besides failing to find a job, I'm really stumped! I got asked this today and didn't give a very good answer but I want to be prepared for next time. I know that I make little mistakes and there times things don't work out, but nothing yet jumping out that makes for a good story. Do you have an example that might inspire me? Thanks!
I don't think they are necessarily looking for a big failure, but at how you responded to the failure. This question is more about how you reflect as a teacher.
I was asked this. I gave an example of a failed lesson and how I adapted it into something better. I did a cooking activity with my kinder class and we made puppy chow. But I forgot to do a step in the directions and when we were done making it, it was soooo mushy and gross. It wasn't dry puppy chow at all. So I told my students that there is 2 different types of dog food. Dry dog food and canned. So we pretended to eat canned mushy dog food. The kids loved it. Lol
This. When I sit on the hiring committee we are looking more for your reflection and analysis of why things didn't go well and how you'd improve next time.
It's also a way to get a feel for the teacher candidate...Are you able to handle failures with grace? Do you recognize your own failures? Do you turn them into a learning experience? Do you take accountability for student progress? etc...those types of things...You need to use your experiences from student teaching if this is your first teaching year.
I put an example of a lesson that didn't go so well in my teacher portfolio that I carry with me to interviews. When they ask me this type of question I ask if it is okay to show them an example and I will pull it out and explain why it didn't go well and then show them what changes I made to improve on it. Then I quickly talk about how the kids responded.
