In the past, I don’t know that I’ve ever been given a free inquiry project. Typically, most projects I’ve been assigned have been guided, so this was very difficult for me.  Previously, I have researched with an end in mind.  Knowing the final expectation, it was easier to develop research questions and figure out how all of my information would fit into the final product WHILE I was researching.   I was able to dismiss information that did not or would not fit into my final product.  In doing this, I realize now that I probably missed out on a lot of information by dismissing things so quickly.  In these projects I was constantly thinking about the product instead of the the information I was aquiring.

I suppose that In my personal life I have embarked on many personal inquiries without the idea of a final product looming in the back of my mind.   In these personal inquiries, I have typically spent very little time in the watching and wondering stages.   In these personal situations, I think I would already have a topic, an issue or a question that I needed answered, so I don’t know that I would have reason to spend too much time in the watching stage, but I think in the future I will try to spend more time wondering before I jump into trying to locate information.  By doing this, hopefully it will allow me to think through my questions or problems and save time by not having to come back to this step after I start webbing and wiggling.

Though this project I have learned how to critical it is to pay attention to the experiences and skills of my students when designing inquiry activities.  Many students are frustrated with “simple, traditional” assignments.  I fear that dropping them straight into free inquiry may be too much for them.  For those that I see are too frustrated, I will need to address what tools they need to be successful and the build up from controlled, to guided, modeled and then hopefully to managing free inquiry.

I wish I hadn’t been so uptight about the freedom of this whole process and I wish I didn’t always have to think with the end in mind.  It made for a very uncomfortable and frustrating few weeks.

Strengths - Overall, I feel that my project when well.  I found the information that I set out to find and I am extremely satisfied with the list I developed because I’ve decided to visit locations I had never heard of, much less would have considered going to.    I have no idea when I will be able to take my trip, but after this I am anxious to figure out when I will go.  By utilizing the steps the 8W process,  I reserarched many more locations and analzyed much more information than I would have if I had just jumped into my normal research mode.

The biggest challenge of the project was determining which sources I should consider reliable.  The trip reviews sometimes had completely opposite information and of course, the attraction websites want your business, so it took a lot of reading to get a good idea of the overall opinions of the attraction.

I think the weakness of my project is that I did not yet determine how I will get to each location or the best methods for getting to each.  I think that in and of itself is another inquiry project of it’s own! With an investigation into this, I would need to step out of my “list and table” comfort zone and familiarize myself with with organizing information visually with models such as diagrams and maps.

Very much like a child or young adult, I went into this process with apprehension because I wanted more guidance with choosing and topic and later choosing a project.  Much like the students, I was frustrated and wasn’t sure which research questions to ask or how to organize or present my information.  VERY MUCH like students, I wanted someone to just TELL ME what to do and how to do it…then I’d be more than happy to do it.

However, UNLIKE students, I have quite a bit of experience researching, gathering information, choosing reliable sources.  The pressure of doing these as well as choosing the topic, research questions, and project could very well be overwhelming for many students.  For this reason, I would shy away from assigning free inquiry projects to inexperienced students.  I think this process has revealed how much I agree with Callison’s opinion that we must consider the experiences and skills of our students when considering inquiry activities.  We absolutly can not expect all students to be able work through free inquiry.  It should be a goal for our students, but we can’t simply set them loose on an free inquiry project.

I have also discovered why (according to Annette Lamb’s Virtual Inquiry website) lack of meaningfulness for students is a barrier to quality learning environments.  If these project were not personally meaningful to me, I would have been ready throw in the towel long ago.  The fact that this trip is real for me, something I will do, has encouraged me to press on.

Inoticed Dr. Lamb mentioned in her email that  the product can be personal in nature, so I decided a list of sites I still want to see, along with pertinent info would suffice for the product.  The product is a simple list/guide for me so that when the time comes for my trip, I have all of the necessary information to plan what I’d like to do and see and there will be little need for additional research.

I mulled over the question of if I should include my reasoning for choosing the attractions I chose, and also including why I chose certain parts of each attraction as “must see”  but again, if I am creating this list for me, and I’ve done the inquiry all on my own, I shouldn’t need to explain myself to myself!  Besides, if one considers my research questions, it is clear how I made my decisions.

Like I’ve mentioned, I really don’t feel the need to share this with too many other people.  I suppose I could post it on the web, but these are places I  haven’t yet experienced, so I don’t know that many people would want my opinion.

I’m sure I won’t be taking this trip alone, so I would definitely share my list with my travel companion(s) before planning the trip and would love to hear what they have to share.

Well, here it is, click the green link to find out what I FINALLY decided!

Final Project

Please share your thoughts…

Let’s just say that I am the butt of many jokes, all because I am a list-maker.  I mean a big time list maker.  I have lists for EVERYTHING!  It’s the best way for me to organize just about everything in my life.  Webs and maps just don’t do it for me.  For some reason, I need to see the information IN ORDER, in a line.  Charts work well when lists won’t get the job done, so I started with a list and as I’ve explored, I’ve been keeping a chart of the information I find relevant.   Information on my chart included possible attractions and then columns for each of my research questions.  Now that I have my chart completed, I will go back through and rank the attractions in numerical order with #1 being a MUST SEE.  Once I have the order in place, I will determine where my cut off will be.  Time and money will of course play a factor, so I need to revisit most sites and determine the cost of visiting each site ( I’m kicking myself for not doing this DURING my Webbing and Wiggling stages!)

