1. Step One
Set the stage
The 30 million word gap! By age four,
children in lower-income families
($44,700/year for a family of four) have
been exposed to 30 million fewer
words during conversations and
interactions with their caretakers than
those from high-income families.
Step Two
Describe the challenge
The challenge is to design ways for
Sesame Workshop to address the 30
million word gap, helping more kids
reach their highest potential.
Step Three
Why do you care about the
challenge?
I think it’s important that all children
have equitable opportunities to learn,
because I went to a magnet high
school and I felt like my classmates
were more skilled in reading, writing
and speaking than I was.
Step Four
Who would you like to design for?
I would like to design for preschool
teachers working with children who
they feel are struggling in the area of
language development.
Step Five
How is the person you described
affected by the challenge?
Preschool teachers work with children
between the ages of four and five and
help prepare them for kindergarten.
Step Six
Checking Assumptions
What assumptions do I have about the
problem space, challenge, and person
I’m designing for?
1.
2.
3.
Setting the Stage

2. Step One
Write three questions about the
problem space that you would like to
learn more about during the interview:
1.
2.
3.
Step Four
Re-write your three questions about
the problem space:
1.
2.
3.
Step Two
Write three questions about the
challenge that you would like to learn
more about from the perspective of
your interviewee?
1.
2.
3.
Step Five
Re-write your three questions about
the challenge:
1.
2.
3.
Preparing for Interviewes
Step Three
Discussion Questions
1. What purpose does each
question serve?
2. What are some assumptions
underlying each question?
3. How do these questions elicit
emotion?

3. Step One
Role Play
Practice interviewing a member of your
team using the questions on the
previous page. Each member of the
team will take on the role of
interviewer, interviewee, and observer
till each person has had the
opportunity to interview and be
interviewed.
Step Three
Thoughts and Comments
As a team reflect on each interview
using the following phrases:
“I like”
“I wonder”
“I heard”
“I learned”
Step Two
Reflect
What words and phrases stood out to
you in the interview?
Draw a journey map of the significant moments from your interview
Reflecting on the Interview Questions