Since students’ academic performance depends a lot on the quality of their teachers, school principals should make sure to hire quality students. But can they do it every time, without fail? I believe they can if they ask the right questions in the interview. Drawing on my approximately two decades of experience in the field of education, of which a large time was spent on PreK-12, I have listed 33 questions that can help.

Personal Traits, Matters, and Background Information

1.     Why do you want to become an educator?
2.     What are your leisure pursuits and interests?
3.     What is your educational philosophy? 
4.     How can you contribute to our school community?
5.     Cite a current research article in the domain of education that you had read.
6.     What recent K-12 educational trends satisfy and upset you?
7.     Which four individuals have impacted your educational career the most?
8.     Could you recount a golden teaching moment?
9.     What are your professional growth strategies?

Teacher-Student Relationships

1.     How would you ensure the academic success of all your students?
2.     If a student fails to understand your assignment, what will you do?
3.     What process do you adopt for differentiated instruction in your classroom?
4.     How do you think your students will describe you?
5.     What approaches or processes do you utilize to evaluate your student’s performance?

Teacher-Colleague Relationships

1.     What traits do you have that would enhance our teaching staff?
2.     What kind of educators do you prefer to work with?
3.     What methods do you follow when collaborating with colleagues?
4.     What are your expectations from school administrators?
5.     Who’s accountable for school-wide discipline?

Teacher-Parent Relationships

1.     Tell a few incidents that would need you to get in touch with a student’s parents.
2.     What do you think is the most effective mode of communication with parents?
3.     What community activities do you want to get involved in?

Instructional Strategies

1.     How do you combine edtech in your role as a teacher?
2.     What past experiences in a school setting, particularly during teaching students (or in your former position), do you think has made you fit for a post in our school?
3.     How do you ensure your students stay on track during shared activities?
4.     Talk about your strengths as an individual and how you plan to integrate them into your teaching process.
5.     What’s your instructional style, and how do you plan to slot in your students’ learning preferences?
6.     Talk about any learning programs or projects in whose creation you had a role to play.  

Classroom Management Questions

1.     Describe your classroom management approach thoroughly.
2.     What are your behavioral expectations for your class? 
3.     John is a lively fourth-grader who’s always roaming in your classroom. Though his behavior is a little disruptive, it’s a distraction for sure. He’s primarily disruptive when you can’t see him. How do you propose to deal with the situation?

Questions Related to Content Area Proficiency:

1.     Explain your awareness of the subject content standards in the state.
2.     If you could choose to teach either a content area or grade level, what would be your pick?

That’s the end. Remember to share how it goes.