Survey Design, and Me
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As a new educator, I recently organized my thoughts around a perplexing question, “Why don’t teachers ask more questions.” As I brainstormed and gave critical thought to my question, I realized that it was a wicked problem.
Blumenthal (2017) claimed “A wicked problem has innumerable causes, is tough to describe, and doesn’t have a right answer …” (p. 1).
Asking this question is crucial because it highlights the need for better channels to relay ideas to leadership and establish formal procedures for educators to contribute and innovate through academic planning, ultimately enhancing the educational environment.
My Experience With The Process of Survey Creation
After identifying the problem, I started the process of creating a survey. Initially excited, I realized my query about our district’s curriculum lacked direction. As I began creating my survey, I found my wicked problem seemed underdeveloped. I decided to reduce its ambiguity by clearly identifying the target audience of my survey, ensuring it was more focused and relevant.
As I completed the process, I noticed that there were several questions that seemed different in the content of the question but ultimately provided the same answer. With this, I either combined similar questions or discarded those that were most vague.
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My Survey Design Decisions
As I made my updates, something felt off. A sense of boredom crept in, and my excitement faded. The process became tedious, making me want to look away. This experience highlighted that online information collection depends significantly on visual, audible, and written elements. Without these, it becomes challenging to capture the viewer’s attention for more than 2 seconds or 280 characters. Consequently, I incorporated design options like images and audio to craft an appealing and engaging survey. I am pleased with the final result: a 10-question survey that takes 5 minutes to complete, and keeps the audience engaged throughout.
References
Blumenthal, H. (2017, March 14). Re: Wicked Thoughts. Digital Insider. https://diginsider.com/tag/wicked-problems-have-no-stopping-rule/
