Rebecca Sparrow !Craig Jones!

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Get an A+ on Your City Year /

Teach for America Interview

Cornell Career Services!February 20, 2013!

Todays Lesson

Answering & Asking Questions

Knowledge

Five-Minute Lesson Prep

The Interview

1

2

3

4

5 Questions / Concerns

Knowledge: Knowing City Year / TFA

Knowing Yourself

I: Knowing City Year

Is this the right one-year opportunity for you? Corps members work to improve student attendance, behavior, and course performance in English and Mathematics.

What to Research Potential Sources •  Focus and Mission •  City Year Website

•  Core principles, ideas, and goals •  Online articles, City Year Info Session

•  What the organization looks for in its employees

•  Dialogue with City Year Recruitment Director, Career Services Staff, City Year Alumni

•  Details about what your job would look like •  (link from their website)

I: Knowing TFA

Is this the right two-year opportunity for you? TFA seeks teachers who will be the most successful at closing the achievement gap in their classrooms—what does this mean?

What to Research Potential Sources •  Focus and Mission •  Teach For America Website

•  Core principles, ideas, and goals •  Online articles, TFA Info Session

•  What the organization looks for in its employees

•  Dialogue with TFA Recruitment Director, Career Services Staff, TFA Alumni

•  Details about what your job would look like •  (link from their website)

are you interested in a service or teaching position? are you qualified? City Year and not Teach For America? Teach for America and not City Year?

II: Knowing Yourself

Why…

Know your…

Interests – Abilities – Goals – Values – Strengths – Weaknesses – Experience – Education

The “Framework”

City Year Is Seeking: My Qualifications •  Ability to work on a team 1. 

•  Leaders 2. 

•  Capacity to develop leadership skills 3. 

•  Willingness to commit 10 months to full-time service 4. 

•  Previous experience with service, tutoring, mentoring, or leadership help strengthen candidacy

5. 

•  Review your application; be ready to comment on specific experiences •  Use specific examples to illustrate a point rather than general responses

At City Year’s 21 locations across the United States, teams of diverse young people Called Corps Members serve full-time in schools for 10 months working to improve

student attendance, behavior, and course performance in English and math.  

The “Framework”

Teach For America Is Seeking: My Qualifications •  A deep belief in the potential of all kids and a commitment to do

whatever it takes to expand opportunities for students 1. 

•  Demonstrated leadership ability and superior interpersonal skills to motivate others

2. 

•  Strong achievement in academic, professional, extracurricular, and/or volunteer settings

3. 

•  Perseverance in the face of challenges, ability to adapt to changing environments, and a strong desire to do whatever it takes to improve and develop

4. 

•  Excellent critical thinking skills, including the ability to link cause and effect and to generate relevant solutions to problems

5. 

•  Superior organizational ability, including planning well and managing responsibilities effectively

6.

•  Respect for individuals’ diverse experiences and the ability to work effectively with people from a variety of backgrounds

7.

•  Review your application; be ready to comment on specific experiences •  Use specific examples to illustrate a point rather than general responses

Based on 20 years of data and research, TFA identifies these traits as characteristic of the most successful teachers.  

Define Leadership

TFA Lesson Plan

ü  Presentation  -­‐ Convey  con*idence  and  energy  through  your  tone  of  voice  -­‐ Use  an  appropriate,  consistent  volume  and  speed  -­‐ Enunciate  clearly  and  be  articulate  -­‐ Use  body  language  to  bene*it,  without  being  distracting    

ü  Content -­‐ Target  your  material  for  grade  level  -­‐ Strike  a  balance  between  interactive  and  informative  material  -­‐ Demonstrate  that  you  have  put  effort  into  your  exercise  preparation  -­‐ Present  cohesive,  well-­‐organized  content  from  start  to  *inish  

       ü  Timing  

-­‐ Remain  within  5-­‐minute  restriction  -­‐ Maintain  your  composure  and  pace  yourself  to  avoid  anxiety  over  timing

        ü  Involvement  

-­‐ Greet  “students”  and  end  the  “class”  -­‐ Use  effective  and  appropriate  feedback    -­‐ Employ  an  appropriate  number  of  prop(s)        

Lesson Plan

- Keep it simple - Maintain good eye contact - Convey confidence and enthusiasm - Keep your “classroom” engaged with an interactive lesson - Check for class understanding; have them do an example

on on their own, or quiz them orally

- Be caught off guard if Corps members or “students” ask questions - Stray off topic - Overuse “like,” “um,” “you know?”

•  - Read directly from a script

Do

Don’t

The Interview

Interviewing Differences Between City Year & TFA

City Year Teach For America

•  Focus on service and volunteer experiences

•  Students should show their demonstrated impact/achievement in what they’ve committed themselves to—regardless of whether that’s in service/education or something else

•  (2) 20-minute pre-screening phone interviews –(1) 45 minute phone interview

•  Phone interview and on-campus interview

•  No Lesson Plan •  5-Minute Lesson Plan

TFA Phone Interview VS. On-Campus Interview

Expect The Unexpected

During the Interview

- Dress professionally - Arrive on time - Be yourself - Prepare to address anything on your resume/application - Ask questions – but don’t fake it!

- Dwell on your lesson plan performance if you think it

“ “fell short” - Stray off topic - Overuse “like,” “um,” “you know?”

•  - Use an obviously memorized script

Questions: Answering and Asking

Open-Ended Questions –  “Tell me about yourself.” –  “Walk me through your resume.”

Two-Part Positive & Negative Questions –  “What would you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness?”

Tough Questions –  “Can you think of anything that might make you leave TFA earlier than your two-year

commitment?” –  “What would you do when a student does not cooperate or misbehaves?” –  “What is a social justice issue that concerns you?” –  “Would you have lower expectations for students in low-income communities?”

Group Role-Playing Questions –  “You are a fourth grade teacher, and I’m the principal of your school. I have just cancelled

all field trips, school-wide, until test scores increase. You have already promised your students a field trip. Convince me that I should change my policy.”

I: Answering Questions

Behavioral Questions: ★STAR Technique

•  Use your questions to show enthusiasm

•  Examples: -  What do I need to do in preparation for Institute? -  How will my teaching responsibilities and performance be evaluated? By whom? -  What was the biggest challenge you faced as a first-year teacher (or Corps

Member)? -  Why do you think City Year/TFA matters?

•  Interviewers may interpret a lack of questions as a lack of genuine interest

II: Asking Questions

•  Concern over GPA and/or major •  Perceived lack of leadership or teaching experience •  Acute nervousness–body language, facial expressions, demeanor •  The “perfect” weakness

Self-Induced Stress Factors

TFA Lesson Plan Practice Sessions Friday, February 22

Friday, March 29