College Composition and Research
Interview Essay: Global Collaboration
Student Engagement in Global Collaboration
College Composition and Research students recently wrote feature-style interview essays as a part of the dual credit English curriculum. Students utilized Skype and Google Hangout to engage in global collaboration with four interviewees. Students were responsible for researching each interviewee prior to the scheduled interview, creating interview questions, taking collaborative notes during the live interviews, and structuring productive interview sessions. Students then organized their notes and chose one interviewee as the subject of their feature story/interview essay.
Skyping around the Globe: Bringing the World into our Classroom
Cole and Elizabeth Donelson: "The Switchback Kids"
Students Skyped with Cole and Elizabeth Donelson from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Brecksville, Ohio. The Donelsons, known as The Switchback Kids, are documenting their year-long adventure of visiting all 59 National Parks in one year.
Bob Wimer: "Singing under the Overpass"
Students Skyped with Bob Wimer, philanthropist and animal activist about his "Singing under the Overpass" project. Wimer's year-long project emphasizes the importance of animal welfare and community involvement.
Todd Bradshaw: Legends in Concert
Students Skyped with Todd Bradshaw, a professional singer, about his journey from a Northwest Missouri State University graduate with a degree in geology to his professional singing career. Bradshaw currently performs as Kenny Chesney for Legends in Concert worldwide.
Detective Brent Taney: KCPD Homicide
Students connected with Kansas City Police Department Homicide Detective Brent Taney through a Google Hangout. Taney is a veteran detective who leads the KCPD in murder investigations, crime scene analysis, and suspect interrogations.
Students Engaged in Collaboration during Interviews
Students engaged in collaborative documentation and note taking during the live interviews. This photo shows students working on Chromebooks. Students were collaborating with other students on a Google Doc to acquire the needed information from the interview for their upcoming interview essays/feature stories.
Collaborative Notes: Google Docs
This is one example of students working in groups on one collaborative Google Doc. Students organized their own note-taking strategies and divided roles during the interview.
Students in Action
Students organized roles during the interview. The short clip below gives you a glimpse of the students during the interview. Students at the front table were the speakers during the interview. They organized the interview questions that were created by students in the class. The speakers were also responsible for engaging with the interviewee. Other students were engaged in taking notes on collaborative docs.
College Composition and Research Interview with Detective Taney
Student Essays: Front Page News
After the interview process, student chose one interviewee as the focus of their interview essay, which ultimately became a feature story. Students utilized a recursive writing process through Writer's Workshop to develop and publish final drafts.
Dr. Jill Watkins
Email: jwatkins@chillicotheschools.org
Website: www.DrWatkinsCHS.com
Location: 2801 Hornet Road, Chillicothe, MO, United States
Phone: 660-646-0700
Twitter: @DrWatkinsCHS