Interview Practice Questions
1.Tell me a little bit about yourself.
2.What is the role of the teacher in the classroom?
3.Tell me about your student teaching.
4.What was your favorite course in college?
5.What techniques do you use to motivate students?
6.How do you know what you are teaching is really being learned?
7.Where do you want to be 5 years from now? 10 years from now?
8.State a behavioral objective you taught in your last class.
9.What is the most exciting thing happening in music education today?
10.What have you found to be the toughest aspect of discipline?
11.Describe an ideal music curriculum.
12.How do you introduce career education in music?
13.How do you individualize learning in your classes?
14.What are the current curriculum trends in music?
15.What is the ratio of time spent talking to students about music versus time spent making music?
16.Describe independent study projects your students have completed.
17.What’s your favorite musical concept to teach?
18.What rules do you establish in your classroom?
19.What is the most important: content, outcome or process?
20.How do you handle the different ablilty levels in your classes?
21.What made you decide to become a teacher?
22.What are your plans concerning professional development?
23.What is the toughest aspect of teaching today?
24.Describe your most positive teaching experience. Your most negative.
25.How should music teachers contribute to the development of the total school program?
26.What extracurriculars could you assist with if you are hired for this position?
27.Could a student of low academic ability receive a high grade in your class?
28.What kinds of music would you program on concerts?
29.How do you intend to grade music students?
30.What is your philosophy of music education? What is your philosophy of education in general?
31.Why is music an important in the curriculum?
32.How do you feel about tracking students versus mainstreaming them?
33.What are your weaknesses? What are your strengths?
34.How do you encourage students who are musically gifted?
35.How would you mainstream special education students in your ensembles?
36.Define a superior music teacher.
37.What are your hobbies and recreational interests?
38.How much practice time do you expect from students?
39.What should schools do for students?
40.What makes your class different from other subjects?
41.How would your peers describe you?
42.How do you develop aesthetic responses in students?
43.Which five words would you use to describe yourself?
44.How would you deal with a student who has a habitual behavior problem?
45.What would you do if a student missed a performance?
46.How do you feel about using detention for managing student behavior?
47.Which units would you include in sixth grade general music?
48.How will you manage and protect the school’s equipment?
49.What are important components of a band method book? What are the important components of a general music book?
50.What kind of field trips would you be interested in organizing?
51.A student tells you he or she has experimented with drugs. What would you do?
52.Are you well organized?
53.How do you feel about corporal punishment?
54.How many performances do you expect from your students each year?
55.What do students gain from studying music?
56.How many years should a student participate in ensembles?
57.Will you be using any religious music?
58.What would you like to change about music teaching in the U.S.?
59.What do you like most about being a music teacher?
60.How important is it that students like you?
61.How do you cope with stress?
62.How do you involve parents in the music program?
63.Describe your last teaching day.
64.Name the titles of the last three books you read.
65.Who is your favorite composer for band? Orchestra? Choir?
66.How do you feel about music competitions and festivals? Show choirs? Strolling strings?
67.How many days of school did you miss last year?
68.Why should we hire you?
69.What questions have I not asked that you were hoping I would?
70.What are three words that describe your teaching style?
71.Who is responsible for discipline in schools?
72.What would you do if a student could not afford to buy a uniform? An instrument?
73.What is your philosophy concerning fundraising?
74.How will you conrol behavior in large ensembles?
75.Would you ever punish an entire class? When?
76.How would you respond to a parent complaint about your attendance policy?
77.If you could change one aspect of your personality to help you get along better with people, what would you change?
78.Describe the perfect music student.
79.Why do you want to teach this age level?
80.How will you decide who plays which instruments?
81.How will you make sure that students are challenged in your music class?
82.What would you do if you caught a student cheating?
83.How much input should students contribute to a music program?
84.How can you tell if you’ve had a good rehearsal or class?
85.When you listen to a student who stutters, how do you feel?
86.Should students be allowed to evaluate their teachers?
87.When did you first decide to become a music teacher?
88.How much should a teacher know about the personal lives of his or her students?
89.Do you think that students are capable of self discipline?
90.What do you do when you’re bored?
91.How much travel would you be doing with your groups?
92.Do you think its possible for a teacher to get too close to his or her students?
93.Describe a “failing” student in your class.
94.What do you consider justifiable reasons for being late to work?
95.How much time outside the school day should a music teacher be willing to work?
96.If you weren’t able teach music, what would you do for a living?
97.If you had a forty minute class period, how would you divide that time in a rehearsal setting?
98.Can you play all the instruments in the band? The orchstra? How well?
99.How will you incorporate technology into your classroom?
100. How would you handle racial tension in your classroom?
101. Why do you want to work for us?
102. What strategies would you use to help a student with a bad attitude toward music class?
103. What do you consider an adequate budget for your program?
104. What would a student have to do to get “kicked out” of your class or ensemble?
105. How do you feel about students who want to be involved in both music and sports? How would handle scheduling conflicts?
106. Why did you choose to attend your college or university?
107. How often will your marching band rehearse?
108. Can you coach any sports?
109. How do you usually cope with stress and burnout?
110. If you could write a book, what would the title of the book be? Describe the content.
Questions to ask
1.How often would my classes meet? For how many minutes?
2.Who are the other music teachers? What are their responsibilites?
3.Is music required or an elective?
4.How much say will I have in scheduling my classes?
5.Is there an addendum contract for extra duties?
6.How transient is the student population?
7.When would I get to start?
8.What would my budget be?
9.How many students are participating in ensembles now?
10.Are there any special commitments that would be expected of me or my ensembles? Assemblies? Traditions?
11.How successful has the program been recently?
12.What are the facilities like? Can I see them?
13.What is the district policy on professional leave for conferences, etc.?
14.Could I have a copy of the salary schedule?
15.Does the district reimburse travel expenses if I have to work at more than one bulding?
16.What other duties are expected? (Lunch monitor, etc.)
17.When will you be making your decision?
18.Is there a music parent organization in place?
19.Have your music students traveled in the past? How often?
20.How important is muisc competition in this district? Would this be required?
21.What types of music technology are available? Will music students have acces to a technology lab?
The Trombonist’s Mouthpiece by Joe Guarr is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
