Tell me about a time when you've had to work with a difficult teacher. What made them difficult and how did you create a breakthrough?
Teachers do a lot of collaborative work, but many often have differing teaching styles or maybe operate their classrooms differently. Demonstrating a willingness to listen, cooperate, and compromise is important when working in a collaborative environment. Your answer here should reflect your willingness to reach common ground, your ability to be direct and professional, and demonstrate how you were able to successfully resolve a conflict or continue working together, despite differences.
"The teacher I was working with was very dismissive of me. She thought that she knew best. I knew that with her type of personality, I wouldn't be able to get through to her unless she saw the value of my role. At first I asked her to coffee, but she said she was really busy. So instead, I asked to join her during her lunch. We bonded over common horror stories we had read. That wasn't quite enough to gain her trust, though. She liked me, but she didn't like how I worked.
The next time I had a chance, I asked her what she thought Instructional Coordinators do. She laughed and said that she thought they were supposed to spy on teachers and write them up for every little mistake.
I took the chance to tell her more about exactly what my purpose was, and how I fit into the organization. I pointed out that at the end of the day, we just want what's best for the students. I promised her that it wouldn't be a one-way relationship, that she'd be able to be honest with me, and give me her feedback. She turned into one of my biggest supporters after we had that talk."
Community answers are written by other candidates practicing this set. Reading how others frame the same question is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your own.
Anonymous Answer
I've certainly had an opportunity to work with difficult teachers. Not many; a couple. A couple of years ago, one of our TAPP teachers was a huge complainer and was reluctant to use my feedback for improving their teaching. They finally decided that our school was not the school for them at the time; they needed a different school. At that point, I applauded him for recognizing and sharing with me that he and our school were not a good fit. With that, I urged him to use me for everything I had in order to help him get better at teaching before he went on to his next school. This was my way of getting him to use me and in doing so, he'd put better teaching practices in place, and consequently, our students would benefit. Yes, he did use some of my feedback to improve his teaching. My final piece of advice to him was to go back to college to learn more about the art of teaching BEFORE he was in the classroom again.
Cindy's Feedback
Ok, good start. You may want to revise this answer with a few things in mind: first, try to keep focused on the positive. Also, showcase your efforts to try to help this teacher before he decided to leave. I've included an example to illustrate.
"Over the years, I have had to learn how to work productively with a few difficult teachers. In one case, I worked with a teacher who was very dissatisfied with our school. I used patience and persistence and modeled best practices and teaching techniques. [Here, elaborate on specifics through example]. In the end, he decided that our school wasn't for him. I am confident that whether he's at my school or another school, my efforts did not go to waste because his students are benefiting from what he learned from me."
Anonymous Answer
What makes the world unique is its varying personalities. Each person brings a new spark to the table. However, sometimes this may cause conflict or tension, especially when we are trying to work together to accomplish a task or reach a goal. When I was a teacher support coach, I was tasked with helping new teachers. One teacher was very dismissive and did not accept assistance. Instead of ignoring her or creating a bigger problem, I asked if she was free to talk one afternoon. She agreed, and we had a conversation about how she felt about my role and how I could assist her. I found that the source of the tension was that she didn't fully understand my role and thought of me as a spy or someone who could have a negative impact on her TKES evaluation. Once I explained that I was there to support her and that nothing we discussed would be punitive, she began to open up to me, and we had a great working relationship moving forward.
Stephanie's Feedback
You begin this answer with such a positive discussion of handling difficult people and situations, which is refreshing! You do an excellent job of providing a specific example of a difficult interpersonal situation and how you worked through that. My only suggestion for deepening your response is to add a few additional words about the impact that occurred as a result of you mending this relationship. You mention that you "had a great working relationship moving forward." Specifically, how did this impact outcomes at work? Did it contribute to improving student performance or another measure?
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