Watching

Exploring

In order to begin this project, we need an idea we would like to explore. Dr. Lamb, when explaining this portion of the inquiry process, says:

"The world is a fascinating place. However we often get so caught up in our daily routine that we don't look outside and explore the rest of the world. Enjoy viewing, listening, and reading about what's happening in the world around you. Take time to appreciate the information around you. Stop and smell the flowers!

Spend time with nature. Visit a museum. Browse a book or video store. Be sure to listen, read, view, and enjoy."
(http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/watching.htm)

I'm not sure how it is for everyone else, but I am a tourist by nature...even in someplace like my own back yard. I am constantly asking questions, and usually have a curiousity of the day. Like why does that particular hummingbird come and look in the window at me when I look out? She seems as curious about me as I am about her. Why do the hornets, wasps, and butterflies like my sedum autumn joy (a fall-blooming plant) so much, while they ignore the flowers blooming around it? Can people be born with personalities that naturally make them "dog-people" or "cat-people?" (I'm a dog person, but my daughter is a cat person.) How do birds and animals sense the coming of winter? For the birds start flocking and animals start hording food long before the weather gets cool and the leaves start to fall. (It was in the upper 80's yesterday, yet I saw a flock of grackles and a flock of geese, all on the move.)

So for me, choosing something to explore for this project is a matter of making a choice between a number of lovely ideas. However, one idea in particular has been niggling at the back of my brain for over 2 years now, and I think this is the perfect time to explore it. I think I have been waiting for such an opportunity, in fact. Two years ago, I read an article in our local paper that declared that my subdivision was once the location of a Miami Indian settlement. Is this true, and can I find out more about this settlement? I have remembered that article, and have a copy of it in my own personal vertical file. Now it is time to look into this further.

Reading

Pulling out the article from my personal file, I re-read it. This is an article published in the Kokomo Tribune, written by a history re-enactor named Richard Ferguson. I immediately go to the Kokomo Tribune website (http://www.kokomotribune.com) to look through their online archive for more articles by Richard Ferguson...maybe he followed up the article, and I missed it. I don't find any, but when I keyword search for "Kokomo history," I get sidetracked by an article stating that the Tipton County Courthouse is one of the oldest in the state. (It was built in 1894 is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.) Another article tells me about the Old Settlers festival in Dephi, which is held outside the Carroll County Courthouse in late summer, and celebrates the lives and history of the area's settlers. I vow to attend this one day. After much searching, I find no other articles by Richard Ferguson, history re-enactor, even though there are a number of other Rich and Richard Fergusons who have written articles. The article I have will have to be the place where I start.

Contemplating

I've chosen a topic, at least I think I have. Now, I start asking myself questions about how I would pursue this. Here are my thoughts:

1. What more do I expect to learn about the settlement mentioned in the newspaper?

2. How do I find more information on this topic?

3. Do I want to limit my explorations to just the settlement, or do I want to expand this topic so I learn more about the Miami Indians and their lives in Indiana?

4. What sort of format can I most readily present what I learn?

As I consider these things, I am immediately struck by the fact that, all at once, this seems a daunting task. The article is 2 years old, I don't know how to find the author, I don't know any history of this area, and I don't know where to find it. I think about exploring "dog-people" and "cat-people," but take a deep breath and make myself stick with the settlement topic. In relation to the inquiry process, these feeling, apparently, are to be expected.

Dr. Lamb tells us "Carol Kuhlthau (1994) has found that these kinds of feelings are normal. She notes that it's important that teachers and media specialists acknowledge these frustrations, feelings, and experiences as a normal part of the inquiry process."
(http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/watching.htm)

Kathleen Metz confirms Kuhlthau's observation, and further investigates how uncertainty affected the inquiry methods of 4th and 5th grade students when investiagating a science topic. She found that children can usually identify uncertainty in their topic, and often have ways of moving forward in spite of it. Metz says of the children "Their conceptualizations of the grounds of the uncertainty and strategic ways to change their study conveyed understanding of challenges in the knowledge-building process well beyond ignorance, misinformation, or deceit. (Metz 2004, 283)"

If 4th and 5th grade students can do it, so can I. (Note: This is a very good article, complete with case studies, drawings, and student comments.)

Citations

Lamb, Annette. Inquiry: The 8Ws, Watching.
http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/watching.htm

Metz, Kathleen E. "Children's Understanding of Scientific Inquiry: Their Conceptualization of Uncertainty in Investigations of Their Own Design." Congnition and Instruction, 2004, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p219.