What kinds of questions would they ask you for an Instructional Assistant position in Special Education?
I interviewed for 2 Assistant positions this year (both for SpEd) The first one was mainly situation questions (what would you do if...?) The second one had more typical interview questions "What is your educational/experience background?" "Why should we hire you?" "What are some of your personality traits?" "Do you have any questions about this position?"
I've been on several para interviews within the past week and I've been trying to keep track of the questions so that I can be better prepared for the next one. I've literally written them down (the ones that I could remember) and I've thought about my responses and have written them as well. Explain your discipline/management style What does privacy in a school setting mean to you? (I think this is a big one - all three schools I've interviewed in have asked this question). What would you do if a parent came to you and started complaining about the teacher you were working with? What do you do to relieve stress? Where do you see yourself five years from now? (all schools asked me this question) How would you differentiate instruction with a child who just didn't understand or wasn't in the same place the rest of the class is? What would you do if the teacher had to leave the room to go to a meeting or take care of an emergency? What skills do you think a para needs in order to best do their job? Talk about a time where you had to be flexible. Have you ever worked with children with special needs? Tell us about how you interacted and worked with them. What would you consider to be a weakness that you struggle most to overcome? There might be some specific questions about your past work history. I was asked several different questions about the most difficult student I ever had to work with and about one student that I felt I made an especially important impact on their life or educational experience. I was also asked about the teacher that my daughter had that has made a significant impact on her life and which teacher did I want to strangle because I got so frustrated with him/her. Basically after each interview I wrote down any questions and I did some deeper thinking and I wrote down my answers. And the questions that I wasn't able to give a very detailed response to I did some research so that I was better prepared to answer that question if it came up again. Being prepared and reading through my answers right before I left for my interview today really gave me confidence and helped me recall things that I wanted them to know. I'm so glad I made the extra effort to prepare my answers to these questions. Its made all the difference in my level of confidence during the interview.
when I went to mine, confidence was key. They want to see someone who is comfortable and will connect with the kids. They may ask a question such as why did you chose ____ district. If you browse through the website and find the parent handbook, you can find alot of info about the school- policies, procedures, etc. and use this in your answers. It will show you want this position not just any one and you chose to apply at this school for a reason
