Name______Period ______
Interview & Experience Project 2014
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Your Goal: Contact a person substantially different from yourself, keeping in mind the cultural identifiers we learned in the fall; select a person with at least two cultural identifiers that differ from your own. Make a plan with the person to experience a slice of this person’s daily life, and to interview her/him in order to discover new ways of living and thinking. Write a reflection about your experience and interview. Create a poster to highlight the key moments and insights of your project.
Due Dates and Requirements:
Monday, March 3rd: Project proposal must be submitted
Proposal should include your name, the name of the person you wish to interview, an explanation of how this person is different from yourself, a brief description of what you already know about her/him, and a plan for what you will experience with this person. Dates and times will be helpful. (10 points)
Monday, March 10th: Interview questions submitted
Your set of potential questions must cover a range of topics and focus on at least two of your key differences from your subject in terms of your cultural identifiers. See attached worksheet for guidance—we will also work on building question sets in class. (10 points)
***You may conduct your interview any time between March 14th (after you get your questions back) and Monday, April 7th. Take thorough notes on your interviewee’s responses and during your experience.
Thursday, April 17th, Reflections and posters must be submitted, along with your interview notes
Reflections should be three-five pages typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point font. These reflections should be finalized in terms of grammar, spelling, and content. We will discuss possible creative approaches to this essay in class. You will also attach your notes from your interview when you submit your essay. (50 points for reflection, 20 points for poster.)
Interview/Experience Guidelines:
*You must interview a person substantially different from yourself in at least two aspects. Areas of difference could include religion, politics, class, race, gender, or neighborhood.
*The person you interview must be 18 years or older.
*You may interview someone within the Lab Schools. You could also consider people within nursing homes, libraries, churches, temples, parents’ workplaces, or social service organizations. You may also feel free to interview someone well-known within Chicago.
*Your parents must accompany you or give permission for you to meet with the person, especially if your interviewee is someone you do not know or are not acquainted with.
*Ask the person you are interviewing if you may use her/his name for your school project.
*Your experience should be at least an hour. Your interview should be at least 30 minutes, and up to 60 minutes.
*During your interview and experience, physical recording is not necessary, but it is a good idea that will supplement your written notes from the interview. Your written notes will be turned in at the end of the project with your reflection.
*During your interview and experience, photography is not necessary, but it may be helpful for your reflection and poster.
Reflection Guidelines:
*Include basic information about the person interviewed, the differences between you and the person you interviewed, and information about your experience.
*Describe your actions, thoughts, and emotions throughout the interview and experience.
*Describe what you learned or what surprised you about your interview and experience.
***This last piece is the most important part of your reflection. You should devote time, thought, and space to reflecting on what you have learned, how you have grown, and/or how your understanding of the world around you has grown as a result of your time with your interview subject. This growth is the purpose of the project—writing about that growth requires first a combination of experience and reflection so that you have something to say!!!
Interview & Experience Reception Poster
Must Include:
*Name of person you interviewed (if they are comfortable sharing their name)
*Photograph of the person you interviewed (or, if you are unable to get a photograph, or the person does not wish to be photographed, a picture or drawing of something that represents or symbolizes this person)
*Brief summary / synopsis of your experience (this should be roughly a paragraph in length—it will need to fit onto your poster)
Must be on poster board size 11x17 (legal size) or bigger
Due April 17th (the same day as your reflection); worth twenty points
Interview Project
Successful interviews are the result of preparation. Having a wide array of questions to ask, as well as anticipating potential follow up questions, will help you learn as much important information about your subject as possible. Use this worksheet as the starting point for your interview questions—you will need to adapt your own set to match your specific subject, adding and organizing questions as you see fit. You will need to do your best to take notes on all questions you ask and answers you receive.
Interview Questions:
Name: ______
Age: ______Occupation: ______
Time/Date/Location of Interview:______
Questions about background
--Childhood:
--Education:
--Geography:
--Family:
Employment questions
--Current job:
--Previous jobs:
Questions about key cultural identifiers (focus especially on those identifiers that differ from yours)
--Identifier #1:
--Identifier #2:
--Identifier #3: