Naomi Meredith  00:00

Are you hoping to land a STEM position at your school? What are some important things that you need to keep in mind when interviewing for a STEM type position in our elementary schools? In today's episode, I'll be sharing with you three tips to keep in mind when you are prepping for that STEM teacher interview. Take it from me, I have been in your position before. I interviewed for a K through Five STEM job, and I got it. So let's jump into these STEM teacher interview tips. 

Listener Question  01:03

Hello, I hope you're having a good day. I'm actually just sending you a message because I have an interview on Monday for a STEM job. And I'm just wondering if you have any suggestions for me. I have been a teacher for 18 years. And I've always wanted to be a STEM teacher. And they just recently had a position that's coming open next year at my school first time we've ever had STEM. So I'm not really sure what kind of questions they are going to ask me. And I was just wondering if you could give me some advice.

Naomi Meredith  01:31

Great question from a fellow teacher. She must have been reading my mind because I actually had this episode planned for a while. I pushed it up on my content calendar because I'm sure she's not the only one who was wondering the same question. Before I landed my K through five STEM role, I taught second grade for two years at a title one school, which was actually the school that I student taught at, so then I landed a job the following year. Then I moved and needed a job that was a bit closer to where I was then living. So I interviewed and applied for a job in another district and ended up teaching third grade for four years. During that time, I was attending conferences, every free and paid training where I could learn innovative and creative practices that can enhance my teaching. From there, I would apply those things with my students. I had so much fun being a classroom teacher for six years, but I had that feeling in me that I wanted to make an even bigger impact. So I was looking at a neighboring district, and there was a K through Five STEM position that popped up at the time. I didn't really know anybody at this school. Later on, I applied and then ended up having a connection, which is pretty funny, because that actually happened when I got my third-grade job. But anyway, I applied for this position, and I interviewed for it. Long story short, I got the job. If you want to hear actually how the interview went, go back and listen all the way to Episode One. It might not be what you expect. Yes, I got the job, but my feelings about it are not what you expect. Anyway, I landed the job in this new to me district new to me position and a school with zero curriculum and limited supplies. So, of course, that is another story for another podcast episode, in which there are tons about lesson planning. 

Naomi Meredith  03:34

But you are here for those interview tips. So what should you keep in mind when you are prepping to be a STEM teacher and interviewing? More likely than not, a lot of you are probably coming from the classroom, you've been teaching for a while, and you're interested in this type of role. You think you're ready for it. So how do you interview for a position you haven't done before? So here are my top three tips when you're going into this type of interview. My first tip when prepping for a STEM teacher interview is to showcase your creativity. This is a highly creative role. I'm not saying to not apply if you're not creative, but it is super up in the air. Pretty much, I would say for most teachers I've talked to when they're in a STEM role for what you teach. So you have to be comfortable with being creative and trying new things. So definitely showcase that in your interview. It kind of makes sense to me with my journey with teaching over the years and even when I was in my undergrad getting my teaching degree. I love being creative, even if it's not STEM related. I am a very, very creative person, and so this is something I definitely showcased in my interview. Think about the lessons that you will teach as a STEM teacher. All lessons are creative, even the lessons when it comes to coding and robotics, every single lesson that is taught in my classroom is creative. So you definitely want to highlight that. Now a good thing to keep in mind is to think about the creative lessons that you have taught your students. So you probably are interested in this world because you probably are doing this type of stuff with your students anyway. So before an interview, just sit down and write down some of those creative things that you have done with kids. If you have taught a multitude of grades and just thinking about primary and secondary, think about projects that you have done with both of those grade levels. In a position like this one, it's very common, where you're going to be teaching a huge span of students, and you need to have those capabilities to be able to teach them all. So I taught second grade and third grade. But then I did a lot of afterschool clubs with older students, I did a Math Olympiad, a Battle of the Books, club science clubs. So if you haven't specifically taught that grade, maybe think about other ways that you have been involved with them. Or even think about the types of lessons that you would do with that age of students if you don't have any specific experience to talk about. 

