Summary:
This study proposes a research-based teacher selection protocol. The protocol is intended to offer school district hiring authorities a tool to identify teacher candidates with the behaviors expected to predict effective teaching. It is hypothesized that a particular series of research-based interview questions focusing on teaching behaviors in four key areas (i.e., classroom management, organizing for instruction, implementing instruction, and monitoring student progress and potential), can be used to predict high levels of quality teaching, which lead to enhanced student performance. This study addressed the following research question: Which teaching behaviors identify effective teachers? Hiring authorities can use this empirically based protocol knowing that research supports specific response patterns by effective teacher candidates, which in turn can lead to high levels of student achievement. The findings of this research study suggest a series of research-based interview questions that focus on teaching behaviors in four key areas to predict high levels of quality teaching. The research findings may provide valuable information to administrators and central office personnel regarding interview questions and their link to predicting qualities of effective teaching during the hiring process. Hiring authorities can utilize the research-based questions in the selection process. As a result of the findings from this research, they can be confident that teachers, upon initial hire, possess key teaching behaviors reported to result in high levels of student achievement. ACCESS FULL MANUSCRIPT AT: http://cnx.org/content/m41593/latest/