Teaching Assistant Interview Q and A |
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| Why exactly do you want to be a teacher? You should be excited by the prospect of working with young people and show a strong desire to help young people to learn about and understand a subject/range of subjects. You should be enthusiastic about your subject/s. This will need to be conveyed in your answer. What qualities do you think make a good teacher? Young people respond to hu our and warmth positively and it's especially important to be able to communicate clearly - by explaining ideas or concepts in steps, perhaps with illustration or analogy. Often this requires imagination and enthusiasm in equal measure to detailed knowledge of your subject. There are many other qualities which teachers will need - resilience, patience to name just two. Do you have any skills, experience or interests that you think relate to being a teacher?
There are many 'transferable skills' which will serve you
well as a teacher, particularly the ability to plan and organize
your work well, and a confident presentation style. What's
most important is for you to have some experience of working
with young people and recent experience of life in a state-maintained
school. You can contact the teaching information line on 0845
6000 991 for help and advice about visiting schools in your
area. The National Curriculum has probably evolved since you were
at school, even if you left relatively recently, and more
vocational subjects have been introduced into the curriculum.
Schools also employ more technology in a greater range of
subjects than it's likely you were used to. Behavior is unlikely,
however, to be a bigger problem than in the past: yes, there
are some poorly behaved children and there are always a small
number of reported incidents in school. Remember though that
classroom management is an important part in teacher training.
You will be well equipped to deal with almost any situation
that might arise. It's worth checking the National Curriculum online to see what you will be expected to teach, whatever your degree subject or professional background since the teacher training course provider will want to explore with you the depth of your subject knowledge. Some will expect you to have an easily identifiable degree subject whereas others will be more concerned about how they and you can develop that knowledge. If your knowledge needs significant development, The Training and Development Agency for Schools funds subject knowledge booster courses and longer subject enhancement and extension courses to help you develop a greater knowledge and understanding of your subject. If you are unsure, contact some teacher training providers where you might like to train and ask how your knowledge and experience fits with schools' expectations for teachers. Have you ever been in a situation when you've had to make a difficult topic interesting and accessible? The challenge for teachers of all subjects is to make them
interesting and accessible to young people. You shouldn't
assume that any topic is too dull or difficult. There are
many resources, especially online, available to teachers to
help them develop ideas and plans for lessons in a way that
is interesting to young people. Some practice in presenting
difficult subjects, for example to young people on work experience,
or experience of teamwork, perhaps through working with young
people in a voluntary situation, will be useful to you. A focus on attainment - especially in numeracy and literacy
- and of developing skills and knowledge is the core of the
role for all school staff. Schools draw on the skills and
knowledge of many staff, not just teachers, to help young
people develop and learn. If you're unfamiliar with issues
in education and would like to find out more about everything
from league tables, school trips, uniforms and discipline,
have a look at the education press (many newspapers produce
education supplements one day a week) and on the internet. Most teachers find the framework that the National Curriculum
provides is of great assistance in planning lessons and learning
plans. The curriculum does not plan out your work for you,
however, and you'll need to invest a lot of time and effort
into developing schemes of work that will suit the people
you'll be teaching: this is a fantastic opportunity to employ
your imagination and creativity to make lessons useful and
interesting for children of different abilities. All people, irrespective of their background, have a right
to be treated with respect and you'll need to work with your
colleagues and with parents to ensure that you are aware of
the particular needs of your classes. Many schools have a
very diverse pupil population which provides a great opportunity
to learn more about other people's cultures and beliefs. Find
out about schools' equal opportunities policies to see examples
of the ways in which they outwardly demonstrate that they
are committed to respecting individual differences.
Rama Zotti
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