Interview – wash up.

GTP Interview Process

Thank you to all well wishers. The support proved to be a vital part in helping to keep it all together on the day. I thought that a quick note of what happened would serve as a good reference point for future reflections.

The whole process was geared up to test ones suitability, capability and motive to becoming a teacher (as you would expect).  The key areas/themes that seemed to be threaded throughout the different tasks (lesson delivery, interview, literacy test) hinged on the following:

1/ Personal views about the direction of education

2/ How you can and should affect the education of children

3/ What constitutes a good education

4/ What “other” skills can you bring to the table

5/ Are you a reflective practitioner willing to adapt and change

6/ How much do you know about teaching and teaching life

7/ Awareness of the bigger picture (Senge esque point of view was helpful)

Overall  I think I presented myself well and having studied/read current policies/articles regarding the direction of education (academies, curriculum, quangos etc) as well as an awareness of where we had come from (workforce agreement) certainly helped settle nerves as I was able to recall and share themes and opinions fairly easily. I would say that I should have spent more time on the DfE website just to make sure that I was 100% current although I think uncertainty still pervades the education frontline despite central government’s efforts.

Having an in-depth knowledge of myself as a practitioner, through my work based inquiries, was also of great comfort due to the fact that I could discuss my workplace understandings and realisations confident in the knowledge that they were supported by literature and prior research.

Work life balance was also keenly discussed and I felt that the fact that I had been working fairly successfully as an online student for 3 years will work in my favour. Being able to recall specific examples of when it has worked and not worked helped add credibility to my claims I hope.

The math was fine although a solid grasp of ratio and proportion helped. The english started off fairly easily as a comprehension & grammar check but came with a sting at the end (of a 20 min test overall) where we were required to write 100 words presenting our opinions on education. Bit of a shock when you realise this with 10 mins to go.

I am confident that I put my best foot forward and delivered a passionate plea to the panel. Let’s hope they were able to interpret my signals accurately and offer me a place.