Wishing

Reflecting Strengths and Weaknesses
     Looking back on some aspects of this project, I wish I had narrowed my focus even more! There was so much to cover and I felt I didn't do justice to anything. However, this was also a strength in that I went from knowing very little about Italy to knowing very much about a wide range of subjects. Since my focus was so wide, I learned many things about many aspects of Italy. The challenge was to find a way to bring it all together and present it in a unified theme which I think I successfully managed by comparing my life to one I may have enjoyed had I been born in Italy.

My Experience with Personal Inquiry vs A Child's
     My experience with this project was good in that I developed a deeper understanding of Italy. Tina Grotzer from the Harvard Graduate School of Education states that children absorb information, however, that information will be less likely remembered unless the information is connected to the individual child. Like children who inquire naturally about objects around them by "testing" their environment, I had a natural curiosity about Italy. However, unlike a child's learning who may stop at the first answer or result (example: child wonders about fire, touches, concludes bad choice, leaves fire), this "adult" version of inquiry moved beyond the initial stages to a deeper understand of my chosen subject. The Harvard article comments that inquiry-based learning can lead to stumbling blocks or dead ends. It is important that young children have some guidance. Some students in schools may still be learning under older models based on fact finding missions instead of discovering and questioning. Unfortunately the information absorbed in the fact finding missions will most likely be forgotten quickly. (Keys to Inquiry-Inquiry Learning, Harvard)