ALL THE RIGHT ANSWERS.

ALL THE RIGHT ANSWERS. YOU'VE WORKED TIRELESSLY tire��less?adj.Not yielding to fatigue; untiring or indefatigable.tireless��ly adv. TO EARN YOUR TEACHING CERTIFICATE.NOW IT'S TIME It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a TO LAND THAT FIRST JOB. BEFORE YOU VENTURE OUT INYOUR BEST SUIT, MAKE SURE YOUR INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES ARE AS IMPRESSIVEAS YOUR QUALIFICATIONS. "Managing a smile can be tough in a stressful situation, butmake the effort. A smile (not an insincere in��sin��cere?adj.Not sincere; hypocritical.insin��cerely adv. grin) can go a long way inpresenting yourself as an enthusiastic and upbeat person." You just received the call you'd been hoping for. The chair ofthe school district's search committee has invited you to interviewfor your dream teaching position. You are ecstatic ec��stat��ic?adj.1. Marked by or expressing ecstasy.2. Being in a state of ecstasy; joyful or enraptured.[French extatique, from Greek ekstatikos, from . This job could bethe culmination of years of teacher training and preparation. But remember: When you walk into that meeting you may have only 40minutes or so to convince your interviewers that you're the bestcandidate. How can you make the most of the interview? These tips, basedon my years of interviewing candidates for teaching positions, canmaximize your success rate. Learn as much as you can about the school or institution before yougo to the interview. You've heard this one before, but that'sbecause it's truly a valuable step. The easiest way to research aschool is online. If you don't have a PC or Internet access See how to access the Internet. athome, go to the local library. Using a search engine such as Yahoo!,Infoseek or Alta Vista See AltaVista. (World-Wide Web) Alta Vista - A World-Wide Web site provided by Digital which features a very fast Web and Usenet search engine.As of April 1996 its word index is 33GB in size. (Metacrawler searches all of these and others),locate and study the school or district's Web page. Learn about theorganizational structure This article has no lead section. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, one should be written. , mission, goals and curriculum. If you've applied to a local school district, find out how itsstudents score on state or standardized tests A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] . Many states make thisinformation available to the public. New Jersey, for example, issues foreach of its schools a "report card" that includes informationon class sizes, teaching staff and test scores. Either online or at one of the school district's libraries,review the local newspapers for any articles about the school. Look foranswers to such questions as: How are teachers using the Internet InternetPublicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the in theclassroom? In what kind of shape is the school district's budget?Has the local teachers' union been on strike recently? Any and allinformation about the school or district will help you avoid blundersduring the interview. It also allows you to emphasize yourqualifications that match well with the school's goals. Find out who will be interviewing you before you go. Will it be thesuperintendent? The principal? A committee including both? Walking intoa room of six interviewers when you were expecting one can shake eventhe most confident candidate. Knowing how many interviewers there willbe also allows you to prepare enough handouts (resume, letters ofrecommendation, references, etc.). If you are a recent graduate, youmost likely will have a portfolio of materials you have developed. Answer questions directly and cogently co��gent?adj.Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning; convincing: a cogent argument.See Synonyms at valid.[Latin c . Avoid prefacing yourresponses with such openers as, "I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed)"Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. about the makeup makeupIn the performing arts, material used by actors for cosmetic purposes and to help create the characters they play. Not needed in Greek and Roman theatre because of the use of masks, makeup was used in the religious plays of medieval Europe, in which the angels' faces of your students ..." or "I don't know about yourprograms.... " Comments like these will tell the interviewers thatyou didn't bother to learn about the position, school or community.If you've done your preliminary research, this shouldn't be anissue. Resist the urge to tell interviewers all the reasons surrounding sur��round?tr.v. sur��round��ed, sur��round��ing, sur��rounds1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle.2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication.n. your interest in that job opportunity. Information about how you werepassed over for another job will only raise doubts in the minds of theinterviewers. Instead, accentuate ac��cen��tu��ate?tr.v. ac��cen��tu��at��ed, ac��cen��tu��at��ing, ac��cen��tu��ates1. To stress or emphasize; intensify: the positive. When you're asked a question, don't turn the questionback to the interviewer. Remember, the interviewer has a reason forasking you a specific question and he wants