Spreading the Word

One significant opportunity I had as part of my internship with DETE was the publication of two news articles in OIED's Diversity Digest. Prior to this internship, I had conducted interviews with faculty and students in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology (SocAnt), where I previously worked. However, those interviews were done with little oversight from anyone other than the Department Head who, generally, would give my writing the thumbs up and tell me to post it online. These two articles, published in October and November, were the first that I wrote as someone who was not well-established in the division but had been entrusted with the task of communicating our work. These were also the first news articles I'd written as someone expected to have a solid grasp on subject matter and present that to the reader.

I'd previously written an article, "As go the Tropics...," for SocAnt about a doctoral program alumna and gesture lecturer, Dr. Sandra Harding (Ph.D., Sociology, '94). Dr. Harding is Vice Chancellor and President of James Cook University in Australia and came to present on her work with State of the Tropics, a partnership of 12 research institutions examining life in the Tropics, mostly along "environmental, social and economic indicators." The subject matter was in alignment with my interest in the intersections of equity and the environment as well as networked learning organizations. But I didn't know anything about her research and did not attend the gathering of faculty and students where she spoke. These articles were very different.

The first article was about the new assessment model constructed by the Assessing Assessment summer working group. Fortunately, I didn't have to rely on my limited knowledge of the model alone. The process started with my first interviewee: Dr. Stephanie Helms Pickett, Associate Vice Provost in OIED. Stephanie and I sat for about an hour together. While I asked her six questions I'd crafted beforehand, it was a back-and-forth conversation. The interview was rich and illuminating, and I think we certainly constructed a deeper shared understanding of the model. I conducted three other interviews - one of which was a 2-for-1 (thanks, Marcela and Leah!), and each offered another layer of insight and understanding from the very people who'd constructed the model together.

After that came the transcription process, which was also a skill I had developed in SocAnt conducting faculty interviews (where I was only reporting verbatim what they said, not interpreting/shaping). And here's where I have to be honest:

Ok, fine: I accidentally deleted the other three interviews.

When I was in SocAnt I had a formal office recorder that I could use during these interviews. For this first article, I decided to use my phone. It was a brand new iPhone - I just knew the audio would be crisp and clear. And it was for the interview with Stephanie. But I'll never know for the other ones. You'll see in the article (Assessing Assessment) that others are quoted, and those quotes are credit to the additional notetaking I did during the interviews. I always have paper and pen during interviews - even if it's just a sheet of my questions and I scribble a good deal of notes and quotables as I listen to the interviewee. I was glad I had done that for these interviews, and was able to re-construct some of that initial clarity that began to emerge in the interview process.

The second article about my work on Dr. Byrd's Lunch and Learn was a breeze in comparison, and it actually sprung up on me after the fact when the OIED communication team asked Stephanie if there was going to be an article for that lunch and learn. Stephanie cc'd me, looping me in as a possibility to write it (surprise!). But this was my internship and I certainly did not mind writing the article, so I said I'd do it. Since it was after the fact, I didn't have a recording but I did also take copious notes as Dr. Byrd dropped gem after gem on us.

I'm glad I was able to have these experiences. Having them published and well-received felt affirming to me as a writer. More importantly, I think this assignment schooled me in the importance of technical skills and technology, the latter of which I'm focusing on here as a Competency Area. Deleting the 3 interviews was reckless and could have been avoided had I had taken a more professional approach with the recording device.