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Research Journal #1: The Beginner at Work

Turns out, just walking up to someone and recording the conversation you have with them might be difficult. Some people are very talkative and sharing--happy to have the opportunity to share a bit of their story with someone. Other people are less willing to share their story and don't give too much detail. 

The first mistake I saw myself doing was not explaining to people that I have questions picked out for them to answer. I mean, I don't mind if they answer their own questions but some people ended up sharing less than they could have if I had asked them my questions. I need to come up with a new, more confident approach on how I introduce myself and my project to complete strangers. The first person I talked to shared with me about her water conservation project, and a meeting she is having a month from now. I loved hearing about the details of her project, it was clearly something she couldn't stop thinking about so I was glad she got to talk about it to someone. I felt confident in my interviewing skills after I talked to her--but I got too cocky. The next person I interviewed was so stiff and wouldn't share much--he clearly wanted to be left alone so that interview was short. The next two people I interviewed didn't answer the questions I have written out--because I didn't tell them I have questions for them to answer already written out. They just started sharing what they were dealing with at the moment which was fine, but I didn't get as much detail as I would have liked. 

I've learned that I need to be more clear about what my project is about, and try not to bother someone who wants to be left alone. I've printed out the letter Cindy sent me so that people don't feel invaded. Hopefully, over the break, I will get more stories for my classroom. 

Comments

  1. Cindy the BlogessorMarch 19, 2018 at 1:00 PM

    This post has some great fodder for the Reflection section of your UGP. Look what you learned from this wobble?

    ReplyDelete

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