We developed sets of questions for students to use for interviews. Standard biographical questions are most often used by students, however we focused on WWII oriented questions. Biographical questions can be changed to delve into particular life experiences of the subject, and what their life is like. If a student has a new question for an interview, the members of the project collaborate and help think of other questions. The student brings his or her own questions to the group and everyone sits down and discusses them to come up with new ones. This develops new angles to responses for a good interview.
However, prepared questions can impede a good interview. Too often students feel they have to ask all the questions and focus on them without listening to the answers and following up with additional questions. We have measures to keep this from happening. We practice interviews whenever possible. We emphasize the pitfalls of relying too much on questions, instead of listening to the answers and asking more appropriate follow ups. By discussing how to do good interviews and getting student input, we create a dialogue that allows students to think about what they are doing.
Home | FCHS homepage | Interviewing | History of Floyd County | Pictures
Student interview | Transcribing | WWII Veteran Questions | Members | Sign up
Contact us | Interview Check List | Professional Principles | Links | Site Map