Lateral Thinking Exercises at Interviews
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Lateral Thinking Exercises at Interviews
I thought I would start a thread on this. Many independent schools use the interview process to put them through various exercises. It seems it can vary between mental maths to out-of-the-box puzzles.
What typically are they trying to test and what type of exercises have people experienced or heard about?
What typically are they trying to test and what type of exercises have people experienced or heard about?
Re: Lateral Thinking Exercises at Interviews
Some kind of reassurance that it's the child's mind they are getting a glimpse of, not just what their tutor / parents have drummed into them?Northdad wrote:I thought I would start a thread on this. Many independent schools use the interview process to put them through various exercises. It seems it can vary between mental maths to out-of-the-box puzzles.
What typically are they trying to test and what type of exercises have people experienced or heard about?
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Re: Lateral Thinking Exercises at Interviews
useful templates in answering interview questions
Mathematical and logic problems
the child needs to "think out load" and allow the interviewer to help the applicant, so the conversation may go something like this.
o.k you want me to find/do this? ( i.e you understand the question) look up make eye contact for affirmation
now what information do I have?
what information can I find out easily?
look up make eye contact for affirmation, let the examiner steer the applicant if required
now what information do I need to find the answer to the original question ?(i.e link back to the actual question asked)
state method/skill required to find that required information
finally solve problem.
all the time engaging with the examiner , they are not there to fail the child , they will try to help to unlock a mental en-pass
Comprehension analysis in a interview setting
we used CHRIS RICE
C=conveys H=highlights R=reflects I=implies S=suggests
R=reflects I=infers C=creates E=emphasis
for picture analysis
use a modified version of CHRIS RICE I will leave that up to you
obviously they do not need to know the artists style Cubism, Impressionism , Baroque ect
responses should be age appropriate otherwise they will smell tutoring a mile off!!
they are only my suggestions , they are not evidence based, take them or leave them its upto you
..............................................................................................................................
just wanted to add a caveat-they could just be talking a load of gibberish-Boys are particularly prone to such drivel.
Personally, I find such children very irritating and get this overwhelming desire to gag them and lock them up in a cupboard for their own safety.I much prefer the quiet introspective/reflective child that once you gain their confidence can take an idea and just fly with it,rather than the overconfident loudmouth.
Linking or circling back to the question is an important skill(one reason is it keeps the mind focused on the task at hand and not just answering the question the candidate wants to answer and the applicant is forced to revisit the actual question more than once-so little chance of misunderstanding the question another is it shows an insight of the importance of self-reflection ) and it's not just about what information that is explicit in the question but also what information one does not have,latent or hidden the secret is keep looping around until you have enough information to state the method required to solve the problem,it avoids awkward silences and keeps the conversation moving forward that is what any interview should be imo(a conversation, I defy any reasonable human not to assist a 10 year old candidate unless they have a heart of stone)
The correct answer is more or less irrelevant
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 31&t=40888" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mathematical and logic problems
the child needs to "think out load" and allow the interviewer to help the applicant, so the conversation may go something like this.
o.k you want me to find/do this? ( i.e you understand the question) look up make eye contact for affirmation
now what information do I have?
what information can I find out easily?
look up make eye contact for affirmation, let the examiner steer the applicant if required
now what information do I need to find the answer to the original question ?(i.e link back to the actual question asked)
state method/skill required to find that required information
finally solve problem.
all the time engaging with the examiner , they are not there to fail the child , they will try to help to unlock a mental en-pass
Comprehension analysis in a interview setting
we used CHRIS RICE
C=conveys H=highlights R=reflects I=implies S=suggests
R=reflects I=infers C=creates E=emphasis
for picture analysis
use a modified version of CHRIS RICE I will leave that up to you
obviously they do not need to know the artists style Cubism, Impressionism , Baroque ect
responses should be age appropriate otherwise they will smell tutoring a mile off!!
they are only my suggestions , they are not evidence based, take them or leave them its upto you
..............................................................................................................................
just wanted to add a caveat-they could just be talking a load of gibberish-Boys are particularly prone to such drivel.
Personally, I find such children very irritating and get this overwhelming desire to gag them and lock them up in a cupboard for their own safety.I much prefer the quiet introspective/reflective child that once you gain their confidence can take an idea and just fly with it,rather than the overconfident loudmouth.
Linking or circling back to the question is an important skill(one reason is it keeps the mind focused on the task at hand and not just answering the question the candidate wants to answer and the applicant is forced to revisit the actual question more than once-so little chance of misunderstanding the question another is it shows an insight of the importance of self-reflection ) and it's not just about what information that is explicit in the question but also what information one does not have,latent or hidden the secret is keep looping around until you have enough information to state the method required to solve the problem,it avoids awkward silences and keeps the conversation moving forward that is what any interview should be imo(a conversation, I defy any reasonable human not to assist a 10 year old candidate unless they have a heart of stone)
The correct answer is more or less irrelevant
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 31&t=40888" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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merksalina
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Re: Lateral Thinking Exercises at Interviews
My daughter seemed to get a lot of poetry appreciation, rather than lateral thinking.
Re: Lateral Thinking Exercises at Interviews
Some great responses so far. Very insightful
True to an extent but in many cases they are more than just reassurance as interviews can be used to whittle down quite substantially in some schools...Some kind of reassurance that it's the child's mind they are getting a glimpse of, not just what their tutor / parents have drummed into them