The Empathy Interview Method That Changed How I Teach and Coach

Empathy interviews show you how a student (or teacher) actually feels about the challenge in front of them. Run them one-on-one, or teach kids to interview each other. They sit at the center of design thinking.

Start with introductions. Each student shares their name plus the project they're working on or the problem they're stuck on. Then ask follow-ups:
➡️What successes have you found? Why did those work?
➡️What challenges came up, and what caused them?
➡️What are you proud of?
➡️What did you learn along the way?

Let kids tell stories. Give them time to pause and think before they answer.

Want to learn more? Street Data by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan describes equity-centered empathy interviews on pages 177 to 179 and in Appendix 8.1.

My Schoolutions podcast guest this week, Jason Blair, shows how he redesigns learning spaces based on what students say in these interviews.

Chapters
0:00 What empathy interviews are
0:15 Start with student introductions
0:27 Follow-up questions to ask
0:48 Street Data book resource
1:05 This week's podcast guest

#SchoolutionsPodcast #ForeverGettingBetter #TryitTuesday #5PracticesOfExpertTeachers #OliviaWahlCoachingConsulting #TeachingTips #TryItTuesday #EmpathyInterviews #DesignThinking #StudentEngagement #ClassroomBelonging #CulturallyResponsiveTeaching #EquityInEducation #TeachingTips #InstructionalCoaching #TeacherPD #StreetData

When teachers, coaches, administrators, and families grow together, schools change. Students get engaged, get support, and get the chance to thrive.