Naomi Meredith  06:14

Next, to think about in your STEM teacher interview is to showcase your technology skills. I think I've mentioned this before, but not only am I our K through five STEM teacher, but I am our technology person full-time. So, I also had to showcase what are some ways that I am able to troubleshoot and problem-solve with technology, which, even if you're not the technology person, and that's not going to be part of your role, you need to know how to do this with technology. I didn't have somebody come in every single day that I've taught my students and say, “Hello, here's the technology you're going to teach as a STEM teacher. Here's exactly how to use it.” That's where I come in. That's why I'm doing this podcast and doing what I do. But for me, I didn't have that. So you might not have that either in your building at all times. Again, I'm here for you. But you need to showcase in your interview how you can problem solve, be creative with technology, and be willing to try new things. You're not going to know everything, and technology is always changing. Like I didn't know how to do 3D printing at all. I had a couple of 3D printers I troubleshooted. I did a lot of Googling, that is your best friend. So you definitely want to showcase that and think about, again, specific lessons that you have taught in your classroom when you have been using meaningful technology. I'm not talking about things like oh, my students typed on a Google Doc, oh, we use Google Classroom. Sure, great. But that's not very innovative. What is going to actually make you stand out? What are some cross-curricular lessons that you have taught when it comes to using technology? Bonus points if you are being creative. 

Naomi Meredith  07:57

Finally, the third thing to think about in your STEM teacher interview is to showcase your lesson planning skills. Back in episode 11, I talk about all the ways that I think classroom teachers make great STEM teachers. So definitely go back and listen to that because I think that's really going to help you when you're prepping for this interview or hopefully pitching yourself to have this type of job in your school or district. As I said before, most of you might not have interviewed for a job like this before or even have had this type of job, so it is scary. You don't really know what's going to be expected of you, and that's the creative part. It's really fun. But you do have the skills when it comes to lesson planning. If I wasn't a classroom teacher before becoming a K through five STEM teacher, I think I actually would have drowned when it comes to lesson planning. As I said, there was zero curriculum. Over the years, I have built a full K through five STEM year-long plan that is differentiated and leveled based on the ages of my students, you can grab the whole year-long plan at Naomimeredith.com/yearlongplan. But you coming into this interview, you don't need to have all of your STEM lessons figured out. You can have them, but you don't need them necessarily for this interview. So think about how you creatively lesson plan. See how all of this kind of goes together. Creativity, technology, the lesson planning standards are still important in STEM. There is a huge misconception out there that STEM is just throwing out cool toys and letting kids play with them. There is a ton of exploration in my class, but everything is very purposeful, and everything is aligned with standards. There is a big goal in mind. So yes, we do robots. Yes, we do that. But what is the purpose behind the robots? What is the task that we are going to complete? How are we integrating Common Core ELA and math standards? How are we adding in Mathematical Practices, the ISTE standards for students, the Engineering Design Process, your science standards? Don't just listen as I did. But really think about a lesson that you have done when you are integrating standards. Again, think about primary and secondary, but you have the skills of lesson planning, you're just going to be shifting to how to merge that all together for multiple grade levels. Also, how can you implement some tools that aren't always super common in the elementary classroom yet? 

Naomi Meredith  10:32

So as a recap, here are the three things that you need to keep in mind when you are tackling that STEM teacher interview. First, showcase your creativity. Next, showcase your technology skills. Third, showcase your lesson planning skills. Now, you might be wondering, what was the end result of that voice message that that teacher sent me? Here is what she emailed me back. So I actually sent her some interview questions, something that I had in my Google Drive. I sent them to her, and she emailed me back. I got the job, thanks for checking out your stuff. And just so you know, she has checked out my stuff. And she is actually a member of our STEM teacher bookshelf community and is collaborating with like-minded teachers like us. So a great place to join. Now, if you want to get in on these questions, I have them for you inside my STEM Teacher 101 Course. I have added a new module where there are 10 sample questions that, if I were interviewing people to be a STEM teacher, is probably what I would ask. These are probably some most common questions, or ones that are similar, that you would be asked. Not only are the questions inside of this STEM teacher 101 course, you actually will be able to hear me answer the questions. So I am taking on the role of a classroom teacher, so looking at my past self and how would I answer them coming into this type of interview. So you can get some ideas, hearing me talk, you might even have similar experiences, of course, make it personal to you. Let your personality shine, but I want to help you on this journey. That's why I do what I do. And definitely check that out. It's a great way for you to feel confident about this STEM teacher interview, and I am here right by your side. You can grab that at Naomi meredith.com/stemteacher101. And, of course, that is all linked in the show notes. Thank you so much. And let me know if you get that STEM interview. I can't wait to hear and have you as part of my big STEM community.