Describe your teaching style.

Describe your teaching philosophy.

What technology applications have you utilized in the classroom?
How do you engage students, particularly in a course for non-
majors?
Share you ideas about professional development.
In you opinion, how should the workload of a faculty member be
split and into what areas?
What changes have you brought to the teaching of _________?
How would you go about being an advocate and resource for the use
of technology in the teaching and learning process?
What courses have you created or proposed in the past five years?
What do you think are the most important attributes of a good
instructor?
Where would this position fit into your career development goals?
How do you define good teaching?
What do you think are your greatest strengths as an instructor? In
which areas do you feel you can use some further development?
How do you feel your teaching style can serve our student
population?
In what professional development activities have you been involved
over the past few years?
What pedagogical changes do you see on the horizon in your
discipline?
How would your background and experiences strengthen this
academic department?
How do you adjust your style to the less-motivated or under-
prepared student?
Have you involved your students in your research?
What are your current research interests?
What are the most recent book and article that you’ve read?
What can you bring to the department that is uniquely yours?
What kind of techniques have you found, to be effective?
How well do you interact with your colleagues and what attribute do
you bring to the department that will make a positive difference in
this College?
How do you define success in a Urban University classroom? How
do you measure that success?
Loyola University Chicago system has a culturally diverse student
population with varied academic backgrounds. A faculty member
must appreciate and be willing to adapt his/her skills and strategies
to cope with such a challenging environment. What are some
qualities that prepare you to effectively teach in this kind of
environment?
Describe the most recent difficult situation you encountered in your
class and how you handled it?

For this assignment, choose one of your professors you would like to
interview (not Dr. Kusnick!).

1. Make an appointment. Tell the professor you will need about 20-30
minutes.

2. Read over this list of questions and decide which ones you would like to
ask (you must ask at least 6 of these questions and at least 2 more follow-up
questions that you think of during the interview.

3. Take notes during the interview, summarizing the professor's answers to

each question.
4. Type up your questions and answers and hand them in.

Possible questions:

How did you decide to study (geology, history - whatever subject the professor
teaches)?

When did you know you wanted to be a (geologist, psychologist, etc.)?

What strategies did you use to be successful in college?

Have you ever had any other jobs besides teaching college?

Was the college that you attended like Sac State? How was it different?

What do you like best about teaching at Sac State?

What was graduate school like?

What is the best thing about being a (geologist, athropologist, mathematician,

etc.)?

What is the best way to study for your class?

Are there any resources at Sac State that you would recomend that could help
me be successful this year?

Does your department have any student clubs? any internships?

4. Why did you choose to be a
professor?
Answer:

As a professor, you need to have

passion for learning and also expert
level knowledge. Professors have a
chance to shape their students future.
They influence the students in their
daily life.

Here are a few reasons why I

choose to be a professor:

i.) An Opportunity of life-long

learning: As a professor, I need to be
updated with the changes in my field.   
ii.) Helps me pursue my
passion: This profession allows you to
research on a wide variety of topics.
This gives me the flexibility of choosing
the topic of my interest.

iii.) It's a rewarding job: It allows

you to make a living. But it's more
rewarding to see your students learn
and develop skills you taught them.

iv.) Provides job security: There is

always a high demand for professors in
higher education institutes around the
world. This means there is good job
security.

v.) Helps to shape the future

generations: This job allows me to
guide the future generations.
7. How would you ensure an
active participation from
students in your class?
Answer:

A sample answer can be something like,

"At times it becomes quite challenging
to get all the students involved in the
discussions. Some students shy away
from speaking publicly, some don't
know the answer, some have a fear of
being wrong etc. However, I try to
throw questions which do not have a
single correct answer and ask them to
participate. Also, I know all my
students in a class by name. At times,
asking them specifically helps.
I also prefer to ask them to send me
their comments before or after the class
through e-mail. Some of them do get in
touch and this is the opportunity I bring
them into discussion at the right time."

What teaching style do you

adopt?
Answer:

Each professor has a unique style of

teaching. Whichever style you adopt the
focus should be on effective learning.
The interviewer would like to see how
you would teach a specific concept and
what measures would you take to
develop knowledge.  They would want
to know how you influence learning in
students.

To answer this question you can say

something like: "I want the students to
take control of their learning. I focus
more on learning rather than just
teaching. I would want the students to
have deep understanding of the topic. I
do not want the students to just
memorize and have bookish knowledge.

I help students with methods of

research and where to look for correct
information. I help to develop their
questions on the particular subject.

So, I would say that I do not have any

specific teaching style but I look
forward to providing knowledge which
can be transferred in real life context."

What course are you looking

forward to teach?
Answer:

While answering this question do not

say that you are ready to teach any
subject. This would imply that you are
desperate to get the job. Just tell them
that you are adaptable and you would
be ready to fit into the departments
learning requirements.

If you suggest some course make sure

you can teach it well. Also, mention the
teaching and assessment strategies you
would like to take up.

To answer this question you can say

something like: "I would like to
contribute to the existing courses. With
a doctorate in advance computing, I'm
pretty good at all kinds of databases.
I'll be interesting in taking up this
subject for PG students."

What are your strengths?

Answer:

This is one of the most common

questions that you may expect in the
interview. The interviewer is interested
in the strengths relevant to the
position.

To answer this question you can say

something like this: "Teaching is
something I really enjoy. I am very
detailed - oriented. Also, I make sure
that I do not miss any important thing
in my research."

12. What is your weakness?

Answer:

Every person has some weaknesses.

Don't say you don't have any. When
you tell the interviewer about your
weakness also tell them how you are
improving yourself. This shows that you
are aware of your shortcomings and
you are trying to improve and work on
it.

