On this page (12 sections)
- Why panels like STAR
- Example 1: behaviour management (classroom teacher)
- Example 2: differentiation (primary)
- Example 3: using assessment data (secondary)
- Example 4: working with a parent
- Example 5: graduate teacher (from placement)
- Example 6: casual relief teacher
- Example 7: leading colleagues (aspiring head teacher)
- Example 8: child safety (procedural question)
- STAR in writing vs out loud
- Mistakes that cost marks
- FAQs
The short answer
The STAR method structures a teaching example as Situation (the class and context), Task (what you needed to achieve), Action (what you did, in the first person) and Result (what changed for students, ideally measured). A spoken STAR answer should take 90 seconds to two minutes, mostly on Action and Result, with one line of reflection.
- Situation and Task together: about 20% of your answer.
- Action: about 50%. Three concrete steps.
- Result plus reflection: about 30%. Numbers where you have them.
- Every example below is fictional. Build yours from real classes your referees know.
Why panels like STAR
Australian school panels score against selection criteria, and the criteria come from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. STAR makes your evidence easy to score: the panel can see the context, what you personally did and whether it worked. It also keeps you from the two most common interview failures, talking in generalities ('I always differentiate') and telling a long story with no point.
Example 1: behaviour management (classroom teacher)
Fictional STAR answer: 'Tell us how you've managed challenging behaviour'
- Situation
- Year 9 English, 26 students, last period on Fridays; frequent calling out and three students regularly refusing work
- Task
- Get the class working for the full lesson and re-engage the three students
- Action
- Taught and practised a four-step lesson routine; seated students by a plan I changed fortnightly
- Action
- Met each of the three students one-on-one, found two were avoiding reading aloud; gave them a choice of tasks with the same outcome
- Action
- Called home for positive reasons once a fortnight for each of the three
- Result
- Behaviour referrals from the class fell from 11 in Term 1 to 3 in Term 2; all three submitted their persuasive essay
- Reflection
- Routines first, relationships alongside. I now set the routine in week 1 of every year
Example 2: differentiation (primary)
Fictional STAR answer: 'How do you cater for a range of abilities?'
- Situation
- Year 4, 24 students; maths pre-test ranged from Year 2 to Year 6 level, two students on individual plans
- Task
- Teach a fractions unit so every student made progress on the same core outcome
- Action
- Grouped students from the pre-test into three entry points with the same anchor task
- Action
- Used concrete materials for the first group, worked examples for the core, open problems for extension
- Action
- Planned with our learning support teacher for the two students on plans; regrouped weekly from exit tickets
- Result
- Average post-test growth of 22 percentage points; 20 of 24 met the core outcome, up from 7
Example 3: using assessment data (secondary)
Fictional STAR answer: 'Tell us how you've used data to change your teaching'
- Situation
- Two Year 11 chemistry classes, 41 students; first topic test average 54%
- Task
- Find out why and lift results before the next assessment
- Action
- Analysed results by question; 70% of lost marks were on stoichiometry calculations
- Action
- Added a five-minute worked-example starter for three weeks and a weekly low-stakes quiz
- Action
- Gave written feedback on one step per student and re-tested
- Result
- Average on the calculation section rose from 41% to 68% on the next test
- Reflection
- I now run an item analysis after every topic test
Example 4: working with a parent
Fictional STAR answer: 'Tell us about a time you worked with a difficult parent'
- Situation
- Parent emailed the principal angry that their Year 7 child had failed a science assignment
- Task
- Resolve the concern and support the student to succeed
- Action
- Phoned the parent the same day, listened first, then offered a meeting with the student
- Action
- At the meeting showed the rubric and the draft feedback I'd given; learned the student had been unwell
- Action
- Agreed an extension and weekly check-ins; emailed a short summary to the parent
- Result
- The student passed the resubmission; the parent thanked the school and has contacted me directly since
Free calculator
Turn your own stories into STAR answers
The AI Teacher Interview Coach asks the question, listens to your answer and shows you where your Situation runs long or your Result is missing.
