Beth's Bahama Breezes

My journey leads to my product and beyond…

Living It Up on the High Seas

Personal Connection: Now that I have, for the first time in my life, worked through a research inquiry somewhat systematically, I realize I didn’t have a personal approach before doing this.  My BID (books, internet, database)acronym was not an approach to inquiry but was merely an approach to gathering materials, which is only one skill in the broad spectrum of inquiry.  I really like the 8ws approach because the alliteration is easy for me to remember each step.  I suppose I tend to cross over to other models, such as Carol Kulthau’s ISP model (Callison and Preddy 40)or  the I-Search (Callison and Preddy 63).  However, the one that will really stick in my head is the 8w approach.  I also really like the idea of generating questions and then going back and rethinking those questions and generating more.  Now I truly ‘get’ that research is a multi-step process in which students do not intuitively have the know-how to maneuver.  Educators must teach them the steps so that they may succeed with any task or notion of inquiry.

I’m not quite ready to wave my Power Point, but I can’t help but find myself entering the wishing phase.  I wish I had jumped into my Power Point earlier than I did.  It’s pretty rudimentary.  –As it turns out, it takes me longer to create a Power Point than it does to write a paper.  Or maybe it’s just the process of deciding what’s truly important.  Oh, I still have some time to pretty it up, but my back needs time to recuperate.  I’m currently in a bad bout of muscle spasms, and the old computer is currently not being a friend to my back.  Adding to the sobering reflection is the realization that I did not meet all of the requirements of the PBL checklist I created for my Power Point. 

I’m listening to myself and thinking I sound like a slacker.  Slacker–it’s what I’ve sometimes thought in the past when students have turned in products that needed developing.  And the last thing a teacher wants to hear is an excuse.  But Dr. Lamb has pointed out that part of the value of this inquiry project is forcing us to put ourselves into our students’ shoes.  What I mean by that is, I’m not a slacker.  I’m a mother, wife, English teacher who graded tons of papers this week, and a grad. student.  I’ve worked on this inquiry seemingly every free moment, and my product still seems inadequate.   As a result, I realize some of those student excuses might be valid.  Today’s teenagers are often busy with work, and some even have the responsibility of taking care of siblings.  I now feel like I’ve walked a mile in their moccasins, and that can’t be a bad thing.

Other wishes include wanting to have the time to research our port destinations to truly make sure we make the most of our short time there. –And a recurring wish is that I had  the skills to create products on the computer quickly and efficiently.  On the other hand, I wish I had not flipped through internet sites so quickly when doing my initial inquiry about cruises.  Doing so only makes me disorganized and feel bombarded with all of the information available.  I needed to take time to evaluate the sources.  So I went back and evaluated the internet sites in terms of timeliness (currency), validity, authority, and accuracy.  My book sources and database sources were also chosen according to these factors, with an extra focus on timeliness. 

 All of this reflecting is important.  It encourage  me to take stock of my strengths and weaknesses and determine what I would do differently next time.  I agree with Barbara Stripling when she states that learners must be  both active and reflective (Stripling and Hughes-Hassell 30).  Reflection also helps me determine my own comprehension of my inquiry, another skill Stripling values as essential in any investigation (Stripling and Hughes-Hassell 27). 

Another Curriculum Connection:  Overall, I’m proud of the effort I’ve put into this blog and to making the best decision for my family.  By choosing the cruise, I completed the ‘do’ part of the I-Search model.  I also feel comfortable with the information I’ve found about cruises and their impact on the environment.  The ships have made great strides with accountability of water pollution over the past five years, and I acknowledge that any travel will leave a carbon imprint.  Cruises, at least, have to adhere to guidelines that many forms of land travel do not.  –Perhaps I will be compelled to stay home more often than not in future years. How humans wish to protect the environment in the future may further affect the cruise industry, so I guess this represents another question my inquiry has presented in this ever-evolving process.

 This task of relating my inquiry to a global perspective falls into AASL benchmark 2.3.2, under the 2.3 responsibilities standard: “Consider diverse and global perspectives in drawing conclusions” (Standards 14).   

Through it all, I’m excited that this inquiry journey will lead to another journey in March that will enable me to spend quality time with my family.  –And that is always a great thing!

