project journal

Wishing

2008-09-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

Overall, this project went very well. I did not have very problems. I had more problems with my Internet connection than I did with the whole project. I did have to narrow down my information more than once. I just was trying to say too much about China. Once I narrowed down my topic more, my project seemed to create itself. I was less overwhelmed with all possibilities and was able to focus better.

The most challenging part of this project was this blog. I am not used to writing out my thought process as I go through learning. I often had to stop and ask myself how I came to those conclusions. I automatically went through some of the steps of learning the information that I felt I had to back track and remember I how I felt and how I learned that information.

One weakness that I wonder about is if I included enough information. I feel like I could have added information, websites, and videos to really show the places off. One strength is that I think that I picked my subtopics well. The four locations and one food are the most famous places to go in Beijing. These places are also ones that I want to go see the most in Beijing.

If I had a chance to do this project again, I believe that I would conduct more interviews with people that were experts or had visited China. I had asked one person, but he had not been to Beijing. I did not pursue this any further. I feel like I learned a lot, but talking to a person about their experience may have led to ask deeper questions and have a clearer picture of what Beijing is like.
Am I like a child?
When I think about my experience when I compare myself with children, I think my experience is similar. I struggled like any student would to find the right topic for me. I believe that they need encouragement that they all their research with create a good product. I was worried in the middle of my project that I had narrowed down my topic too much. I received some encouragement from a peer that my topic was not too narrow. Lastly, I think that I was also like a student being proud of my finished product.

There is one big reason that I do not think that I was like a child. This was not my first independent project. I knew where to find the information I needed. I did not need someone to guide them through how to find websites, books, or how to use YouTube. I knew those already. Some students may need some initial instruction to help them be successful. Those first projects are going to most challenging for student to understand how each step works.

How does connect with curriculum?
There are two ways of extending this lesson that I thought could connect this with the AASL Learning Standards. The first standard (2.1.5) asks student to collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understanding, make decisions, and solve problems. Middle school student that are studying about Beijing could be involved in pen pals system to ask their Chinese friend what their favorite places and food.

The second standard (2.3.2) asks students to consider diverse and global perspectives in drawing conclusions. As high school students are learning about many of the historical places in Beijing, they are often learning about structures that are older than our country. In the US we do not have these types of history in our backyard. After reading literature about each structure, student can compare American attitudes with Chinese attitudes on conserving historical places.

Waving

2008-09-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post the website of my project in my last post.

Here it is http://christina.moore3.googlepages.com/beijing

I made a website, but I was trying to decide how I was going to share this information. Did I just want to keep this information for myself for a future trip to China? Or did I want to share this with different teachers or others that might be interested in a trip to Beijing? How would I share this with friends or teachers? Would I look for forums that I could post? Or would I mention this to people I know that are interested in China?

After pondering these questions, I think that this was mostly a personal project. I want to go to Beijing some day. The places that I covered are the places that I want to go to someday (hopefully soon). I think I will share occasionally with people that I know who are interested in going to Beijing and/or historical places of Beijing. Of course, I will share with all that look at this blog too.

Wrapping

2008-09-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

I am trying to decide what would be the best way to display the information that I have learned. Would information about different places in Beijing be best displayed in a web page, PowerPoint Presentation, or brochure?I think that I would like it to be in the form a webpage, but I am having some trouble figuring out how to set up a Google site. I miss the Google Pages. I think that I like the idea of creating a web pages because I can add some many different elements such as pictures, video, and websites. I think this is becoming a new way of doing a report.

Wiggling and Weaving

2008-09-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Both of these steps are similar to the challenging step in the Stripling and Pitts' REACT Process Model. Students in the challenging step are asked to evaluate the information that they have found to judge if it is accurate. I think that Lamb's Wiggling step takes that information a step further by asking students to start incorporate the new knowledge into their existing knowledge.

In my process of my project, I have started asking questions about the different sources that I find. I did not realize that I was already actively evaluating the resources until I intentionally wanted to evaluate the resources that I found. I came up with two questions that I had been using.

Is the same information given in more than one place? I wanted to make sure that one travel book or website was not contradicting the other. Many authors of travel books express their option about different elements of the culture. I did not want to take only the author's opinion as how each person saw China's influence.

How current is this information? When dealing with information that can quickly change such as a listing of good hotels or restaurants a person needs to seek out current information. As I chose travel literature, I was always checking copyright dates and comparing the information with other more current sources. I have a few books that are older but still have more current information.

