Friday, January 14, 2011

Preparing for Your Interview; Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/13/11

Rob Jenkins, Chronicle of Higher Education; Preparing for Your Interview:

"When I say "craft" your narrative, I don't mean make it up. I trust that, if you're applying to community colleges, you really are committed to teaching. If you're faking it, the committee members will almost certainly sniff that out. And even if they don't, even if you sell your act and manage to get yourself hired, you're going to be pretty miserable teaching five courses a semester.

What I'm suggesting, assuming you really do consider yourself a good teacher, is that you keep that role foremost in your mind. Think about the experiences you've had in the classroom that led you to enjoy teaching and convinced you it was something you wanted to do. Then weave those stories into your interview answers.

For instance, you may be asked about your experience with diverse student populations. Don't answer by spouting numbers: "My last campus was 43 percent African-American and 17 percent Asian." Instead, tell a brief story about the time a student's cultural differences enlightened your class discussion, or the time you went out of your way to help a student who was struggling with the language."

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