Behavioural Questions #1 Flashcards
Tell me about a time that you had to deal with a difficult stakeholder and how you managed that?
SITUATION
- Foreign teachers (including myself) were getting frustrated with how we were expected to run our kindergarten classes
- Director was adament about use of textbooks despite teachers due difficulties teaching it to students due to lack of engagement
- Parents liked textbooks; equated completion of textbooks with retention of English
TASK
- Find a compromise; create a class that was interesting and engaging for students but allowed students to complete textbooks
ACTION
- Design and proposal of ELA program
- Negotiated a trial period for the class to gauge reactions of parents
- Informed parents of new class
- Adapted from American kindergarten model of a centres-based approach
- 4 rotational stations where small groups participated in various activities and games related to the content of the textbook
- Each station offered a different learning experience including a teacher-led station for guided instruction and assessment
RESPONSE
- Parents enjoyed seeing their children complete a variety of English activities (good from marketing perspective)
- Textbooks were still completed but at a slower rate
- Allowed teachers to properly assess students
- Lessons were much more engaging and interesting for students
Can you tell me about a time you had to manage multiple tasks with competing deadlines? How did you prioritise your work?
SITUATION
- New role as manager at English academy
- Academic year ended middle of the year; hectic time
TASK
- Organise annual speech contest and graduation
- Ensure end of year assessments and progress reports were completed on time
ACTION
- Planning events well in advance
- Delegating tasks to staff
- Constant communication; understood frustration from management when things weren’t communicated properly
- Managed conflicts between staff; tension due to end of academic year tasks, addressed staff individually about concerns and stress
- Organised staff dinner and karaoke night; show appreciation for hard work from everyone
RESULT
- The events ran successfully and progress reports/end of year assessments were completed on time
- Wasn’t possible to address all teacher concerns, but teachers appreciated they felt heard
- Learned a lot; knew how to prepare better for the next year
Tell us about a time when you took initiative to improve a process or service within an office.
SITUATION
- Initial resource dump in new academy building; scattered resources
- Teachers often asking where they could find things
TASK
- Organise resources to make them more accessible; encourage more frequent use of resources in classes
ACTION
- Organised physical resources onto shelves and in tubs; clearly labelled all resources
- Organised digital resources into folders over network; categorised by English level, subjects, activity types for quick navigation
- Introduced new system in staff meeting to demonstrate how to access and use resources effectively
- Provided ongoing support and recieved feedback to improve the system
RESULT
- Resources were significantly easier to find and utilise
- Encouraged more collaborative and resourceful teaching environment; teachers could easily add their own resources
Can you tell us about a time when you had to alter your own priorities or work activities with little notice due to changing demands?
SITUATION
- Teacher/manager in Korea; covered absent teachers on short notice
- Often the bones of a lesson plan prepared; not much detail
- Finish off lesson prep for own classes
TASK
- Ensure learning continued seamlessly
- Students remained engaged and productive, regardless of situation
- Prepare for no lesson plan or students finishing lesson early
- Complete own lesson prep
ACTION
- Use of emergency teaching bag; filled with go-to teaching resources and adaptable lesson plan ideas tailored to different age groups
- Beginning of class; quickly assess age group, group dynamics, current learning topic and sometimes create a lesson plan on the spot
- Utilise knowledge of classroom mangement techniques to ensure smooth process of teaching
- Use allocated time for unplanned activities in the afternoon for proactive planning
RESULT
- Students remained engaged and focused despite unexpected absence of regular teaching
- Maintained classroom routine and structure providing continuity of learning
- Allocating a time for unplanned activities in the afternoon allowed for my own lesson prep to be completed
Can you give an example of a time when you worked as part of a team to achieve a goal and how you adapted to challenges or changes within the team?
SITUATION
- All large scale events at the academy in Korea were a collaborative effort requiring input from all teaching staff
- Example: Graduation for kindergarten students; significant event for parents in particular
TASK
- Creating a detailed schedule
- Outlining tasks that needed to be completed in lead up to and on day of graduation
- Discussing schedule and tasks with staff and delegating those tasks
ACTION
- Initial planning; meeting with Director to discuss expectations for Graduation Day
- Held meeting with teachers; discussed and delegated tasks based on stengths and preferences
- Tasks included: parent information, invitations, decorations and stage set up, student performances, awards, graduation speeches from teachers
- Ensured open communication between all staff to address concerns and issues; adapt tasks as necessary
- 7 yr old foreign teacher was ill day of graduation; myself and other teachers stepped in to complete her tasks including reading out graduation speech
RESULT
- Graduation ran seamlessly, even short one staff member
- Received positive feedback from parents
- Collaborating as team gave staff a sense of accomplishment and created a stronger team mind-set
What types of tools or processes do you use to keep on top of your tasks/deadlines?
SITUATION
- Teaching full time in Korea; meeting constant deadlines for lesson plans, progress reports, event planning etc.
TASK
- Usually organise to do list for next day the night before
- Use of notepad to write down tasks as they came up - added them to list later
- Review tasks in the morning; prioritise most urgent tasks first (i.e. gathering resources for today’s lessons); also prioritised tasks that required input from others - ensure they had notice to complete tasks
- Checklists for everything
- Take notes of student learning and development in class to use for progress reports
- Designed templates to help organise certain tasks (i.e. lesson plan template, event planning template etc.)
- Regularly check in with teachers about upcoming deadlines
RESULT
- Use of to do lists, templates, prioritising tasks efficiently and communicating effectively meant all deadlines were almost always met on time
Can you give me an example of when you adapted your communication or working style to accommodate the individual preferences of someone you’ve supported?
How do you manage communication when there are competing demands for stakeholders?