Practise an answerExample 5: graduate teacher (from placement)
Fictional STAR answer: 'Describe a lesson that went well on placement'
- Situation
- Final placement, 10 weeks, Year 2 class of 25 in a suburban primary school
- Task
- Teach a procedural writing unit my mentor said students found dry
- Action
- Built it around making playdough: students followed, then wrote, a real procedure
- Action
- Modelled one procedure aloud, then co-wrote another; gave each student a checklist
- Action
- Collected writing samples at the start and end and shared them with my mentor
- Result
- 18 of 25 students used numbered steps and imperative verbs by the end, up from 6; my mentor used the unit the next term
- Reflection
- Hands-on purpose made the writing stick; I'd add more oral rehearsal for EAL/D students
Graduates: your final placement report is evidence a panel can read, so pick examples your supervising teacher commented on. More on graduate evidence is in selection criteria for teachers.
Example 6: casual relief teacher
Fictional STAR answer: 'How do you manage a class you've never met?'
- Situation
- Relief day, Year 8 maths, no lesson plan left, class known for testing relief teachers
- Task
- Keep the class safe and learning for the period
- Action
- Greeted students at the door, set a 3-minute entry task from my relief kit, took the roll by name
- Action
- Found the class's textbook unit from their books and set questions at three levels
- Action
- Left a handover note listing who worked, who didn't and what was completed
- Result
- Every student completed at least the first set; the head teacher rebooked me for the rest of the term
Relief teaching gives you dozens of these stories. Our casual teaching guide has the handover note format that gets you rebooked.
Example 7: leading colleagues (aspiring head teacher)
Fictional STAR answer: 'Tell us about a time you led colleagues to change their practice'
- Situation
- Stage 3 team of five teachers; writing results flat, each teacher marking differently
- Task
- Get consistent marking and better writing within a year
- Action
- Proposed a shared rubric; drafted it with two volunteers and trialled it in our own classes first
- Action
- Ran two moderation sessions a term using anonymised student samples
- Action
- Shared trial results with the team before asking everyone to adopt it
- Result
- Moderation agreement rose from 3 of 5 teachers to 5 of 5; students at or above standard rose from 58% to 70%
- Reflection
- Trialling it myself first made colleagues willing to try it
Leadership answers need the same structure, with the emphasis on what others did because of you. See head of department interview questions and principal interview questions for the full banks.
Example 8: child safety (procedural question)
Fictional STAR answer: 'What would you do if a student disclosed abuse?'
- Situation
- A Year 5 student told me at lunch that an adult at home had hurt them
- Task
- Keep the student safe and meet my legal and school obligations
- Action
- Listened calmly, didn't ask leading questions or promise to keep it secret, reassured them they'd done the right thing
- Action
- Told the principal straight away and made the mandatory report as required by our state's procedure
- Action
- Wrote down the student's words, the time and what I did, and kept it confidential
- Result
- The report was made the same day; the school followed up with support for the student
Child protection answers have a right answer: listen, don't investigate, report through your state's procedure, record, keep confidential. Check your system's current procedure before an interview.
STAR in writing vs out loud
Written selection criteria
- Open with a one-sentence claim that answers the criterion
- One or two examples per criterion, 150 to 300 words each
- NSW teacher jobs: half an A4 page per criterion
- Name the Standard focus area once
Interview
- Headline first, then the story
- 90 seconds to two minutes
- Drop the Standard numbers; panels want natural speech
- End with reflection, then stop talking
Written criteria rules differ by state. See NSW targeted selection criteria, Victorian key selection criteria and the WA statement of claims.
Free calculator
AI Selection Criteria Coach
Paste a criterion and your STAR draft. Get a panel-style score and a rewrite within your page or word limit.
Check my draftMistakes that cost marks
- Too much Situation. If you're still describing the school after 30 seconds, the panel has stopped listening.
- 'We' instead of 'I'. Panels need to know what you did. Use 'we' only to describe a team, then say your part.
- No result. 'It went really well' isn't a result. Give a number, a work sample change or a specific observation.
- Hypothetical answers to behavioural questions. 'Tell us about a time' needs a real time, not 'I would...'.
- The same story twice. Build a bank of six to eight examples covering the Standards.
- Breaching privacy. Never name a student, colleague or family.
Frequently asked questions
What is the STAR method for teacher interviews?
How long should a STAR answer be in a teaching interview?
Can graduates use STAR without their own class?
Should I use STAR for selection criteria too?
What if I don't have data for my Result?
How many STAR examples should I prepare?
Are these STAR examples real?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-17
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