Understand how people experience their work in schools by building relationships and cultivating understanding. Focus on those who are most marginalized.

Interviews are a foundational step for human-centered design. In order to design new approaches to challenges in schools and systems, we have to center the experience of students, families, and educators who are closest to problems. Interviews have the power to reshape power and relationships. With reflection and synthesis, insights from interviews can be critical to all of the parts of a design journey. Interviews compliment quantitative data gathered at the school or LEA level.

CORE TOOLS

<aside> 🛠️ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mVVonMRjTbV-YO-gax3hdMJjnE6-vvhpl4thbS6jhYU/edit?usp=sharing

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Use this overview to understand the steps to prepare for interviews, develop questions, take necessary equity pauses, run interviews that nurture relationships, and generate insights through reflection. This includes a supporting document with suggested interview questions for educators about their roles, as well as additional methods and tools to spark conversations. Here are the same questions on slides for facilitating group discussions.

<aside> 🛠️ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FDj9tRX25I3_QDezZLsB_jqB-8OKmJSZc6DAKxAInH4/edit?usp=sharing

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Use this graphic organizer in conjunction with the overview to plan who is the right member of a design team to speak with different stakeholders, plan interview questions, and then analyze what you hear. Each member of the team should consider the power dynamics between themselves and the stakeholders they interview. For instance, will novice teachers talk more candidly about their experience with a colleague or with a supervisor?

Team members with various roles within a school or system can consider different stakeholders to interview:

• Central office staffers might interview both school leaders and educators
• School leaders might interview educators, including credentialed teachers, paraprofessionals, or other staff who work with students
• Teachers might interview colleagues, as well as students and caregivers about their experiences with the adults working in school

AVOIDING COMMON PITFALLS

• Don’t wait too long to schedule interviews.
• Take the time for the equity pause steps.
• Don’t limit interviews to stakeholders you know well or who are most accessible.

EXTEND

Deepen your interviews or focus group discussions with these additional tools:

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