Questionnaire for coaches

Dear Coaches,

SchoolNet Africa is trying to ascertain the potential of ThinkQuest in Africa for the development of quality students. They have commissioned me to research the learning possibilities from participating in ThinkQuest in the Pan African context. I am working for them as an independent researcher, but am also in the School of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. We have devised the questionnaire from an analysis of some of the websites, narratives by coaches and queries we have.

Thank you very much,

Irene Broekmann

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Please tell us a little about yourself, and how you got involved with ThinkQuest as a coach.
Forming the team
How did you find out about ThinkQuest initially? What was the initiative for your involvement in the ThinkQuest International Challenge? How did you feel when you first got involved?
From what stage of team formation were you involved?
How useful was ThinkQuest for finding teams and coaches?
The research process and site design
How did the team decide on the topic and what was your involvement in this?
How was the research process decided and implemented?
How were the site and its parts designed?
How were individuals allocated tasks? How were these tasks integrated?


What ethical issues were considered and how were these ethical issues addressed?
Over what time period was the site developed?
What considerations were given to the ongoing maintenance and development of the site?
Technical resources
What technical resources were available to your team members? How easily could these be accessed?
If the group was diverse, how did you deal with the diversity? Please comment on all types of diversity, including technical.
Aspects of coaching?
Please comment on your own involvement with the following:
a) creating text
b) proofing
c) uploading graphics
d) page layouts
e) programming
f) testing
g) managing time?
What was your role with respect to:
a) criticism
b) support
c) encouragement
d) project management
e) group management?
What characteristics do you think coaches need?
What were the biggest challenges for the participants?
What sort of boundaries were there in your role as coach? Were these stated or assumed?
How demanding was the coaching? If demanding, was it worth it? Please explain why.
Who else helped with the building of the site, and what was the nature of their help?
Learning experiences
In your opinion what were the most significant experiences for your students through their participation in ThinkQuest?
What new skills, attitudes or values, and knowledge do you believe your learners gained through their participation in ThinkQuest that they could not have gained in other forms of learning, or could not have learned to the same degree?
Have you changed the way you teach or work through your participation in ThinkQuest?
Equity, justice and awareness
What effect do you believe your learners’ involvement in ThinkQuest had on issues concerning:
a) culture
b) language
c) gender
d) resources
e) disability
f) contribution to local content - and putting Africa on the Net
g) digital divides
h) ownership
Training
What sort of training did you have for coaching?
What would have helped you that you would like to see as part of the training or support in the future?
What support did you have from ThinkQuest or your national ThinkQuest partner?
General
Please comment on the claim that many young people have said that participating in ThinkQuest has been the most significant learning experience of their lives.
Please comment on ThinkQuest’s vision of "Creating, exploring and promoting the Internet style of learning for young people and educators worldwide"
Do you think that ThinkQuest can help with development in Africa? Perhaps comment from your own experiences.
How do you think we could encourage

a) more coaches
b) more learners to participate?
What barriers could be removed so that ThinkQuest could reach more learners in Africa?
Would you change anything in the competition and why?