SITUATION
- As manager, frequently addressed competing demands from stakeholders including parents, teachers, admin staff, the Director and Vice Director
- Kindergarten parents always eager for children’s progress reports; same time we would be preparing for Graduation Day
- Director and Vice Director wanted updates on Graduation Day preparations and progress reports
- Teachers required further clarification about what to include in reports
TASK
- Identifying most urgent tasks; progress reports considered most urgent - strong communication with parents pillar of academy and poorly written progress reports could lead to unintended consequences
- Keeping teachers informed to ensure understanding of responsibilities and deadlines
ACTION
- Created example progress report
- Held brief meeting with teachers to provide guidance on required content for progress reports and appropriate phrasing; reviewed tasks for Graduation Day
- Scheduled meeting with Vice Director to update him on the progress reports and Graduation Day planning
RESULT
- Addressed all stakeholders needs while prioritising progress reports
- Progress reports were completed early; allowed extra time to plan for Graduation
- Graduation Day was successful
Can you provide an example of how you successfully coordinated a complex travel itinerary, including unforseen changes?
SITUATION
- No experience with travel itinerary in a job role
- Travelled overseas frequently for months at a time
- Managed logistics myself; booking accommodation and activities, organised transportation between destinations, took into account cost effective ways to travel
- Booked a flight that had a stopover in Vietnam; went to check in and found out the connecting flight was located at a separate terminal outside of the main airport - required a visa
TASK
- Find a solution that didn’t require me to leave the airport and wouldn’t cause a significant delay or cost too much money
ACTION
- Checked the process for getting a visa - wasn’t possible to get visa approved in time before the flight
- Located next budget flight - only a few hours away
- Double checked location of terminals for other flights
RESULT
- Stressful situation; first flight I had missed
- Booked flight and continued travelling with only a minor delay
- Valuable learning experience; check terminals in international airports; being flexible and maintaining a positive mindset in order to navigate unexpected challenges effectively
How do you balance being proactive with being responsive to immediate needs?
SITUATION
- As manager, had to balance overseeing a team of teachers while also maintaining my own classes
- Example: parents attending information sessions with Director would often request English levels test to be completed on the day
TASK
- Adminster level tests to prospective students
- Ensure lesson plans were prepared well in advance
ACTION
- Preparation; allocated specific hours for proactive planning in the morning (my own lesson prep) and unplanned activities in the afternoon (level tests) - allowed flexibility for addressing immediate issues that arose
- Delegation; urgent tasks may require me to ask other teachers to take the beginning of my class if I needed to adminster a level test - quickly run through lesson plan with them
- Communication; encouraged teaching staff toupdate me regularly on any urgent matters so I can assess and adapt my schedule to address those matters
RESULT
- Proactive planning helped keep the day running smoothly and minimise interruption to student learning
- Teachers didn’t feel overwhelmed teaching my classes due to prep
- Scheduled unplanned activity times allowed me to respond to urgent matters as they came up
Tell us about a time when you to adapt to a signficant change or solve a complex problem at work?
SITUATION
- During few months as manager, foreign teacher had to return to South Africa for a family emergency
TASK
- Ensure continuity of lessons for students
- Balance additional workload fairly amongst staff
- Maintain communication with parents about situation
ACTION
- Held meeting to discuss classes that needed to be covered; took some myself
- Scheduled classes; no overlapping
- Provided teachers with additional support and resources to help manage classes
- Once teacher returned, held dinner to show appreciation to staff for taking on extra responsibilities
RESULT
- Students learning continued without disruption
- Feedback from teachers was mostly positive; some struggled with extra responsibilities, but overall felt supported throughout the teacher’s absence and appreciated clear and timely communication
Can you describe your experience working with external and internal stakeholders to address operational issues?
SITUATION
- Working as full-time educator at kindergarten; ocassionally had to address concerns parents had about behaviour of their own child or interactions between their own child and other children
- Some parents mentioned feeling that concerns had gone unaddressed in the past
- Example: a parent communicated to me that their child had told them they had learned specific swear words from another child iin the room
TASK
- Gather details about parent concerns
- Investigate situation
- Work with staff in the room to ensure parents concerns were being addressed
- Reassure parent that matters like this are taken seriously; work with staff to find a solution
ACTION
- Myself and other educators held multiple group times to reinforce use of positive language at kinder, setting clear expectations and discussing topics of respectful communication in a developmentally appropriate way
- Worked with other educators in the room to observe children, paying close attention to interactions in the playground; reinforced group time lessons throughout the day
- Maintained open communication with parent and discussed steps taken to address their concerns
RESULT
- Consistency of educators resulted in kinder room becoming much more mindful of respectful communication
- Parent appreciated that action was being taken
How do you approach a situation where you don’t know the solutions? Can you walk me through your problem solving process?
SITUATION
- Situations often arise as casual teacher where finding a solution is difficult - working with children who I don’t have a relationship with, don’t know their developmental stage, their needs etc.
- Strategy for helping and supporting children in similar scenarios won’t necessarily work the same way
- Children respond differently to people they don’t know in the room
TASK
- Important to be able to adapt to each teaching environment
- Try various techniques to help manage the group in times of chaos; some children respond to songs, others need a physical activity to alleviate sensory overload, some just need an activity to focus on
- Ensure children have a productive and engaging day of learning
ACTION
- Assess the situation on arrival; observe children - energy levels, interactions with each other, general behaviour, engagement in activities
- Talk with permanent staff in the room about children’s general behaviour and interests; activity ideas - some children may need more guidance and support
- Engage and connect with children; ask open ended questions, develop rapports with children to build sense of trust and security, participate and engage with them in activities
- Maintain daily routine; some children don’t respond well to changes
- Adjust planned activities as necessary based on needs of group
- Reflection; take notes on successful activities and less successful activities - notes on why