The Missouri Reader Vol. 36, Issue 1 | Page 30

independent thinkers. As educators, we must
examine our beliefs and re-examine Freire‘s
(1993) ideology of oppression and recognize that
we must teach our students to become thinkers
and participants in a world where we formerly
celebrated just the opposite as model student
behavior.
Some students had the freedom to choose
from any topic and the classes who needed
parameters were given the choice to choose a
career or job interest and the assignment was to
research educational and training requirements to
enter that field. The students were instructed to
present a research question prior to initiating the
research process. I resisted the temptation to
revise their questions when they were clearly too
broad and general. I reminded myself that a
meaningful part of the process would include the
students learning how to revise their questions
and the problems they would encounter if they
were too broad or general.

The Process
We spent the first day of the project
introducing the Inquiry Project, what it meant
and what the project would include such as the
research question, the research process, writing
the papers which included paraphrasing and the
final poster and presentation to the class. The
initial introduction included a brief introduction
to these concepts and components. Each
component would be covered in more detail later
in the project. When the students learned they
would be choosing their research topics I noticed
an excited hum of voices as they began to discuss
their choices. I allowed the first class period of
the project to include time to decide their topics
and realized for many the freedom to choose

required time and thought as they attempted to
decide on the ―perfect‖ topic.

The Research Question
The excitement the students exhibited
regarding the freedom of choosing the research
topic was evidenced by the chatter in the room.
Some needed more limitations so parameters
were set to assist them in making decisions.
Others leapt into the process with questions that
varied from ―How gum was invented‖ to ―Where
the first purse was invented.‖ Once presented
with career and employment parameters, the
remaining classes quickly completed their
research questions. I was pleasantly surprised at
the diversity of topics even when given the
limited focus such as careers. They ranged from
―How to Become a Translator‖ to ―How to
Become a Pro Skater.‖

My Concerns
I am always surprised at how manageable these
projects can be after I relax. I started the
assignment reminding myself that it would not be
a quiet project and that learning sounds different
at times. Learning is not always indicated by
silence and order, in fact, often not. As my
students became engaged in the research, they
became more excited and I heard, ―Miss, Miss,
come here and look at this!‖ I moved around the
room and was amazed that almost 100% of the
students were on task, by themselves, without
my inspecting and re-directing. Once again, I
was reminded what an enemy boredom is in a
classroom.

Their Concerns
Students were learning and more than just
about their chosen topics. They asked questions
©The Missouri Reader, 36 (1) p. 30