I’m not going to say I’m proud of my project. I got too far in with a subject matter that I really didn’t care about. Animals were interesting to me, but conservation was not something I was passionate about. I thought maybe over the course of the inquiry project, it could be something I became interested, but that was simply not the case. I can certainly relate my situation to the young adolescent. It’s terribly difficult to stay focused, put forth effort, and stay engaged with a subject matter that holds no interest for me.

As far as the inquiry process goes, I like that allows for a lot of flexibility in terms of choice. In the education world, we are constantly told to give our students choice so that they can engage in projects or activities that they are truly interested in. Clearly, I went about this the wrong way, but I think more often than not, this element of choice will be well-recevied. I struggled with the “Weaving” stage of the inquiry process. I’m still a little unclear what exactly is to be accomplished during that stage. From what I understand, it is simply analyzing and organizing my data, but I’m not entirely sure how to show that except in the final product for the project.

If given a “second try” at this project, I would begin by choosing a completely different topic. Part of the problem was that I shyed away from the Holocaust, something I am TRULY interested in because I was unsure what new information I could explore and because I was nervous since many of my other assignments has focused on this topic and I did not want to seem “one note”. I would take the initiative to better get a grasp on the 8W’s (which I will be doing over the course of the next week) so that I could be more successful in displaying each step properly. I hope that my project does not display indifference to the coursework. It was frustration with the path my project took and an inability to see my way out of it.

My final product on animal conservation!

Project 1

I’m attempting to embed the project into my actual blog, but for now the above link will do.

According to Callison and Preddy, “…progressive education has been based on providing students not merely with functional skills, but with the conceptual tools necessary to critique and engage society along with its inequalitie and injustices” (355). With that mind, I’ve chosen to explore aveunes that can be taken to have a hand in animal conservation.

In looking at the conservation efforts of animals today this is what I’ve found. These are al things that the “average joe” can do to help work towards animal conservation today. I’ve decided to focus on conservation efforts in Indiana.

From the Indianapolis Zoo-

Tiger Trackers: An interactive facebook game in which you can track tigers in the wile and help real tigers in the Amur region of Russia. (http://apps.facebook.com/tigertrackers/)

Stamps and Conservation: You can help save endangered species by purchasing the new Save Vanishing Species stamp from the U.S. Postal Service. (http://indyzoo.com/SitePages/Conservation/VanishingSpeciesStamp.aspx)

Partner with the Zoo: Any zoo is generally dependent on the generosity of its patrons. Conservation is the motivating force among many zoos including the Indianapolis zoos. Individuals can partner the zoo by donating a monatary gift. (http://indyzoo.com/SitePages/SupportTheZoo/supportTheZoo.aspx)

From the Indiana Wildlife Federation:

Donations always welcome: Again any conservation depends on outside donations to sustain its efforts. The Indiana Wildlife Federation is no different. And donations are tax deductible!(https://web.memberclicks.com/mc/quickForm/viewForm.do?orgId=iwf&formId=52675)

Volunteer opportunities: The Indiana Wildlife Federation also has opportunities for those individuals that want to volunteer their efforts for animal conservation. (http://www.indianawildlife.org/documents/VolunteerConnection.pdf)

Indiana State Government:

Staying informed about your local area’s habitat is one of the best ways to help and stay involved. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources provides ample information about our enviornment in Indiana and news and initiatives tied to animal convservation. (http://www.in.gov/dnr/)

I emailed someone at the Polly H. Hix Institute for Research and Conservation at the Indianpolis Zoo because I thought that would be the best place to receive information on endangered animals. What I found was that there are several different endangered animals and they are all have different conservation statuses.

I received the chart shown below. I further questioned via email to find out why some of the animals are on the chart yet have no conservation status, such as the meerkat. She responded that animals on this list are not only endangered, but also may have recently been on the endangered list and their population is no longer in danger of extinction.

This information was very helpful because it not only gave me an idea of what animals are endangered, but also gave me a look at local animals that are endangered in Indiana. I plan to next evaulate the information I’ve found on conservation efforts and programs.

