English Language Arts · 12th Grade

Active learning ideas

The Art of the Interview

Interviewing is a complex, real-time communication skill that demands both structure and adaptability. Active learning works here because students must practice designing questions, listening deeply, and reflecting on bias in the moment, not after the fact. These activities move students beyond passive note-taking into authentic, responsive communication that mirrors real-world demands.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.3

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Open vs. Closed Question Workshop

Students receive ten interview questions on a common topic, five open-ended and five closed. Working individually, they sort them and rewrite each closed question as an open one. Pairs compare rewrites and discuss what makes some rewritten versions more effective, then the debrief identifies the structural features of questions that invite complex responses.

How do open ended questions elicit more complex and nuanced responses?

Facilitation Tip

During the Think-Pair-Share, circulate with a timer and stop students after 3 minutes to call on pairs to share one rephrased question aloud, ensuring everyone practices verbalizing their thinking.

What to look for

Students pair up and conduct a 5-minute mock interview on a pre-assigned topic. After the interview, students exchange their written questions and provide feedback to their partner: 'Identify two open-ended questions that worked well and explain why. Suggest one closed-ended question that could be rephrased to be more open-ended.'

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

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: Live Interview and Observation Protocol

One student interviews a partner for three minutes on a structured topic while a third partner observes using a checklist covering eye contact, follow-up questions, and moments of active versus passive listening. Roles rotate. The debrief focuses on specific moments where the interviewer followed the script versus adapted to what they heard.

What is the relationship between active listening and effective follow up questioning?

Facilitation Tip

In the Live Interview Simulation, assign observers specific roles: one tracks question types, one notes listening behaviors, and one records interviewer assumptions to guide debrief conversation.

What to look for

Present students with a short, edited transcript of an interview where interviewer bias is evident. Ask: 'What specific phrases or questions reveal the interviewer's bias? How might these biases have shaped the interviewee's responses? What could the interviewer have done differently to maintain neutrality?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Expert Panel
• 35 min · Small Groups

Collaborative Analysis: Bias Audit of Interview Excerpts

Groups receive two interview transcripts on the same topic, one from a clearly positioned interviewer and one that maintains more open inquiry. Groups identify specific questions or follow-ups that reveal the interviewer's framing assumptions and discuss how those choices affected the narrative produced.

How does the interviewer's bias affect the narrative produced by the interviewee?

Facilitation Tip

For the Bias Audit, provide a short checklist of bias indicators so students have concrete language to name what they observe in transcripts and interviews.

What to look for

Provide students with a brief scenario describing an interview situation. Ask them to write two follow-up questions they would ask based on a hypothetical interviewee's initial response. For example: 'The interviewee states, 'That was a challenging project.' What are two probing follow-up questions you would ask?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach interviewing by making the invisible visible. Use live simulations so students experience firsthand how their questions and body language shape responses. Avoid over-scripting; instead, build students’ confidence in improvising follow-ups. Research shows that structured reflection after real-time practice cements learning better than pre-teaching alone. Keep activities short and iterative, so students can try, reflect, and adjust quickly.

Successful learning looks like students who can articulate why an open question elicits richer responses, who adjust their follow-up questions based on a speaker’s answers, and who recognize how their own assumptions shape an interviewee’s replies. Mastery shows in their ability to conduct interviews that feel natural, not scripted, and in their reflections that name specific biases and their effects.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Think-Pair-Share: Open vs. Closed Question Workshop, watch for students who treat their prepared list as a script and do not rephrase or abandon questions based on partner responses.

  In the Pair phase, instruct students to cross out or revise two questions from their list after hearing their partner’s first answer, then generate one new question based on what was said. This forces active listening and adaptability.

• During Simulation: Live Interview and Observation Protocol, watch for students who believe neutrality means removing all personality or follow-up from the interview.

  In the debrief, have observers share specific moments when the interviewer’s tone or follow-up shaped the interviewee’s response. Ask students to name one assumption they held before the interview and how it may have influenced a question or interpretation.

• During Collaborative Analysis: Bias Audit of Interview Excerpts, watch for students who think asking more questions automatically leads to better interviews.

  In the audit, highlight a transcript excerpt where five questions yielded shallow answers, then ask students to rephrase two of those questions to be open-ended and predict how the interviewee’s responses might change.

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share
• Simulation Game
• Expert Panel