Teaching

What interviewers look for

• Lesson objectives written as what students will be able to do, and a plan that gets there in the time you have.
• Calm, firm classroom management with rules, routines and positive discipline, never the stick or shaming.
• Assessment you use every lesson: you check who understood, mark with a clear scheme and give feedback students can act on.
• Teaching for mixed levels in one room, so the student who is behind and the one ready for the national exam both learn.
• Clear safeguarding: you know the code of conduct, you report concerns to the right person, and you work with parents before problems grow.
• Good command of the teaching language, and a sensible plan for students who think in Somali while the textbook is in English or Arabic.

Questions they ask

1. 1“How do you turn the syllabus into lessons for the term?”

   Why they ask: They want to see that you plan ahead: a scheme of work for the term, weekly plans, and lessons that each have one clear objective, not a teacher who opens the textbook each morning.

   How to answer

   • Start from the syllabus and the exam: count the weeks in the term and share the topics across them, leaving time for revision and tests.
   • Break each week into lessons, each with one objective that starts with an action verb: calculate, explain, label, write.
   • Say how you adjust: if the exit check shows the class did not get it, the next lesson changes.
   • Mention a real plan you used, and bring a sample if you have one.

   At my school in Burao I received the Grade 7 science syllabus at the start of the year. I counted the teaching weeks, put the topics in order, and kept the last two weeks of each term for revision. Every Thursday I planned the next week: one objective per lesson, like 'students can label the parts of a plant cell', and one short activity. I kept the plans in one exercise book. When the exit questions showed a topic was weak, I added a lesson and moved the next topic back. The head teacher later asked me to show the book to new teachers.

2. 2“Your class has students who cannot read well and students ready for the exam. How do you teach them all?”

   Why they ask: Mixed levels are normal, especially in classes with IDP children or children who started school late. The panel checks whether you have practical methods, not only the word 'differentiation'.

   How to answer

   • Find out the levels first: a short test or reading check in the first week tells you who needs what.
   • Keep one objective with tasks at three levels (must, should, could): everyone reaches the core, faster students go further.
   • Group and pair students on purpose, and use strong students as helpers without handing them your job.
   • Give extra time to those behind: the first minutes of practice with you, or a short catch-up session.

   In my Form 2 English class in Mogadishu, some students could not read a full sentence and others were preparing for exams. In the first week I gave a short reading check and put students into three groups. For each lesson I kept one objective, for example writing a short paragraph about their neighbourhood. The first group completed sentences I had started for them, the second wrote five sentences of their own, and the third wrote a full paragraph and checked a partner's work. I spent the first ten minutes of practice with the first group every day. By the end of term most of them could write short sentences alone.

3. 3“What is the difference between formative and summative assessment? How do you use each?”

   Why they ask: A technical question with a practical follow-up. They want the definition in one sentence, then proof that you check learning during lessons, not only in exams.

   How to answer

   • Formative checks learning while it happens so you can change your teaching: questions, exit tickets, slates, watching group work.
   • Summative measures what was learned at the end of a unit or term: tests and exams that give a mark.
   • Give one real example of each, and say what you changed because of a formative check.

   Formative assessment happens during learning and tells me what to change; summative assessment comes at the end and gives a grade. In my maths lessons I finish with three exit questions on small slips of paper. When most students got the question on adding fractions wrong, I started the next lesson with that type again instead of moving on. My summative assessment is the end-of-unit test, which I mark with a scheme and record in the mark book. I need both, but the formative checks are what improve the results.

4. 4“You have 60 exercise books to mark every day. How do you give useful feedback?”

   Why they ask: Big classes make marking heavy. The panel wants a realistic system: marking that is quick, fair and tells students what to do next, not just a tick or a number.

   How to answer

   • Mark against a simple scheme so the same answer always gets the same mark.
   • Give one strength and one next step, not a page of red ink.
   • Save time: mark some work in depth and some with quick checks, use peer marking with a clear answer key, and give whole-class feedback on common errors.
   • Make students use the feedback: a few minutes at the start of the next lesson to correct their work.

5. 5“A student disrupts your lesson every day. What do you do?”

   Why they ask: They check that you stay calm, use positive discipline, look for the cause and involve others when needed. Any mention of beating or shaming ends your chances.

   How to answer

   • Prevent first: clear rules agreed with the class, and routines for entering, starting work and handing out books.
   • Respond in steps: a look, a quiet word, moving the student, then a private talk after class.
   • Look for the reason: work too hard or too easy, boredom, problems at home, hunger.
   • Involve the parent and the head teacher if it continues, and keep a note of what you tried.

   In Grade 8 in Hargeisa I had a boy who talked and joked through my lessons. I moved him to the front and gave him a job handing out the books, but that only helped for a week. After class I asked him quietly what was going on. He said maths was too easy for him but he was lost in English, so he played up in both. I gave him harder extension questions in maths and paired him with a strong reader in English. I also called his father to tell him what was working. After that the disruptions became rare.

6. 6“You see a colleague slap a student. What do you do?”

   Why they ask: Safeguarding covers adults in the school, not only families. The panel wants to know you put the child first and report through the proper channel, even when it is uncomfortable.

