Wishing. How did your project go? What were the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges of the project? Discuss what could be done differently with a similar investigation.
How are your personal inquiry experiences like and unlike those of the children and young adults who might come into your classroom, lab, or media center?
I am now reflecting on the final stage of Lamb's 8Ws, Wishing. In this stage, the learner reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of the project, what she wishes she could change, and what she might do differently in future inquiries.
This stage can be compared to the final stage of many other information inquiry models. For example:
* The Big 6 - In the final stage of "Evaluation," the learner considers whether the information problem was solved and what she has learned.
* The 5As - The final stage is "Assessing," which includes evaluation of both the end result and the process used to reach it.
* DIALOGUE - The final stage is "Evaluate." The learner evaluates both the project and the process and assesses both teaching and learning.
Overall, I think that this project went well. I had some problems with the time constraints, largely because my primary interview sources (my brother and fiance) are on a 3-hour time difference from me (making phonecalls difficult with work schedules) and have been so busy working out all the details themselves. I found that focusing an inquiry on their particular wedding (rather than Hindu weddings in general) was a little challenging, since I had to rely on them to find out what areas they were cutting before I could focus my research on the parts of the ceremony they were including. But once I got a basic description of the ceremony from them, I was able to determine what areas I should research further.
This project has also afforded me with some really neat opportunities. Since Dr. Lamb so kindly agreed to give me a few extra days to work (thank you!!!), I was able to travel to Chicago this past weekend to do some interviews in person. My brother and his fiance flew in to Chicago for the weekend from Los Angeles to introduce their parents and work through some wedding details in person. I was able to join them to interview Lakshmi and both of her parents in person, which was incredibly helpful in determining what information I had collected was the most valuable and what could be discarded.
My interest in this inquiry has also spurred me to take a more active role in their wedding ceremony. Lakshmi's mother, Nagamani, brought my infant son his very own kurta and beautiful bangle bracelets for my two daughters. Knowing of my interest in the ceremony, she purchased all of these items on her recent trip to India. My kids were thrilled with the gifts, and I loved getting to see some of the artifacts I have studied firsthand. Lakshmi and Nagamani also offered to get handmade saris for my two daughters and me to wear to the ceremony and include the three of us in the henna party the night before the ceremony. My husband, our children, and I will also get to be part of the baraat at the beginning of the ceremony. So this inquiry has opened doors for my children and me to get to participate in some really neat things!
The next time I do a project of this kind, I will make sure that I have easier access to any human sources. I'd also allow myself more time for research on the front end. With this project, I spent so much time deciding what to research that I cut into the research time itself.
I would definitely encourage my students (high school age) to conduct inquiries for themselves. I think this would be a great project to use in place of a traditional "report" or term paper. I am so much more excited about the knowledge that I have gained than I could ever be about an assigned topic! I think students would heartily agree with that statement if given the chance to inquire deeply into a subject that truly interested them.
While writing this blog and using online tools for notetaking took a great deal of time, I found them to be far more helpful than the traditional notecards. I feel like I learned a lot on many different fronts (personal, academic, and technological) through this project. I don't think I'll be able to truly assess my full learning until October 22, when I get to attend and participate in the wedding itself. Until then, I'm early looking forward to the vivaha mahoschavam!
Baker, Katie. Comparison of models. http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/bakermodel.pdf.
Callison, Daniel and Leslie Preddy. The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited, 2006.
Lamb, Annette. "5-As." Information Age Inquiry. https://oncourse.iu.edu/portal/site/FA11-IN-SLIS-S574-16409
Lamb, Anette. "DIALOGUE." Information Age Inquiry. https://oncourse.iu.edu/portal/site/FA11-IN-SLIS-S574-16409
Lamb, Annette. "Wishing." Information Age Inquiry. https://oncourse.iu.edu/portal/site/FA11-IN-SLIS-S574-16409
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