusion models work?
46.) What criteria would you use to evaluate textbooks
for possible adoption?
Are textbooks important? If you think so, how do you
spot a high quality textbook?
47.) How would you use the resources of the school
library?
What is important about school libraries if we have ebooks and the internet?
* Source for Traditional Interview Questions: How to Get the Teaching Job You Want,
by Robert Feirsen and Seth Weitzman (2004), Stylus Publishing. Used with permission.
48.) How would you involve parents in the learning
process?
Explain how you might ask for help from your students’
parents (you choose the topic).
49.) How do you communicate pupil progress to
parents?
Describe some unique ways that you would get parents
involved in their children’s progress.
50.) A parent calls to question a student’s grade,
performance in class, or homework assignment. How
would you address the parent’s concerns?
Provide an example about how a demanding parent
contacted you for more information about something and
how it made you feel.
51.) Describe how you would prepare for a parentteacher conference.
52.) How would you involve parents in homework
assignments? How would you try to ensure that they
are not overly involved in their child’s homework
assignments?
How do you feel about parent conferences and the need to
hold a conference night?
Is it important to speak to a parent whom you know
created their own child’s project for your class?
53.) How will you learn about our community?
What do you perceive to be important about our
community?
54.) How would you use community resources to
facilitate learning?
Are field trips necessary?
55.) Talk about a time when you co-taught?
Do you think co-teaching works?
* Source for Traditional Interview Questions: How to Get the Teaching Job You Want,
by Robert Feirsen and Seth Weitzman (2004), Stylus Publishing. Used with permission.