S574: Wishing

Since my project began as an interest I had in my family's history and questions I had in relation to the farming my grandpa did, I think it was a huge success.  I felt like there was so much to know about farming that it would be really difficult to address it through research, but I found that by breaking it up into the three major sections of equipment, crop and land, I was able to research it effectively using the 8W inquiry model.  I feel that one of this model's greatest strengths is that encourages inquiry issues to arise from personal issues rather than imposed assignments (Callison 54).  Personally, I loved all of the freedom I had in choosing my project.  I'm pretty sure I never would have been motivated enough to do all of this research on my own, so I am thrilled a class let me dedicate my time to it.  Another strong point of the project was incorporating so many different forms of technology into the process (post to come later listing all of them used).  It was neat to try out different websites to see what services they had to offer and evaluate what would be helpful to me.  The biggest surprise was the classroom plan I got to create-at the beginning of this project, I would never had anticipated that I would be using that.

The biggest weakness of the project I think is that I didn't do any first-hand observations on farms, other than recalling what I've learned over the years from visiting my grandpas farm.  Although I was able to talk to family and friend farmers, I did not go out to a farm, and I think that this would have given a whole new dimension to the project, not to mention give me another element of fun!  If I did it again, or for future further investigation, I would definitely like to go out to farms at various points throughout the season to see everything first hand and take notes and ask the farmers questions that I can't think of without seeing everything myself.  The biggest challenge I faced was when I began the research on the crops and land.  I had been planning on just using the books from the library, but I soon realized that I needed to consult online resources to get the up to date information necessary.

My inquiry experience was very similar to that of children and young adults in that I began not knowing anything, I very much felt the pressures of Kuhlthau's ISP model where I felt apprehensive and uncertain (Callison 40).  I think a lot of young researchers feel nervous about starting a big project.  No matter how interested they are in their topic, they will nevertheless feel that their efforts may not be enough or that it might require a lot of work that they won't be able to do well.  I also think that they will share my joy in the wrapping stage when they've finally completed the inquiry they have been working on for so long.  I think a major difference is that whereas I felt really comfortable in using the library for my research, they will probably feel more at ease using the internet for their primary information source.  Although I ended up using a lot of internet sources, I used them to fill in gaps my books couldn't answer, and I think the students would be exactly the opposite.  They will probably get frustrated as they realize that inquiry isn't just a series of steps they follow; they have to keep going back and filling in the holes and reevaluating where they want to go with everything.  I didn't get frustrated, but I can definitely understand students who feel this way.  Another difference is that I also don't think most students take the time to reflect on their project; I know I never did.  I think they finish the project, turn it and, and don't give it another thought.  However, I think that if it's a personal inquiry just for their own knowledge, they may reflect on it internally, and not even realize they are completing this wishing step.  I hope that as a librarian in an elementary school, I will be able to guide them through library resources so they feel comfortable enough so they can use the library and the internet with equal confidence and pull resources freely from both sources.

In using the 8W model, I have to determine if they completed the phases considering their age and the sophistication of the inquiry process (Callison 14).  Watching and wondering would be hard to determine on the outside, they would really be evident though in the later stages.  If the students hadn't been watching and wondering, their topics wouldn't be very well developed our very many options considered.  The webbing and wiggling I could watch as students worked in class and as I check their notes they bring in over the course of the research period.  They should be going back again and again to fill in their holes of the project, and that will also be evident in the final product.  A well-rounded project will not have a bunch of gaps in information and everything will have been looked into, rather than looked over.  The weaving stage I can see if they just took resources word for word and put them into a different format for the product, or if they used their minds to synthesize information and come to their own conclusions, using the research as the grounds for their answers, not the answers themselves.  Wrapping and waving will create a polished final product for me and the intended audience to see.  If the project effectively conveys the information to the audience and if the audience was able to understand and connect with the inquiry project, these stages will have been successful. The wishing stage would be hard to assess unless I have them write a journal entry about their experiences.  However, writing this journal will help them become better researchers in the future, so I think it would be time well spent.  And of course, I could follow the example of this class and have them keep a blog or journal throughout the whole process of their experience and progress through all the steps of the model (8W or any other model that fits our purposes).

It's great that I am able to take my findings beyond school:  "Student accomplishments have an impact that extends into the real world.  Students wrestle wtih situations and issues connecting their learning with larger public problems or with personal experiences" (Stripling 54).  I am SO happy with the findings my project gave me.  I feel a lot more connected to my family and much more knowledgeable about my surroundings, since they are mainly corn fields!