I’ve been stressing out how to WRAP all of this information.  A travel itinerary with the insider tips I’ve discovered seems like the most logical way to package my findings.  After all the point of my project was to determine the places I will visit when I make the trip on my own. The information I’ve gathered is really not something that anyone else NEEDS to know about, I’ll be happy to share my itinerary with anyone who’s interested in my humble opinion, but will an itinerary be an acceptable submission for the project? 

Of Daniel Callison’s Five Elements of Information Inquiry (Questioning, Exploration, Assimilation, Inference  and Reflection)  The Exploration and Assimilation elements are by the far the most rewarding to me. I’ve enjoyed questioning, and seeking answers to my questions.  Absorbing the information is the element in which I have found that I feel as if I am “learning”  Having been to DC on 2 quick trips, I felt like I had an idea of which places I’d like to visit in more detail, however, through my research, I’ve found that some of that “knowledge” has been altered.  For example, I had driven past Washington National Cathedral and thought it looked interesting, but wasn’t all that excited about visiting.  However, after reading numerous reviews, it has moved to the top of my list of places to see.

Evaluating the content of the information I’ve gain has been somewhat difficult.  Each attraction’s website attempts to convice travels to visit their location, and The Blue Guide to DC is supposed to be THE source for information, but I wanted to know what “real” people thought.  Thus, my exploration of online reviews.  I’m surprised I haven’t gone cross-eyed from all the reading  of reviews I’ve done (I’ve found tripadvisor, www.tripadvisor.com, to be the most helpful) But which reviews do you trust when you don’t know a thing about the person writing the review?

My approach was to remain unbiased.  To seek answers to my questions.  For example, when reading reviews of Newseum, one reviewer complained about how fast-paced the museum was, so many things going on, so much moving around.  That was not what she wanted in her visit, but that’s exactly the type of thing I would like.  Also, the Washington monument, I’ve driven by it and thought I would like to actually stop, and tour the area, take a trip to the top.  After reading mostly great reviews, I’ve decided not to make that stop.  Reviewers raved about the view from top.  That, I’m not interested in so it’s been moved to the bottom of my list.

At this point, I feel as if I am in the 5th step of Carol Kuhlthau’s ISP known as collection.  I am growing more confident with the knowledge that I have gained, and as she predicts, I have an increasing interest in the information and my project.

I guess I should explain exactly what I’ve been wondering as I’m learning about the places I’d like to visit in DC.  Basically, my questions can be narrowed down to:

1. What does the attraction represent? 
2. What can I learn while I’m there?
3. What can I DO while’ I’m there? Is the attraction interactive?  I’m not one that likes to simply walk and look.  For example, art gallaries aren’t really my cup of tea.
4. Are there tours?  If so, are they guided?  Self-guided tours in some places are ok, but if there are tour guides providing interesting information I’d love to hear what they have to say.
5. How long does an average visit take?
6. Will there be huge crowds and/or long lines?  If so, I need to determine if the wait will be worth it.  I’m not the patient person I used to be!

While searching for information I have found that some unexpected sources have been quite helpful and those that I thought would be most reliable aren’t always. 

Let’s just say I can cross the Capital Children’s Museum off my list.  I visited thier website today and discovered that they are closed until 2012 for renovations.  The print sources I’ve been using, didn’t mention it, of course.  Although I’d love to see the newly renovated version, I’m not waiting until 2012 to take my trip. 

It’s funny that I’m always telling my students to avoid personal websites or information on the internet that was posted by the “average joe”, but I have found these to be the most useful to my research.  The National Park’s Service Website (http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/wash/index.htm)  has a sample travel itinerary loaded with information concerning the history of each attraction, tour information, etc.  it’s a website I would encourage my students to use.  I’ve been using such sites, but the various travel website message boards with personal experience info has been very helpful when narrowing down my list.  By reading these, I’m less fearful I am that I will be disappointed about my choices.   I’m not going to post the places that haven’t been cut yet, I might change my mind before my next post 

I haven’t done much posting lately, but in lieu of my issues accessing my blog (problem now solved!) I have been hard at work learning about what Washington, DC has to offer.  I’ve talked to numerous friends and family members who’ve taken the trip and have gotten some feedback from my classmates.  Most of the places I’ve been hearing about are places I’ve already briefly visited. It’s not that I don’t want to spend more time at these places, the problem is that I know there is much more to explore.  