As I’m working on my Power Point, I realize it’s time to post my technology requirement checklist.  In my blog and during the inquiry process, I used five technology tools.

1.  Concept Map–Besides a chart from eduplace, I used the Gliffy chart to narrow down the final similarities and differences between Carnival Liberty and NCL Pearl.  (See previous blog.)

2. Web-based Tool– As an assessment tool, I’m using a Power Point project checklist that the Power Based Learning site at 4teachers helped me create.

Power Point Checklist

3.  Social Bookmarks–I learned about Delicious.com last semester and am a big fan, due to how easy it is to use.

Social Bookmarking Link

At my site, I have bookmarks for internet sites and web tools that helped me with my project.

4.  Electronic Materials Tool– As I previously blogged about, I made use of two experts at Allexperts.com to help give me guidance about cruising and the guidelines needed to follow to curb its impact on the environment.

5.  Productivity Tool–I’m using Microsoft Power Point for my final product.

Time to wrap it up and think about a bon voyage in March!

Before I enter the wrapping phase of Dr. Lamb’s 8ws, I realize I have some wondering to do.  Realizing that inquiry is a recursive process, I’m finding myself returning to my original questions several times, crossing some out, and adding others, such as, “What do I still want to know?” or “What do I do with this information?” (Callison and Preddy 226).

For example, I’ve listed out my original questions and crossed out the ones I did not follow up on or consider important enough to follow up on after my inquiry began to take shape.

• How environmentally friendly are cruises? 

How has the economy affected the cruise industry? 

 The H1N1 fear? 

• How are the employees treated? 

 Are all cruises the same?

Who likes to take cruises? 

Who might be interested?  

•  What can I do on a cruise?   
• Where do cruises go?  

When is the best time leave for a cruise?  

•  Why should I go on a cruise?  

 How has the economy affected cruising? 

• How do cruises affect the environment? 
• How will I react when I find this information? 
•  Is this system part of a larger system? 

Is there a smaller system?  What would happen if one part of this system broke down? 

• Is there a threat to the health, integrity, and functioning of the system?  What do I already know?   

Some new questions: 

What do I still want to know? 

Will I get tired of cruising?

Will I feel personally responsible for the happiness and satisfaction of my family’s cruise experience (more so than usual) since I picked the cruise?

 These last questions I will address in the wishing part of my inquiry.    The others should be addressed in my Power Point. 

As I begin to wrap up my findings, I’m asking myself questions such as, “Now what?”  Will the Power Point be the best way to present it? (Yes. Because of my topics,  I think it’s important to incorporate visuals instead of just simply writing a paper or letter.  Cruising is visual, so to ignore visuals would be to go against the spirit of travel.)  Who would be interested in this information?  –I would think families with small children would be interested.  So I could share this file with friends, family members, classmates, and any interested individuals.  At the very least, I’ve used this information for a personal reason:  I’ve planned a vacation for the first time in my life!  As you can see from the photo, the winner is…

Carnival Liberty!

Leaving out of Port of Miami at 4pm, it will sail for seven nights, with port destinations of Cozumel, Mexico (plenty of bottled water all around); Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica!  Our shore excusions include petting sting rays and lots of sun, sand, and fun.  Next stops: waving and some wishing!  –And, oh yeah, some works cited entries.

All righty, I’m making some headway now.  I’m weaving around, making a Gliffy comparison chart.  Although not perfectly symmetrical, it helped me think through the fun features of the two ships, now that I’ve narrowed it down to Carnival Liberty or NCL Pearl.  My link to the charts requires a Gliffy account, so I’m also going to post a screen shot, albeit probably hard to read.  (By the way, the blogging feature doesn’t work for WordPress, according to Gliffy. )

 http://www.gliffy.com/gliffy/#d=1821138&t=Cruise_Ship_Comparisons

...taking stock of the fun features NCL Pearl and Carnival Liberty have to offer

Today, the two books about cruises I’ve ordered came from Amazon.com  in the mail.  I’m excited about reading the ratings of these two ships, details about the ports of call these two ships have to offer, as well learn about the wacky adventures that await many of the crew members.   

Amazon.com has saved me on many occasions.  When books are not in local libraries, and there isn’t time for ILL, I’m amazed at how fast used books can get here.  This knowledge, rather than freaking out, is another factor that separates me from novice informational scientists. 

