Interview Format for EDU 542: How does Long Term Learning Happen

Interview two different people of two different ages (i.e., child, adult) and find out what they know about when they learned
something that is still in their long term memory. Some basic interview questions are listed below. Add others you might find
relevant as you go through the interview. Please provide confidentiality for interviewees and there should be nothing personal in
your questions.

Take extensive notes to share in class and submit in folder.

NO NAMES OR IDENTITY DISCLOSURE.

Interview One: Age: 57 Gender: Female

Your response notes should be comprehensive. No one line responses because this is intended to be an in depth
interview which brings out complexities in the learning process that would have implications for teaching and
learning and which guide you to understand more about learning.

1. What is something that you have you have learned in the past that you still know and understand today?
Describe the place and your age when you learned this information.

As a drama teacher and former performer, something that they learned was to always use their truth as a
performer. This person learned that at an early age, approximately around fifteen years old. They were in their
beginning drama class and the teacher asked them what truth meant to them, and then continued on to what
truth was for a performer on stage.

2. Describe the learning process and explain why you think you learned (remember) that information? For
example, if the learning took place in school what did the teacher do to help you learn?

The learning process for this was taking what the students know and flipping that on its ear. She remembers
thinking that in drama all you had to do was memorize your lines and then regurgitate them, and her teacher
changed everything about what she knew regarding acting. She remembers that they went over character
monologues in class and that she remembers thinking that just because she memorized the lines that she would
be fine, but once she got up to perform the monologue the teacher started asking her questions like “What
happened before the scene took place?” and “What if your character was feeling this?” and every time the
teacher asked a new question regarding her character she was opened up to new ideas.
She remembered in that moment that acting was much more than just saying words on the stage.

3. What particular study strategies did you use to learn this matter? Please describe any strategies or experiences
that might have helped you in this learning process. Do you find these strategies helpful in any other learning
situations?

Character development sheets were important, because it gives the character that she is working on more
depth and because of that it helps bring the character to life and gives the words that she is speaking truth.
Playing out scenes in character that have nothing to actually do with the play itself, just random scenes at a
grocery store in character, or situational improv that allows to create more depth. These strategies were
helpful to her because she was able to think outside the box. The lines on the page were much more than
 just lines on the page, and when you are dealing with work issues or family relationships the ability to
think outside the box allow things to not be so one dimensional. She stated that in a “weird way” in helps
allow for problem solving.

4. How did you know you were learning? Please provide evidence that told you that you were learning.

She was learning because she improved. She found herself stretching her ability to research the character, the
era the character lived in and grew up in, and the words stopped becoming words and became the actors truth.
The monologue that she was given at first was just read through memorization, but as the teacher continued to
talk about truth and she did research she was able to bring life to the words through inflection, emotion, body
language etc.

5. Would you consider learning this information hard or easy? Interesting? Explain or describe your learning
experience.

Learning the information is not hard or easy, but imperative. In order to perform you have to be the character
and you will never go anywhere as a performer if you do not learn this technique. She said that it takes work,
but it’s not a chore. She found this information very interesting because acting was a passion of hers and now
she was able to take that next step to actually performing. Her learning experience was fun and exciting, but
she also felt uneasy because all of this was new to her and it made her vulnerable as a performer.

6. What currently motivates you to work hard to learn something new?

She continues to learn today and is motivated to learn because it is a way to pass knowledge on to her
students. This allows her to keep up on what is current and keeps the students that she works with challenged
and motivated. Also, teaching the same old thing all the time becomes monotonous and very “one note” and
that doesn’t motivate her to be a better teacher.

7. Please explain how you remember new information today. Did your prior learning help you learn better today?

Chunking, where she puts things together in groups and how it would apply to different forms of teaching in
the classroom. So learning about new forms of lightning for the stage, and sound all go into a tech theater
compartment in her brain. Getting better performances and the new techniques that she is learning goes into
another folder in her brain, because it allows for patterns and she finds that her brain can store that information
easier. Due to the drama field always evolving the prior knowledge and teaching methods that she has used
previously do not help her learn better today. What might have worked for students ten years ago does not
work for students currently, so you have to adapt to their attention span.

8. Do you believe you are naturally smart or are you smart because you work hard? Provide examples/evidence
for your answer.
 No, she said she is not naturally smart. In order for her to be at a top level she had to work hard. While she is
thinking outside the box she finds that collaboration with other teachers bring more insight to her job. She
searches out knowledgeable teachers and works with them in order to gain more insight. She stated that there
are teachers and administration that seems to have all the answers or come up with a solution with little
resistance, and she wishes she could do that, but it has never been her strong suit.

