What would you do if the principal arrived and told you that it was time to get back to basics because standardized test time was approaching while your class was actively engaged in a creative project, such as a movie, newspaper, or play?
After a state-appointed board took over the district, teachers in Riverview Gardens had to answer these questions in order to be rehired for their positions over the summer. The Haberman Star Teacher program has been testing teachers nationwide for years in the same manner in an effort to identify those who are most likely to succeed in a setting where things seem to get harder every year.
According to Delia Stafford, president of the Houston, Texas-based Haberman Educational Foundation, “districts can use it as a screener to get some idea of what underpinning ideology a teacher has.”
“Theres no content on there. We can teach those things. What you cannot do is determine how they will relate to children. If you can’t connect with the kids, if you don’t see it as a responsibility to make sure every child has the opportunity to learn, it doesn’t matter how much science and math you have. Do they understand at-risk education and the causes of it? What is the role of the school? “.
According to Stafford, the 50 questions on a screening test that serve as the basis for an interview that follows up on Martin Haberman’s decades of research have proven to be a reliable predictor of who will succeed in the classroom, managing students, administrators, and the other pressures teachers face.
The Haberman method, with its series of multiple-choice questions, is a good way to ensure that students get the best school staff, but Riverview Gardens teachers who lost their jobs when their contracts were not renewed aren’t so easily persuaded.
They believe that many people who had devoted their professional lives to a challenging district were unfairly overlooked as a result of the questions that were asked and the manner in which the district handled the hiring process — crammed into a summer when every contract, personnel and otherwise, had to be reviewed.
Marianne Catalino, a teacher for 17 years prior to her 10 years in Riverview Gardens teaching first grade, said, “I think you have to actually see a person teach to see how they teach, not take a test online or interview them.”
“I thought all of the answers made sense for some of the questions.” But they won’t provide any information when you ask them why you weren’t hired. I have never experienced this kind of treatment in my 27 years of teaching. “.
The 50 multiple-choice questions on the Haberman screening test require prospective teachers to select the best response from three alternatives. Stafford requested that the exact test questions and answers not be used here because they are proprietary; however, they are simple enough to give a sense of what is involved.
The test is made to determine a person’s likelihood of success in a classroom based on ten different criteria, including persistence, planning and organization, the importance of student learning, theory to practice, teaching at-risk students, student approach, navigating bureaucracy, and fallibility.
It aims to measure how a prospective teacher would interact with students in more detail. The following question, for instance, asks the test-taker whether they believe that love, respect, or admiration between a teacher and student is the most crucial element in a successful classroom.
A number of the questions pertain to discipline issues and their causes because the screening process is frequently used for districts where students are labeled as “at-risk.” Can they be attributed to neighborhood violence, societal racism, or teachers who exacerbate already problematic situations?
The questions try to get at the issue of burnout and how someone would deal with the inevitable bureaucratic tangles that ensnare all institutions but schools seem to have more than others, and why do so many teachers, even those who do well, leave the classroom after just a few years.
Additionally, the primary purpose of schools, student academic achievement, is not disregarded. Despite not attempting to gauge how well a potential teacher knows the topic at hand, whether it be Shakespeare, the sine curve, or the Soviet Union, the test does include questions about how to best use grades and communicate with students.
The screening test may be taken online, at home, or any other location with a computer. The applicant can proceed to a personal interview after it has been scored, where questions are made to elicit much of the same information in a one-on-one setting.
The system “boasts a 95% accuracy rate in predicting which teachers will stay and succeed and which ones will fail or quit,” according to Haberman’s website. High success rates are attained because scenario-based interviews can accurately depict candidates’ opinions on working with at-risk youth and foretell their behavior in the workplace. “.
Sam Hausfather, dean of the school of education at Maryville University, asserts that determining a person’s suitability for teaching has grown in importance. Although he hasn’t taken or administered the Haberman test, he is aware of its emphasis on urban schools and claims that it has been proven to be particularly useful for individuals who want to leave their first career to teach in urban settings.
It’s crucial to ensure that those who work with our children will treat them with respect because, as Hausfather noted, “we see, people want to go into teaching for a wide variety of reasons.” Such an important part of teaching is that relationship. “.
