Jae Shin 4/23/14 Sequence 4 Summative Assessment Reflection This inquiry project was instrumental in closing up the sequence

experience for me. It was the perfect way to tie writing, social studies, and science into one project. This inquiry project was beneficial in several different ways. I remember having a similar project in high school in my gifted class in which I was given a whole semester to research a topic of my choice. However, there wasnt enough structure for me to succeed while others did very well on their projects and presented well at an exposition at the end of the school year, I was ashamed of the results of my work. Everyone was required to write a paper and create a tri-fold on his or her findings. I remember thoroughly enjoying creating the tri-fold but writing the paper was a daunting experience. The inquiry project was a totally different experience. First, the project made researching enjoyable. Being able to pick my own inquiry topic was important in keeping me interested and motivated to learn. I wanted to include so much more in the Action Plan portion of my presentation because the research brought up many more questions and ideas for new artifacts. This really supports the idea of inquiry that puts the emphasis on processes of creating artifacts and revealing information instead of coming to a definitive answer and dropping the question. Whereas before, I would have roughly described researching as primarily relying on books or search engines to find information about a topic and presenting it in the form of a long paper, I can say otherwise now.

Jae Shin 4/23/14 Sequence 4 I now see myself as a researcher and know that there is more to research than reading and writing. I was able to interview a couple of people, review survey summaries, and analyze Internet searches to gather data for my inquiry topic. Instead of starting with an argument and finding articles and books to support that argument as I have done so many times in the past, I synthesized information that was I took part in gathering to formulate my own argument. Also, instead of having to present my learnings only in a paper format, I had the freedom of choosing to create a PowerPoint, make a website, write a paper, among other options. These processes described align with what I learned in the History Module through the Chicago Metro History Fair PowerPoint. Thirdly, the opportunity to share ideas and progress with classmates was extremely helpful during the completion of the inquiry project. I often find the need to talk things out to come to conclusions and gain perspective on situation. Similarly, in academic settings, I am a learner who works best when working with others. Because I worked alone on this inquiry project, class time given to discuss among my peers and share our progress both inside and outside of the classroom were beneficial. This is exactly what takes place in both scientific and civic inquiry. Instead of the teacher determining the validity of findings or proposals, students are challenged to think critically about their peers work and about their own work. The flexibility for personal choices given for this project is very difficult to implement in classrooms. With choice comes great responsibility for the students and accommodating for the different choices at once can be an overwhelming

Jae Shin 4/23/14 Sequence 4 experience for teachers. However, after this inquiry project, I think it is safe to say that the risk and extra work is worth what the students can learn from inquiry. The flexibility does not apply to the rigor of the work completed by the students but the topic, research, and presentation of their work. And more times than not, I was empowered by the ability to make choices about my own learning. The fact that I was given the responsibility of creating a timeline that worked best for me, chose a topic that interested me, decided on ways to gather information on my own, and was trusted to present the learnings in an educated manner, made me want to work harder to prove that I can do it. The tricky part is balancing the structure students need with allowing students to make choices about their learning. But because inquiry is not something that can be thrown at the students in the fall as they start the school year but rather introduced gradually throughout the school year, I hope to figure out the delicate balance between structure and flexibility as I increase my experiences in the classroom starting during my time at Loyola University Chicago.