I was really inspired by a quote that comes from Horace Mann that showed up in our reading in The Blue Book. The quote read “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity” (Callison, et. al., 355). Critical literacy has become the guiding principle for my inquiry project becuase this project emphasizes “…the emmpowring role that literacy can and should play in reshaping the environment in which one lives and works” (Callison, et. al, 354). By educating myself about animal conservation, I can empower others to take action.

In looking at my concept map and taking into consideration classmate comments, I’ve definitely chosen a focus and that is endangered animals and conservation efforts. I’m curious about what I can do to aid in animal conservation and I want to be able to have the ability to inform others as to what actions they can take towards animal conservation efforts.

I plan to contact the Indianapolis Zoo to merely educate myself on what endangered animals there currently are. I will explore other avenues as well to find out this information and will share my findings in my next post.

I’ve chosen to focus on animals for my inquiry project. More specifically, I’ve chosen to focus on endangered species. This topic brings me back to my youth and yet I’m able to view it in an entirely different perspective. I feel at this point in my life, this is a cause that I can actually contribute to and possibly make a change. There are several questions that come to mind when I think of this topic.

According to Callison and Preddy, “Some writing instructors encourage concept mapping as a way to generate an essay layout or plan” (330). I think I can apply this idea for laying out a path to my final inquiry project. “Allowing the ideas to get out and on paper will open the opportunity to grouping and clustering as a foundation…” for my project (330).

I’ve chosen to map them out in a concept map shown here:

<iframe src=”http://bubbl.us/view/cd90e/18621c/84UNMIeFfjL2w/” width=”600″ height=”400″></iframe>

I plan to research this topic via articles, experts, and by a much anticipated trip to the Indianapolis zoo. I’m looking for currency on my information, so I’m not sure if there are any books that will help with my inquiry, but I’m certainly willing to find out!

P.S. Please let me know if that concept map link is not working! I’m a little new at this!

I’ll admit that I was a little intimidated by this inquiry project. There is so much I’m curious about on a daily basis and pin-pointing one topic to focus on was a little daunting. I decided to focus on my passions to find something that I truly wanted to devle into deeper.

Passion #1: Cooking. I love to cook and wish I had the time to do more of it. One aspect of cooking (mainly ingredients) that I’ve recently become curious about is organic food. As a fairly new teacher, recently out of college, and in grad school I’ve never been able to justify the extra cost of “going organic”. I’m certainly curious about the added benefit and if it truly is worth incorporating organic ingredients in my cooking. Not only am I curious about the health benefits, but I’m also curious if it changes the taste profile of my food.

Passion #2: Literature. I love to read (almost a requirement as an English teacher) and over the past few years my passion has focused on young adult literature. There is so many great books that may be classified as young adult but can teach a message to anyone that reads them. It seems like a broad topic and I’m not sure where I could go with it. Perhaps I could look at how young adult literature is classified as such because there are many books that are considered young adult but I question what age group it is appropriate for. I’m also interested in coming up with creative ways to recommend literature to young adults and parents seeking to get their child to read more.

Passion #3: Animals. This was kind of a lost passion that I’ve rediscovered recently. When I was younger, animals fascinated today. I went to 3 or 4 zoos in the last year and remembered how interesting the animals of the world now. For an inquiry project, I would be curious what animals are endangered or even if any animals have become extinct during my lifetime. I’m also curious what kind of animal conservations efforts there are in place today.

Passion #4: History. If you’ve looked at my previous assignments, it’s clear that there is one particular part of history that I’m interested in and that’s the Holocaust. This past fall I attended a workshop on the Holocaust where a large portion of the sessions we’re focused on survivors. There’s an amazing compilation of videos created by a company called Centropa that focuses on the lives of survivors before and after the war instead of focusing on their suffereing during the Holocaust. An inquiry based project on survivor stories could be an interesting avenue to look at and an aspect of the Holocaust that I really haven’t had a chance to explore.

How to choose which passion to follow is something I’m going to have to ponder for the next couple days. Wish me luck!