Finding out whether a teacher agrees with Stafford that relationships are the key to success in the classroom before entering the field can prevent a lot of heartache for all parties involved.
“You have to respect the children,” she said. “They all come from different backgrounds. They deserve respect. Im thinking of a student misbehaving and disrupting the class. You cannot begin yelling at the child and humiliate him in front of the class.
“We want educators who are mature in that they consider all options before acting. They exercise caution when speaking in front of children. This test will tell you a lot about a person. Youre going to have discipline problems. What are you going to do about it, please?
The Haberman test can be equally revealing when it comes to interacting with the administration of the schools, which is the world outside of the classroom, according to Stafford.
She stated, “We’re looking for people who understand that there is a bureaucracy.” “That’s why you have such high turnover and how you can become stressed out.” But if you are aware of it and what might occur, you realize you need to take additional precautions outside of the classroom. We want them to be aware of what is available so they can respond appropriately when the time comes. Thats part of working in an adult world. “.
According to Hausfather, the terms respect, love, and admiration may seem to bleed into one another, but teachers must be careful to distinguish between them, especially in these modern times.
Love is a strong word to use for a relationship between a student and a teacher, he asserted. “You have to be careful with the term love because I’m a man and I taught elementary school for almost 20 years,” said the male teacher. Nowadays, its a big deal when someone loves students inappropriately. I believe it is a term that is almost too ambiguous to use to describe how someone feels about the students they are working with.
“We talk about respect. We talk about tough love. Thats certainly been a term used in education a lot. We discuss the importance of comprehending and valuing students’ circumstances in their lives outside of school. “.
Do you think they’ll like the teacher, she questioned. “Your job is to teach, do you think you’ll fall in love with the inmates?” In a school, youre there to teach the children. Love is not a requirement for learning, nor is it a requirement for teaching. “.
She mentioned that Riverview Gardens is one of more than 360 locations across the country where the Haberman method has been applied, and she claimed that the district had a good reason to try to ensure that its reconstituted staff was as effective as possible.
She asserted, “Trust me, there’s a reason for every child who didn’t learn, didn’t graduate, or dropped out. Are we blaming the students for not receiving good grades, or are we suggesting that perhaps we could have made our lessons more engaging, found out more about the students, their backgrounds, and their thoughts?
That could provide us with new suggestions for how to interact with them and ensure their learning. You must tell yourself that there is more going on than what is apparent. “.
According to Hausfather, screening tests can aid in identifying the best teachers for those circumstances, but no one should believe that 50 questions and an interview will always yield the right answer.
“No screening device is perfect,” he said. “When discussing dispositions, there is no test that can be administered that will provide a definitive answer. Its kind of like hiring for any job. In an interview, people can look great, but how will they perform in the workplace?
“Its an art and a science. I know that a lot of suburban districts in St. Louis uses a variety of tools to help in the screening process, trying to reduce the potential candidates. A more thorough face-to-face interview is crucial for making that choice of a teacher, too. “.
According to Riverview Gardens teachers who went through the Haberman process this summer and ended up with no job at all, even interviews may not always produce the best results.
When the state took over the district on July 1, all contracts with the district were void, so Riverview Gardens had to ramp up hiring to ensure it had staff available for the start of the school year on August 1. 18.
Teachers who took the test, went through the interview process, and then learned they wouldn’t be hired claimed that they were frequently left in the dark as to why the decision was made and that they felt their time spent working in the district had not mattered much.
John Atwell, a 14-year veteran of the district’s middle and high schools, where he spent three years as the head football coach, said, “I was an at-risk student myself.” “That is why I went into teaching. I only went to college to play football, but after a year, I understood how important education was and how badly lacking in preparation I had been.
“In order to relate to the students, I struggled in undergrad and grad school.” I believed that since I struggled with this, I would be the ideal tutor for students who are vulnerable. My success is a result of understanding the children and their backgrounds. “.
He claimed that the hiring process was mismanaged from beginning to end. After teachers arrived for a convocation at the beginning of the school year, he didn’t learn he was fired until nearly a week later.
According to Atwell, “For 14 years I committed to a district where many people would not commit, or if they did, it was for a year, then they were out.” “Its very disheartening. I believe the interview procedure was just a formal means of eliminating candidates. It was kind of insulting. I suppose I didn’t express myself to this person clearly enough, but the challenge was that this was a very subjective part of the process. “.
