Feb 28, 2015

21 Job Interview Questions for Autism Teachers and Other Special Education Teachers




It will be here before you know it...interviewing season. There are the standard questions and expectations like please list your strengths and your weaknesses. Although it is important to know what a potential teacher feels about themselves, those are not the bits of information that stand out to me. The things I want to know are:
            
What do you know about setting up the classroom for students with autism?

How is that classroom going to look different from the typical classroom?

What supports are you going to have a place in that classroom?

What materials are you going to have in the classroom?

How will the staff members be utilized in that classroom?

Those are some of the things that I think really pinpoint if somebody has an idea of how to organize their classroom.   Even if they have not yet had a their own classroom, it is nice to find out if they have a sense of how they're going to make that happen.

Additionally I would like to know a few other important items like:

Do you know the IEP process? 

How you work with others?

Are you able to provide a leadership role in the classroom?

Are you able to give clear instructions related to what needs to happen for the students?

Are you able to work with other people and take constructive criticism if something needs to be changed? 


Most importantly, I want to know:

How do you deal with disruptive behaviors that may be displayed by students with autism in the classroom? (Which may look different from disruptions in a typical classroom.)

What preventative strategies will you use?

Do you know the principles of applied behavior analysis?

If you do not, do you know at least a little bit about it?

Can you discuss the link between reinforcement and behavior?

Do you know about planned ignoring?

How do you use preventative materials & supports so that the behaviors don't occur?
If you are hired, you may notice that you may be called on to be knowledgeable about behavior.  So, it won't hurt to start learning some of those principles of applied behavior analysis so that you can respond to behaviors in a systematic way and not just act on a whim. So, that brings to mind:

Are you someone who knows how to de-escalate situations?

Do you know some key strategies to de-escalate the situation with the child with autism?

So, even if these questions are not asked directly, somewhere in the interview process these questions to be addressed.

In this day and age, you will need to have some background in the Common Core State Standards and how that Common Core can be linked or aligned to your classroom programming.

Where will it fit in?

How do the student’s individual needs get balanced in with the structure of the Common Core?

That is about all I can think of for now. Even if these questions do not come up in your interview, they are critical to think about before taking your first step into the classroom.  If you need some ideas to help with the questions asked, check out the free Teacher as a Leader Series from Autism Classroom. Good Luck!








Feb 25, 2015

Teachers Are Heroes Sale, Core Vocabulary Words, and New Morning Work

The Teachers are heroes sale is today!  If you get a chance take a look at some of the cool new items from Autism Classroom. 

Sight Word Identification & Word Work for CVC words, Kindergarten words, 1st grade words and Core Vocabulary.



 Core Vocabulary Word Work - for students with multiple needs working on learning core vocabulary.
 Core Vocabulary Words - Word Work

Morning Work for Students with Autism for March, April, 
May & June.