Peer+Interview

 ** Peer Interview **

Peer Interview: Pair up with a member of the class and interview each other for a significant period of time (one hour is suggested). The subject of the interview is: “How is it that you are in this class preparing to teach?”

1. Note that the question is not “why do you want to be a teacher?” although that can certainly be a question asked in the interview. “Why” is often an ineffective question with which to begin an interview. By presuming a simple, linear approach it can push a participant to over simplify. What is needed for an interview is not an analysis, but a description of events, over years, leading to a decision. Substituting “how” for “why” seems to work better.

2. Make sure that your partner understands the nature of the interview and that those aspects of it will be shared in class.

3. Construct a report on the interview in the first person voice of your partner. Review your notes and underline the parts of the interview that are of compelling interest to you. Weave these together into a narrative that you will read to the class, in the words of your partner. You should be able to read the paper in approximately five minutes.

4. The material you select for your report must be fair to the larger interview and must be consistent with the dignity of your partner. After you have written the report, it is best if you let your partner read it first before you share it with the class--that way they can cut any parts out if they decide not to share certain information. (Collaboration) CR