To answer this you can say

something like: "I am not really good
with numbers. To help myself cope up
with this, I use MS Excel exhaustively."

13. Why do you want to teach

in our institute?
Answer:

With this question, the interviewer

would like to know what you know
about the university and the
department. While answering this
question prioritize on teaching. Let the
interviewer know what made you
choose this institute?
To answer this question, you can say
something: "I always wanted to work in
the institute which gives a lot of
importance on good teaching practice. I
really appreciate the way you dedicate
attention to each and every student. I
believe I can provide the same
dedication and prioritize teaching over
everything else".

1. Why do you want to work here?

Bad answer: ‘Because I desperately need
a job’
This is a tough one. What they are asking
for is some thoughts on what you have
seen and heard about the way they do
things that make you want to work for
them. The emphasis in the question is on
the word ‘here‘. So, to answer this
question you need to know a lot about the
university and the department. Look at the
person specification for the job. If they are
obviously looking for someone who is a
good teacher rather than an international
researcher, answer this question by
prioritising teaching.
Good Answer: ‘I wanted to move to an
institution like this that prioritises good
teaching practice and dedicated pastoral
care of students. I believe I can offer this
because of [x and y examples of
experience from your previous career].
2. What makes you different from
the other candidates?
Bad answer: ‘Um, they all seem to be
much more confident and professional
than me and I am very intimidated’
This question is not requesting that you
attack the character of your fellow
candidates or compare yourself negatively
to them. It is short-hand for ‘why should we
hire you?’ or  ‘why are you special?’ Again
think about the person specification and
make sure you know what sort of
academic they are looking for. Tailor your
own responses to that as much as
possible. Make sure you give examples
from your own history to support your
assertions. So, for example, if it is an up
and coming department looking for a high-
flying researcher to boost their reputation,
emphasise your role in this. If there is
anything you do that makes you stand out,
for example a skill or area of experience,
mention that here too.
Good answer: Although I am an all-
rounder and could contribute to
departmental life in many ways, I know
that I have the international research
profile that you are looking for. [Go on to
give details of books and articles written,
prizes won etc.]
I also think I am unique in that I have direct
experience of running online courses and
would be happy to take a lead on
introducing that here if colleagues were
interested.
3. What are your plans for
research?
Bad answer: ‘Not sure. I have been so
caught up with trying to find work that I
haven’t thought about it.’
This question is obviously asking you to
look forward to the future, so drawing up
one year, five year and ten year research
plans is helpful before going into an
interview. (If you are completing a PhD
and looking for your first job this might
sound a little excessive, but believe me, it
will make you stand out and be taken
seriously). They will not just want to hear
about the topics you wish to cover but will
crucially be interested in two other areas:
research funding and your output (i.e.
publications). As well as telling them about
your exciting projects, tell them how you’re
going to pay for them (which grants you
will apply for) and what published benefits
there will be in concrete terms. Aim high at
this point; you don’t want to sell yourself
short. You can write that monograph or get
an article into a world-renowned journal.
The scope of your ambition will help to sell
you as the ideal candidate here, so don’t
worry about sounding arrogant.
Good answer: ‘in the next year I will be
finishing up the revisions on my
manuscript for x book which is due for
publication on x date. I have several other
projects on the go that I wish to pursue
after that [give details]; if my funding
applications to the x and y grant bodies
are successful I should be able to see
those projects to publication by [give
date].’
4. What courses could you offer to
teach?
Bad answer: ‘I am so desperate for a job
that I will teach anything you ask me to’.
You want to seem keen and flexible and
show that you are happy to fit in with the
department’s teaching requirements but
they also want to hear about new courses
that you would like to offer. In order to
answer this question, you need to look at
the department’s current undergraduate
curriculum. That way you can be sure the
courses you have invented will fit in with
what they offer now. So if the department
already has a course on Nazi Germany, do
not propose to offer a new one. You have
to be careful here: do not let your creativity
run away with you. If you do get the job,
your new colleagues might say ‘I loved that
course you proposed in your interview, can
you run it next year?’
Make sure you suggest something that you
could feasibly teach, preferably based on
your previous experience. Think about
whether you would offer it in the first,
second or third year, and briefly state what
some of your teaching exercises and
assessment strategies might be. If you can
make use of technology then mention that
too.
Good answer: ‘I would be happy to
contribute to some of the existing courses
you run, such as x and y but I also have a
few ideas of my own that I feel would
appeal to students in the x year of their
education. [Describe the course] I feel that
it would fit into your curriculum particularly
well because it complements your other
courses in x field but is unique because it
covers an earlier time period or uses
different resources [examples].
5. How would you contribute to the
administration of the department?
Bad answer: ‘Don’t you dare find me a
time-consuming admin job to do. That’s
not why I became an academic!’
Here they want you to talk about your past
admin experience if you have any, and to
show your enthusiasm for this side of
things! Fake it if you have to. Pretending
that you are desperate to become the new
admissions officer will help you to get the
job if that’s what they are looking for. If you
have experience of running your own
courses, managing an entire programme,
or doing a specific administrative task then
mention that. If you can, give an example
of a contribution or innovation that you
instituted in that role. If you are at the very
start of your career then simply show even
more enthusiasm and emphasise the
transferable skills that are vital in these
roles, i.e. being efficient, well-organised
and a good communicator.
Good answer: ‘I look forward to having
the opportunity to fully contributing to the
life of the department. I have a special
interest in the area of admissions/
exams/head of year etc’. I had some
experience in this role at my last institution
and realised that I have the skills
necessary to do it well [name them] and
actually implemented changes to their
policy on x. However, I realise the need for
flexibility here and would happily take on
the challenge of any administration role
that would suit my level of expertise.