Lisa Purdy, a fourth-grade teacher who spent eight years in Riverview Gardens and five years before that working in city schools, claimed that she received zero feedback throughout the interview process.
She claimed that there was “absolutely no communication to anyone on anything.” We still don’t understand why we weren’t hired, to this day. “.
Purdy stated that she believed the test questions did not accurately reflect what teachers must understand and do in order to succeed.
“The answers were very ambiguous,” she said. Depending on how the person was viewing the question, you could have responded to them in a few different ways. You usually love and respect someone if you admire them. When you respect someone, you usually admire and possibly even love them.
“I thought I answered every question as best as I could, but no one knows how they did on it,” “.
Three-year Westview Middle School computer application teacher John Fagerlin felt that many of the questions he was asked were “no-win questions,” such as what he would do if the principal ordered him to stop using creative lessons and focus on the impending standardized tests.
If you don’t follow the principal’s instructions, you’ll lose, Fagerlin warned. “Thats the way I answered on the test.
“I said that I basically had to do whatever my boss told me to do,” If you don’t follow the instructions from your boss, you’ll be fired. My advice to the children is to persevere through this and, if time permits, return to the project we were working on. “.
One of the interviewers trained in the Haberman process, Staci Price, stated that she thought the interviewing process was fair primarily because everyone involved was treated equally and subjected to the same questions and processes. Prior to starting the procedure this summer, she attended a one-day workshop in Kansas City and received Haberman training.
Price, who is currently in charge of Riverview Gardens’ senior academy and alternative education, acknowledged that it was understandable for someone who had lost their job to have doubts about the approach. She advised them to seek advice from the district’s human resources office.
Price said, “Especially if I was someone who was working with the district for a while and had pretty good evaluations, I would want to sit down with human resources and ask where did I fall short.” “.
That option might be a little too late for someone who is unemployed. When it comes to how the hiring process was handled, many former teachers have thought about complaining to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
What is typically a busy time has changed to be idle, a time for them to ask questions that, in some ways, are similar to those they were asked during the hiring process. However, with the school year already underway and many teachers finding out so late that their contracts would not be renewed, what is normally a busy time has turned out to be idle.
Purdy stated, “We want to know why we were fired.” “Were looking for answers. Were looking for some reason. Simply put, we don’t believe it was done with respect. We were not treated as professionals. Although we consistently treated our students with respect, we never received the same in return. “.
TEACHER INTERVIEW Questions and Answers! (PASS Teaching Interview)
The Haberman Educational Foundation provides several large school districts with free training each year in an effort to find the best teachers for the most disadvantaged students in the country and to reduce teacher turnover in underserved urban and rural communities. Full-time foundation staff members work as volunteers and are only paid for daily work because they are confident in the effectiveness of their laser-focused mission. Additionally, foundation leaders help grant writers provide training services to school districts where the majority of the students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
The theoretical foundation of the Haberman Foundation and the work of Dr. Martin Haberman’s framework is still one of the most effective ones, in my opinion, for identifying the fundamental principles shared by both educators and administrators. I continue to rely on the Haberman Foundation as a former teacher, head of human resources, and current superintendent of schools to assist in choosing candidates for some of the most crucial positions in the school district. Students deserve the best possible teachers and administrators.
There are 50 questions in this questionnaire, and you will be given three options for each. Choose the best response you can, then move on to the following inquiry. Your knowledge and abilities in relation to instructing lower-income students will be assessed by this exam. We will need some information from you prior to the test that will be used for statistical analysis and tracking. You can be sure that your information is safe and will never be sold or given to anyone for purposes unrelated to this test.
“Overall, I would give my relationship with Haberman the highest possible rating.” I consider teacher hiring to be a crucial decision for schools, one that, depending on the effectiveness of the screening process, can have a significant impact, both positively and negatively. There is more confidence in that choice thanks to Haberman’s historical information and validity. ”.
Dr. has studied and repeated the interview for more than 30 years. Distinguished professor of education at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Martin Haberman Dr. In the all-time best-seller by Kappa Delta Pi, Star Teachers of Children in Poverty, Haberman recently outlined the qualities of effective educators for children and youth living in poverty.