9. What do you do to learn that is beyond or not required in school or work?

Read. She loves to read and that includes anything regarding drama techniques to plays. She knows that there
will never be an end solution to how to exactly perform, like math or science, but staying on top of the latest
techniques and outside the box thinking helps her continue her education. She also mentioned going to
seminars and meeting up with other drama teachers.

10. What would you like to tell educators about helping others learn?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. There are educators that will always know more and that’s not a bad thing,
instead use that to your advantage and pick their brain. Most teachers and admin are happy to share their
experiences with you. Another thing she mentioned was to never be the smartest person in the room, always be
around people who you can learn from by their example and lead.

RELFECTION PAPER

The interview that I conducted with the 57-year-old, female theater teacher brought me some interesting

insight into how she was able to grasp certain concepts. The interview was insightful, it was unassuming, and it

allowed me to have a clear view on what worked for her as a student and how she applies that same learning

technique to the students that she is currently working with. While I believe that there could be some tweaks when

it comes to the way she learned how to speak truth to performing, in my experience I do not believe much has

changed in the way someone learns that technique. The one thing that came to mind when I was interviewing her

was the word “Brave” which a student must be in order to be as vulnerable as the need to be to find their truth as a

performer. I believe that in order to get students to perform at their highest the must be able to understand the truth

of their character they portray, but before that they need to learn how to be brave, how to take chances, and create

that confidence to make that next step. When interviewee was explaining the way she was taught I believe that at

the time it was helpful, but I also believe that teaching students how to get to the point of truth is just as important.
 Based on the interview I conducted I believe that learning happens when students are allowed to

question. By asking the questions such as “who is your character?” and “what were the doing before

the scene?”, as well as having the students use those characters in scenes that have nothing to do with

the play or musical is very much Integrative Learning. By using the Integrative Model it allows the

students to make connections from their past experiences and bring that to the forefront of their

performing. This allows the student to consider multiple perspectives for their character, but also as the

interviewee stated, in life. Students working together on problem solving their character allows for a

growth mindset. The benefits of the integrative model are ten fold when it comes to acting because it

develops the students critical thinking and understanding the concept, it promotes the development of

critical thinking, students are able to see a “big picture of the organized body of knowledge” (Kilbane,

p. 13).

Another way this interview ties into the Integrative Model is that you can apply Revised Blooms

Taxonomy to what the interviewee was talking about. According to the book “Teaching Models” we

find that the students can apply the Integrative Model Phase directly to character development, use

Revised Blooms Taxonomy Cognitive Process Level, and utilize the sample questions to have a fuller

understanding of their ability to create a three-dimensional character. Revised Blooms Taxonomy

creates a cognitive framework for developing questions because the phases of the integrative model

require the students to examine the material on a continuum. The more the student’s question, the more

difficult and deeper the answers become, which challenges their cognitive process.

By challenging the students and by constantly asking them to dig deeper the teacher is creating

intrinsic motivation. The students will be driven by internal reward to become better performers, which

is naturally satisfying to a performer or generally any student. Due to this intrinsic motivation, the

student will carry that with them to the next performance, but also allow them to apply to other

subjects and levels of education. I believe that this also applies to the student in general, even if they

do not perform. If the teacher asks a question that not only interests the student, but gets their mind
working the possibilities of a growth mindset will take place. Mindful learning also plays a factor in

the Integrative Model because the learning becomes second nature, and it continues to be applied.

My experience with this would have to be when I was performing Improv. Even though the

performance is based on the thoughts that come from your brain and not a script, there are a lot of rules

to how one must perform improv. One of them is committing to the character no matter how awkward

that feels. If one does not commit to the character then the audience won’t believe it, there won’t be

any buy in to what I am performing. Once I was given the opportunity to learn how to commit to the

character, and I worked with other performers on it I was able to apply that, and my characters and

performances became more believable. When it comes to the greater understanding of learning, I

found that this rule applies to everything in life. If one does not commit fully to what they are pursuing

then no one will buy into it, no one will understand what you are trying to achieve. My responsibility

to commit fully to anything I do which then allows me achieve goals, set standards for myself, and

continuously grow so I never get stuck in one place.