Practice 30 Middle School Teacher interview questions covering classroom management, differentiation, and adolescent development.
Question 7 of 30
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Clara is a career coaching expert and has supported individuals landing positions in education, non-profit, corporate, and beyond.
This question encompasses a few things: thinking on your feet, diffusing conflict, and facilitating a resolution. The interviewers are looking for the candidate's ability to be aware of these layers as well as what strategies they use to successfully support the students and resolve the situation. To answer this question, it can be helpful to share context prior to diving in to describe the behavior. Did students miss recess and have a lot of pent-up energy? Was there a fight at lunch? Set the scene, share the behavior, and then go into the steps of identifying, diffusing, and resolving.
Clara is a career coaching expert and has supported individuals landing positions in education, non-profit, corporate, and beyond.
"One of my favorite classes was my 6th-grade group right after lunch and recess. They were always mentally re-energized from the break, and they'd gotten a lot of the built-up physical energy out of their systems. One day, we were in the middle of a great lesson when one of the students began calling out and interrupting my instruction and any students that spoke up to answer questions. It was unusual for her to shout out, particularly so consistently. Her behavior became more and more attention-seeking, so I chose not to address her directly after asking twice that she raise her hand to share. Instead, I moved around the classroom as I spoke, asked students to continue what they were sharing, and finally pulled out my mini football. When the football came out, the students knew that they would have to raise their hand and have the ball in-hand to speak. They were inclined to follow the rules in order to have a chance to catch the ball, so this diffused the situation for the remainder of the class. When class was dismissed, I made sure to address the behavior with the student individually. As a result, I had an opportunity to connect with her and learn why she was expressing herself in that way, and we came up with a plan together to make her feel supported while respecting others in the classroom."
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Written by Clara Canon
30 Questions & Answers • Middle School Teacher
By Clara
By Clara