I-Search+Strategy




 * Directions: ** // As a team, you will be responsible for compiling the information below about your inquiry strategy. Next week, your group will provide a 5-6 minute overview of your strategy for the class. //

** 1. Name and Description of your strategy (mention any variations of your strategy as well): ** I-Search

I –search is a type of inquiry-based learning that taps into a student’s natural curiosity about a topic and allows them to research the answer using both primary and secondary sources and to write about it in the first-person point-of-view -- hence the "I" in I-Search. It is especially helpful for students to choose a topic that will fill a need or aid the student in some way (Ex: researching which new cell phone is right for you; where your next vacation should be).

Some variations of the I-Search include: - I-Chart - Name Search - Word Origin Search (I-Search A Word) - Place Search

And, one interesting comparison is the K-W-L Chart, typically a reading comprehension strategy, which also provides somewhat of a snapshot of the I-Search process.


 * 2. Inquiry Process associated with your strategy: ** 1) Student picks a topic that has meaning for her. 2) Student begins search on that topic using online resources and/ or print materials. 3) Interview people who have knowledge of the topic or who could help in the search. 4) Record findings.

** 3. Description of the Product or Products resulting from the inquiry process associated with or resulting from it. Be sure to address how technology is or might be connected to the process or product related to the strategy, as well as the composing and/or publishing processes. **
 * This strategy is not especially concerned with the structure of a typical or traditional essay ( alternative to traditional introduction, summary, etc), and should be written in your own voice/style. The paper sounds more like a narrative/story, than a formal research paper.

The format for this story basically addresses 4 components:

1. What I knew (and didn’t know about my topic when I started) 2. Why I’m writing this paper 3. The search (story of the hunt) 4. What I learned (or didn’t learn)

As described above, the I-Search process includes research and writing that addresses the following: 1) What the student knew before (or didn’t know and wanted to find out). 2) Reason for writing the paper. Student should explain how/why this search project made a difference for the student. 3) Story of the search process reporting only the key highlights or details important to the student, such as if the student made a decision based on the search findings, what details most impacted that decision. Other questions that could be answered are: What information satisfied your thirst for the search? 4) Report what was learned (or not learned) during the I-Search process.

T he resulting paper or presentation can make use of this four-part format in an //**explicit**// manner -- address the four components in order -- or it can cover these components in a more //**implicit**// way -- address all four components but not necessarily in this order. One variation on part #4 is to not only share what you learned or didn't learn, but to also explain what you will do / plan to do with the information you learned OR what you did indeed do with the information you learned.

Technology could be incorporated in the way the I-Search is presented, using Prezi, PowerPoint, or other forms of digital storytelling or visual resources. The I-Search projects could also be published in a blog format, wiki, etc.


 * 4. 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 ** ): **

-Class papers answering, “Can I make it on my own?” “Can I be an architect?” -Firefighter Essay in the Macrorie Chapter on I-Search -Should family move to Africa or Mexico in the Macrorie Chapter on I-Search -Blue Crab I-Search at []

- Kim Groninga's I-Search, "Beautiful Women" []

Kim is a college student whose research stems from her own concerns about body image as well as how women's bodies are portrayed in the media and perceived and mis-perceived by the general public. She uses multiple sources such as media advertisements, forums, and her own peers as primary and secondary sources.


 * 5. Resources located and consulted related to your strategy (both hard copy and links): **

Ken Macrorie’s Chapter 6 from //The I-Search Paper//

Review of I-Search with descriptions, examples, and critique: []

** ADDITIONAL KEY I-SEARCH RESOURCES (DR. Y): **
>
 * Anderson, Gayln. ""I-Search a Word": Reclaiming the Library's Reference Section." //English Journal.// 79.1 (1990): 53-57. [[file:Word_Search_Article.pdf]]

==== [|Writing An I-Search Paper] : A Step-by-Step Writing Process Approach and Example====

==== [|Five Components of I-Search Paper] : An Annotated Description of Each of the Phases of the I-Search Paper (with student examples at each phase)====

** 6. [Optional] -- 1 or 2 additional inquiry-based learning strategies we like, value, want to try, have experienced in a positive way, etc. (name and describe briefly): **