English Language Arts · 12th Grade

Active learning ideas

Conducting an Ethnographic Interview

Active learning helps students grasp ethnographic interviewing because it moves them from abstract concepts to real practice. Talking through questions, conducting mock interviews, and analyzing transcripts builds both confidence and skill in collecting authentic stories.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7

• 20–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Question Audit

Partners swap their draft interview question sets and mark any questions that lead to yes/no answers. They revise together to make questions more open-ended, then share one before/after example with the class.

Design interview questions that elicit rich, descriptive responses.

Facilitation Tip

During the Think-Pair-Share, circulate and listen for students to move beyond yes/no questions toward prompts that invite deeper reflection.

What to look for

Students pair up and conduct a 5-minute practice interview using pre-designed questions. After the interview, the interviewer provides specific feedback to their partner on the clarity of their questions and their active listening skills, using a rubric.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Small Groups

Role Play: Interview Practice Run

Students conduct a 10-minute mock interview on a low-stakes topic such as a hobby or childhood memory. The interviewer focuses on active follow-up questions. A third student observes and tracks how often the interviewer redirects versus lets the interviewee lead.

Analyze the ethical considerations involved in conducting and reporting interviews.

Facilitation Tip

For the Role Play, set a timer so students practice staying within time limits while still allowing organic conversation to develop.

What to look for

Pose the following to the class: 'Imagine you interviewed someone about a deeply personal experience. What are two specific steps you would take to ensure their confidentiality and why are these steps important?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Ethical Scenarios

Post 5-6 printed cards around the room, each describing an ethical dilemma that could arise in ethnographic research. Groups rotate and annotate each card with how they would respond, then the class debriefs the most contested scenarios together.

Evaluate the challenges and benefits of ethnographic research for understanding cultural phenomena.

Facilitation Tip

In the Gallery Walk, ask students to jot down one insight per scenario about how their own ethical decisions might differ from the ones presented.

What to look for

Provide students with a short transcript excerpt from an ethnographic interview. Ask them to identify two examples of open-ended questions and one potential ethical consideration the interviewer might need to address.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Socratic Seminar
• 40 min · Whole Class

Socratic Seminar: Whose Story Is It?

After reading excerpts from published oral histories, students discuss who benefits from the research and what obligations the researcher has to the community being studied. Students prepare two discussion points in advance.

Design interview questions that elicit rich, descriptive responses.

What to look for

Students pair up and conduct a 5-minute practice interview using pre-designed questions. After the interview, the interviewer provides specific feedback to their partner on the clarity of their questions and their active listening skills, using a rubric.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model the interviewing process themselves first, showing how to pivot when a participant shares an unexpected but valuable story. Emphasize that the goal is not to control the interview but to create space for rich, detailed responses. Avoid rushing students through the process; reflection and revision are part of the learning.

Students will demonstrate their ability to craft open-ended questions, practice active listening, and consider ethical implications during interviews. Success looks like thoughtful participation in discussions and clear improvements in their interview techniques over time.

---

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Think-Pair-Share, watch for students who assume good interviewers only ask the questions they planned.

  Use the Question Audit to explicitly teach students how to recognize valuable detours and practice redirecting their focus when a participant shares something unexpected.

• During the Role Play, watch for students who believe longer answers always mean better data.

  After the practice run, have students compare transcript excerpts to identify which responses provided the most meaningful insights despite being brief.

• During the Gallery Walk, watch for students who think transcription is just typing what they hear.

  Use the Ethical Scenarios to discuss how transcription choices shape the reader’s understanding, then have students transcribe a short audio clip to practice representing tone and pauses.

---

Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share
• Role Play
• Gallery Walk
• Socratic Seminar