As I am moving forward with this project, I also felt the need to get organized. The best way for me to be more organized is create lists. I went back to my original questions and starting making a list from the information about all the places that I would want to go in Beijing such as the Forbidden City, Peking Opera, and Temple of Heaven. I also made a list of the different foods that I want to try such as Peking Duck, Mongolian Hotpot, and tea from a famous tea house. I also have some friends that I have been to Beijing and I have asked them if these are good places to go and eat.

Narrowing down

2008-09-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so now I have I looked at several different websites and travel books that I got from the library. I think that I need to narrow my topic even more. A virtual tour of China is just too much information. I need to do just one city, Beijing. I chose Beijing because it contains nearly every place that I want to visit such as the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Olympic sites, etc. I think this will make the project more manageable. I am a little worried that I have narrowed my topic too much.

Webbing

2008-09-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

I like Daniel Callison's description of this phase as exploring. I feel like I am exploring the information land for a buried treasure of information about China. At this point, I feel the uncertainty that Kuhlthau says is common in this phase. I am worried if I am finding information that I will be able to use later or if I even have a great topic.

In my exploring, I have found some great website about China that I want to share with you all.

1. Lonely Planet http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/china/
2. CIA World Fact Book https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html
3.Learning Chinese http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/node_7046023.htm
4. China Tours http://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/default.htm

5. Learn to Cook Chinese Dishes http://www.china.org.cn/english/food/26593.htm
6. Culture of Chinese Food http://www.nicemeal.com/foodculture/
7. China National Tourist Office http://www.cnto.org/aboutchina.asp

I am going to go to the library tomorrow to get some more information to guide my project a little better.

Connections

2008-09-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I hinted that I would be commenting on the connections between the first two steps and other inquiry models. The following are two models that I think are the most similar to these two steps.

Marjorie Pappas' and Ann Tepe's Pathways to Knowledge has a first step that is very similar to the first step in Annette Lamb's 8Ws. Their first step is called Appreciation and Enjoyment. Individuals look around them and see the elements that they enjoy the most. Annette Lamb's watching phase also promotes you to watch the elements that are happening around to find your topic. This first step was probably my favorite.

Wondering is very similar to Mike Eisenberg's and Bob Bekowitz's first stage in their Big6 model, task definition. This model asks students to define the problem. In the wondering stage, students start to narrow their topic to an issue, questions, or problem. Student start to clearly define what their focus will be.

Wondering

2008-09-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

As I tried to figure a way to narrow down my topic, I used some of the statements found on Annette Lambs’ Wondering worksheet from http://eduscapes.com. I used two of the statements to start to focus, “what I know” and “what I want to know”.

What I know about China
Population of China
Most Populated areas in China
Some elements of Chinese language
One child policy
Time Zone information
Some famous places
Ancient Inventions

These are areas that I know about and I am uninterested in pursuing more about these topics.

What I want to know about China
What would a visit to China be like?
What activities do tourists do in China?
What places would I visit?
What kind of food would I encounter?
How much does it cost to visit?
What are some basic Chinese words?
What is the best time of year to visit?

As I ponder this list, I believe that I am most curious about the cultural and historic parts of China. I want to focus my project on a virtual trip to China. The questions that I am the most curious about are:
What places would I visit?
What activities do tourists do in China?
What kind of food would I encounter?

The only potential problem that I see right now is whether the questions can be answered too quickly. I may have to readjust some of the questions after I look at the information that I can find.

Next update will be talking about the connections between these first two steps and other inquiry models.

Watching

2008-09-10T18:28:00.000-07:00

I feel like my topic found me. China seemed to be everywhere I went. During the Olympics, everyone I knew was talking about China. I have a friend that lives in China that returned for a short visit this summer. Every time I spoke or saw her, we talking about China and her experiences there.

China found in my moments of leisure. During my downtime, I would turn on the television and watch the Olympics. The announcers would share cultural side note during the breaks. I remember one particular segment about different foods that can be found on the streets.

The topic of China followed me at work also. The school that I work at as a library assistant, started shortly after the Olympics started. The halls were filled with decorations about China. The librarian read several books about China to the students that I also catch bits and pieces.

Surprisingly, all this information made me more curious. My brain started to fill up with questions about the culture, language, food, time zones, rural life, urban life, popular cities, emperors, famous landmarks, etc. I want to focus my topic on China. I realize this is a very broad topic, but I will narrow in the next couple post.