Conduct empathy interviews as story-based conversations in comfortable, student-chosen settings¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The guide distinguishes the empathy interview from a regular interview through six conduct practices. Teachers should "Create a comfortable environment that is familiar and safe to the student", focus on "storytelling and having a conversation with your student rather than following a strict question and answer format", tolerate silence rather than filling it, balance notetaking with presence, note the student's body language, and track their own emotional reactions. Questions are written to invite stories, with probes such as "Can you tell me more about that?"

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• The student is given control over when and where the interview happens and can decline to participate; notes should be expanded within 24 hours while memory is fresh.

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• K-12 students being interviewed about their computing experiences

Target Learning Goals¶

• Eliciting honest stories about students' computer science and computational thinking experiences

Related Strategies¶

• Extend empathy interviews to students' caregivers for an additional perspective
• Close the empathy exercise by reflecting on surprises, systemic oppression, and short- and long-term design goals
• Five-step empathy interview exercise for teachers designing inclusive computing pathways
• Using Empathy Interviews for Family Engagement
• Conduct one-on-one empathy interviews with open-ended questions to uncover root causes of system challenges
• Use empathy interviews as a natural, informal conversation to uncover students' experiences, emotions, and unmet needs in mathematics learning

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Coenraad, M., Hodge, M., Ruiz, P., Mills, K., & Burke, Q. (2021). Empathy Interviews for Developing Inclusive Computing Pathways. Washington, D.C.: Center for Inclusive Innovation, Digital Promise. https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources/liberatory-design-cards