   How to answer

   • If you can, stop the harm calmly at the moment and make sure the child is all right.
   • Write down what you saw: date, time, place, what happened and who was there.
   • Report the same day to the child protection focal person or the head teacher, as the policy says. If the head is involved, go to the next level.
   • Keep it confidential, and do not investigate or confront the colleague in front of students.

7. 7“The textbook is in English, but many students think in Somali. How do you handle language in your lessons?”

   Why they ask: Many classrooms mix Somali, English and Arabic. They check that you keep the subject clear, build the teaching language step by step and follow the school's language policy.

   How to answer

   • Follow the school's language of instruction, use Somali briefly to unlock a hard idea, then return to the teaching language.
   • Teach key words before the topic: put five to eight subject words on the board with their meaning and use.
   • Let students answer in simple sentences first, and give sentence starters so they can write full answers in the exam language.

   I teach biology in English at a secondary school in Garowe, and many of my Form 1 students find the textbook hard. Before each topic I write the key words on the board, like 'photosynthesis' and 'chlorophyll', and explain them in simple English. If the class is still lost, I give one or two sentences in Somali to make the idea clear, then we go back to English, because the exam is in English. I also give sentence starters such as 'Plants need light because…' so students practise writing full answers.

8. 8“As head of department, how would you support a teacher whose students are doing badly?”

   Why they ask: For senior posts the panel checks leadership: whether you use evidence, support before you judge, and follow up, rather than complain to the head teacher.

   How to answer

   • Look at the evidence first: results, exercise books, lesson plans and a friendly lesson observation.
   • Agree two or three clear targets with the teacher, and offer support: planning together, watching a strong colleague, shared materials.
   • Follow up on a set date, and involve the head teacher only if there is no progress or a child is at risk.

Example answers are in English, the language most panels use. Say it in your own words.

Topics to revise

• Learning objectives (action verbs)An objective says what students will be able to do by the end: 'calculate the area of a triangle', not 'understand triangles'. Panels may ask you to rewrite a weak objective. Use verbs you can see: list, calculate, explain, compare.
• Bloom's taxonomyA ladder of thinking skills: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, create. Good lessons and exams include questions above 'remember'. You may be asked to write one easy and one harder question on the same topic.
• Scheme of workThe plan for a whole term or year: which syllabus topics, in which week, with which resources and tests. Bring one if you have it; head teachers like to see that you plan ahead.
• Lesson structure: starter, main, plenaryMost lesson plans follow this shape: a short starter that connects to what students know, the main teaching and practice, and a plenary at the end to check and sum up. Know the words; panels and inspectors use them.
• DifferentiationPlanning so students at different levels all learn: tasks at different levels, extra support, different ways to show learning, and extension work for the fastest. Always give a classroom example, not only a definition.
• Formative vs summative assessmentFormative: checks during learning that change your teaching (questions, exit tickets, slates). Summative: tests at the end of a unit or term that give a grade. Expect to define both and give an example of each.
• Marking scheme and mark bookA marking scheme lists the answer and the marks for each step so marking is fair. The mark book records every student's scores across the term. In the written test you may be given a student's script to mark.
• Positive disciplineManaging behaviour without hitting or shaming: clear rules, routines, praise for good behaviour, fair consequences, and talking with the student and the parent. Be ready to describe what you do step by step.
• Child protection and safeguardingRules that keep children safe from harm by anyone, including staff. Know the code of conduct, the focal person, and the steps: listen, do not promise secrecy, write it down, report the same day, keep it confidential.
• Parent communication and the CECRegular, early contact with parents: good news as well as problems, parent meetings, home visits with a colleague. The Community Education Committee (CEC) helps with attendance, fees and safety. Panels ask how you would handle a worried or angry parent.
• Language of instructionThe language the school teaches in: Somali, English or Arabic, depending on the school and the level. Know the school's policy, how you teach subject vocabulary, and when a short explanation in Somali helps.

Practical tasks you may get

1. 1Demo lesson of 10–20 minutes to the panel or a real class. Ask in advance for the topic, grade, time and teaching language. Bring a one-page plan with the objective at the top, one simple teaching aid and an exit check. Practise with a timer and decide in advance what you will cut if time runs short.
2. 2Written test on your subject and on teaching methods, often 45–60 minutes. Revise the syllabus content for the grades you will teach, and practise short answers on objectives, assessment, differentiation and safeguarding.
3. 3Write a lesson plan on the spot: you get a topic and 20–30 minutes. Use a fixed template you have practised: objective, materials, starter, main activity with timings, differentiation, assessment, homework.
4. 4Mark a sample script: the panel gives you a student's answer and asks you to mark it and write feedback. Mark to a scheme, write one strength and one next step, and explain your mark in one sentence.

Mistakes to avoid

• Writing objectives as topics ('fractions') or with verbs you cannot check ('understand', 'know').
• Talking for the whole demo lesson with no question, no activity and no check at the end.
• Saying you 'give extra attention to weak students' without saying how, when, or what they do.
• Any mention of beating, shaming, or making students stand outside in the sun as discipline.
• Promising to keep a child's disclosure secret, or trying to investigate a case yourself.
• Teaching the demo lesson in a language the school does not use, because you did not ask in advance.

Quick check

5 questions. Answer each one to see the explanation.