Sample Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants (with Answers)

If you are scheduled for an interview for a teaching assistant position, you need to make your preparation for the interview with questions that are commonly asked in a teaching assistant interview to increase your chances of being hired.

This post provides a huge list of sample interview questions for teaching assistant position that you can apply in your preparation to build confidence for the interview.

Please, read on:    

What do Interviewers look for in a Teaching Assistant?

For the teaching assistant position, interviewers look for people who are passionate about teaching and have a lot of experience working with children.

They also want to know that you’re going to be a good fit with the school’s culture.

10 Most Common Teaching Assistant Interview Questions and Answers

Here are some of the most common questions asked in a teaching assistant interview, with suggested answers:

1. Why are you interested in this job?

I’m really passionate about teaching; I love the idea of working with students in a way that’s meaningful to them.

2. How do you feel about young children?

I’m really comfortable with them; the youngest I’ve worked with so far is 4.

3. What are your strengths as a teacher?

I’m good at explaining concepts to students.

4. What are your weaknesses as a teacher?

I have difficulties building rapport with some students because of my personality.

5. What is your experience with technology?

I’ve never taught children using technology before, but I’m more comfortable using tablets than paper.

6. How would you handle a disruptive student during class time?

I would ask the student to stop, and if they didn’t I would be firm but still kind.

7. What is your experience working at culturally diverse schools?

Working with a range of students from different backgrounds has always been easy for me.

8. What is your experience working with children of different ages?

I’ve never worked at a school that only has students from one age cohort, but I feel like my experience would help me adjust easily.

9. What kind of classroom management strategies have you used in the past?

I usually start by giving rules and consequences out in a clear and unambiguous way so students know the ground rules.

Then when I need to discipline students I’m firm but kind, acts of fairness are very important for me.

10. How would you prepare your room for lessons?

I would start by making sure everything is ready on my side of the room, then go around the room and make sure everything is ready on their side of the room.

More Sample Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

Here are additional sample interview questions for a teaching assistant position:

Sample Behavioral Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. What is your teaching philosophy?
2. Do you have experience in a classroom with the same age group that would be assigned to you?
3. What strategies do you use for student motivation?
4. Can teachers and students count on your immediate assistance in an emergency situation?
5. What will you say when a disruptive student persists in disrespectful behaviors toward a teacher or other children even after being asked by the teacher, parents, and other adults to stop these behaviors several times over a period of weeks or months?

Sample Case Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. What do you think about TV in the classroom?
2. Would you be willing to work with a class of children under 10?
3. What is a famous line you would use for a vocabulary lesson?
4. What are some difficulties you have encountered when working with children under the age of 7 in your classroom setting?
5. Tell me about an instance where you had to discipline a student.

Sample Competency Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. What are some teaching assistant duties?

2. What is your least favorite part of the job?

3. Describe a time where you had to compromise your values in order to complete a task.

4. What type of things do you like to teach children about?

5. Tell me about an instance when you were able to take initiative on your own.

Sample Problem-solving Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. Tell me about a time when you were able to help a student get excited about learning?

2. If I could preview any one moment from your work day, what would it be and why do you find this moment important.

3. How would you describe yourself as a teacher to your students, parents, and colleagues?

4. How would you guide a student who is academically behind to catch up with the rest of the class?

5. What do you know about our organization?

Sample Situational Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. What is the difference between a teaching assistant and a teacher’s aide?
2. How many hours per day do you feel comfortable working as a teaching assistant?
3. Which age group are you most comfortable with as a teaching assistant, elementary school or secondary school?
4. Are you comfortable doing long term substitute positions like one month or more at time?
5. If we offered the position to you on temporary basis first for three months and then possibly employed through on-going supply of work; how likely would this be something that would interest you.

Sample Communication Skills Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. Tell me about a time when you helped someone who was frustrated.
2. Explain to me what respect looks like in the classroom.
3. You are working with students and there is one who refuses to participate. How would you handle this situation?
4. A student comes into the classroom and begins putting up a fuss. How would you handle this situation?
5. Have you ever used nonverbal communication in the classroom (such as facial expressions)? How did that go?

Sample Interpersonal Skills Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. What is your personality?
2. How do you present yourself with students, parents and fellow staff members?
3. How do you handle difficult situations with students, both in the classroom and with parents?
4. How long can you be expected to tolerate chaos before it gets to you? In other words, how many times will YOU snap at students per year as opposed to what most teachers tend to average?
5. Have there been any instances when a parent has taken things too far with regard to their child’s behavior or grades, and how did it make YOU feel?

Sample Company Culture Interview Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. What is it like working with children from diverse background?
2. How do you feel about being asked to work an extra shift last minute, or help out on weekends if needed?
3. What is your availability like for the work hours that we need someone to cover, and what days of the week are good for you to work?
4. Are you comfortable changing diapers and feeding infants and toddlers?
5. Would it be stressful to teach large classes filled with children who speak different languages or whose home language isn’t English?

Sample Technical Questions for Teaching Assistants

1. What is your favorite part of a day in the classroom?
2. How do you handle discipline issues with students?
3. What would make it difficult for you to be a good TA at our school?
4. Do you have any experience working with children ages ___-__ years old?
5. Would it be possible to work as an afterschool program teacher and then come back the next morning as the student’s TA?

Teaching Assistant Interview Success Tips

With many people turning to teaching assistant positions during these tough economic times, it is critical that you do your research before going into the interview.

Here are some tips on how to ace your teaching assistant job interview:

1. Be sure to do research about the school you are applying at, the .State’s requirements for teaching assistants, and know what skills you will need to use in order to be successful.

2. Practice answering interview questions before your interview starts. Be sure to list out any scenarios that might come up (e.g., lack of experience with kids) and how you would respond if they did happen.

3. Show enthusiasm for working with kids by being prepared to talk about your own experiences, one example of success during your university career, and how the environment at this school would benefit you.

4. Be open minded; sometimes teaching assistant positions don’t start until the spring semester, or they might be working with more than one grade depending on the school.

5. Keep your resume updated and look through it before your interview for any changes (e.g., new classes, job skills) that you think might make you stand out as a better candidate.

Conclusion

There you have it; a template on how to answer interview questions for a teaching assistant position, as well as what the interviewer is likely thinking.

Keep the above questions in mind and use them to your advantage to make sure that you’re asking all of the right questions yourself.

Remember: if interviewers don’t ask about something specific on their list, feel free to bring up anything that is relevant!

Take the opportunity to show off those skills or experience that could set you apart from other candidates because being able to teach kids should be one of the top qualities needed when interviewing for a teaching assistant position.