Assistat professor interview questions in eng. colleges

here am mentioned some valuable interview questions for assistant professor jobs in engineering colleges

1. 1. Tell us a little more about your professional experiences, particularly those
not cited in your CV/application?
I am fresher as an assistant professor job, merely not to teach, I have experience in
it.At the time of UG apparently we didn’t have proper faculty in my college, on
that time I handled 4 subjects in various semester’s with 100% results.For this I
awarded as a best student advisor from my department.
2. How do you define good teaching?
Here are some characteristics of great teachers
 Great teachers set high expectations for all students. They expect that all
students can and will achieve in their classroom, and they don't give up on
underachievers.
 Great teachers have clear, written-out objectives. Effective teachers have
lesson plans that give students a clear idea of what they will be learning, what
the assignments are and what the grading policy is. Assignments have learning
goals and give students ample opportunity to practice new skills. The teacher is
consistent in grading and returns work in a timely manner.
 Great teachers are prepared and organized. They are in their classrooms
early and ready to teach. They present lessons in a clear and structured way.
Their classrooms are organized in such a way as to minimize distractions.
 Great teachers engage students and get them to look at issues in a variety
of ways. Effective teachers use facts as a starting point, not an end point; they
ask "why" questions, look at all sides and encourage students to predict what
will happen next. They ask questions frequently to make sure students are
following along. They try to engage the whole class, and they don't allow a few
students to dominate the class. They keep students motivated with varied,
lively approaches.
 Great teachers form strong relationships with their students and show
that they care about them as people. Great teachers are warm, accessible,
enthusiastic and caring. Teachers with these qualities are known to stay after
school and make themselves available to students and parents who need them.
They are involved in school-wide committees and activities, and they
demonstrate a commitment to the school.
 Great teachers are masters of their subject matter. They exhibit expertise in
the subjects they are teaching and spend time continuing to gain new
knowledge in their field. They present material in an enthusiastic manner and
instill a hunger in their students to learn more on their own.
 Great teachers communicate frequently with parents. They reach parents
through conferences and frequent written reports home. They don't hesitate to
pick up the telephone to call a parent if they are concerned about a student.
Describe your teaching style?

2. The most effective teachers vary their styles depending on the nature of the subject matter, the phase of the
course, and other factors. By so doing, they encourage and inspire students to do their best at all times
throughout the semester.
It is helpful to think of teaching styles according to the three Ds: Directing, Discussing, and Delegating.

The directing style promotes learning through listening and following directions. With this style, the teacher
tells the students what to do, how to do it, and when it needs to be done. The teacher imparts information to
the students via lectures, assigned readings, audio/visual presentations, demonstrations, role playing, and
other means. Students gain information primarily by listening, taking notes, doing role plays, and practicing
what they are told to do. The only feedback the teacher looks for is “Do you understand the instructions?”
Suggestions for using the directing style:
 Start with the big picture. Provide the context before launching into specifics.
 Be clear and concise. Students need to know exactly what they must do to succeed and by what
criteria their work will be evaluated. Clear goals, specific deadlines, and concise directions increase
student motivation and eliminate confusion. Wordy, sloppily written, and poorly organized instructional
materials confuse, overwhelm, and discourage students.
 Provide sufficient detail. Communication breakdowns occur when important details are omitted or
instructions are ambiguous. For example, when I once neglected to specify the font size students
should use, the papers they turned in had font sizes ranging from 8 to 14!
 Don’t sugar-coat the message. There are times when teachers need to be very direct and candid to
get through to students.
The discussing style promotes learning through interaction. In this style, practiced by Socrates, the teacher
encourages critical thinking and lively discussion by asking students to respond to challenging questions. The
teacher is a facilitator guiding the discussion to a logical conclusion. Students learn to have opinions and to
back them up with facts and data.
Suggestions for using the discussing style:
 Prepare questions in advance. Great discussions don’t just happen. Ask one question at a time. Be
open, curious, and interested in learning what each student thinks.
 Don’t allow one or two students to dominate the discussion. Solicit everyone’s ideas and
opinions. Gently draw out students who seem insecure and reticent to participate. I sometimes start

