Comparing interviews and observations

We chose to start our work with observations in class. We selected two different subjects taught in class with two different groups. One hour approximately with each group gave us a four hour observation period divided in four different observation sessions. After four different observations we decided to exclude one observation in Norwegian class. This was due to the fact that the teacher was inexperienced and did not lead the class in work as the other teachers. It is therefore our belief that those observations would be of little value for us.

Some advantages of observation compared to interviews are that they allow us to watch what the students are doing instead of relying on what they say they are doing. We are more likely to discover the real use of OneNote in class. We will be able to truly understand the work with

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OneNote in the context of the classroom. Observing class will allow us to observe the unknown collaboration that goes on in class when working with OneNote.

By interviewing a group of students instead of one and one, the interviewees are more likely to contribute their views. The students may feel more at ease and spontaneous in a group situation especially if as in this context they are classmates. A group interviewer must balance a directive role with that of a moderator, which calls for managing the dynamics of the group being interviewed. It is important to both be loyal to the script of questions and the same time sensitive to the evolving patterns of group interaction (Frey & Fontana 1998).

There are seven stages of an interview inquiry that we will list here (Kvale, 2009):

Thematizing, to formulate the purpose of an investigation Designing, Planning the design of the study

Interviewing, conducting the interviews based on an interview guide Transcribing, Preparing the interview material for analysis

Analyzing, decide on the basis for the purpose and topic of the investigation Verifying, ascertain the validity, reliability and generalizability of the interview findings.

Reporting, communicate the findings of the study and the methods applied.

The initial stage was important as we there lay the foundation for our work. The topic we were interested in was the use of computers in school and how the practices in class change when new technology is introduced. We started out with this as our motive and used the 4 class observations to map out our work. The process was ongoing at the same time as the initial project at school. This was a condition for our case study too. At the same time it became apparent that we needed a leadership angle to our research. That is when we also included a taping of a meeting in the group for pedagogical guidelines. Here we hoped to see how the project had a firm holding in the leader group and how the principal planned to see to it that the project was successful.

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After the four observations in class we decided to do the two group interviews. By choosing group interviews we wanted to ease the tension the students might feel if they were interviews on their own. We also hope the interaction between the students would spark some new thoughts and ideas.

The main headlines in our interview guide were like this:

Can you describe a situation where you have learned something new?

Can you think about and describe a situation in school where you have learned a lot, or understood a new concept?

Use of auxiliary tools – what helps you understand?

Use of OneNote, books, collaborating how does your teacher help you?

a. Observation and interview timetable looks like this:

Table 4

Week Date Week day Time Class / subject class Group

Interview

11 15. 3 Monday 09-10 Science 1sta

14 7.4 Wednesday Norwegian 1sta

14 7.4 Wednesday Science 1std

15 8..4 Thursday Social science 1std

b. Explanatory guidelines

We wished to employ unstructured participatory field observation in our attempt to map out how students relate to the software and each other. Due to the fact that we are unsure as to exactly what we are going to find we wish to use unstructured observation, because this will allow us to map what is happening rather than what we thought would happen (Hauge, Lund,

& Vestad, 2007). An unstructured observation can be characterized by the following: its point of departure is that everything is interesting for the interviewer. The problem to be addressed is relatively open because in an unstructured observation the researcher wants to be able register as much information as possible within a given context, and not limit it to specific

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topics (Lund & Haugen, 2006, p. 170; Lund & Haugen, 2006). We have also decided in favour of participatory observation. This because we want to be able to ask the subject expand on what they are doing. If we were to be passive observers, this avenue would be closed to us (Vedeler, 2000). By choosing this method we hope to come up with a wealth of information that can help us answer our thesis question.

We also wanted to interview groups of students. This is because we were interested in knowing more about how the students think and reflect about their own actions in regards to the software that has been introduced. Since we knew that the formation of opinions and thought in the individual very often is dependent on cooperation with others, as well as dependent on the language used, we hoped we would gain a more accurate picture of how the students thought about the software and the uses of it if they had the opportunity to discuss benefits and drawbacks as a group. Focus interviews are often characterized as collective, dependent on relations within the group and the dynamics (Brandth, 1996). Morgan claims that ”focus groups are useful when it comes to investigating what participants think, but they excel at uncovering why participants think as they do” (Brandth, 1996, p. 147). Based on this we find that focus groups are a good way to explore what students think.

We also think that focus interviews help the participants put their experiences into perspective and create room for reflection. Since we plan to carry out these focus interviews on students at our own school, where we both work as leaders, it is also important to make the situation as unthreading to the students as possible. Focus group interview, where the participants to a certain extent can set the agenda themselves, will help ensure greater validity.