Being a co-pilot!

I had a really great experience this afternoon when Clare Orlandi and I trialed out a pilot interview over Skype.

Clare started of by putting me at ease and asking me some very straightforward questions. She was very calm, relaxed and gave me time to say what I wanted without leaving big empty pauses. When we moved on to the more in depth questions I felt that her wording was really well thought-out so that, although some required me to think and then respond, I never felt reluctant to answer anything she asked, nor felt that I didn't understand the question. We chatted, laughed, agreed, shared stories and generally I had a really great experience. I never once felt stupid, wrong or that I didn't want to be honest with her.

At the end of the interview she asked if she could read back any notes she had taken so that there was no question I had been misinterpreted or would be misquoted. This recap also lead onto further discussion and Clare allowed time for me to add anything I wanted to.

As well as being a very interesting and thought-provoking set of questions (I really felt that verbalising helped me to reflect on my teaching in a way that perhaps I don't usually, i.e. I had to find a way to communicate it to Clare so I needed to put action/ experience into words, being the interviewee gave me a whole new perspective on how I might better present myself and my questions in any interviews I might undertake as part of my inquiry.

It was also really nice to meet Clare in (virtual) person and to be able to share thoughts  on the course and the current module.
I hope that Clare found the time as useful as I did and I really look forward to learning more about her inquiry.

S