Children may not know where to turn when they enter the confusion/doubt stage, as I alluded to earlier.  For example, when I was feeling particularly stressed about this assignment, I e-mailed Dr. Lamb, who made me feel at ease and reassure me I was on the right track. 

Novice students might stop at the ‘freaking out’ stage.  I took stock of the support system in my arsenol– my husband, Dr. Lamb, Amazon.com, helpful internet sites, database articles, etc.–and trudged onward.  As school media specialists and teachers, we need to teach students where they can turn to when they reach that much-dreaded stage.  We also need to teach them that this stage, as explained in Carl Kulthau’s ISP model, is perfectly natural (Callison and Preddy 41). 

Besides the ‘weaving’ stage, one of Dr. Lamb’s 8ws, I also realize I’m in the ‘tranforming’ stage of REACTS, the Stripling and Pitts model.  After evaluating my cruise options, I’m “[...]drawing conclusions and creating a personal perspective based on information obtained”.  In addition, I’m starting to ‘synthesize’, the last step in the REACTS model, since I’ve come up with solutions for some of my problems (Callison and Preddy 44). 

I need to venture away from blogging and read some helpful cruising tips.  I love this narrowing down of my options to only two possible cruises.  It makes me feel as if I have some kind of control in my life. 

 I’m now entering the webbing stage of the inquiry process.  (Initially, I liked the ‘do’ part of the I-Search model, but I now feel more confident in focusing on the 8 ws.)  As I mentioned in the last post, I’m still feeling overwhelmed and adrift, but webbing is helping me connect my thoughts that seem to be coming at me from all over, like sensory overload.  I agree with Callison and Preddy that, “Visual organizers can convey the core of the essential or critical message that student researchers are expected to uncover” (459).

What I mean by that is, the other night, feeling at a loss for where to start with my research, I printed out a chart from the graphic organizers at eduplace.  This chart helped me visualize a plan for rating cruises for this spring break.  Starting with eight, I’m going to narrow down my cruise options to one or two and then research those one or two cruise lines and ships. 

Another chart/graphic organizer that helped me came from the bargraph data at surveymonkey.  (I then made a graph as an Excel spreadsheet.  The result is at the bottom of my screen, and my self-perceived lack of tech skills in this area cost me four hours of my Saturday night.  Next time, I’ll create one at Gliffy and see if it will post more clearly than this did.  I love screen shots, but I just couldn’t get them to work on this blog.  )  Over twenty of forty people responded to my online survey.  When asked, “What would keep you from booking a cruise sometime in the next year?”, nearly all respondents cited finances/economy.  Surprisingly, no one listed global warming/carbon imprint as a reason. surveymonkey link to my account

 (Chart is at the bottom of this blog. The finances/economy response is the highest bar, on the left-hand side. )

This finding helped me to narrow down some of my earlier questions.  I plan on taking the suggestion of a fellow blogger and incorporate money-saving tips into my research.  As for personal knowledge, when I narrow down my choice to one or two, I plan to research the ship to make sure that particular cruise line is doing all it can to be ‘green/eco-friendly’. As I have discussed with my expert, finances are definitely an issue.   

So far, my husband has been a great aid, as he has suggested Yahoo as my search engine, rather than Google, my tried and true friend.  He is my resident cruise searching expert and has been happy with the sites provided to get at information quickly.  At Yahoo, I found smartcruise.com to be a big help with narrowing down my findings. 

This whole process of explaining as I’m researching reminds me of having a student teacher.  –It’s awkward to have to stop at each step and explain what I’m doing.  But this proces is forcing me to be cerebral and think outside the box.  For instance, my personal inquiry approach has generally been BID (books, internet, databases).  How’s that for an acronym?    This process has worked for me in the past, but it may not work for all students.  They probably need graphic organizers as a means to generate questions and organize their thoughts, which will provide them tools that 4X6 notecards cannot.   Come to think of it, I need graphic organizers, too!

Exploring a primary source, like my online survey, has been fun and encouraged me to streamline my questions.  I’m now ready to dive into 8ws and leave BID alone for awhile. 

