After the analysis of student course evaluations at Green Valley Community College has shown an unfortunate trend of a slight decrease in dropout rates and students complaints referred mainly to the absence of technology in the classroom activities, the educators were involved into the profession development sessions for enhancing their awareness of the possible methods of incorporating technology into the curriculum.
The goal of this paper is to develop an interview design for analyzing and measuring the students’ opinions of the outcome of the chosen interventions, paying special attention to the structure and methods of gathering the information and evaluating it.
The choice of a qualitative research method is explained with the peculiarities of the research topic and the characteristics of the target respondents.
Along with the learning achievements which can be measured by analyzing the student course evaluations, the learners’ perception of the modified curriculum and their attitude towards the classroom activities have a significant impact on the students’ involvement, the effectiveness of the curriculum and the rate of student dropouts.
The measurement of the quantitative results would be insufficient for evaluating the effectiveness of the measures imposed by the administration for enhancing the professionalism of educators and incorporating technology into the classroom activities. Hancock & Algozzine (2006) noted that students often give preference to elaborated expressions of their concerns (p. 8).
An interview would not only provide the target respondents with an opportunity to express their opinions but also would enable the researchers to evaluate the results of the survey analyzing the responses critically.
The main difficulty of conducting an interview can be caused by the inability to access the individuals but is crucial for conducting interviews with busy officials and those who may have problems with allotting time to the participation in the survey.
Students can be easily accessed during or after their classes and as a rule are ready to answer the interview questions, pleased with the feeling of their involvement into their change-making processes and the importance of their opinion.
Along with the peculiarities of the research subject, the socio-psychological characteristics of students as the target respondents predetermine the choice of the qualitative research method of interview for evaluating and measuring their opini9on of the recent changes in curriculum.
It is important to consider the peculiarities of the respondents’ perception for structuring the interview in a proper way and enhancing its effectiveness. Seidman (2006) admitted that the interview structure should enable the participants of the survey to answer the questions within the context of their personal experience (p. 21).
Appealing to respondents’ feelings and emotions and generating their interest in the research subject instead of discussing some abstract issues, the interviewer motivates the interviewees to provide more detailed information and answer the posed questions more sincerely.
At the same time, it is preferable to start with a grand tour question which is helpful for gathering the general information concerning the respondents’ attitude towards the issue and directing the interviewer in the following research process (Lodico, Spaulding, & Voegtle, 2010, p. 126).
The first question of the interview should be aimed at gathering general information and detecting the level of respondent’s awareness in the sphere. For example: “What are some ways technology can enhance your learning in the classroom?”
Then it is possible to proceed to a more specific question for estimating the respondent’s experience and attitude to the issue: “Give examples of ways you think the instructor takes advantage of the technology available.” The proper formulation of the interview questions is crucial as well.
Thus, mentioning that the instructor takes advantages, the interviewer motivates respondent to look for the benefits in the context of their personal experience because the emphasis remains on “your learning”. After evaluating the level of learners’ awareness and their attitude to using technology, a researcher may narrow the theme of the interview, asking:
“What are the major advantages that you see in the use of technology in your course?” After discussing the use of technology in general, an interviewer may proceed to asking questions about a concrete course and a concrete educator. After answering the first questions, students indicated the framework and now can apply it to a particular case and examples, comparing and contrasting the theory and its practical application.
After discussing the potential benefits and particular advantages of the technology use, an interviewer may proceed to discussing the disadvantages: “What are the major disadvantages that you see in the use of technology in your course?”
The last question of the interview should end on a positive note: “What advice would you give to administrators who want to encourage the effective use of technology in the classroom?” this final question leaves hope for further improvement and filing the gaps as well as makes respondents believe in their involvement into the change making process and the significance of their opinions.
This structure will be also helpful for reducing the researchers’ bias concerning the results of the survey by gathering the general information and evaluating the students’ awareness in the issue before proceeding to more specific questions. It will be helpful for estimating the respondents’ motivation for giving these or those answers.
The research results can arm educators for enhancing their professionalism and translating the data into better learning outcome (Creswell, 2008, p. 4).
Considering the peculiarities of the research question and the psychological characteristics of the target respondents, a qualitative method of interview would be the most appropriate for measuring the effectiveness of the recent changes in the curriculum at Green Valley Community College.
Special emphasis should be paid to the design and procedures of the interview for motivating students to participate in it and minimizing the impact of the researchers’ bias.
Reference List
Creswell, J.W. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Hancock, D. R., & Algozzine, B. (2006). Doing case study research: A practical guide for beginning researchers. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Lodico, M. G., Spaulding, D. T., & Voegtle, K. H. (2010). Methods in educational research: from theory to practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Seidman, I. (2006). Interviewing as qualitative research: A Guide for researchers in education. New York, NY: Teachers College Columbia University.