The Missouri Reader Vol. 36, Issue 1 | Page 33

and time- consuming issue I provided students
with manila folders and a location for each class
period to store information in the classroom since
most of the homework would entail finding
additional resources or re-writing when they had
reached that stage.

Quick Review on Structuring
Most of the students needed a quick review on
the structure of research papers such as
introduction purposes and conclusion rules.
Most understood the supporting paragraphs fairly
well, but experienced difficulty getting started
with the introduction. For most however, a
quick oral discussion of their topic and what they
wanted to convey assisted in getting them
started. For others, I demonstrated
brainstorming and talked them through an
introduction as I created one which seemed to
help. They felt comfortable with the narrative
form of the I-Search and the discussion nature of
the format. It seemed less formal and foreign to
them than a formal research paper.

What to do with the information
Surprisingly enough, outlines seemed to
completely baffle the students so I dropped that
until another time. It became obvious that would
need to become a lesson at a later date. Instead
of outlines, I demonstrated using their cards and
I-charts to position the placement of information
in their papers. This actually worked well for
most of them as it provided a great visual aid in
constructing their paper. It would also serve to
remind them of what they may want to use on
their presentation posters later. Using thi s
method allowed the students to easily manipulate
the material instead of writing and erasing and
marking through as in initial rough drafts.

The Results
The Inquiry Project was a smash hit with the
students and the groans and moans turned to
questions of, ―Are we going to work on our
projects today?‖ and ―When can we do this
again?‖ The learning that occurred was
multifaceted and multimodal which consisted of
discussion, text, learning from the other
students‘ presentations and products. The
discussions that evolved from the project created
learning spaces that were constructed by the
students‘ interests and excitement. The length of
the project could have lasted longer had I
included lessons on outlining and proofreading;
however, I think it may have detracted from the
excitement of the research project and that was a
risk I was unwilling to take. In the future, I
believe I will start with lessons on those subjects
before starting the Inquiry Project.

Surprises
I was surprised at the level of commitment and
engagement by the students, including those I
normally have difficulty keeping on task for more
than 15 minutes. I was also surprised that almost
100% of the students did not hesitate when it
came time to present their projects to the class.
This included students who usually were very
hesitant to speak in front of the class or during
class. I believe the explanation lies in the
students‘ comfort with the topics and the length
of time they had devoted to becoming experts on
the subjects. This increased their feelings of
comfort in the presentation process. I also
believe their excitement regarding having
received the freedom to choose the topics
contributed greatly to their willingness to present
the information.

©The Missouri Reader, 36 (1) p. 33