I was lucky enough to find out how our tour guides in DC became tour guides.  It turns out one of the requirements is to pass a grueling test over the well known AND little known history, museums, monuments, attractions, routes, architecture…the whole sha-bang…of our nation’s capital.  How do they study?  A handy print resource, The Washington, DC Blue Guide.  Now THIS is what I had been waiting for.  After skimming the book and taking into account my own knowledge of what I’ve seen and heard, I realized I needed to make a few modifications to my original quest.  I have to be realistic!  My trip will more than likely be that of an extended weekend.  I won’t have the time to explore ALL of DC, I need to make some decisions.  Based on surface level information I’ve gathered, my MUST SEE AND DO IN DC list has been narrowed down to the following attractions :

• The Capital Children’s Museum
• The Supreme Court Building
• Folger Shakespeare Library
• LIbrary of Congress
• US Capital Building
• US Botanic Garden
• National Museum of American History
• The White House
• The Daughter’s of American Revolution Headquarters
• Bureau of Engraving and Printing
• Holocaust Museum
• FBI Building
• The National Archives
• Ford’s Theatre
• JFK Center of Performing Arts
• National Cathedral
• Mount Vernon
• Arlington National Cemetery
• Newseum
• Washington, Lincoln, FDR, Jefferson, Vietnam War, Korean War, World War II Monuments/Memorials

Let’s just say I think I have some more narrowing down to do.  I’ve experienced some of these places, but I don’t just want to see these places, but visit, tour, in a sense study each one.  I’m not going to have the time to fit all this in in one trip. 

To finish my webbing I’ll be searching for information about each of these attractions to see what each place has to offer and how in-depth the tours are so that I can determine which will make it on my final MUST SEE AND DO IN DC list.

By the way, those feelings that Kuhlthau refers to in the Information Search Process Model?   Yep, I’m feeling them!  While I do feel confident and ever-increasing interest in my topic, I do feel very overhelemed and anxious at times.  There is so much information out there and I fear that I may be disappointed in what I find if/when I eventually make it out there on my own.  How will I feel if I put all the time and effort into this and find that these places aren’t at all what I expected them to be?

Here I am nearly a week past the suggested date for posting my first blog.  Why?  I don’t know where to begin!  It’s not that I haven’t been thinking about this project.  I’ve been WATCHING…exploring my world, observing the world through my eyes, I’ve been reading the newspaper, watching the news, carrying on with my everyday life but the problem of choosing a topic- ANY TOPIC!!!  has been nagging me in the back of my mind.  I’ve discussed the project with a few colleagues, my friends, my family.  Why is it so hard to choose one?  I feel an immense amount of pressure, it makes me very nervous for some reason, on edge, all because I can pick from ANYTHING!  Then the issue of blogging…I’ve never done it, never desired to do so, so there’s some apprehension there to.  What exactly do I blog about?  How much information do I actually put on the blog?  Does anyone really want to read my rambling?!

Free Inquiry. Freedom.  You’d think I’d be thrilled.  This takes me back to my early school days, I had so much trouble choosing topics for papers, science fair projects, etc.  I just wanted the teacher to give me a topic, tell me how to get an A and I’d jump all over it.  Yep, I was one of “those” students.

So as I’ve been WONDERING, pondering this dilemma, I brainstormed a list of many possible topics… I’m currently coaching volleyball, so I considered inquiring about a conditioning program for my players, I’m always stressed about money (who’s not?) I keep telling myself I need to learn more about stocks, bonds, annuities, retirement planning, saving for my sons’ college educations (after I’m done paying for my own!), I considered learning more about Shakespeare, mythology, or exploring poetry…all of these I dismissed almost immediately, I just couldn’t bring myself to make a decision, I simply wasn’t all that excited about any of them.

Then it hit me.  I think I was just trying too hard.  It was a bulliten board at school, reminding students of an information meeting abouth the  8th grade Washington, DC trip. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?  For the past 2 years I have chaperoned this trip to Washington, DC.  We take about 250 students, load them onto charter buses, head east and set out for 4 days in our nation’s capital.  It’s an amazing, physically and emotionally exhausting  trip.  My first experience 2 years ago was my first trip ever to DC.  I took it all in, I was astounded. We tour non-stop, our itinerary moves us swiftly through Arlington National Cemetery, Ford’s Theatre, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Smithsonian Museums, FDR, Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, Mount Vernon, U.S. Capitol, WWII and Vietnam Memorials, the Washington Monument, the Library of Congress, and the list goes on and on!  We visit these places, and have gifted tour guides who provide insight and an unbelievable amount of information.  I thoroughly enjoyed it the first year, but I also knew there was no way I had taken in even half of the information about the places we visited.  So I went back a second time and was able to appreciate these places even more.  Now I realize there is so much more to see and learn beyond what we experience on these tours.  I’ll chaperone again this spring, and probably for numerous years to come, but I plan to go back return to DC one day WITHOUT 250 8th graders or a tour guide!  I want to further explore the places I’ve seen, experience the places I haven’t, and find places I didn’t even know existed, but I can’t wait until I get there to figure all of that out, I’ve got explore Washington DC and find out what it has to offer before I even get there so I can  make the most of the trip I hope to eventually take.

I’ve never tried this before so we’ll see how it works out!