Teacher Job Interview Questions

When you go for your job interview, chances are you will be asked questions that come from the TeacherInsight Survey. The TeacherInsight Survey was developed by the Education Division of the Gallup public opinion polling organization. It is based on questions from two teacher surveys that are about 20 years old, the “Teacher Perceiver” and the “Urban TeacherPerceiver”.

Today, the survey is used in about 1,500 districts nationally.

How TeacherInsight Works

1. In the job interview, candidates answer multiple-choice and open-ended questions online using a 5-point Likert scale. Questions focus on three areas:
• Teaching philosophy - To what extent is there a mission to teach, to what extent is teaching not a job, but a mission, a calling?
• Relationships - How does the candidate create relationships with colleagues, students and parents?
• Instructional approaches - Does the candidate see a class or a group of individuals?

2. In the job interview, candidates’ answers are compared to Gallup’s pool of 400 high-quality teachers, identified nationally by teachers, principals and parents and a percentile ranking (0-99) is calculated based on his/her predicted potential for teaching success.
3. After the job interview, candidates’ scores are reported directly to the district’s central office databases where they are available to principals and Employee Services staff, but not to candidates or anyone else in the district.

The Job Interview and Teacher Perceiver

The Teacher Perceiver Process is based on a twenty year study of the key traits of teachers most successful working with students. This job interview can take upwards of two hours to administer in full so districts may use shortened versions in job interviews and at fairs. Teacher Perceiver questions may also be seen on district application forms.

How Teacher Perceiver Works

1. In the job interview, candidates answer 63 open ended questions. Sixty of them are related to the twelve teacher perceiver themes and 3 questions related to how the candidate felt about taking the job interview.
2. The trained interviewer scores the candidate’s responses based on “listen-fors” – specific phrased or concepts that reflect the themes. For example, one question might ask the applicant what is most rewarding about teaching and only a response that stresses student