I-Search


 * Directions:** //As per your dossier, you will be responsible for compiling the information below about your inquiry strategy. Next week, you will provide a 5-7 minute overview of your strategy for the class.//

The inquiry strategy I am responsible for this week is called I-Search. I-Search is a response to the traditional research papers that have killed the natural curiosity found in students. I-Searches are all about a student researching a topic for their own sake and writing for themselves. Accordingly, I-Searches can take many forms, but most result in the reporting of research in the form of a paper. The I-Search papers can utilize formal or informal language as long as they meet the goal of describing the experience of the I-Search. To best describe the experience of the I-Search, it is common for the paper accompanying it to be written in chronological order. A variation of the I-Search strategy is the I-Search a Word strategy. In this variation, a researcher chooses a word that is typically not easily defined such as "hate" or "fear" and must create an extended definition for it. This definition should reference the multiple meanings of the word including the researcher's own opinions on the word.
 * Name and Description of your strategy (mention any variations of your strategy as well): **

I-Searchers do not need to be completely comfortable with their topic at the start of their research. Instead, the defining of their topic is actually part of the process of their I-Search. If the I-Searchers topic changes, then it changes and that change is recorded as part of his/her process log/journal. The flexibility of the topic is key in ensuring the researcher will find something that will offer him/her an eventual "pay-off." The process log/journal I previously mentioned is also an important part of the I-Search as researchers are required to do meta-cognitive reflection and record the process of their research. Ken Macrorie, the creator of the I-Search paper, even recommends that researchers keep their journals near their beds at night to easily record their thoughts on their research at the end of the day. A key part of the I-Searchers' research is the use of primary sources. Many of the examples I was given featured extensive use of interviewing. Each of these interviews revolved around he asking of questions to experts. It is important for me to clarify, though, that the term "expert" in I-Searching is not relegated to only those people officially known throughout the world for their expertise. Instead, an "expert" in I-Searching is anyone with a wealth of knowledge on a topic even if they do not have a plaque or a sash to prove it.
 * Inquiry Process associated with your strategy: **

Perhaps one of the best results of doing an I-Search is that the writer is able to make a decision about him/herself (more about this in the "Examples" section). This result stems from the highly personal nature of the inquiry. However, a paper is also the typical result of an I-Search.
 * Description of the Product or Products resulting from the inquiry process associated with your strategy: **

Of the examples I was given in my packet, every one hinged on a question the writer wanted to answer about him/herself. These questions ranged from whether the researcher could be a fireman to what should the researcher study in college. All of the examples were focused on not only the answers to these questions but the process through which the researcher arrives at his/her answer. For example, one researcher explored defying his parents' wishes and moving to Florida to go to community college near his girlfriend (talk about a personal topic huh?). Through his entire I-Search paper, you believe he will, in fact, do what he is exploring with his topic. In the last paragraph, however, the researcher reveals he will not go through with his move to Florida despite having just mapped out everything he would have to do. Instead, he ends his paper with a new research inquiry of possibly becoming a firefighter in Iraq. Thus, his entire I-Search was simply part of the process to figure out a new question he needs answering.
 * Descriptions of Examples and Links to examples when possible (when you include a link to an example, provide a brief annotation / description of the example -- not just a link): **

[] "I-Search a Word": Reclaiming the Library's Reference Section by Gaylyn Karle Anderson (provided by Dr. Young) Chapter 6 "The I-Search Paper" in The I-Search Paper: Revised Edition of Searching Writing by Ken Macrorie (provided by Dr. Young)
 * Resources consulted related to your strategy: **

The Future Problem Solving Program International -Students work together in small groups to figure out and solve challenges/problems relating to "complex societal problems, such as fads, financial security, amateur sports, the Internet and genetic engineering." Students participate in action-based problem solving, community problem solving, and scenario writing.
 * 1-2 additional inquiry-based learning strategies you like (name and describe briefly): **
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