Wishing

Ithink the project went well. I enjoyed exploring something pertinent to me personally and to my career. That was by far the strongest part of the project, the real world aspect of it. I was able to gather data that came from an actual school district, and evaluate some of the changes that could be made for the better. I also have been able to suggest some changes that could lead our district in the right direction. Therefore, the fact that the inquiry included real world data, combined with my having a job that allows me to implement new ideas, has made this a valuable experience.

Probably the weakest part of the inquiry was just the need to narrow my ideas down to a small list. I found that I had so many ideas, it was hard to keep myself from getting carried away. However, I found that if I was going to go into the depth I wanted, it was important to not try to cover too many topics. I don't know that I would have done anything differently if given the opportunity, but for my topic, answers are not going to be found for a long time, so the inquiry will have to be extended for months or even years. Fortunately, since I am directly relating this project to my job, I will be able to continue this exploration.

My experience with inquiry was a good one, and I hope it is close to the experience learners have in their classrooms. I'm not positive this is the case though. Being that we were given the opportunity, I was able to let my project take me whereever it led. Looking back at my first posts, and then the most recent, it was obvious the focus of my inquiry changed as time went on. I don't know if students get the opportunity to alter assignments like this. I think that in many cases, a student is given an assignment and the teacher has an idea of how it should turn out. Even those assignments that are called inquiries still have an objective the teacher is trying to meet. So, I'm not sure that students get true inquiry opportunity in traditional classrooms. This assignment was valuable for me because it was true inquiry, but the objective of my learning was inquiry, not a specific content topic. Interesting thought.