Teachers Who Succeed Know How to Build Relationships with Students
Dr. The acclaimed 2005 book “Star Teachers: The Ideology and Best Practice of Effective Teachers of Diverse Children and Youth in Poverty” was written by Martin Haberman. Each trainee receives a book and an interviewing tool that aids in identifying exceptional teachers. Over 150 districts have received training in this research-based selection protocol over the past 20 years.
Based on years of research, we believe that a teacher candidate’s ability to form relationships with students is more important than their level of subject-matter expertise, professional experience, or credential strength.
From his on-going research, Dr. An interview designed by Haberman captures the essence of what education should be for children, especially those who live in poverty. The questions and responses were based on what the top instructors thought their roles would and ought to be. Actually, the interview assesses the third aspect of working in classrooms. Does the teacher have the ability to develop relationships with students, parents, and school leaders in general? Not content or pedagogy
The Haberman Educational Foundation wants to provide one day of intensive training for leadership teams. The superintendent or a suitable designee may create teams that are adaptable and meet the unique needs of each district. This proposal for intense district saturation training is an effective tool for highlighting the power of personnel selection. The hiring culture in the school district will change when principals fully comprehend the philosophy behind the star teacher live interview and the implications of the results of the online teacher pre-screener, which go hand in hand with the interview protocol.
The live interview’s research also serves as the foundation for the online pre-screener. Once more, questions are not based on content or pedagogy but rather core beliefs. To select the candidates deserving of a live interview, use the pre-screener. You can administer this 50-item test to yourself on your computer in private and for a half-hour. Your responses will be evaluated based on the star teachers vs. quitter/failure teachers have responded to the very same questions. The pre-screeners are made to assist you in choosing which candidates merit a face-to-face interview. In this manner, the pre-screener and live interview help find the best teachers.
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Jennifer H. Waddell, Ph. D. , an Associate Professor of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is the Sprint Foundation Endowed Professor of Urban Education and the Director of the Institute of Urban Education. Dr. Waddell’s research focuses on the preparation of teachers for diverse student populations, including equity, diversity, and urban schooling policy and practice.
Price, who is currently in charge of Riverview Gardens’ senior academy and alternative education, acknowledged that it was understandable for someone who had lost their job to have doubts about the approach. She advised them to seek advice from the district’s human resources office.
The system “boasts a 95% accuracy rate in predicting which teachers will stay and succeed and which ones will fail or quit,” according to Haberman’s website. High success rates are attained because scenario-based interviews can accurately depict candidates’ opinions on working with at-risk youth and foretell their behavior in the workplace. “.
“You have to respect the children,” she said. “They all come from different backgrounds. They deserve respect. Im thinking of a student misbehaving and disrupting the class. You cannot begin yelling at the child and humiliate him in front of the class.
Sam Hausfather, dean of the school of education at Maryville University, asserts that determining a person’s suitability for teaching has grown in importance. Although he hasn’t taken or administered the Haberman test, he is aware of its emphasis on urban schools and claims that it has been proven to be particularly useful for individuals who want to leave their first career to teach in urban settings.
A number of the questions pertain to discipline issues and their causes because the screening process is frequently used for districts where students are labeled as “at-risk.” Can they be attributed to neighborhood violence, societal racism, or teachers who exacerbate already problematic situations?
FAQ
What is a Haberman interview?
The Interview In order to get to the heart of what teaching should entail for children, especially those who live in poverty, Haberman carefully crafted an interview. The questions and responses were based on what the top instructors thought their roles would and ought to be.
What is the Haberman assessment?
The Haberman Foundation has produced an assessment tool to identify Star Teachers that is based on decades of research and data. The Haberman Method and the Star Teacher Pre-Screener are currently utilized by nearly 200 schools and districts across the country to hire the most talented individuals.
What is the star teacher assessment?
There are 50 questions in this questionnaire, and you will be given three options for each. Choose the best response you can, then move on to the following inquiry. Your knowledge and abilities in relation to instructing lower-income students will be assessed by this exam.
What is the star teacher pre-screener?
Your understanding and proficiency in instructing students from lower socioeconomic status will be assessed by the Star Teacher Pre-Screener. Your results will be processed and emailed to you in about 20 minutes after you complete the questionnaire.
