Robert Noyce Evaluation Interview Protocol- Program Staff

SRI Noyce Evaluation
Interview Protocol- Program Staff

Noyce Interview Protocol
Program Staff

Introduction

00:00-00:05 (5 mins)
Introduce yourself [e.g., name, where you live, your professional role, role on the
project, etc.]
If you have not yet shared anything about the project with them:
• Let me also talk a little about why I’m here and what this project is about.
• SRI is evaluating the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). As
evaluators we’re talking to people involved in the program to better understand
how the program works. Through our conversations, we also want to understand
the impact the scholarship has had on your work and the broader field.
• Any questions about any of that?
You should have received a consent form. There are a few things we want to point out: 1)
this is voluntary, 2) this is confidential, and 3) with your consent we would like to record
to check our work. Give them time to review the consent form. Ask them if they have any
questions about the form.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to an
information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB number for this
project is 3145-XXXX. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to
average one hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden, to: NSF Reports Clearance Officer, 2415 Eisenhower Ave.,
Alexandria, VA 22314.
Ask them to confirm that it’s okay to audio record and, if they say yes, say you are
starting the audio recorder.

Background: Person, Campus, Project

00:05-00:15 (10 mins)
Let’s first start with a couple of questions about you and your Noyce-funded project.
1. Tell me about your role and your background (probe for origin of the grant).
2. Tell me a bit about your department and your campus (probe for
student demographics).
3. Describe briefly your Noyce-funded project (probe for goals, approaches,
strategies)
4. Tell me about some things that have been going well in the project so far.
5. Tell me about any challenges you have had and how you have been addressing
them.

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SRI Noyce Evaluation
Interview Protocol- Program Staff

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Network Connections & Interactions

00:15-00:25 (10 mins)
The next set of questions are about the most important people or
organizations you interact with in your work on this project.
6. When you need help or support with something related to your
work on the project, who are the main people you reach out to?
a. For each person they mention, prompt for:
i. What kind of help, support, resources, or
information they receive from that person
ii. How frequently they interact with that person
(e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, occasionally)
7. Could you tell me about any individuals and/or organizations
that you think are critical to this project (Can be same, others,
etc.).
b. For each person or organization they mention, prompt
for:
iii. Why they think the individuals and/or
organizations are critical
iv. What kind of help, support, resources, or
information the person/organization provides for
the project

Recruitment (if relevant to the project)

00:25-00:30 (5 mins)
Now, let's talk about participant recruitment.
8. Tell me about the project's approach to recruiting
participants.
a. What about this approach has worked well?
What, if anything, has been challenging?
b. What are the most common challenges? (Probe
for attitudes about teaching profession, etc.)
c. How have you addressed those challenges?

Additional
Prompts if Time
Allows
•

•

Do the people
and
organizations
you've
mentioned
provide what
you need to do
your work?
Why/Why not?

Additional Prompts if
Time Allows
•

•

What qualifications or
criteria do you have for
recruitment?
Are there specific goals
related to recruitment?
What are the goals, and
what's the background
of those goals?

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Interview Protocol- Program Staff

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Student-Centered Instruction (if relevant to the project)
00:30-00:35 (5 mins)
I’m also interested in the project's
approach to developing teachers'
knowledge of instruction informed by
understanding and being responsive to
individual students’ experiences and
needs.
9. Can you describe how your
project does this, as well as any
successes and challenges with
the approach?
10. What are the most common
challenges you've encountered?
11. How have you tried to address
those challenges?

Additional Prompts if Time Allows
•
•
•

•

What activities do program participants engage in
to build their knowledge of student-centered
instruction?
What strategies or activities have worked well to
develop teachers' knowledge of student-centered
instruction?
What resources or supports have been most
important to addressing those challenges, or
generally for successfully developing teachers'
knowledge of student-centered instruction?
Are there certain goals or objectives you think are
unique to the context you work in?
o How do you try to reach those goals?

Creating Opportunities & Leveraging Individual Skills and Experiences
00:35-00:40 (5 mins)
We're also interested to learn about any other
ways you think the project creates
opportunities and leverages the skills and
experiences different kinds of individuals
bring.
12. Are there any ways the project creates
opportunities and leverages individual
skills and experiences, other than
what you’ve already mentioned? Tell
me about those, including successes
and challenges.

Additional Prompts if Time Allows
•
•

•

What are the most common challenges?
o How have you tried to address those
challenges?
Are there specific project goals related to
creating opportunities and leveraging
individual skills and experiences?
o What have been the most important
project activities to reach those
goals?
What resources or supports have been most
important to addressing those challenges?

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SRI Noyce Evaluation
Interview Protocol- Program Staff

Retention (if relevant to the project)

00:40-00:45 (5 mins)
Now let's talk about the project's approach to
[scholar/teacher/master teacher] retention.
13. What challenges (if any) have you encountered
regarding retention of [scholar/teacher/master
teacher] in the Noyce scholarship program?
14. What approaches (if any) does the project take to
retain [scholars/teachers/master teachers] beyond
their period of commitment?
15. What resources or supports have been most
important to address those challenges?
16. One of the grant requirements is to have a process for
the repayment of the scholarship, stipend, or
fellowship if recipients do not fulfill their obligations.
a. Can you talk about the process the institution
has in place in case repayment is necessary?

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Additional Prompts if
Time Allows
•

•

•

What are the primary
reasons
[scholars/teachers/master
teachers] leave before the
end of their period of
commitment?
What approaches or
project components do
you think have been most
important for retaining
[scholars/teachers/master
teachers?]
What impacts on retention
have you seen or do you
expect to see from project
activities?

Capacity Building Grants (if relevant)

00:45-00:50 (5 mins)
We’re also trying to understand more about how capacity building grants benefit PIs and
your institution.
1. First, do you know if there was a Noyce capacity building grant before your current
Noyce award?
a. If no, go to next topic.
b. If yes:
i. Do you think the capacity building grant influenced your or your
project's capacity to address issues related to creating opportunities
& leveraging individual skills and experiences?
ii. In what ways?

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SRI Noyce Evaluation
Interview Protocol- Program Staff

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Institutionalization & Sustainability

00:50-01:00 (10 mins)
I'd like to hear your thoughts about ways in which this project may have contributed to the
institutionalization of teacher development work at [name of institution]. I'm also
interested in your thoughts about how the project may have contributed to the
sustainability of this work.
By institutionalization I mean the process by which practices, policies, or innovations
become an integral and permanent part of an institution's culture, operations, and
structure.
By sustainability I mean the capacity of programs, practices, or policies to be maintained
over the long term, ensuring they continue to deliver benefits and meet their goals.
2. First, how do you think the project has contributed to organizational or structural
changes at [name of inst.] when it comes to teacher development work (adjust
language based on the kind of program they run).
3. The next question is related to sustainability. How do you think the project has
contributed to the sustainability of [institution's] teacher development work (adjust
language based on the kind of program they run)?
4. Does your program or [name of institution] have any ways of measuring
sustainability? If yes:
a. How is it measured? What kinds of measures are used?

Wrapping Up

5. Those are all my questions. Is there anything you want to add about any of these
topics?

Thank you!

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