How to conduct an interview - informational interviews for research

Ever struggled to tell your students why an interview is important for their research? Have you or students wondered “What interview questions should I ask the expert or the celebrity?” Ever wondered what interview best practices must your students follow while interviewing experts much more knowledgeable than them without being jittery about the whole process? If your answer to any of these questions is a yes, this resource is for you! Read on!!

(This resource is a part of the Research Resources for Middle and High School Growing Bundle)

Interviewing an expert or a celebrity need not be a scary experience as long as your students are well-prepared. This resource will act more like a plug-and-play resource for them, allowing them to prepare and plan for the interview to the smallest detail.

Interviewing is not just about asking the questions and recording the answers. They need to research the life of the expert or celebrity or whoever they are interviewing as a person. They need to take care of how, where, and when the interview will be conducted. They need to communicate with the experts quite a few times before progress can be made. They need to keep in mind the equipment they will use, the clothes they will wear, the weather, the location, and the like. They need to analyze and reflect on how things went to make it better the next time.

This resource allows your students to plan all these aspects of interviewing someone as a part of their research work. Here are the topics this resource will cover:

• Finding the expert
• Communicating with the expert
• Scheduling an interview
• Choosing an online or offline platform
• Building the expert portfolio (including a study into questions that triggered them negatively in the past)
• Brainstorming questions
• Categorizing questions
• Reviewing and revising the questions
• Practicing body language and style
• Dressing for the interview
• Setting up the equipment
• Conducting the interview
• Thanking the expert + gift planning
• Post-interview review, reflection, and analysis

“Interviewing Experts” is a workbook-style resource that allows your students to plan the nitty-gritty details of conducting an interview. If they are going to interview the expert as a group, they can take up different roles to manage the entire show. According to the role they choose, parts of the resource can be assigned to them. If they are interviewing individually, each student can be given a copy of this resource for their planning.

You are going to love this resource because it has been designed to allow the students to work independently minimizing teacher involvement while allowing them to thoroughly plan and meticulously execute the interview process. Some questions and prompts prevent them from leaving out crucial aspects of planning an interview.

Why you’d love this resource?

• Your students can work on it independently without your intervention
• It takes care of each single nitty-gritty detail for planning, preparing, and conducting an interview
• They learn how to see the unforeseen and make backup plans
• They will learn to appreciate the work that goes into conducting an interview
• They can work on it as a group or individually.
• They will develop camaraderie as they work on it as a group
• There are checklists in there to help them work systematically and with ease
• They can evaluate and analyze their work- how well prepared they were, what glitches occurred during the interview, what they can improve the next time around, and so much more.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1. Can I assign this to my students as independent work?

Yes! This resource has been designed in such a way that your students can work on it independently, requiring minimum assistance from the teacher. I am a Montessori Erdkinder (High school) teacher and I try to make my students as independent of me as possible.

2. Will I need to contact the expert and arrange the interview?

Not necessarily! The resource itself will guide them about how to contact the expert and communicate with them to schedule and confirm the interview. But if you are not confident about them doing it right, you can guide them. But as a Montessori teacher, I would sincerely request you to allow them to explore for themselves, make mistakes, and learn.

3. Does this resource contain questions that my students can ask the expert they’re interviewing?

No. This is because, for every field of research, different questions need to be asked. The questions you would ask a beekeeper would not be the same as the questions you’d ask a senator. But this resource will guide them in such a manner that they ask the right kind of questions to the right person.

4. Can this resource be used for different areas of research?

Yes! This resource was created to do just that – irrespective of the field your students are researching, they would learn how to plan and conduct the interview.

5. I have never conducted an interview myself. Can I still use this resource?

Yes! Do you know why? Because I have. And, over the years I have figured out the nuances of conducting an interview. This is a self-guided resource for your students. It is like me personally hand-holding them to plan and conduct the interview so that you don’t have to be anxious about it! So chill, teacher, I have your back.

This resource belongs to the Researcher’s Toolkit series I’m working on. Here are a few of the other resources that belong to this series

(This bundle will eventually have around 50 resources!! ):

• The Research Process (FREE!!)
• How to select your research topic
• How to create amazing infographics to present your research
• How to conduct a survey
• How to ask questions for research
• How to study a documentary
• Research planner and journal
• How to analyze movies
• How to analyze fiction
• How to study words and phrases
• How to write a reflective essay for research

If you’d like to take a look at research-based unit studies that I have created, check these out:

Agar Art

Honeybees (for other units in the insect series, click HERE)

Rosemary (for other units in the herbs series, click HERE)

Pumpkin (You’ll see why pumpkins are more than just Halloween decorations)

Check out this FREE mini unit on Safety Pins!! (You’ll be surprised at how much there is to explore about this inconspicuous little thing)

Here’s what buyers have to say about my research units:

How to study words and phrases – Word and Phrase Analysis Guide * * * * *

engaging and useful, especially for the first couple of weeks of school. These worksheets are a great intro to the classroom. I definitely recommend them!!!

Happy One

Honey Bee Insect Unit Study * * * * *

The was a great addition to my lessons and really aided in a better understanding of the concepts I was teaching!

The Happy Scientist

How to select a research topic * * * * *

Great resource, thanks for sharing. Students enjoyed this activity.

Cameryn B.

Insect Observation Sheet | Observe | Investigate | Record * * * * *

Loved this lesson and so did my students! Great addition to my standards.

The Happy Scientist

How to Research - The Research Process Steps - FREEBIE!! * * * * *

My students used and really enjoyed this resource.

Manon M.

How to Conduct Interviews * * * * *

My students really found this helpful in conducting interviews.

Bogotay's Extraordinary English Classroom

Mint Herb Unit Study * * * * *

My students loved this! Thank you!

Ann-Marie D.

Scorpion Unit Study * * * * *

I love this! There are tons of activities to choose from, hands-on, investigative, writing/journaling, drawing, and more. A comprehensive explanation of the research is also included. When your student finishes this Scorpion Unit Study, he/she will know everything they ever wanted to know about scorpions. However, it is not necessary to finish every activity to learn a lot about insects in general, and scorpions in particular. This insect study makes a great addition to Middle School and High School kids' science studies. My son started asking questions right away. For example, he wanted to know if you could have a scorpion as a pet. Hmmm, never thought of that before! Great ideas, and high-quality content. Thank you!

Homeschooling Dietician Mom

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