I just taught a course in the American University MSOD program called Implementing System Change.  It is the last course of a two-year program.  On the last day, I wanted to give the students some time to dive deeply into a reflection about their experience of the whole program.

My friend and colleague, Sue Woehrlin, who teaches at Antioch University Seattle, suggested using the Hero’s Journey as a framework. What a terrific idea!  I drafted questions using an adaptation of Joseph Campbell’s stages of the journey.

The interview guide got it’s inaugural run this weekend.  The students loved it!  And the quality of the group discussion told me that they had gone deep with each other.  I think it did its work to 1) help them prepare for their comp exam; and 2) support them in integrating their experience.

The guide is intended to be used in trios, with an interviewer, interviewee, and a note taker.  I had envisioned 1.5 hours — 30 minutes a person.  We ended up with about 20 minutes a person, which was a little skinny.

Rather than giving them the discussion guide — also in the attachment — to use in groups of 6, we moved from trios to the whole group.  So I used the discussion guide to shape prompting questions for the whole group discussion.

I’m sharing the interview guide because it could be adapted for the closure of any immersion experience.  Enjoy!