Instructor Interview Questions
8T
Instructor interview questions shared by candidates
I didn't know the definition of summative and formative, and that hurt, and I didn't have a good answer for the "next 5 years" question.
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For my teaching demo (they asked me to do a simple topic like slopes of lines) I just wrote on the board and talked as I would to a class. They want to see your handwriting, if you can project your voice, how you explain things, how you act at the front of a class (talking into the board the whole time as you write is bad). The guy that went before me brought lots of interactive props. I don't know if it worked out for him. I was interviewed not with other candidates but in front of 4-5 faculty members. (This was the math dept a few years ago). The interviews were scheduled every 15 minutes so I didn't wait with anybody. I advise that if you write on the board, do it, and then turn to face your audience to talk, so you're not talking into the board. Lead them along as you would a class. Obviously they all know what the slope of the line is but ask them as you would a group of students, because they want to see how you would interact with your class. Pick a topic that you can lecture on without notes, but still have notes in case you get nervous. I've done slope and lines so many times that I don't have to think about how to introduce the topic and what to say. I advise that you brush up on some current topics in teaching- find a teaching journal and read some articles that are new, so you can answer questions involving current trends in teaching methodology. Think about how you've used those methods in your own class. Think about something you tried and whether it succeeded or failed, and why. There will probably be technology related questions. How do you use tech in your classroom, what do you think about a fully-online class, what are pros and cons of a class where the lectures are on video and there is only a TA there to answer students questions, would you give online tests, what would a typical group project be like in your class- how would students interact through the online component of valencia's website (atlas, blackboard, ...). I was once asked how I would treat special needs students differently. The answer is that you don't, except for whatever the Office of Students with Disabilities provides for them. If you've taken the professional development classes, go back over those reading assignments and notes so you can have buzzwords fresh in your mind like "learning-centered" and look at the official course outline of the classes you teach so you can see what the department expects are the course outcomes for the class. Use some of the words on the rubrics. Go in with the mindset that you want to be a teacher there, it's the best opportunity for you, and you want to do it for the foreseeable future. Don't say you want the job now but you'd like to move on / move up / or run your own business in 5 years from now. Have confidence in yourself. Good luck. Less
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to NHL: I suggest you wear what you would normally wear to teach in, on a good day. The first time I did it, I wore a slick tie and a sharp shirt, name-brand, and I felt awkward because nobody else was dressed like that. The second time I think I wore a more sears-style tie and khakis, and felt more relaxed. But I also tried to teach a class that way and it was harder to maintain control over and respect from the classroom when I had my tie on. I don't think anything's wrong a tie if that's what you're comfortable in, but seriously I only know 2 out of maybe 10 male math teachers that wear a tie to teach in (excluding the dean), and they are older-looking adults. So I'd say a polo is fine- they are more interested in how you speak and write and explain things, and if you go tie, go white-collar sears style, not Armani or Express. On a subconscious psychological note, it's good to not look better than the person you're trying to impress. I found that with my PhD advisor, if I worked out and got tan all week and showed up in his office with short sleeves, he had a short temper; but if I stayed inside on my computer all week, got pale and skinny and didn't shave, and wore long sleeves to his office, he was much nicer. So wear a tie if you want but don't make any girls' heads turn on the way to the interview. Less
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I was hired as a 4-month faculty member each time, which means I'm considered (and paid as) a full time faculty member for one semester. But for 4 years, every time, the second semester's contract was almost guaranteed and I got it every time, so Fall and Spring contracts were always practically bundled together. Again, this is math dept west campus, i don't know about other departments. My paycheck after taxes is about $1774 every two weeks (after 5 years with PhD), and it changes with years in and degree, and all that is publicly available on the website. But, during each summer, I had to re-interview for my same job, which I always found very depressing. Also, during the summer I was paid as an adjunct faculty member, which meant about half the paycheck with the same amount of work, except no office hours. When you tell your students in your summer classes that you don't have office hours, they all look at you like 'WTF' and 'obviously you don't care about us'. But I looked at it like, if they didn't pay me enough to live, then I'll spend those 10 hours a week somewhere else trying to make money some other way. That summer break in pay is one of the main reasons why I just left Valencia for another full-time (all-year-long) job. Less
What's the difference between "hear" and "listen"? You must describe this to a low-level client.