it answered. For example, ifan interviewer asks you how you would organize your class to addressvarying levels of student abilities, don't begin your answer byasking about the makeup of the class. Instead, prepare an answer thatwill indicate your awareness of the differences in students found inalmost any class, school or community; and describe specificinstructional strategies or activities that you would use or, betteryet, have used successfully. Shake hands equally and smile. When you are shaking hands with yourinterviewers use a firm grip but don't overdo it. And whenyou're introduced to a female interviewer, shake her hand as youwould a man's. Don't press just the fingers. A weak handshake handshake - handshaking could reflect poorly on your confidence as a candidate. Managing a smile can be tough in a stressful situation, but makethe effort. A smile (not an insincere grin) can go a long way inpresenting yourself as an enthusiastic and upbeat person. It might beeasier to crack a genuine smile when you're describing a projectyou did well or felt good about. Notice your interviewers' body language. Are they attentive at��ten��tive?adj.1. Giving care or attention; watchful: attentive to detail.2. Marked by or offering devoted and assiduous attention to the pleasure or comfort of others. ?Do they maintain eye contact and appear interested in your comments? Ifthey're looking down at other materials, moving papers ordemonstrating the same uninterested behavior you may have observed inyour student teaching, conclude your comments smoothly and wait for anew topic to attempt to regain their interest. Close the interview on a strong note. At the end of the meeting theinterviewers may ask if you have any questions for them. Avoid askingquestions that come with getting hired, such as how much teacherorientation you will receive. When you raise questions like these,you're taking up the interviewers' time for information youmay never have the opportunity to consider. Address such topics afteryou've been offered the position. In a preliminary interview yourfocus should be on what you can bring to the school. Examples ofeffective closing questions include: Are there any other materials I canprovide? What is the next step in the interviewing process? Prepare answers to potential questions. This is not cheating;it's being well-prepared. By developing responses to a series ofquestions before the interview you'll be able to organize yourthoughts and feel more confident. You might prepare answers to questionslike: What do you enjoy most about teaching? (Hint: Having summers offis not the best answer.) What is your greatest strength in theclassroom? What instructional strategy have you found most successful?How did you implement that strategy in the classroom? What were theoutcomes? (See "Not a Cheat Sheet" on this page for moreexamples.) You also should try to include what you know about the school ordistrict in these answers. For example, if utilizing technology is apriority in that school, talk about the experience you may have hadusing the Web to prepare a lesson plan. If that school is using a blockscheduling Block scheduling is a type of academic scheduling in which each student has fewer classes per day for a longer period of time. This is intended to result in more time for teaching due to less time wasted due to class switching and preparation. system, talk about its positive aspects and any experienceyou may have had with the concept. Don't forget the extra credit. Finally, remember theimportance of extra-curricular contributions to the school. Sometimestwo job candidates will have comparable academic backgrounds, but theone who can help strengthen the after-school tutoring program, sportsteam or yearbook staff will get the position. Choose an area you canfeel enthusiastic about and re]ate that during the interview. Expressingan eagerness and interest in working beyond the requirements of theclassroom makes a powerful impression. RELATED ARTICLE: Not a Cheat Sheet Quizzing yourself (or having someone else quiz A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players (as individuals or in teams) attempt to answer questions correctly. Quizzes are also brief assessments used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills. you) on somepotential interview questions is an effective, way to prepare and feelmore confident. Here are a few questions you may want to think aboutbefore you head for that appointment. [check] What do you enjoy most about teaching? [check] What contributions can you make to the extra-curricularprograms? [check] What techniques have you found to be most successful inmotivating students? [check] How have you effectively utilized technology in yourclassroom? [check] How would you describe your classroom management style?Your teaching style? [check] What strategies have you used to engage students of varyingability levels? Janet Janet:see Clouet, Jean. JANET - Joint Academic NETwork Black is a professor of business and education at WarrenCounty Community College Warren County Community College (WCCC) is an accredited, coeducational, two-year, public community college located in Warren County, New Jersey. Its primary campus is in Washington Borough. in Washington, N.J.