Answering My Main Inquiry Question – Capstone Post #5

After a lot of researching, I finally got the answer to my main inquiry question which was, “What is a cochlear implant, and how does it work?”

To get the answer, I looked at a lot of articles, websites, books, videos, a site visit and an interview. The things that helped out the most though were the site visit and the interview. Dr. William Shapiro answered my questions very clearly and well and so did Tara.

One of the things that I learned which I though was pretty interesting was that in the 60’s and early 70’s there were single channel cochlear implants. There was one electrode in the cochlea and every time you spoke to the patient, that electrode would be stimulated and it would stimulate the auditory nerve.

During the research process I printed out the articles that I was reading online so I could underline the important parts that helped me out a lot. After underlining I would take the important information and put it into my research journal. In my research journal, I would make graphic organizers to organize my information, like charts, venn diagrams, lists, etc.

To organize my information I also used a few note sheets. Everyone in my class had to do at least one note sheet for each sub question that they have. Basically, what the note sheet made you do was pick an important part of a resource that you’re using and then make it into your own words. Then, you’d have to write an idea that you grew from the source. That made me used to changing important information into my own words.

To keep track of my resources I made a document in google drive for links that led to websites, articles, and videos. I also made a list of the books that I used.

I thought that answering my main inquiry question was NOT easy. It took a lot of hard work and it takes time. You can’t just rush through the research phase because you have to make sure that the information that you gather is true. You also have to make sure that you gather enough information to answer your questions in a way that makes sense.