mccomas, July 3, 2002 at 7:09:08 PM CEST

Revised Essential and Foundation Questions

Essential Question:

How did Kelly move from a place of unknowing, confusion, and anxiety to a place of knowing, clarity, and confidence?

Foundation Questions:

• What is the story of Kelly preparing for the assignment?
• What is the story of Kelly doing the simulation?
• What is the story of Kelly analyzing the data?
• What is the story of Kelly writing the paper?
• What is the story of Kelly's revision processes?
• What is the story of Kelly's experience overall?

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mccomas, July 3, 2002 at 7:05:31 PM CEST

Learning Highlights

Hmmmm....wonder if I should say this here?  Might as well, not saying it doesn't change the story.  The thing I like best as a learner is being able to direct my own learning.  I can choose what I'm interested in, and what I'm not interested in.  I can pursue whatever I want to the depths that I want.  I can also choose to not pursue something.  That's a major advantage of being out of a formal education program (as a student) and into the lifelong learning category. 

As a learner, I'm a stalker.  I get focused on something that excites my curiousity and I stalk it until I grok (come to know) it.  I've noticed myself doing that more and more lately, but I do know that I have done that in the past.  When I talk about stalking, I'm talking about total attention, insistent attention, complete and utter absorption with something (to the point of ignoring all else).  Once I've grokked the concept, it's mine forever and I can then use it at will or not use it as the case may be.  Recent stalking behaviors of mine have included:  chaos theory (a couple of years ago), transformational learning (just last summer), learning to write computer programs for the MOO, blogs, and multigenre works.

The things I recall in my K-12 days about learning was that there were certain things that really captured my attention...and regardless of the teacher's expectations with regard to those certain things, I would stalk them until they were mine.  It didn't matter if the teacher didn't want me to know that much about something, something inside me compelled me to acquire knowledge of various kinds.  I remember stalking historical figures (did I mention that once in our small public library I read all of the biographies starting with the A's and continuing until the end?); I remember stalking in geometry, working every proof I could get my hands on until it became as easy as adding 1 + 1; I remember stalking certain pieces of music (did I mention I was a pianist in my younger days...my mother wanted me to pursue a career in music -- which is exactly why I didn't). 

College also presented me with opportunities to stalk.  Audiology is where I did most of my stalking.  The rest either came quite easily to me or didn't really capture and hold my interest as did audiology. 

So, I've talked about the content of my learning (audiology, biographies, computer stuff) and I've talked about the process (stalking) but I haven't really addressed the premises of learning.  My assumptions are that learning is an inalienable right and a privilege.  Learning is a duty I have to myself, my society, and to my creator.  Learning is the path to freedom.  Learning is a life-giving force that generates meaning out of my existence.  For me, learning is as essential as breathing. 

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mccomas, July 3, 2002 at 6:41:18 PM CEST

Foundation Questions

Ah...looks like I'm nearly the last to respond to this question.  I purposely waited until after the retreat, hoping that there I would receive inspiration and direction that would enable me to focus on some foundation questions.  Mine, unlike the rest of the class, are a little different because my research project is a narrative inquiry, meaning that I'm using a specific set of data (interviews, student work, etc.) and studying that to see what themes emerge or are present.  At any rate, here's my version of foundation questions:

• What is Kelly's story with regard to the assignment under investigation?
• What is Alex's story with regard to the assignment under investigation?
• What is Kristi's story with regard to the assignment under investigation?

As I spoke with the writing mentors at the retreat last week, we decided that I should begin by writing each person's story.  Once all three of the stories are written, I can then begin to tell my story (which flips back to my essential question).  My story will evolve from the stories of these three students.  For the purpose of this summer, and a do-able project, I'm only going to be focusing on Kelly's story.  For her, I'll be trying to understand these things:

• What is the story of Kelly preparing for the assignment?
• What is the story of Kelly doing the simulation?
• What is the story of Kelly analyzing the data?
• What is the story of Kelly writing the paper?
• What is the story of Kelly's revision processes?
• What is the story of Kelly's experience overall?

I'm just overwhelmed by how big this project really is, but I certainly learned a great deal in the process of figuring that out.  For example, I learned how complex the assignment really is and how much more there is to be learned by doing this assignment than I originally thought.  Just knowing those things, I expect, will enable me to be better equipped to assist future students in completing this particular assignment more successfully.

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