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FINDING A JOB AS A SCIENCE EDUCATOR
- Cal Teach (Education positions throughout California)
- LA Times Classified (Classified Ads for the LA area)
- National Educators Employment Review (opportunities for teachers and administrators)
- America's Job Bank (Job market information, tips for searching the WWW for jobs)
- CareerPath (Database of many newspaper classified "help-wanted" ads)
- Career Magazine (On-line magazines with want-ads and articles on careers)
- JobWeb (National Association of Colleges and Employers)
- Job Options (Post your resume on the web; investigate job opportunities)
- Financial Aid (Database of scholarships and grants)
- CareerMosaic (Thousands of postings from USENET employment postings)
- JobHunt: ( A Meta-list of On-Line Job-Search Resources and Services)
Name
Address
Phone, Fax, email, web address
Professional Objective
- What kind of a job are you seeking. Specify subjects and grade levels you can teach and your flexibility to meet school needs.
Education
- Name of colleges attended
- Degrees and when received
- Areas of concentration
- Achievements: (dean's list, scholarships, etc.)
- Cumulative GPA (optional)
Student Teaching Experience
- School System location
- Dates , most recent first
- Describe each placement & responsibilities
Career-Related Work Experience
- Name of employer , Location
- Dates, most recent first
- Duties and Responsibilities (use action verbs that highlight skills)
Non-Career Related Work Experience (optional)
Extra-Curricular Activities
- University related activities and organizations a. Name of organization b. Your role (President, Treasurer, etc.) c. Responsibilities (optional if they show skills you used)
- Highlight your leadership experience and skills.
- Non-university activities and organizations
Interests (indicates well-rounded individual)
- Emphasize education and experience in areas of interest to schools such as coaching, multi-ethnic education, etc.
- Emphasize special skills or abilities
Credentials or References
- Provided upon request
Summary of Qualifications (optional)
- Summary of accomplishments and assets
- Summary of personal attributes such as, interpersonal relations, dependability , communication skills, and perseverance
Note:
- 1. Student teaching experiences are of utmost importance.
- 2. Education resumes should be succinct (two pages or less)
- 3. Organization is important in resume format.
- 4. Communicate effectively and accurately. Spell check!
- 5. Indicate flexibility and willingness to relocate.
- Successful Interviewing - A guide for educators and other professionals.
- Guide to Interview Skills - A mirror site guide for educators and other professionals seeking employment.
- Common Interview Questions
(1) Describe how a major educational theorist, educational movement, or research document has influenced your teaching strategies.
(2) What do you believe is the single most important issue in education today? Explain.
(3) Please describe a teaching method or strategy that you have found to be particularly successful.
(4) Describe your preparation in the use of computers in the classroom.
(5) What experiences have you had teaching students for whom English is a second language? Please describe any successes and/or frustrations you have had teaching such students.
(6) How do you build rapport with students? Please give an example.
(7) What aspects of a classroom environment are essential for maximum learning?
(8) How do you encourage students to show respect for each other and for education?
(9) Describe motivational techniques that you have found to be successful. Why do you believe such techniques are successful?
(10) Describe techniques you have used to encourage the development of higher order reasoning skills among your students.
(11) Describe techniques you have used to encourage less active students to participate in the learning experience.
(12) What do you believe are your strengths as an educator? How might you employ those skills here at this school?
(13) Please describe your weaknesses as an educator. What steps are you taking to improve in these areas?
(14) Why are you interested in a job at this school? Please be specific.
(15) What are your long term professional goals?
(16) Describe a situation in which you had to deviate from your lesson plans because, in the midst of class, you realized they were inappropriate. How capable are you at improvising when the need arises?
(17) What are the key elements in lesson planning? Please show me an example of some lesson plans that you have developed.
(18) Please show me an example of a semester overview that you developed for a class you have taught.
(19) Please describe a parent conference that you believe produced positive effects. What steps do you take to establish and maintain student/parent communication?
(20) How do you help students to become independent learners?
(21) Are there any extracurricular activities that you are willing to sponsor. Explain.
(22) Our school has a limited budget for laboratory supplies. Is this going to be a serious detriment to your program or do you believe that you can improvise. Explain.
(23) How often do you provide students with laboratory experiences? Please describe an experiment that you believe was particularly successful. What made it successful?
(24) Do you perform demonstrations for your students? Please describe a demonstration that you believe was particularly successful. In what ways was it successful?
(25) Describe experiences you have had with students of culturally or ethnically diverse backgrounds.
(26) How do you foster positive attitudes towards your subject matter?
(27) Describe a situation in which you "broke through" to a student who was "turned off" to school.
(28) Describe techniques you employ to maintain order in the classroom. How do you restore order once it has been lost?
(29) How would you deal with a student who you believed was cheating?
(30) Describe your method of evaluating student achievement.
(31) What do you believe would be your greatest contribution to our school?
(32) How will this teaching assignment promote your professional development?
(33) Describe a technique you have employed to encourage the development of problem solving skills.
(34) Describe current trends in science curriculum.
(35) With which textbooks are you familiar. What criteria would you use to select a textbook for your class?
(36) To what professional organizations do you belong? What was the last professional meeting you attended? Do you subscribe to any professional journals that will help you become a better instructor? Explain.
(37) Describe your plans for enhancing your professional skills.