"The Hero's Journey: An Inquiry Research Model" - Article Review #1

For all of you that find research models to be rather prescriptive or dry.... fear not! Holmes offers an alternative that is fun, imaginative and motivational. Behold "the hero's journey", an alternative research model that encompasses all of the elements of common research models embedded in mythology.

Holmes is not despairing of research models per se, however he argues that models such as the Big 6 are "scientific" and "dispassionate". He suggests that we should strive to make research more exciting and personal. The hero's journey does just that: it teaches students to make the connection between their education and their larger life journey, rather than experiencing the research model as simply a process-based assignment.

Holmes argues that the goal of the information literacy process is to "create independent lifelong learners who feel passionately connected to their education" (p19). He believes that the current research models bore students and that the assignments we give are meaningless if implemented through scientific research models such as Big 6, turning students off from research. Thus these models are working against our goal.

The hero's journey research model is derived from Joseph Campbell's book The Hero With A Thousand Faces, written in 1956. The hero's journey is a "narrative structure... an archetypal map of the human spirit quest". This form of narrative has been used extensively since this time in films, video games and books, and was even a major influence on George Lucas as he created Star Wars. It is a story from that captures what it is like to be human.

Holmes stresses that we need to make research fun, dynamic and meaningful. The hero's journey incorporates role play so students become detectives, explorers or scientists. They are encouraged to approach research from an authentic standpoint in history, turning it into a game.

Reg Harris and Susan Thompson (both English teachers) developed a curriculum guide to support the hero's journey. If you would like to read more about this research model or view resources linked to it, you can visit www.yourheroicjourney.com.

The following is an outline of the stages of the hero’s quest:
1. The call to adventure: This is the challenge or the initial inquiry.
2. The supernatural aid: This is the EQ (essential question).
3. The threshold: The informational need, the missing information.
4. The challenges and temptations: The support of the TL or teacher to guide the learner through treacherous obstacles such as boredom, frustration, laziness, bad information, etc.
5. The abyss: This is the greatest challenge, the “point of maximum confusion when the student faces information overload”.
6. The revelation: The problem becomes manageable and solutions surface.
7. The transformation: Solutions are chosen, creativity is called upon.
8. The atonement: The EQ is answered.
9. Returning with the gift of the goddess: Sharing new knowledge with others.

My reflections of this article:
I visited the website and further learned about this research model. While creative, it is too convoluted and “out there” for me! Furthermore, it would have to be heavily adapted for use in an elementary school. It is rich in language and creativity and I can see how it would appeal to perhaps a creative writing class at the secondary level. It would confuse the socks of my little ESL kids with the terminology and multiple steps. In theory, I like the idea of a research quest that incorporates imaginative elements in a game-like fashion. But until such a model surfaces, I’ll stick to Research Quest!

Holmes, Thomas. "The Hero's Journey: An Inquiry Research Model." Teacher Librarian 34.no5June, 2007 19-22. 19 Sep 2008