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Hear is mostly used in the context of level of sound. It is about whether a sound is audible or not. So, we say, "Can you hear me?" And the answer, "Yes, now I can hear you." Or, " I can't hear anything in this noise. You have to speak louder." You would not be able to replace hear with listen in any of these sentences. Of course, there are some contexts where audibility is not the issue. For example, one might say, "I hear Mr. Nagamoto is going to Germany next month." It refers to reporting on something that others have said. In contrast, the word listen is about the level of attention. Often, we miss what others are saying not because the level of sound is low but because our mind is busy thinking about something else. For example, "I listened to him very carefully and took notes while he was speaking." Or, a teacher may say to a student, "I don't think you heard anything of what I said because you were not listening." Less
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Can someone explain the mock lesson in more detail? I'm trying to be as prepared as possible. Less
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The mock lesson involves the interviewer pretending to be a low-level student or a student not clear on the question. You are the teacher and provide an answer. The best answers involve eliciting or drawing out the answer from the student or drawing a timeline (for frequency adverbs) or a photo on the net if possible etc...Be careful to talk at a slow pace and don't use more difficult words than those involved with the original question. Less
The Practice teach is the hardest to prepare for. You must be comfortable with a presentation that you will have to create for yourself. You will be giving that presentation to a group of maintenance instructors. It is most important to be well practiced in what words you will say, and to be completely familiar with your presentation.
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1. When you go down there - Are you the only candidate being interviewed that day, or do they bring in a bunch of candidates? 2. Is the presentation subject even relevant to the profession/job you are applying for or is it totally remote? Less
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1. Generally you will be the only candidate to interview that day, most of the interviews will occur over one to two weeks. 2. The presentation will be on a topic that almost everyone is familiar with, usually the same for all interviewees. It will be specific to the aircraft but may not be the topic which you will be hired to teach. It is most important to be calm, not nervous, and well practiced / familiar with your presentation. Don't try to B.S. the class, they will not be impressed. Instead promise to get back with an answer after class. Etc.... Less
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If you are not local, and you do well on the phone interview, FlightSafety will provide air transport to get down for the local practice teach interview. FSI policy requires that we get airline tickets weeks in advance, so don't delay in scheduling the interview, you will have more time to practice giving your presentation to the walls before you get here. Less
In isosceles triangle RST, if angle RST=40 degrees, then what is the sum of the two identical angles in the triangle: is it greater than 120, less than 120, equal to 120 or cannot be determined?
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It's a trick question because there are two possible triangles that meet the conditions of the problem, 40-70-70 and 40-100-40. So the answer is "cannot be determined". This was a GRE question, as always with ETS material you need to be very suspicious of the "obvious answer" and make sure that there is not another possible solution you did not see. I got this one correct. Less
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First commenter to second commenter: Dude, did you even read what I wrote? Isosceles triangles have two identical angles, and one other angle. The problem, as written, does not tell you which type angle RST is; it just tells you that it is equal to 40 degrees. If it is the other (third) angle, then there are 140 degrees left for the two identical angles, so the triangle must be 40-70-70. In that case the answer is indeed "greater than 120". But if angle RST is instead one of the two identical angles, then the other identical angle must also be 40, so the third angle must be 100. Therefore the triangle is 100-40-40 and the answer is "less than 120". Because two answers are possible with the information given, the answer can ONLY be "cannot be determined". If you still doubt this, then get a protractor out and draw the two triangles, 40-70-70 and 100-40-40, then label a 40 degree angle RST in each, then satisfy yourself that the two identical angles equal 140 in the first case and 80 in the second. If you're still not convinced then I give up. Note that in my original post I clearly said "I got the question right", that means Varsity considered my answer correct. Less
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Third commenter responding to person who wrote the first and third comment. You are absolutely correct. When I read it I thought the answer was greater than 120 because the sum of all angles in a triangle is 180 degrees. But when I read it again I happened to have missed the word "identical". Adding congruent angles in both hypothetical situations generates different answers. So the last option would indeed be correct. Less
how would you describe a technical English structure if the student was having trouble?
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I would say, honestly, I don't know but let's check on google. (You can use the computers in the lessons so don't worry about it) Less
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Can I ask how long they took to get back to your for the second interview?
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I was offered the position after the interview was over
why is your experince important for the job
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Why? So I can share my knowledge to others and show more I am always active...
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Experience played a important role in job as education play a important role and job cabin crew not easy it was very difficult to handle our passenger in difficult situations and calm them so experience must be needed for this job. Less
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Driver
1.Internet speed 2. Highest qualification 3. Will be able to give 30 hours a week? 4. Logical quesions about coding in 2nd and 3rd round of demos.
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I am in demo 3 . I understand what you are saying .demo1 and demo2 they never told what they want . I was expecting same in demo3 as well. Can you tell me what they asked in demo3 and y they rejected Less
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They asked me logical questions related to the pdf , commands and syntax related questions. And they asked me to write a code which was from out of the pdf. Very important : they will observe how d you manage time and how you solve student's doubts but they literally torture you asking nonsense questions acting as a kid! I was rejected because of 1. Internet issue (mine was working fine problem was from the interviewers side but she never accepted it. Even after showing proofs)2. After Half n hour of harassment over internet speed , she gave me to write and execute the code which was from out side of pdf just in one min. I was mentally so stressed that time so the code partially ran..hence , she rejected me. Basically in this round they can ask u anything to judge ur logical, reasoning and coding skills . So be prepared thoroughly.. hope my answer helps. All the best! Less
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What was the question that she asked?to check the logic and coding skill?
