Infant & Toddler Specialist Interview Preparation Guide

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Creating and implementing curriculums and lesson plans to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, academic, and social needs of children, assessing and observing them to ensure that they are well-settled, ensuring that they understand concepts and participate in class, and making sure that their physical and emotional wellbeing is kept a priority, have all been part of my work as an infant teacher.

I would like to eventually train to work with children with special needs.

Working alongside a lead daycare teacher, I have been responsible for providing support in creating and implementing lesson plans, researching and developing instructional materials, observing and monitoring student behavior and providing basic care to children such as feeding, changing and washing.

Your answer should reflect the culture of the community in which you are interviewing. Find out the home languages spoken, the economic status of most families, and the kinds of family involvement encouraged by the school or program. Knowing these details, you can shape a response that demonstrates respect for the families. Would it make more sense to use email or to send letters home? Would it be beneficial to create a class website? Is there a teacher portal available? Be sure to mention that you chose a method because you are aware of the community demographics!

Most likely as a preschool teacher you will be working with students from ages three to five. The interviewer wants to make sure your curriculum will be relevant to the entire range of age groups.

"The most important thing I keep in mind when working with children of different age groups is to keep each child engaged and mentally stimulated. Everyone must have equal attention because often if a child feels neglected they will start to act out. All students physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs should be met and further developed. I make sure to keep a diverse curriculum that is specified and beneficial to each age. I develop cross-age activities as well."

This is a little like asking "Tell me everything you know" about quality early childhood education. Obviously no one can fully answer this question in the few minutes allotted to each question, but their selection of what they mention and, perhaps even more importantly, what they forget or leave out will tell you a lot about their values and perspectives as a teacher. You, of course, must be clear about your values and priorities in your program in order to determine if the candidate is a good match. I know that I like to hear each candidate include health and safety first and foremost. While we may all like to hear them explore the more exciting areas of curriculum, parent work, diversity, etc., if they don't start the job with an awareness of safety, the rest doesn't matter too much because you may have hired an accident waiting to happen. I'm also looking for them to talk about more than the children. What do they have to say about their relationship with and the role of the parents in their classroom? What do they mention about supporting the home culture? How do they develop curriculum? Have they talked about positive and healthy relationships with their co-workers? This question can also be a lead-in to more follow-up questions about specificskills. Take good notes as they answer this question so you can review it and compare with your own list later on.

Where little children are concerned, there is really no such thing as basic skills. All the skills that an infant teacher possesses have to be profound. These would include the ability to work with children while maintaining a “level” with them, exceptional patience, great insight into how a child’s mind works, and deep understanding of infant care principles and procedures.

Be sure the strategies you describe are developmentally appropriate and effective. It is best to share ones that you have implemented successfully, so you can use examples from your own experiences. Administrators seem to appreciate discussing guidance that reinforces positive behaviors and involves children in deciding how to work together in the classroom.

Group work allows students to interact and stay engaged. The interviewer is inquiring how you go about incorporating that into the classroom.

"I have a few strategies I use to encourage my preschoolers to work in groups. I am adamant about sticking to hands-on activities only, which are more likely to turn into a group activities versus individual work. Also, I like to take activities that can be done on an individual basis and turn them into group work. For example, in my previous position instead of having each student draw a separate picture, I allowed them all to work on a collaborative mural that hung on our wall for the remainder of the year. It encouraged team work and open communication among the students."

☛ What is your name?
☛ What are your mum and dad’s names?
☛ Do you have any sisters or brothers?
☛ Where do you live?
☛ Can you tell me when your birthday is?
☛ What is your favourite colour?
☛ Can you name this colour?
☛ Can you tell me what shape this is?
☛ What is your favourite animal?
☛ Do you have a pet at home?
☛ What animal is this?
☛ What bird is this?
☛ Which bedtime story is your favourite?
☛ What is the best thing you like to eat?
☛ Can you recite your favourite poem?
☛ When you grow up, what do you want to become?
☛ Which is your favourite cartoon?
☛ What colour is an apple?
☛ What is your favourite game?
☛ Do you like to draw?
☛ Can you pick up the biggest toy from this?
☛ What number is this?
☛ What letter is this?
☛ How many fingers do you have?
☛ What is your favourite toy?
☛ Can you tell me what the man is doing in this picture?
☛ How many wheels does a car have?
☛ Do you know when your birthday is?
☛ How old are you?
☛ Can you give me a high-five/Can you shake my hand?