 I can truly see how students shift from one emotional phase to the next.  Earlier this day, I was feeling good about my progress.  I had received responses to my online survey I had sent to friends, family, and colleagues.  So, excited, I shared the results with my husband, whether he was interested or not, much like the characteristic of a student truly immersed in free inquiry (Blue Book 100). 

This excitement soon turned to a feeling of being overwhelmed, as I discovered I have probably generated too many questions, there are no books at local libraries, and all of my non-primary sources will be from databases and the Internet.  Sure, I know there will probably be tons of research out there.  The brief feeling of elation turned into the exhibiting of qualities of the ’novice’ as he approaches ‘information inquiry’ tasks.  I found myself asking, “How many resources?  Where are they?” (Blue Book 13). It’s just that nagging, small shadow of doubt that entered my mind, just as it must enter nearly all researchers’.   So I suppose Carol Kulthau would tell me my feelings of confusion and doubt are not unusual.  These feelings sometimes surface as part of the ‘exploring information’ phase in her Information Search Process (ISP)  model (Callison and Preddy 40).

 I need a concrete plan to latch onto.   Do I stick with I-Search the whole way?  The 8Ws?  May I switch back and forth?  I just hope not to float out to sea, all adrift.  I’m finding that it’s time to use the ‘webbing’ aspect of Dr. Lamb’s model and get organized with a chart of various ships’ various attributes (Blue Book 54).

My family--cold but in awe in Alaska

I’m definitely moving from the ‘watching’ phase into the ‘wondering ‘ phase of my inquiry and have chosen cruises for my project.  For my heuristics, I’ve developed questions based on three models:  both 5Ws and H and Dr. Lamb’s chart for three questions are part of week 2 ’wondering’ step lecture, and the ThinkTank question generator helped me, as well. 

 I agree with the inquiry research that shows that ‘self talk’ is a great motivator as discussed in Curriculum Connections (143). (‘Self talk’ is also one the terms in the  keywords list as part of this course and also discussed in the June 1998 issue of School Media Specialists Monthly. –Finally, research that supports talkative people like myself!) I’ve thought aloud about  how this subject can help me and my family and have run some ideas by my husband.    Just the act of discussing it out loud makes it exciting for me.  Carol Kulthau would call this feeling of brief happiness after focusing on a topic a common part of the ‘selection’ phase (Callison and Preddy 40). 

Coincidentally, my husband  loves to get on the computer and look up cruises when he thinks everyone else is busy.  So I’ve reminded him that this is my ballpark this time around.

Fortunately for me, ‘heuristics’ was in my lesson plan for my high school advanced composition class this week.  I shared with them my ‘cruise’ project plans, and they helped me with my 5ws and H heuristic.  (We call it reporter’s formula.)  Who:  Who likes to take cruises?  Who might be interested?  What: What can I do on a cruise?  Where:  Where do cruises go?  When: When is the best time leave for a cruise?  Why:  Why should I go on a cruise?  How:  How has the economy affected cruising?  How do cruises affect the environment?  How will I react when I find this information? 

A shout out to my students for supplying some of these questions! 

A few ThinkTank questions that I may not have been able to think of on my own:  Is this system part of a larger system?  Is there a smaller system?  What would happen if one part of this system broke down?  Is there a threat to the health, integrity, and functioning of the system?  Maybe I will uncover the answers as part of my overall inquiry.  Maybe I’ll have to dig deeper than I previously would have, ordinarily, if I were just researching to give a recommendation to a friend or acquaintance. 

Finally, I really liked Dr. Lamb’s three simple questions:  What do I already know?  Cruises are fun.  Time spent on a day at sea is more enjoyable in warm weather than in cold weather.  Having Rick Springfield aboard the boat is always a good idea.  What do I want to know?  Factoring in information from the questions I’ve generated, which NEW cruise is the rigtht one for me?  What do I still want to know?  This last question has yet to be determinated, as I realize inquiry is not a linear process but rather a recursive one.  I suspect I’ll be returning to that last question several times in my journey for a journey on the high seas.

I’m starting to think I want to go with the cruise idea for my research process and product.  As I begin to think of the questions, I’m wondering whether or not people are interested in cruising these days.  A cruise survey might be a good idea. 

I found a really cool site that would help me survey 50 participants.  That would be a great place to start.  I just hope they don’t delete it when they see it in their inbox.