Interviewing for teaching position

Specialties Educators

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I will be interviewing for a teaching position at our local community college. I have been asked to prepare to do a 10 minute mini-teach for the interview. Any ideas out there? Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Nancy

llg, PhD, RN

13,469 Posts

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Teach something that you know a lot about. What do you know a lot about? .... something that might also be interesting for the audience .... Who is the audience going to be?

Approach this task as a way to demonstrate your capabilities as a teacher. Show them that you can assess the learning needs of the audience, gather information, teach the content effectively, and do a little program evaluation.

Good luck,

llg

renerian, BSN, RN

5,693 Posts

Specializes in MS Home Health.

Audience is good to know. Might want to utilize various methods of learning ie/visual, hearing and seeing. I agree with teaching something you know.

renerian

indie

102 Posts

I'd work really hard at trying to find out who the audience is going to be. That is the first requirement of any teacher. Then write an appropriate, measurable learning (not teaching) objective. And try to choose something they do not know about, but would have an interest in. Ten minutes is no time at all. Reheorifice and reheorifice and reheorifice.

Find out what visual aids they might have, but do not count on them - I have been caught out by this before. Have plan B in your head - better to have your own stuff as back up.

Don't try for something too erudite, obscure or overly elegant. Something quite well known but nicely presented is fine. Use at least one visual/aural/tactile aid. State one simple objective for a ten minute session. Don't repeat yourself but sum up with what you have said before you are stopped. Do not run over time.

I'm undergoing something similar at present with a 20 min. presentation to non-nursing faculty. I'm thinking about something related to nutrition as everyone is marginally interested in his/her own body and what goes into it. I'm considering:

1. Taking a little known grain e.g. quinoa, or something like soy (easy to have samples, something to hold or taste) and exploring the facts/myths of its current popularity.

2. Liver and glycemic index (everyone has a liver, most have no clue about it), glycemic index is fairly new, but now in mainstream use (Kaiser) even if they do know a little about liver; I can start with Holiday related humor, but tie it into current health crisis about obesity in young people.

3. If your audience is nursing faculty, find a tiny, tiny narrow, true specialty area of your own e.g. assessment of umbilical cord within minutes of birth; one particular heart sound (find an audio!), assessment of a diabetic toe (not the whole foot, not enough time!); a class of medications you are very knowledgeable in; - you get the idea.

All nurses have something in which they excel and are fascinated. Just find it.

Get some audience participation in whatever you do; student centered learning.

Good luck. Hope this helps. Let us know!

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