Wondering

Dr. Lamb tells us “Wondering focuses on brainstorming options, discussing ideas, identifying problems, and developing questions. According to Webster's dictionary wondering includes many different emotions including surprise, curiosity, and doubt. Brainstorming, discussing, and reflecting on questions, concerns, and ideas are all part of the wondering phase.”

(http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/wondering.htm)

As I further explore my topic, I think the first process for me is brainstorming a list of possible questions. Brainstorming will help me find a purpose, or focus, for my work.

What I Want to Know

First, I ask myself why I am working on this project—why has this topic, something I remembered from a newspaper article from 2005—stayed with me so long? What is my interest?

1. The article, which tells me that an Miami Indians once lived where my house now sits, invokes vivid pictures of a past life. I wonder if Miami children played under the branches of the ancient Chinquapin oak tree growing in my back yard. (Note: This is a gigantic tree. Here is a picture of a 150 year old chinquapin or chinkapin oak, as it is sometimes called. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chinkapin_oak_photo.jpg. Our tree is at least twice this size, and I suspect it is much, much older. See the picture below.)

2. I wonder how this land ended up becoming a subdivision. What happened to the settlement, and how long ago?

3. I wonder what sort of life the Miamis lived here, if indeed there was a settlement here.

4. Are there any pictures of that time, taken in this area? Where/how do I find them?

My Chinquapin Oak. This photo is taken from the top of a slight hill, and you are not able to see the bottom of the trunk. I wish I had some way of showing scale here, but it's difficult to get a picture of this tree. I may try to include a video of this in my final project as a way to show the Derbyshire area today.

What I Know

1. I know that there was a newspaper article written by Richard Ferguson in 2005, that tells me there was a settlement where my subdivision is located.

2. Mr. Ferguson says that the name of this settlement was Indian Suck (which seems like a very strange name, and the oddity of it on modern ears helped fuel my ongoing questioning), and this settlement had a population of 75 to 100.

3. This settlement was populated by one of the last remaining Miami clans.

4. This settlement had a ferry service across the Pechewa River, and a grist and saw mill were later built.

5. This settlement was later called Cromwell’s Mill, and was supposedly our county seat until David Foster donated land to that purpose that would later become Kokomo. (Which is also supposedly named after an Indian Chief.)

What I Want to Know

1. Can I verify the information provided by Mr. Ferguson in his article?

2. Where did he get his information?

3. How active were Miamis in forming this area? As I consider this, I consider broadening my research to include Miamis (and other Native American tribes that lived in Indiana?) and their history as related to Kokomo, at least. When I learn more, I might even want to consider their history as related to the State of Indiana.

4. Can I find any other local historians that can help me in this research?

5. Can I find historical maps showing the settlement or area?

6. Can I find pictures or drawings from that era? (I’d love to see pictures, for they would help me imagine those Miami children playing under the branches of my chinquapin oak tree.)

The Steps of Wondering in Graphical Form

To better understand the scope of what I am proposing, I used Inspiration to block out possible steps in the process.

It becomes very clear to me, in this format, that if I can’t verify the information from the original magazine article, then my project is in jeopardy. At that point, I would have to consider whether investigating only Miami history, local or statewide, is sufficient for me, for my original interest in this topic is based upon the fact that a Miami settlement was once located where I live.

Sandra Guild, as she contemplates the inquiry process says:

“The initial need for a solution to the problem is tested against (1) the perceived effort of the search, (2) its importance to the researcher, and (3) the researcher’s initial affect or emotional state (Stripling and Hughes-Hassell 2003, 143).”

This graphic makes very clear to me that effort of searching may play a role in this project, as well as, if I can’t verify the newspaper article’s info, the importance to the researcher.

Contemplating

Okay, now this topic seems truly terrifying. I fear that I will not find the information I desire by using easy-to-access sources. I fear I am dooming myself to spend endless hours in the library’s history and genealogy department pouring over stacks of dusty books and documents, looking for a clue. This isn’t really the course I want to pursue at this time, and I find myself wondering if I should change topics.

Yet. This is a topic that has stayed with me for 2 years. If I don’t investigate now—if I let fear drive me from it, will I ever investigate it? Probably not, I acknowledge. Carol Kuhlthau says students often make their decisions based on their predictions of the difficulty of the topic and likely success. She also says that it's probably most important that you select an area that you're enthusiastic about exploring.

So that’s what I’ll do. I have the newspaper article, and if I can even find one more fact to add to what I know, I will have achieved a measure of success, and will have satisfied myself that I at least tried to find out more. If I don’t do this now, I will still have that niggling curiosity in the back of my mind. In five years, I’ll have lost my newspaper article, I won’t even have a place to start.

As we are reminded in the Journal of Creative Behavior, “Question asking is sufficient in its own right. Indeed, this “wanting to know,” even though you may never find the answer is an attitude of curiosity and creativity (Nash and Torrence 1975).”

I may not find all the answers I am seeking, but I certainly do want to know.

Citations

Lamb, Annette. Inquiry: The 8Ws: Wondering.

http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/wondering.htm

Nash, W.R., and E. P. Torrance. “Creative reading and the questioning abilities of young children.” Journal of Creative Behavior, 1975 Vol. 8, p15.

(Note: The text of the Nash article is not found online, but the quote from this article is cited in an article by Vincent E. Ciardiello, titled "To Wander and Wonder: Pathways to literacy and inquiry through question-finding" and published in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Nov2003, Vol. 47 Issue 3, p228. I felt it more appropriate to cite the original source, primarily from the importance Ciardiello placed on the quote in context. The Ciardiello article is also quite good.)

To wander and wonder": Pathways to literacy and inquiry through question-finding,” and published in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Nov2003, Vol. 47 Issue 3, p228. I felt it more appropriate to cite the original source, primarily from the importance Ciardiello placed on the quote in context. The Ciardiello article is also quite good.)

Stripling, Barbara K., and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Curriculum Connections. Westport, CT; Libraries Unlimited, 2003.