Mock Interviews

During my student teaching experience, I have been afforded the opportunity of getting to know the administrative staff due to our lunch duty obligations every day. Therefore, I was surprised at how nervous I was for my mock interview with the principal at BHS. One thing that you should know about the principal here is that he is a hard interviewer, he is always looking to grow and does not want to be associated with those who do not have the same mindset.


The interviewing process began different than what I was expecting, I was handed a sheet of paper with a few AFNR standards on it and told to come up with a unit plan to address each of the standards that were listed. I was given 20 minutes to complete this task. Immediately, the anxiety levels rose as I began working through the content and tryint to come up with a way to complete this unit plan in 20 minutes. Normally, when I am hit with anxiety one of two thihngs happen, I get incredibly irritated and lash out, or I begin to sob and break down crying thinking that I am a failure. However, to my surprise- neither of these things happened!

The very first thing I thought of while completing this unit plan was something that has been drilled into my head for the past 4 years- begin with the end in mind. So, I flipped my paper over and began brainstorming ways that I could both formatively and summatively assess the students within this unit of instruction. I then moved into the lesson plans, what would the titles be and what standards would I address as well as the objectives for the day. While I did not finish the unit plan, I had a good start to it and to my surprise, Dr.  Kuhaneck didn't even look at the unit plan. He asked me questions about how I designed the plan but did not physically ask me to hand him the unit plan for further review.

When being asked questions and answering questions, I made sure that I was making eye contact and addressing the individual who posed the question to me. I was also sure to take time to breathe and think about how I was going to answer the questions before rambling about what the question was. I made sure that I remembered the question that was being asked and was even provided a form with the questions listed on it that I was able to look over as the questions were being asked. Both Dr. Kuhaneck and Mrs. Cashell-Martin were present for the interview which made me feel a little bit more nervous about interviewing. However, that meant that I was given the opportunity to get feedback from the Principal as well as feedback from Mrs. Cashell-Martin.

Key Take-Aways:
-First impressions matter! Take the time to shake hands, and introduce yourself prior to sitting down.
-Safety is always something that you can discuss in an interview and should be discussed.
-Don't just focus on one content area (my unit plan was plant science based, however, I was asked questions about a mechanics shop as well)
-Ask questions regarding what content areas you will be teaching
-Make sure to highlight the three circle model, I was asked questions about apprenticeship which is taken care of through the SAE portion of the three circle model.