Recently, we asked a team from High Tech High in San Diego to show our Campus Leaders how to conduct empathy interviews to learn more about student experiences. Click below to access the full video session and planning guide.
View full video by clicking this link to access the full video.Over the course of The Holdsworth Center’s 2-year Campus Leadership Program, principals and their teams tackle what’s called a problem of practice – a tough-to-solve challenge that’s centered around students, rooted in evidence and focused on making a positive difference for student learning and outcomes.
A critical part of the process is listening, especially to the people our Leaders are trying to help.
Successful companies know this. At Texas’ most beloved grocery store – H-E-B – the consumer insights division seeks constant feedback from customers through focus groups, surveys and data in order to constantly improve and tailor the shopping experience.
If we aspire to give students meaningful learning opportunities, shouldn’t we be asking them what they think?
At High Tech High in San Diego, this practice is baked into the school’s design through the use of empathy interviews. Teachers and administrators often interview students to glean insights that will help them solve specific challenges or get candid feedback on whether changes are working.
If we aspire to give students meaningful learning opportunities, shouldn’t we be asking them what they think?
Recently, we asked the team from High Tech High to show our Campus Leaders how to conduct empathy interviews through an online program session.
We are sharing the full video session and planning guide here in hopes that other educators will find it useful as well.
As you will see from the video – which includes a demonstration interview with a student – student perspectives are often refreshingly honest and profoundly insightful.
We recommend going through the session with a team. Over the course of 50 minutes, you and your team will learn about and plan an empathy interview, then pause to conduct a real interview. Once you’re done, you can return to the last section of the video to debrief what happened.
This is especially relevant for back-to-school. Whether remote or in-person, it feels as if we’re all coming back with more questions than answers. Taking the time to learn about students’ experiences during this unprecedented time is vitally important to meeting their needs and engaging them in meaningful learning.
As Dr. Ruth Simmons, Holdsworth board chair, said in a recent interview:
“Be prepared to listen to the stories they will come back with of things they have experienced or endured. And listen without judging. Listen without placating or patronizing. As human beings, what we’re trying to do is to understand what other people are experiencing. I don’t think you just happen upon it. I think it is something that you learn to do over time. The sooner you start practicing it, the better.”
