As with all jobs, PGCE interviews come in a number of different shapes and sizes. Some interviews will be intensive, some will be friendly; some will focus on your subject knowledge, others your teaching experience; sometimes you will be interviewed in large groups, other times you will get a personal grilling.
Making it to the interview stage is a great achievement. At all of my interviews I was told that I was only in competition with myself. We weren’t competing for finite places; we were competing for a place with our names already on it. Generally, if they invite you to interview, they want you on the course. In the interview they are just confirming that you are as adequate as you application suggests.
Below you will find a short guide to the types of interviews you might receive, along with some advice and a list of possible questions or activities. This is by no means a comprehensive guide to every institution’s interviewing procedure. It should only act as an overview of the process.
GROUP ACTIVITIES
Most institutions use some form of group activity to assess your ability to work with other people. They vary from institution to institution, but they are all looking for the same qualities:
-Can this candidate work with other people effectively?
-Can they share responsibility?
-Are they aggressive, firm, meek, or calm when arguing or disagreeing?
-Are they confident enough to raise their voice?
-Can they deal with criticism or disagreement?
-Do they have good public speaking skills?
Obviously every institution and every individual course is looking for something specific, but there is a general candidate that everyone is looking for.
Confidence is clearly important; being able to hold a conversation or a point of argument is also an advantage; and a clear-headed approach to disagreement shows a calmness that will be incredibly advantageous in the classroom.
Group Discussions
There was some form of group discussion at all of my interviews. At one institution this was a group interview in which we were asked to debate key topics such as: what makes a good teacher; what skills a teacher needs; and what effect the latest curriculum will have on education. This was one of the best interview techniques I experienced whilst looking for a PGCE provider. During this stage we got the clichéd interview questions out of the way so that in our individual interviews we were able to focus on our core skills.
At a different institution we were given a piece of creative writing. We were asked to think about it, and then discuss how we would mark it, and decide on what feedback we would give to the student. A similar task was used at most of the interviews I attended. As you might be able to anticipate, the writing is usually of mixed ability. In the English interviews I attended the writing was always creatively brilliant, but grammatically terrible. This gave us a lot of scope for debate and raised some interesting questions about English education.
Group interviews generally bring out the best and worst in people. Don’t be surprised to find someone in your group who won’t shut up and refuses to talk to, share with, or even look at, anyone other than the assessor. This person obviously won’t get offered a position. Just be patient with them. The assessor will normally try to lead conversation away from that person.
Group Presentations
Presentations are another favored weapon in the institutions arsenal of techniques. There are a number of different types of presentation. You might be faced with an individual presentation, or a collaborative one, it might be a straight presentation, or you might be asked to give a short lesson.
I had to give a presentation in two of my three interviews. In the first another I gave a five-minute presentation with another candidate about a student’s writing. We had to identify the positive and negative features of it, and tell the group what we would do in a single feedback lesson with the student.
At a different institution I had to give a five-minute pre-prepared presentation on a current issue facing education. This was probably the most difficult task I had to do during my interviews. Preparing a presentation in advance created more pressure because I wasn’t sure of the person to whom I would be delivering it. Likewise, there is a greater deal of expectation attached to a prepared presentation.
During this stage you are being tested on your public speaking ability. Reading from a script is probably the worst thing you could do. Imagine you were teaching a class. How would you want to address the kids? It’s paramount that you deliver it clearly but not from a script. Would you want to speak from a script in your lessons? Simply speaking confidently, clearly, and intelligently about the subject will be enough.
At some institutions prospective teachers have been asked to give short, 3-5 minute lessons. This can be as simple as: teach us something new. Try to think of any teachers you’ve experienced and what qualities you admired in them. This should help to guide the way you teach you lesson.
INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS
This is probably the easiest part of the interview for most people. You have finally found the department, you’ve successfully collated all of your documents, made it through the awkward conversation with other candidates, survived a group interview, endured your presentation, and now you can sit down with your interviewer and fully show off your brilliance.
Unfortunately, individual interviews aren’t always so straightforward. Be prepared for stony faces from the interviewers, awkward questions, and some serious grilling. I experienced both sides of the extreme. One of my interviews was a genuinely pleasant conversation; after another, I felt as if I’d been hurled through a bush backwards; in another, we spoke solely about London house prices and the pernicious effect of Russian oligarchs on London inner-city schools.
There are generally a few areas you can anticipate being asked about:
-Your experiences of education
-Your teaching experience
-Your motivations and future goals
-Your subject knowledge
-What you can bring to a course
-A demonstration of your skills
However, across various interviews for secondary English I was hit with some unanticipated gems.
-What would you do if a student called another student gay, and how would your experience as an English student help you?
-What would you teach to a class of mixed ability year 7 students in their first year at school to ensure they all enter year 8 at the same level?
-What piece of world literature would you teach to year 8 students?
-Is grammatical accuracy important when teaching writing?
-How does your experience of education make you a suitable candidate?
Being able to answer these questions consistently and coherently is the key. They are not looking for a perfect answer. They are looking for potential. They don’t expect you to know exactly what to do but they want to see that you have thought about it deeply.
INTERVIEW WRITING TASKS
This is also a standard task across most schemes. Every subject will be different, but you should expect to be given some form of written assessment that will test your subject knowledge.
If you applying for Modern Foreign Languages you might be asked to write in the language you are applying for, or sit an exam paper; in English I was usually asked to analyze a text. You may also be asked to plan a lesson or design some tasks to use in a lesson.
These are administered in different ways by each institution, but be prepared to work under timed exam conditions. If you are lucky, you might simply be given an indefinite amount of time to complete the task at the end of the day.
As with your answers to interview questions, these don’t need to be perfect. You only need to show deep thinking and potential. Don’t complete them nonchalantly. Think about your answers and give it the time it warrants. Likewise, if you aren’t given a specific time limit, be careful not to write too much. Also try to stay focused. Make sure you understand the task and the demands of it.
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