Bradley Lewis
Oral History Interview
Student Reflection
I learned what it meant to make creative questions that engage the interviewee; however it became challenging at times to come up with multiple good questions. All in all I had loads of fun with the interview because I interviewed my mother, she gave some wonderful answers.
Content: What did you learn about the topic that you did not already know?
It is probably not the answer that was intended but I learned that recording a phone call with windows voice recorder is better quality then it probably should be.
The experience overall: In previous modules, you learned about oral history. You had the chance to gain an understanding of what oral history is and what it is designed to do. You read about interview tips and best practices. And, you had the opportunity to examine closely one audio and/or video oral history and evaluate it. How did actually conducting an oral history interview feel? Share your reactions:
It felt good, almost as if I was acting out the teachings of Frank Sesno, it felt like being a real journalist.
Inquiry Based Thinking: While this reflection assignment in particular emphasizes metacognitive thinking, the Oral History Interview Final project mainly requires Inquiry Based Thinking. Based on the definition of Inquiry Based thinking, discuss how you think this assignment meets (or not)this learning outcome.
Personally, I feel that this assignment hits the mark right on the ball.
DEFINITION: Inquiry Based Thinking – Students will formulate focused questions and hypotheses, evaluate existing knowledge, collect, and analyze data, and draw justifiable conclusions.
Suggestions for improvement: What recommendations do you have? If your instructor uses this assignment in future FYS sections, what changes would you recommend?
I feel a more fun and engaging way of doing this is to give students a scenario and have them write or present what they would do.
Finally, talk to a future FYS student about this project: What would you like to tell them about this assignment? What tips and/or advice would you offer a future FYS student as s/he begins examining oral histories and prepares to conduct one?
I feel the best tips would be, get the assignment done early, make sure to plan out how you intend to record, and make sure your questions are good.
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