It's been about a week and a half since I've posted, which, I'm a bit embarrassed to say, is because it's been that long since I've done any work on the project. My life's been a bit hectic and I just haven't had time to focus on it until tonight. I feel like tonight is a point of transition for this project because I've moved from researching information to using my information to create a project; thererfore, I'm taking a bit of time to reflect on the process of my personal inquiry project.
When I first looked at the 8Ws model, I found it a bit confusing. Now that I am actually in the inquiry process I can see how it applies to what I've done and am currently doing. For me the Watching and Wondering aspects were internalized. I spent a good deal of time just thinking about what I was interested in knowing more about. At first, I seemed stuck on the idea that there wasn't really anything I was interested in investigating. Generally, when I come across something that piques my interest I will immediately go find the nearest encyclopedia, Internet terminal, or person of knowledge and find out what I want to know. I forced myself to dig a little deeper and consider those things in which I was interested. I thought about the important things in my life right now, what I'm focused on. A big thing for me was my recent move to Ft. Wayne for my husband's job. Since moving, I've had a desire to feel more connected to our new hometown. I chose to investigate the history and culture of Ft. Wayne in hopes of doing so.
Next came the Webbing aspect of inquiry. This actually turned out to be a lot of fun. I started with some Internet searches and then went to the public library to look at books. I was impressed with how many they had and I loved looking at the historical photographs. This was the point where I decided to do a PowerPoint for my project and incorporate pictures into it. (I know. This is getting into Wrapping. Sorry to jump ahead.) Then, it just so happened that The History Center here in Ft. Wayne was a part of Tourist in my own Hometown, which allows locals to go to local museums and such for free, so I went to The History Center, which was a great experience and resource.
The Wiggling, Weaving, and Wrapping aspects of the project are what I've been beginning to work through today - figuring out which information is most important, and how to organize and present it. I am still working through these phases, but it's interesting how much more clearly I can see them once I'm in them. I still think the steps in this model are a bit more confusing than some of the other models, such as I-Search with it's four basic steps, but I can see how this project is helping me to understand the 8Ws model better.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I thought about using a different model because the 8W's seemed so lenghty. I really liked the Pathways to Knowledge and started off using that, but found myself referring to the 8W's. It just seemed easy to follow for this project. Since we were supposed to incorporate those parts anyway, it just seemed like the way to go!
Post a Comment