Assignment Spotlight: Conducting Expert Interviews

I dedicate the first Tuesday of each month to sharing one engaging assignment for the Online classroom. This month I will be highlighting the Interview Assignment. An interview assignment can be a very fun and engaging way to deliver course content.

So what exactly is an Interview Assignment? In an Interview Assignment, the instructor (or other identified individual) interviews a guest or expert on a particular subject matter. The learners are then given an assignment based on the information shared in the interview. Some benefits of the interview assignment include:

• Compelling storytelling
• Providing different perspectives on a subject matter
• Including guest, expert speakers

This semester I decided to experiment with the Interview Assignment in my Health Policy course. I am happy to report that it was a huge success! Here is how it worked:

The course text that we use has multiple authors for the various chapters. It just so happened that I knew 2 of the authors professionally. I reached out to each of them explaining what I wanted to do and asked if they would be interested in being virtually interviewed for an upcoming class session. I provided them with questions I would be interested in asking and I even gave students extra credit for submitting a question to be asked during the interview in advance. I included those questions in the email as well. I sent the speakers a link to the interview tool (Zoom) and set up a date and time upon agreement.

Luckily both authors agreed to participate and we had very successful interview sessions. I shared the interviews with students and created 2 different assignments for each interview. For the first assignment, I asked:

• What are your thoughts and reflections on this interview?
• Were you surprised by anything you learned in the interview that was not in the chapter reading?
• Would you consider pursuing a role in public health? Why or why not?

For the second assignment, I created a Word Cloud (actually the system I used to host the video automatically generated the Word Cloud). I asked students to choose a word from the Word Cloud and review how it was discussed in the interview and then asked for their thoughts and reflections on the interview. If you're unfamiliar with Word Clouds, you can learn more about them HERE. 

Students really enjoyed this assignment and really enjoyed having the opportunity to pose questions to an author. Sometimes students fail to realize that the people they read about in textbooks are real people and often welcome the opportunity to share their story. 

For those who are subscribed to The Online Educator newsletter, you will receive a sample clip form this Interview Assignment this week in your inbox. Be on the look out for this!

Have you ever done an interview assignment before? Are you thinking about doing one for the first time? Share your thoughts, experiences and ideas in The Online Educator Facebook Group by clicking the link HERE. Also, as a treat don’t forget to GRAB YOUR FREE GUIDE to the 3 Secrets to Teaching Online Successfully.