ABSTRACT
Good teachers are distinguished by their characteristics - passion, integrity, initiative, confidence and more - yet recruitment tends to focus on skills and knowledge. Skills are vital, but are not the whole picture.
This handbook provides a comprehensive technique for spotting and assessing the deeper characteristics of outstanding teachers during interview, using the Hay McBer research into effective teaching.
Spotting an outstanding teacher, however, is wasted if they are not attracted to the school. Included in this guide is a means of evaluating, improving and communicating a school's attractiveness to candidates and existing staff.
Providing a pathway through the complex recruitment process - from defining the school's needs to welcoming the new recruit into the school - this book includes:
- research into teacher effectiveness
- critical incident interviews
- definition and attraction
- assessment
- induction.
Presenting surveys, original research into effective teaching, and interviews with recruiters and recruits, this lively guide offers practical advice for all schools.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |2 pages
Part 1 Core concepts and techniques
part |2 pages
Part 2 The complete recruitment process
chapter 4|1 pages
Definition: describing your ideal candidate
Describing your ideal candidate Capturing the job requirements
chapter |2 pages
References
part |2 pages
Part 3 Practical exercises and materials
chapter |16 pages
Practical 1 Professional characteristics
The dictionary of characteristics of effective teachers
chapter |1 pages
Practical 2 Observation schedule for teaching skills
Logistics: Candidate name Observer name
chapter |1 pages
Time Activity (code) No. of pupils on task Total no. in class
Plus full notes about what’s happening in the classroom (every 5 minutes) Activity code:
chapter |1 pages
Critical incident interview protocol – cover sheet
To be completed in advance … Candidates name: Date of interview: Position applied for: Interviewer name:
chapter |1 pages
Critical Incident Interview protocol – tip sheet
Feelings Actions Context Thoughts We can only use statements that are:
chapter |1 pages
Critical Incident Interview protocol – introduction
Ensure privacy, peace and freedom from interruption Introduce yourself and any other participants Check that the candidate is settled / has any initial needs or questions answered Introduce the Critical Incident process:
chapter |2 pages
Critical Incident Interview protocol – incident Incident number Opening probe Headline: Summary:
A good incident has:
chapter |1 pages
Critical Incident Interview protocol – conclusion
Please: Provide time for the candidate’s own questions Let them know about the next steps Thank them for their time and interest We also include four optional sections. Omit any section not required.
chapter |1 pages
Reward preferences
(Select the most appropriate questions) What did you like best about your old school? Why are you leaving? If money and other practicalities were no obstacle, what would you see yourself doing in ten years time? Describe a typical day – who are you with? What do you see? What do you feel like?
chapter |1 pages
Group exercise debrief
(If the candidate has participated in a group exercise before the interview, and you have feedback on their performance) of what actually happened.
chapter |2 pages
Lesson observation debrief
(If the candidate has taught a lesson before the interview, and you have feedback on their performance) understanding of what actually happened.
chapter |3 pages
Sample interview transcript
This excerpt begins just after the candidate has provided a timeline for their first critical incident. Codable statements have been underlined. You may like to use the dictionary to assess which characteristics they are examples of. INTERVIEWER: OK, Thank you for the timeline. That gives me an idea about where we start. Which I guess is at the meeting on the 15th? As we begin,
chapter |1 pages
Interviewer
Was this a successful or unsuccessful interview? Do I think I generated a lot of codable data? Were there any significant lengths of time during which no codable data was gathered? Did I make the opening probe as planned?
chapter |1 pages
Interviewee
Was this a successful or unsuccessful interview? Do I think I provided a lot of codable data? Were there any significant lengths of time during which no codable data was gathered? Did the opening probe work?
chapter |1 pages
Answers to the coding exercise in Chapter 3*
Not codable Codable Codable Not codable Not codable
chapter |2 pages
Job profile questionnaire
The aim of this questionnaire is to discover your ideal job profile. It is split into two sections: two scales to measure your responsibility for results and freedom to act two scales to measure the degree of creativity and
chapter |1 pages
School culture quiz
Here are eight questions to get you thinking about your school culture. The answers should reveal something about your institutional values. And the topics of the questionnaires say something about the different mechanisms by which values are reinforced and communicated. The questionnaire can be used in private or as a group. Working with a group, read
chapter |1 pages
School culture grid – actual
Arrange the thirty cards on a table or desk, following the pattern drawn below. You will need to discuss and negotiate their meaning and their placement. Try to describe your school’s culture now, rather than how you would like it to be. If you can’t agree, capture the experience of the majority of people in your group. When you are done, to provide a permanent record, write each card’s number in the
chapter |1 pages
School culture grid – ideal
Arrange the thirty cards on a table, following the pattern drawn below. You will need to discuss and negotiate their meaning and their placement. Try to describe your school’s culture as you would like it to be. If you can’t agree, capture the aspirations of the majority of people in your group. When you are done, to provide a permanent record, write each card’s number in the
chapter |2 pages
Team social roles
Critic The critic is the team member who points out the difficulties in any situation or plan
chapter |1 pages
Analysis table
‘Auditing your school’s Total Reward’ in Chapter 5 on page 94 offers four categories
chapter |1 pages
Person specification
Vacancy: Start date: Accountabilities (Main objectives of the role and their success criteria) Priority characteristics
chapter |1 pages
Skills, knowledge and experience required Job shape Professional values Team social roles
(Technical skills, subject knowledge, length of service, background) (Balance between delivery and creativity) A-type P-type
chapter |1 pages
Professional characteristics
(Summary of all key job requirements) Professionalism – a core of strongly held and enacted values Respect for others The underlying belief that individuals matter and deserve respect Challenge and support A commitment to do everything possible for each pupil and enable all pupils to be successful
