Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions

This is a sample set of focus group questions designed for for use with
teachers. Similar, yet different, questions would be developed for
administrators, technology specialists, or other populations within a school.
The basic principle is that focus groups need to be focused. This means
creating unique questions to probe particular understandings of particular
role-alike groups.

To provide further context for these sample questions, here are the basic,
underlying, assumptions we make when creating and conducting focus groups...

The group will meet for 90 minutes. Timeframes (i.e., starting and ending)
will be strictly honored.

The group will contain no more than 12 and no fewer than 8 members.

Group members can be selected randomly or intentionally. Either way, the
selection method needs to be documented in the data analysis.

The goal for group composition is to find individuals who are
highly representative of the total (role-alike) population in the school or
district.

Never mix supervisors and the people they supervise in the same group. The
"power relationship" in a group must be as close to absolutely flat (i.e.,
peer) as possible. Likewise, avoid including individuals who might rein as
"experts" on any particular subject of group conversation. If everyone is an
"expert," that's ok...what you want to avoid is one person holding forth on a
subject to the detriment of the entire conversation.

Groups are conducted with two evaluators...one to ask the questions and
the other to record actual conversation and his/her observations of
group behavior.

Beyond the context, we always ask our evaluators to cover the following
points/topics with group members prior to starting the actual questions...

Good morning/afternoon!

Thank you for taking the time to meet with us. We will honor your time by
making sure that we wrap up in the next 90 minutes.

Does anyone mind if we tape record this for our records? We won’t share
the tapes with district administrators.

We are researchers under contract with the district to conduct an
evaluation of how technology impacts teachers and students in classrooms
across the district.

Our evaluation is formative and qualitative. This means that our primary
point is to gather information that helps the district fine-tune and improve
its ongoing efforts; and that the information we are collecting is by
design descriptive rather than numeric. We have a system for
quantifying qualitative information, but for now, we don’t need to be
concerned with counting things…we just want your words and your impressions.

All information we collect is confidential as to who provided it. For
example, we will not disclose who actually participated in this focus group
nor will our final report make any attributions for quotes. We hope this
encourages you (if you need encouragement) to speak freely.

Our evaluation will result in a written report by (give date). This report
will be delivered to the district technology coordinator (or whoever, per
prior agreement) and it is our understanding that s/he intends to share it
widely across the district.

Any questions before we start?

Be sure that everyone signs and completes the info on the sign-up
sheet.

We tend to break our questions into several thematic groups. These are:

Student Access
and Use
Teacher
Fluency
Teacher Vision and
Strategy
Teacher Access and
Professional Development

Student Access and Use Questions

1. Describe how your students typically use lab or classroom
computers.

Probe for -- writing,drawing, reading, e-mail/communication, skill
reinforcement, programs related to curriculum (simulations, topical
"adventures"), research (CD-ROM, Internet, other), games, "free
choice",presentation

2. What kinds of software is available for student use in the classroom or
lab?

Probe for: word processors, graphics packages, databases, spreadsheets,
simulations, e-mail, reference (CD-ROMs, dictionaries), Internet/WWW, science
probes, drill & practice, electronic books, presentation tools (timeline
maker, multimedia-maker ), Other

3. How do students typically use the computers…and why?

(i.e., probe for the reasons why they favor a particular pattern of use…e.g.,
"You can’t do anything with one computer.; each student needs to work
individually; class management issues; etc.)

individually

in pairs or small groups

as a whole class

4. Could you give me an estimate of the % of students who have access to a
computer at home?

5. We’re interested in your impressions of how the information technology
you have just described has impacted your students’ learning. Overall, how have
students been impacted by the use of technology in your school? (probe for
examples, evidence)

more motivated?

more engaged?

better cooperative learners?

more effective "reward" for completing work

more distracted

6. How do you evaluate your students in terms of their technology
use?

Special or specific assessments?

Nothing in addition to non-technology-specific assessments.

Other?

7. What does technology allow your students to do now — either physically
or intellectually — that would have been impossible (or at least more difficult)
before technology was widely available in your school?

(allow for the fact that they may not think that technology is
currently "widely available")
8. What changes could be made to
technology in your school which would allow your students to benefit more
from technology?

Probe for: Hardware, Placement, Software, Support, Policies, other…

Teacher Fluency Questions

9. Please describe how you most frequently make use of school
computers. We don’t want to know all of what you do…just what you most often
do.

(probe for uses directly related to instruction, administrative uses/record
keeping, personal productivity, etc.)

OK, that’s what you most frequently do. Now tell us some of the other
things…regardless of how often you might do them.

10. If not on your desk or in your classroom, where do you use computers
most often?

teacher's lounge

home

school computer lab

library/media center

11. Do you have access to a computer at home?

(yes or no answer)

12. How accessible are the classroom or lab computers to teachers
throughout the day?

available all day

available only during off-hours

available with sign up

13. What, if any, impact has the use of information technology had on your
teaching?

(probe for the following list w/o reading it)

more efficient

easier record keeping

more collaboration with peers/reduced isolation

more fun teaching?

changed role from expert to facilitator?

more creative/adventuresome with curriculum

more individualized instruction?

access to better resources

more

better parent contact?

Other_____________

14. In what ways has your professional practice (i.e., teaching) improved
through the use of technology?

(designed to be pretty open-ended. Allow for the fact that the
"improvement" may have been mostly negative)

15. What barriers have you encountered in trying to use technology in the
classroom?

too little time to learn

inadequate professional development

periods too short

finding software

Other_____________

Teacher Vision/Strategy Questions

16. How do you get your ideas for integrating technology in the
classroom?

17. What is the most interesting or intriguing use of technology in
education that you have ever heard about? It doesn’t matter to us whether you
can actually DO this yet…we just want to know what you find interesting.

Teacher Access and Professional Development Questions

18. What changes would you like to see made in your school with
regard to how technology is allocated or structured?

(Note that they may comment on both physical infrastructure as well as
support issues)

19. How often is technology staff development offered at your school
and/or in the district…and who is responsible for conducting this
training?

20. What barriers have you encountered in terms of getting the technology
training you want and/or need?

21. What has been the most useful use technology workshop you have
attended, and why?

22. Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Thank you for your time!

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Last
updated,March 2,
2001