Tools for Thought Download and read the teacher instructions, and duplicate the student materials prior to use. Using strategies to prepare and conduct interviews This resource complements the Interviewing techniques tutorial found in Tools for © The Critical Thinking Consortium 2013 Use of this resource is restricted to subscribers of this collection Teacher page Teacher page

Overview of learning activities Teacher page Topic Slide Consider the situation5 Compare interviews and conversations6 Listen to an interview7-9 Examine interview questions10-13 Prepare for an interview14-18 Conduct the interview19 Assess the interview20 Reflect on the strategy21 Select the most appropriate activities for your students. Teacher instructions are found in the presenters notes at the bottom of each slide.

Using strategies to prepare and conduct an interview Tools for Thought Has anyone heard or seen someone being interviewed? What is the point of doing this? Interviewing techniques Student pages begin

These strategies help get useful information from a person by conducting an effective interview. What will I learn? what are the features of an effective interview and interviewer; how to help prepare for and conduct an interview; why interviewing is a useful information gathering technique. Interviewing techniques

Think of a person, current or historical, you would like to know more about. Imagine you have been invited to meet this person. What questions would you ask? Consider this situation

Interview Casual conversation Compare interviews and conversations What are the similarities and differences between an interview and a conversation? Compare interviews and conversations

Listen to an interview George Stroumboulopoulos Interviews Peter Mansbridge Peter Gzowski Interviews Anna Maria Tremonti Shelagh Rogers Photo credit: Mark DunneMark Dunne Listen to an interview and brainstorm qualities of an effective interviewer. Listen to an interview

Think about criteria asks engaging questions is attentive has genuine interest is responsive has background knowledge Criteria for an effective interviewer Read the suggested criteria. Compare the qualities of an effective interviewer you identified. Determine the best possible criteria for an effective interviewer.

Consider interview tips Read the tips. Highlight new information Rank order the five most effective tips. TIPS Preparation Do your homework Set a purpose Look for springboards Create questions Remember necessities Practice Interview strategies Start easy Ask the right questions Have a conversation Create questions Pay attention to details

Examine interview questions Credits : Dennis Mojado Think about the successful interview tips and the questions asked in the previous interviews. What are the qualities of an effective interview question? 1.What is your favourite sport? 2.Do you think hockey is a great sport? 3.What motivates you as an athlete? Which question is most effective? Examine interview questions

Think about question criteria open ended build on interesting background information draw out interesting ideas and information cover a range of relevant topics Criteria for an effective interview question How closely do your criteria match the suggested criteria? Identify the most relevant criteria from the two lists.

Examine questions Leading Questions (Ineffective)Open-ended Questions (More effective) Do you get along with your parents? - hints that maybe they dont get along. Tell me about your relationship with your parents. - non-judgmental How fast was the red car going when it smashed it into the blue car? - the red car was at fault -suggests high speed How fast was each car going when the accident occurred? - does not assign any blame or make assumptions Why did you disappoint your father? A question may be ineffective because it is closed or leading or both. Open-ended questions tend to more effective because they encourage conversation and are less leading.

Modify questions Work in partners to identify the flaws in each question Revise them to create effective questions

Prepare for an interview Interview a classmate in preparation for writing a profile about this student for the Know Your Neighbour section of the school website Create a briefing sheet about yourself to help the interviewer generate questions. Include personal characteristics, talents or other information you would like to talk about in your interview Prepare for an interview

Identify information Working in pairs, exchange your briefing sheet with your partner. Review the briefing sheet and identify important background information.

Look at example

Brainstorm questions Review the information recorded from the briefing sheet. Prepare your interview questions based on this information. are open ended build on interesting background information draw out interesting ideas and information cover a range of relevant topics Effective interview questions Tip: Generate many questions for your interview. Review and select the most effective questions for the interview.

Look at an example Possible questions Why did your family move to Canada? What has been the most difficult adjustment to being in Canada? What have you like the best? What do you like best about our school? How did you become a drummer? Who is the person you admire most and why?

Conduct the interview Interview your partner. After the interview discuss how well the interview met the criteria. Tip: Set a comfortable tone for the interview. Remember to thank the interviewee Criteria for an effective interviewer asks engaging questions is attentive has genuine interest is responsive has background knowledge Conduct the interview

Assess the interview Assessing my ability to prepare and conduct interviews How well did you prepare and conduct the interview? What did you learn about interviews? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using interviews to gather information? Assess the interview

Reflect on the strategy How might you use the Student resource? When might conducting an interview be a useful tool? Reflect on the strategy