Possible interview questions

Some possible questions ahead of my interview with Sian this Tuesday. 

I'll begin the interviews - conducted in Skype text - by offering some introductory background:

First of all, thanks for agreeing to participate in an interview this morning. I anticipate that this might take around an hour. My approach will be to ask you a small number of questions, however I want to give you plenty of space to tell your story and describe your experiences of multimodal assessment. Can I check that this is fine with you and that you are happy with the nature of my research, included within the participant consent form?

Before we begin, I want to briefly talk about multimodality, simply because this is a contested term. The working definition I am using of multimodality is of a piece of work - an artefact - that simultaneously represents ideas across a range of modes, such as voice, words and image. An example of a multimodal artefact could be a video that uses a voice-over to accompany images or words on screen. For my research, I'm interested in  multimodality and assessment, and in particular the experiences of tutors on the MSc in E-Learning. If you're happy, we'll begin.

And then onto the questions:

Can you begin by telling me a little bit about how you are involved in assessment within the MSc in E-Learning?

When it comes to assessment, do you actively encourage students to represent their ideas multimodally?

Has the concept of multimodality informed or influenced your design of assessment within the MSc in E-learning?

In your experience, to what extent do students on the MSc in E-Learning exploit the potential of multimodality when it comes to assessment?

When a student submits a multimodal artefact for assessment, are there implications for you as a marker (that are specific to the fact that ideas are represented across a range of modes)?

Within the literature it is suggested that a shift towards multimodality prompts a need to rethink assessment criteria that were created with text-based 'essayistic' work in mind. How do you feel about this notion?

One of the characteristics commonly associated with non-traditional multimodal work is that they do not follow a traditional sequential manner - introduction-discussion-conclusion, for instance - and instead that the reader navigates her own way through the presented information? How does this match up with your experience of assessment on the MSc in E-Learning?

When confronted with an assignment where there isn't a clear pre-determined route through the work, can you tell me how you have approached this?

Across the literature it is suggested that students are able to draw on a growing range of technologies and modes to present their ideas. Based upon your experience on the MSc in E-Learning, do you feel that students have exploited the multimodal potential of the range of tools from which they might craft ideas?

In this final part of our interview, I would like to invite you to tell me what you think about two assignments that were submitted for the E-Learning and Digital Cultures course on the MSc in E-Learning, and are publicly available on the course website. I'm interested to hear, as a marker, how you feel about these two assignments as multimodal artefacts?

It is suggested within the literature that the ability of students to present ideas in new and innovative ways necessitates the need for tutors to be re-trained. How do you feel about this?

And then rounding up:

I think that's all that questions I would like to ask. Before we end however, is there anything that you would like to add about your experience or thoughts on multimodal assessment?

In which case thanks once again for taking time to speak with me today. If you would like to add anything after the interview, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Otherwise, good night and good luck.