If students were having difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

What You Need to Know
1st Entry Level Example
1st Experienced Example
2nd Experienced Example

This question is two-fold. The interviewer is assessing your technique and ability to encourage and inspire struggling students. How can you help students improve academically? How can you support students personally in their learning?

"I firmly believe there are many ways to learn. If I had a student who had difficulty learning a skill or concept, I would sit with them one-on-one to learn more about their style, what they like to do, and which lessons of mine they like the best. Education is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and I will have no problem tweaking my lesson plan to suit a variety of learners."

"I had a student who wasn't showing much improvement in her test score after two months. During one of her diagnostic tests, her score even went down. Of course, she was discouraged and confused since she was doing all her homework. I spent a lot of time training her to work on the questions as precisely as possible instead of rushing to finish the test. I was excited whenever she would get just one or two more questions right and kept encouraging her throughout the progress. Another month later, she finally saw some notable improvements."

"Through my education career, I have worked with many students who needed formal assessments to label their learning style formally. I think this is a school provided tool that is often underutilized. I have had a few students placed on an individual learning plan, and I am happy to change my lesson plans to suit them. If a student is struggling, I will address it immediately. I never allow a student to slip through the cracks."

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How to Answer: If students were having difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Teacher job interview.

9. If students were having difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

What You Need to Know

This question is two-fold. The interviewer is assessing your technique and ability to encourage and inspire struggling students. How can you help students improve academically? How can you support students personally in their learning?

Written by Rachelle Enns

1st Entry Level Example

"I firmly believe there are many ways to learn. If I had a student who had difficulty learning a skill or concept, I would sit with them one-on-one to learn more about their style, what they like to do, and which lessons of mine they like the best. Education is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and I will have no problem tweaking my lesson plan to suit a variety of learners."

Written by Rachelle Enns

1st Experienced Example

"I had a student who wasn't showing much improvement in her test score after two months. During one of her diagnostic tests, her score even went down. Of course, she was discouraged and confused since she was doing all her homework. I spent a lot of time training her to work on the questions as precisely as possible instead of rushing to finish the test. I was excited whenever she would get just one or two more questions right and kept encouraging her throughout the progress. Another month later, she finally saw some notable improvements."

Written by Rachelle Enns

2nd Experienced Example

"Through my education career, I have worked with many students who needed formal assessments to label their learning style formally. I think this is a school provided tool that is often underutilized. I have had a few students placed on an individual learning plan, and I am happy to change my lesson plans to suit them. If a student is struggling, I will address it immediately. I never allow a student to slip through the cracks."

Written by Rachelle Enns

Next Question