1. Predetermine the criteria required of a successful candidate. Define what you're looking for.
   

   Special endorsement area(s)? Knowledge of a particular teaching strategy? Experience in working with special needs students? Level of experience in teaching needed? Experience in a grade level/curriculum area? Leadership skills? Coaching capabilities? Varied experiences? Capabilities in the 8 Iowa Teaching Standards? Others?

2. Using the criteria you developed, develop questions to determine if candidate has what you're looking for. Strive to create "behavior based questions." These are questions that ask candidates to recall a past behavior. For example, rather than starting a question with, "What would you do if," try "What did you do when..."
   
   
3. Ask same questions of each candidate—type them out and have them ready for each interview team member. It is also nice to have a hard copy of the questions for each candidate—this avoids misinterpretation of the questions.
   
   
4. Below each question on the interviewers' sheets, write the "correct answers." Discuss these with the interview team prior to questioning the candidates. This prevents one team member for "marking down" a candidate for a particular answer and another interviewer "marking up" the candidate for the same response.
   
   
5. Remind all interviewers to record only data that helps answer if candidate per the defined expectations. (Don't write descriptions of how the candidate is dressed or how he/she looks.)
   
   
6. Seek input as to the strengths and challenges of each candidate as they related to the pre-determined criteria. Place boundaries around the discussion so that irrelevant criteria aren't offered as rationale for a hiring decision.
   
   Collect all the interview questions sheets from the interview team members. Collate the reactions to the candidates. Store them with the "Hiring Files" folder upon completion of the process.
   

Question: Describe a time in which you worked with a difficult classroom management issue. What did you learn/what you do differently next time?

Correct Answer: involve parents/guardians in the solution, work in a way that is respectful of the student but not necessarily of the behavior, worked to improve for next time.

Question: What are some strategies you have used as you provided differentiated instruction for students in your classroom?

Correct Answer: works to reach all students—both students with IEP’s and students receiving enrichment and those between the two, reviews formal and informal assessment data to monitor and adapt instruction, communicated with parents/guardians to implement their suggestions for their student.