Teaching Assistant Interview Questions

I am an excited new teacher with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. I am currently working on getting my Master's in Language and Literacy in hopes to be the best teacher I can be. I have worked with children for 10 years from babysitting to preschools to student teaching. I am very excited for the opportunity to get into a classroom .

An instructional assistant deals with the nitty gritty of the day-to-day needs of a classroom. They can help grade, file papers, make copies, clean and organize the classroom, lead transition periods and assist in small group instruction or assist when the teacher needs to step out. Essentially, instructional assistant's are there so a teacher can focus their time on the student's and their needs instead of miscellaneous tasks.

I am patient with children and tedious tasks, I am flexible in that if the lesson needs to change abruptly or a child suddenly gets sick I can be quick on my feet to adapt, and I am organized. I have worked as a GA for the past year organizing research documents and contacting professors for data collection.

I really value organization, so sometimes big messes and chaos in a classroom can stress me out, but I have learned this is preventable through strong classroom management. Also I am a recent graduate so I have less experience than some in the classroom, however, this will allow me to learn the way you want this job done and build on that foundation.

I have the child speak with me in private about the behavior. It's important to see what the underlying issue may be, if there is one. I would restate that the behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable in our classroom. If the child has a behavior log I will log it in there and also communicate this information to the teacher as the parents will need to be notified.

I am a big proponent of anecdotal records, kidwatching, portfolios and informal assessment. I feel these methods are the most authentic especially in a kindergarten classroom. It is important to have a variety of assessment methods so you can get a holistic picture of what the student's are capable of.

Overall I think being an IA is an enjoyable job, but likely in assessment times it can be a bit hectic. Assisting in classroom management when the schedule is off can be tricky as well.

First I need to make sure the materials for the day are prepared. All the children have supplies available to them. Then I would greet them at the door and attempt to remain on schedule. I would also maintain normal activities. (This changes if it is the first day of school. I would create a warm, welcoming environment)

What qualities do you most respect in a teacher? What are your personal expectations for an instructional assistant? Why is the last IA leaving? How would you describe your leadership style?

I am really excited about a school that integrates the arts. Throughout my education I have believed school systems don't focus enough energy on the arts but it's an excellent outlet for children to express themselves and is completely relevant to traditional learning. I am also a fan of the Green Steps program you have at the school.

My long term career goal is to be a lead teacher in an elementary school. I want to be a teaching assistant so that I can get back into a classroom and work with children again. I previously was unsure if I could dedicate myself fully to a classroom while still being a full-time student, but with a lighter courseload next semester I am eager to be able to test out my new teaching strategies. I also feel as though being a TA will be mutually beneficial as I will be assisting the teacher regularly, but I will also be learning from their teaching style.

Grading or filing papers, making sure materials are ready for each day, checking attendance and lunch count, modeling the expectations of the classroom, assists in teaching materials if the teacher asks. Essentially anything the teacher delegates to me, but also the small tasks that need to get accomplished but would take away from instruction if the lead teacher were to do them.

Yes, I do. It's a great opportunity to share my educational ideas with another teacher, observe how a successful classroom is run (isn't Mr. Summers a previous teacher of the year?). I would be interacting with children every day, which I miss doing and love. I also really enjoy organizing, so that would be fulfilling as well.

I have been working with children for the past ten years in a variety of ways. Up until 2012, I had experience babysitting children between infants to 9 year olds. In 2012 I got my first job working with kids as an floating teacher at USC Children's Center which is a child development center serving 8 weeks old to 8 years old children. I worked with a variety of age children assisting the teachers in their daily classroom management and lesson plan implementation, while also monitoring lunch and recess. Then I student taught full time at Lake Carolina in 2015 with some other school practicums sprinkled in there. I have also been a babysitter for families in Columbia from 2012 to present.

Well all throughout my student teaching I believe I was successful working with students. I took over the classroom for two full weeks and implemented all of my own lesson plans and then the principal recommended me for licensure so I would say that was successful. I also have experience working with groups from the Children's Center where I organized activities and got students to and from field trips.

Through differentiated instruction. My typical teaching strategy is whole group, small group, individual so the students get a whole group mini-lesson on reading or a reading strategy then they work in small groups for guided reading and then they are sent off to do individual reading. This may be different being an IA so I am open to how the teacher instructs reading, but I can always provide feedback and ideas as well.

Try different teaching techniques. I once had a student who did not want to participate in any subject. I would ask him to join the group and he would refuse and if I pushed him he would have a fit. However, I implemented a classroom jobs strategy and gave him teacher's assistant as a position which essentially had him walk with me in the hall, pass out papers, etc. and he was much more eager to participate because he knew he needed to have excellent behavior and work to continue doing the job.

I am a proponent of working one-on-one with struggling students. I think that's another positive aspect of having an IA is that you have another set of hands in the room. So a pupil who is below grade level may need some scaffolding and modeling. I think pulling this student aside and really observing where they are struggling provides insight into what areas need improvement. Then, the teacher can decide if the whole group could benefit from going over this information again, or the student could work one-on-one with me or the teacher to get them back up to grade level.

My master's is in language and literacy so I feel reading and writing is my strong suit. I can use this in the classroom to incorporate brand-new research theories into lesson planning. If the teacher is open to it we could collaborate on planning ELA information because of my background. Also, this could be beneficial in guided reading time and small group instruction of reading and writing.

Differentiated instruction is key. USC drilled this into us. It's really important to get to know the students and develop your lessons based on that. For instance, when I was student teaching in first grade I had several gifted students. When we worked in math centers, if we were working on deconstructing numbers, I would have our gifted students deconstruct numbers higher than 10 while we were still instructing deconstructing 10. I would encourage them to use strategies we had gone over, like pulling out a ten, but also encourage them to be creative.

I believe in compliment sandwiches. Draw on the positive, emphasize the growth opportunity, and conclude with positive. For instance, I am currently tutoring a second grader who reads on a kindergarten level. I often have him read aloud to me and when he makes an attempt at a word and miscues, I like to point out the strategy I observed him try: "I am so glad you are using your reading strategies here, I saw you used picture clues to help with that word." Then I might say "I'm reading that word a little differently. Can we try stretching it out to see if we can get it together?" Then I give him the opportunity to try again and praise the new strategy that he tried. If none if this works, I will model it for him and have him repeat after me.

I like to point out what a student did well rather than just saying great job! Same situation as before, if the student was reading and came across a tricky word but used their strategies and got it correct I would point out the strategies they used and congratulate them. I also like to tell students I am proud of them for working hard especially if I know the task was a tough one for them.