Exploration 5Your Own Exploration
The power of inquiry is that it begins with you. Over the course of the first four lessons, we modeled our own exploration, starting with the story of Malak. We generated our own questions that were itching to be scratched. We then used our questions to fuel our research and discovery process. Along the way, as we learned more, we generated more questions and our process continued.
We invite you to embark on your own inquiry process and we offer our journey as a model and structure to help guide you. You may find some overlap in your own questions and discovery of resources--you may even find that you use some of the same resources that we did along the way. Or, you may find yourself on a completely different path. Either way, the journey you take must be guided by what compels and interests you most.
Teamwork
As you probably noticed, our inquiry was a partnership. It was helpful for us to have one another to bounce ideas off of and to generate questions, share sources, etc. If that is how you think you learn best, now is the time to partner up!
Invitation 1: Start with a story - connect and care
We began our inquiry by watching a number of videos about Syrian refugee children. Malak’s story really resonated with us, so we decided to center our inquiry around her experience.
Here are some stories of child refugees to get you started on your process. We urge you to consider the stories of refugee children from Afghanistan, South Sudan, Rohingya, as well as the stories of children at the American border--many of whom journey from Central and South America as well as from Mexico and other countries.
Stories from other Syrian refugee children:
Stories of other refugee children:
- Peter and his brother who fled from South Sudan: Fastest Growing Refugee Crisis - Peter's Story | World Vision
- Habib, a refugee from Afghanistan: ‘Dear Habib’: The true story of a former unaccompanied asylum seeking child
Rohingya Refugee Settlement:
Stories from children at the American Border:
Once you select the story to launch your inquiry, you should generate a long list of questions. You might remember that we use the Visible Thinking Strategy of See / Think / Wonder. As you watch the video clip, organize your questions under these three prompts:
- What do you see?
- What do you think about that?
- What does this make you wonder?
We found it helpful to watch the video about Malak a number of times, adding onto our list of questions along the way.
Once you feel like you have generated enough questions, you are ready to get started with your inquiry!
Invitation 2: Diving into the Stories
After we connected with Malak’s story, we began to dig deeper into the questions we had about her situation. First we reviewed the original questions we had about Malak’s life. We decided to chunk our questions into categories that made sense to us. We used the organizational buckets of leaving home, the journey, and the arrival.
You’re encouraged to begin your search and see where it leads. We should mention that our questions really served as a compass for our discoveries. Some tips:
- Try different search terms to refine the results that you get
- Use new learning to inform future search terms
- Keep a notebook (paper or electronic) where you can track learning, new questions, and resources you want to explore further.
- Talk about your process! Share with an inquiry partner or with family and friends what you are learning and thinking along the way.
Invitation 3: Reflect & Refine
While we learned more about the circumstances that cause people to leave their homes, their journeys and their arrivals, we kept checking in with one another about how this information was making us feel. We definitely knew that we wanted to do something to help in some way. We also kept wondering about Malak.
As we began to refine our search regarding long term effects of being a refugee, we had a happy research accident! We found the original resource that served as the inspiration for Malak and the Boat and an even more recent update! You better believe that we shrieked with excitement. Check them out:
Invitation 4: Get ready to take action! Go to Exploration 6 to learn how!
Rock Your World is a program of Creative Visions
Rock Your World is a Program of Creative Visions, a 501(c) (3) organization that supports creative activists - individuals who use the power of media and arts to create positive change in the world.
