How do we get to know more than just what we are thinking about an issue?
Children of Grades 1 to 3 had already watched videos introducing them to the Sparkling Mindz Changemaker Missions they are going to work on: Climate Change, Child Vulnerability, Health and Nutrition and Stories and Practices. They had written down questions that came to their mind after watching the videos.
It was then that we asked them this question.
Children wondered and shared that we can ask other people.
Asking other people is, in other words, conducting an interview - the facilitator told them.
What does the word interview mean? Can you see there are two smaller words in the bigger word?
Inter and View.
Have you heard of the words international or inter-school?
Yes!
Inter means ‘between or among’. So an interview is when we try to get a view that is shared between other people.
Now that the context of what an interview is and why we are going to interview other people was set, we were set to learn ‘how do we interview people’?
The first step was to prepare ourselves with questions. How do we do that?
We showed children the different ways of asking questions: we can ask the ‘5W and 1 H’ questions but we can also ask ‘do you, did you, are you, can you’ questions!
Over 2 sessions, children had been learning to ask and frame good interview questions. Then, it was time to put these skills into practice!
Through a role-play, children were shown how to interview someone.
Why role-play?
Well, children love to ‘pretend-play’ and when we asked them if they would like to ‘pretend’ they were interviewing, it brought out the joy and enthusiasm that they would bring to a pretend-play session to the learning experience.
The facilitator role-played a version of an interview and asked the children, what could have been better?
“You did not ask if the person is free?”
The facilitator enacted it again, this time checking if the person she wanted to interview was free and available.
As I dived into the interview, the interviewee was ‘confused’ and ‘lost’.
I asked the children again, “What could have I done differently?
“They don’t know why you are asking these questions!”
I role-played again, this time asking permission as well as setting context for the interview.
“Now what could I have done better?” I asked again
“You were not listening when she was answering!” said a child.
Okay
“You were also not writing down what she was saying!” said another.
Okay, so this time I role-played the interview - asking for permission, setting the context, listening keenly and taking notes.
After the role-play, I asked the children if they were ready to conduct their interviews. There was a resounding yes, and a reiteration from the children on what we need to keep in mind when we want to interview someone:
1. Ask for permission and check if the person is free before asking your questions
2. Tell them why you are interviewing them and what the Mission is all about. Also, remind them to answer as honestly as possible and do not judge the answers.
3. Listen to them when they are responding!
4. Note down the answers (Children were shown how to record the answers in columns)
5. Thank them once it is done
Once they were all set to practice these skills - children went to their respective Mission Breakout rooms and role-played (or, pretend-played, their interviews. The interview questions were given to children and they took turns acting out the role of the interviewer and interviewee.
Being immersed in the process made children think deeper about the Missions. "What are child rights, why do we pollute, how do we recycle" were some of the questions asked.
In one of the breakout rooms, children working on climate change were asking:
The children also figured out that if a person says ‘no’ to the first question, we cannot ask the second one.
In another break out room, one child noticed that while role playing all the children playing interviewees were responding 'I am free' and she said some should say 'I am not free' so we can practice what we will do when that happens.
This is what you get when you immerse the children in an experience that is playful and relevant: they take ownership of the process, think deeply about the outcome such that it is meaningful, engage with and bring themselves fully into the learning experience. Learning does not sit outside and embraces the playfulness, wonder and complexities of life!
Contributed by Poorva Agarwal, Learning Facilitator
#sparklingmindzglobal
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#21stcenturylearning
#experientiallearning
Children of Grades 1 to 3 had already watched videos introducing them to the Sparkling Mindz Changemaker Missions they are going to work on: Climate Change, Child Vulnerability, Health and Nutrition and Stories and Practices. They had written down questions that came to their mind after watching the videos.
It was then that we asked them this question.
Children wondered and shared that we can ask other people.
Asking other people is, in other words, conducting an interview - the facilitator told them.
What does the word interview mean? Can you see there are two smaller words in the bigger word?
Inter and View.
Have you heard of the words international or inter-school?
Yes!
Inter means ‘between or among’. So an interview is when we try to get a view that is shared between other people.
Now that the context of what an interview is and why we are going to interview other people was set, we were set to learn ‘how do we interview people’?
The first step was to prepare ourselves with questions. How do we do that?
We showed children the different ways of asking questions: we can ask the ‘5W and 1 H’ questions but we can also ask ‘do you, did you, are you, can you’ questions!
Over 2 sessions, children had been learning to ask and frame good interview questions. Then, it was time to put these skills into practice!
Through a role-play, children were shown how to interview someone.
Why role-play?
Well, children love to ‘pretend-play’ and when we asked them if they would like to ‘pretend’ they were interviewing, it brought out the joy and enthusiasm that they would bring to a pretend-play session to the learning experience.
The facilitator role-played a version of an interview and asked the children, what could have been better?
“You did not ask if the person is free?”
The facilitator enacted it again, this time checking if the person she wanted to interview was free and available.
As I dived into the interview, the interviewee was ‘confused’ and ‘lost’.
I asked the children again, “What could have I done differently?
“They don’t know why you are asking these questions!”
I role-played again, this time asking permission as well as setting context for the interview.
“Now what could I have done better?” I asked again
“You were not listening when she was answering!” said a child.
Okay
“You were also not writing down what she was saying!” said another.
Okay, so this time I role-played the interview - asking for permission, setting the context, listening keenly and taking notes.
After the role-play, I asked the children if they were ready to conduct their interviews. There was a resounding yes, and a reiteration from the children on what we need to keep in mind when we want to interview someone:
1. Ask for permission and check if the person is free before asking your questions
2. Tell them why you are interviewing them and what the Mission is all about. Also, remind them to answer as honestly as possible and do not judge the answers.
3. Listen to them when they are responding!
4. Note down the answers (Children were shown how to record the answers in columns)
5. Thank them once it is done
Once they were all set to practice these skills - children went to their respective Mission Breakout rooms and role-played (or, pretend-played, their interviews. The interview questions were given to children and they took turns acting out the role of the interviewer and interviewee.
Being immersed in the process made children think deeper about the Missions. "What are child rights, why do we pollute, how do we recycle" were some of the questions asked.
In one of the breakout rooms, children working on climate change were asking:
- Do you recycle your waste?
- What items do you recycle?
The children also figured out that if a person says ‘no’ to the first question, we cannot ask the second one.
In another break out room, one child noticed that while role playing all the children playing interviewees were responding 'I am free' and she said some should say 'I am not free' so we can practice what we will do when that happens.
This is what you get when you immerse the children in an experience that is playful and relevant: they take ownership of the process, think deeply about the outcome such that it is meaningful, engage with and bring themselves fully into the learning experience. Learning does not sit outside and embraces the playfulness, wonder and complexities of life!
Contributed by Poorva Agarwal, Learning Facilitator
#sparklingmindzglobal
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#21stcenturylearning
#experientiallearning
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