Based on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance, behavior-based interviewing calls upon candidates to tell about their previous skills, knowledge, and experiences. Savvy interviewers on the search committee ask BBI-style questions that start with “Tell me about a time when…” or “Describe how you have….”

Envision the new position
To make a behavior-based interview work, everyone involved on the search committee must be able to envision the position and must know what skills, knowledge, and experiences a successful candidate possesses. Then, questions addressing those skills should be written. Committee members should take notes and evaluate the candidates’ answers with a premade rubric. Every effort should be made to have the same structure for the overall interview schedule, and to have an identical list of questions posed to candidates at a given time.

Writing and evaluating answers
Questions about teaching, publishing, and service are determined in advance by the search committee. Examples include:

1. Describe how you teach a lesson. What do your plans include?
2. Tell us about a lesson that went well and why it went well.
3. Your teaching here will be (undergraduate, graduate, etc.). How have you motivated students at this level to excel academically?
4. Tell us about your research and publishing agenda. What has guided your success in getting writing completed and submitted?
5. How have you involved students in your research?
6. Where have you shared your research in the past (conferences, etc.)?
7. What are ways that you have served your institution in the past?
8. Tell us about any committee work you have done.

Of course, the ultimate behavior-based interview strategy is to observe the candidate teaching. Instruments for rating candidates’ answers in the structured interviews and their sample lessons should be written in advance.

Evaluating answers
The simplest rating instrument is one with three categories—unacceptable, acceptable, and target. Other evaluators prefer a numeric scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 7. For the search committee, list all questions and then put the rating system at the side. It is then easy to see how many target answers are given or how many high scores are attained.

“PAR” and “STAR” may help you evaluate answers. PAR stands for problem, action, and result. If a candidate is asked about a concern or problem in teaching, then he or she should be able to talk about that problem, an action taken, and a result learned. Likewise, STAR represents situation, task, action, and result.

When creating a quick evaluation tool for students and observers of a candidate’s lesson, consider unacceptable, acceptable, and target, or a sliding scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is “no” and 5 is “definitely.” The categories might include the following: instructor introduced the lesson well, instructor organized the material efficiently in the body of the lesson, instructor was clear in explanations, instructor seemed enthusiastic, etc.

Key reminders:

1. The behavior-based approach helps in sorting large numbers of applicants. Make an evaluation rubric for each set of credentials received, looking specifically at a candidate’s match with the job description, experience teaching at this level, etc.
2. Keeping a list of illegal questions in front of faculty and students in open interviews will help prevent someone from asking about family, race, religion, etc.
3. Some candidates may be able to talk about teaching but still not be able to actually teach. However, a candidate who cannot describe any aspect of a lesson doesn’t know how to teach a lesson, either.

Using the behavior-based style of interviewing can help search committees have a basis for structuring interviews.

Dr. Mary C. Clement is a professor of teacher education at Berry College.

Excerpted from Behavior-Based Interviewing Strategies for Hiring New Faculty, Academic Leader, vol. 25, no. 8, p. 7.

I have taught three-hour evening classes for graduate students in teacher education for the past 11 years. I’d like to share the four-part plan I’ve developed that keeps students engaged while providing a robust intellectual experience.

Get them in, get them focused—My first goal is to get students thinking about the class, not about their bad day at work or what their children are doing at home. When setting up the room before class starts, I post a list of everything we will be doing during the next three hours so that students know what we have to accomplish, and late arrivals or those who leave early know what they missed. I always post a tough thought question on the screen. Some of these questions end up on our exams, some review reading material, and all of them are important and guide the rest of the session.

Present/ lecture/explain new material—After the opening discussion, I present the new material for that session. Most weeks, my students are assigned two or three chapters or articles to read before class. I tell them to bring the readings; in class we “bring them to life.” When I can, I project the author’s picture on the screen or show a video clip of the author discussing his/her work. Many authors now have these clips on their websites.

After a video clip, I project my notes on the screen, stating that the class doesn’t have to wonder what I wanted them to get out of the reading, as I will tell them. However, my notes are frequently questions or redirects back to the reading: “Go to the third paragraph on page 317, reread it, and explain the author’s opinion in your own words.” I also challenge students to question a writer’s research or background: “Having read this seminal work by author X, list three critiques of his/her research.” They often discuss their answers with a partner, which helps to break up the time. Some report on these exchanges in the whole-class discussion that follows, thereby giving me an opportunity to elaborate or add points they may have missed.

Apply the new material—Students need to thoroughly understand new material before they are asked to apply it. Generally, those applications occur in small groups. After having read about high school curricula, groups are asked to design a curricular change in their schools. They find directions and relevant questions on the screen. Authentic tasks work best. If the groups are doing something members see themselves doing in the future, they tackle the exercises with a lot more enthusiasm. I don’t grade this group work, but instead use it as a springboard for discussion.

Review, conclude, and assess—To end class, I might do something like put up large posters around the room, each with the name of a theorist whom we have studied recently. I ask students to go to two of the boards and write down their most vivid memories of that theorist. They cannot repeat what others have written. As they write, I walk around the room and talk with them, providing individual attention and answering questions.

I may use a short reading that summarizes, adds to, or is related to the lecture. Students read this handout and then tell me why I chose that reading for my conclusion.

Dr. Mary Clement is an associate professor at the Charter School of Education & Human Sciences, Berry College, GA.

Excerpted from The Teaching Professor, August-September, 2008.

From day one the students learn the routine: they arrive, pick up handouts on the entrance table, and read the screen for instructions. They know what to do, and it saves time. Here’s how I recommend introducing the routine on day one.

1. Post your name and the name and section of the class on the screen, so that when students walk in they know that they are in the right place.
2. Write “welcome” on the screen and have directions that tell students what they need to do immediately. Example: “As you enter, please tell me your name. Then pick up a syllabus, a card, and a folder from the entrance table. Fold the card so that it will stand on your desk, and write your first name on it in BIG letters. Add your last name and major in smaller print. Write your name on the tab of the folder, (last name first, then first name). Read the syllabus until class starts.” [Note: By asking students to tell you their name as they enter, you can hear how the name is pronounced, and avoid the embarrassment of pronouncing it for the first time yourself.]
3. When it’s time for class to start–start class! Late arrivals can catch up by reading the screen.
4. For classes of 25 or less, I have students do brief, 10-second introductions. I tell them there will be a verbal quiz after all the introductions and that they can win stars if they know who is who. (Have fun with this, but remember that these are adults and college is not like junior high.)
5. For larger classes, I have students introduce themselves to three or four people around them, and then we might do “stand-ups”–stand up if you are a Spanish major, stand up if you are an education major, and so on. I explain that students need to know each other for our small group work, and in case they have a question.
6. I collect the file folders and put them alphabetically by student name into a big plastic carrying case. When students need to turn in assignments, they find the box on the entrance table and they put their papers in their respective folders. When papers are graded, they can pull their graded tests or assignments from their folders. The beauty of this system is that time is never wasted by passing out papers. For small classes, I put handouts in the folders of absent students.
7. After the introductions and the explanation of the folder and box system, I turn to the “Today we will” list that I’ve written on the board, posted on a large paper flip-chart, or projected on the screen. I like to actually write this list on the board, so I can return to it even while projecting my notes. A “today we will” list outlines my plan for the day. For example, for the first day, my “today we will list” says:
   • See screen for instruction for card and folder.
   • Introductions
   • Turn in folders
   • Go over syllabus completely
   • Minilecture on ___________
   • Interest inventory
   • Do you know what to read/do before the next class?
     [Note: The "today we will" list lets me walk around the room, teach from the projection system, and then look at the list for what I should do next. I tend not to forget things if I have the list. As the semester progresses, the "today we will" list might contain warm-up questions that then appear as test questions. The list helps students who arrive late or leave early see what they have missed.]
8. The minilesson/minilecture–whether it’s a short overview of the first reading assignment, some sample problems, or 10 interesting questions students will be able to answer at the end of the course, I strongly recommend doing some course content on the first day. For classes that last longer than 50 minutes, I include a short student activity. I also think it’s important to begin with course material on day one so that students begin to see who you are and how you teach. Since I teach courses in teacher education, I often talk about my teaching career. I include a few stories about how times have changed and about how some things in teaching never change.
9. Interest inventories are great for the first day of class. An interest inventory is just a short list of questions about students’ backgrounds and interests. It may assess their prior learning as well. In addition to name and major, students can write about a hobby, interest, or goal. Do not be too personal. You can have them answer several questions about content–maybe solve a problem, write a short paragraph or answer specific questions. Finally open-ended questions are useful:
   • What are your goals after graduation?
   • What has a teacher done in the past that helped you to learn ________ ?
   • Is there anything else that you want me to know about you and your course of study?
     You can always add one fun question:
   • If your song played when you entered the room, what would that song be?
10. Every good class has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. I usually teach the minilesson, and then save the last six to eight minutes of class for the interest inventory and individual questions. This way, students don’t have to wait on others to finish. I instruct students to turn in their interest inventory as they exit. As they are writing, I alphabetize their folders and put them in the box on the table. Another good closure is to ask if they know what to read/do before the next class, and if they know three people to ask about the assignment if they have a question.

Contact Mary Clement at mclement@berry.edu.