Dayna M's Blog

I created a Google Spreadsheet to discuss key questions and  create a focus for my project.  I’ve listed a link to my spreadsheet below.  The final “meaningful and feasible” focus questions are listed at the bottom of the spreadsheet.  I derived these questions by going through a brainstorming process.  I start with “brainstorming buzzwords” that come to first come to mind; I then turned these brainstorming topics into questions I would like to have answered.  Next, I thought about plans and places I could go to in order to locate these answers.  I then identified problems that could arise as I attempted to answer these questions/make plans.  In light of the issues I came up with, I created obtainable topics for the time I have alloted; I turned these topics into questions.  Finally, I ordered my questions in the order I want to accomplish them to best facilitate my research and build upon the knowledge I learn at each question.  I then used these questions to synthesize a project focus.  See below!!

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AgrVZgfjg8AUdFI2RE9qTWpqQU5Cbm9mRE82eTh1eXc&hl=en

I have already come up with my idea for my S571 project, but I haven’t explained how I came to this idea.  Often times, the phrase we use to brainstorm is “thinking up ideas,” but I really like the thought of “watching for an idea” by considering the world around you as a foundation for brainstorming.  I especially connect with it because today in my Junior English class, I passed out “open minds” (pictures of a head) and had students write what thoughts, questions, and pictures thatcame to them while we read a non-fiction piece aloud in class.  In “Empowering Learning: Fostering Thinking Across the Curriculum,” author Violet Haruda notes that a student participates in inquiry as he “generates questions, poses problems, and demostrates desire to probe further” (Stripling 51).

I used a concept map in class to help students generate questions, so I thought I would use a concept map to explore my ideas for a topic as well.  It was really interesting to document my thoughts.  It really shows the process of inquiry in a detailed way.  I think it would be a great way to help students “cultivate thoughtful learning” (Stripling 43).  Here is a link to a concept map created on the site Giffy that describes how I selected a topic.

http://www.gliffy.com/publish/1811299/