3. my classes by saying, “I want to give each of you one minute to discuss your views on this topic. Let’s
go around the room and hear from everyone.” Get closure by reviewing the key points you want to
make.
 Have students create questions. I like to have my students read a case study and formulate three
questions to ask their classmates. We then discuss their answers in class.
 Utilize clickers. Clickers are an easy way to get students involved during class. Pose a multiple-
choice question and their responses are tabulated on the screen. You can then open it up for
discussion as students share why they selected a certain answer.
The delegating style promotes learning through empowerment. With this style, the teacher assigns tasks that
students work on independently, either individually or in groups.
Suggestions for using the delegating style:
 Assign research projects. In my management course I require students to interview a manager of a
local business to get answers to questions like the following:
o What are the main performance measures your company uses to evaluate each employee’s
performance?
o What are the key lessons you, as a manager, have learned about conducting effective
performance appraisals?
 Assign team projects. Have each team select a team leader, define roles and responsibilities, and
hold each other accountable for completing the project on time. In my management class, I have
teams of students analyze the management and leadership behaviors on movies like Remember the
Titans and Crimson Tide.
 Assign a capstone project. Let students show you what they can do when working independently on
a topic that’s important to them.
Use an appropriate mix of each teaching style. I typically structure each of my classes to include some
amount of each teaching style. However, during the first part of a semester I use more of the directing style. In
the middle part of a semester I typically rely more on the discussing style. And in the latter part of a semester I
generally lean more heavily on the delegating style.
Using an appropriate mix of teaching styles helps students learn, grow, and become more independent. Too
much reliance on one style causes students to lose interest and become overly dependent on the teacher.
Summary
There is no one best teaching style. Effective teachers use a variety of styles, and they know how and when to
choose the most appropriate one for the specific situation. In essence, the three teaching styles boil down to
this:
 Direct — Tell students what to do
 Discuss — Ask questions and listen
 Delegate — Empower students
How does this position fit into your overall career goals?

My goals are phd, share my knowledge with students and I am well satisfied
with that.

4. What do you think are the most important attributes of a good instructor?
First, I would say that a teacher must know his or her material extremely well. This
might sound like a given, but sometimes teachers are not as well versed in the subject
matter as they should be. You cannot teach something that you have not mastered. In
addition to this point, mastery over a subject matter will enable a teacher to teach in
different styles and methods to help students understand better. In short, facility in
teaching presupposes mastery.

Second, relationship build with students is also important. Students should genuinely
feel that there teachers care about them. When this level of trust is present, students
will put in more effort.
What do you think are your greatest strengths as an instructor? In which
areas do you feel you can use some further development?
Strengths are zeal to learn new things in technology and science and willing to
share with out hesitation, my website www.spotturns.blogspot.com,
https://sites.google.com/site/electricalprojects4u/,
https://sites.google.com/site/youngsters4india/ can judge that well.
I need to improve in ARM microcontroller interfacing, DSP, DIP, Dspace like
tools
1. What are your current research interests?
2. Have you involved your students in your research?
3. How do you feel your teaching style can serve our student population?
4. How do you engage students, particularly in a course of non-majors?
5. How do you adjust your style to the less-motivated or under-prepared student?
6. On the basis of the information you have received so far, what do you see as the major
challenges of this
7. position and how would you meet them?
8. Describe a situation in which you did .all the right things. and were still unsuccessful. What did
you
9. learn from the experience?
10. Why did you choose this profession/field?
11. What new skills have you learned over the past year?
12. How would your background and experiences strengthen this academic department?
13. Think about an instance when you were given an assignment that you thought you would not be
14. able to complete. How did you accomplish the assignment?
15. Have you ever had a great idea but been told that you could not implement it? How did you
react?
16. What did you do?
17. Tell us about your preferred work environment.
18. Describe your ideal job.
19. Do you have any questions for us?
20. Do you have any additional information that you would like to share?
21. What do you think most uniquely qualifies you for this position?