| WebQuest
Action Plan
The Action Plan field of the lesson is to provide information
on Constructivist-WebQuest lesson design* as well as to serve as a place
to input your lesson activities.
A
Constructivist-WebQuest Lesson should include the following organization:
Introduction
The purpose of the Introduction section of a WebQuest is two-fold: first,
it's to orient the learner as to what is coming. Secondly, it should raise
some interest in the learner through a variety of means. It can do this
by making the topic seem...
-
relevant to the learner's past experience
-
relevant to the learner's future goals
- attractive,
visually interesting
- important
because of its global implications
- urgent,
because of the need for a timely solution
- fun,
because the learner will be playing a role or making something
Task
The Task block in a WebQuest is a description of what the learner will
have done at the end of the exercise. It could be a product, like a HyperStudio
stack or PowerPoint presentation, or t might be a verbal act, such as
being able to explain a specific topic.
Process
The Process block in a WebQuest is where the teacher suggests the steps
that learners should go through in completing the task. It may include
strategies for dividing the task into subtasks, descriptions of roles
to be played or perspectives to be taken by each learner. The instructor
can also use this place to provide learning advice and interpersonal process
advice, such as how to conduct a brainstorming session. The Process description
should be relatively short and clear. See example:http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/bdodge/WebQuest/Process.html
Resources
The Resources block in a WebQuest is a list of web pages the instructor
has located that will help the learner accomplish the task. The Resources
are pre-selected so learners can focus their attention on the topic rather
than surfing aimlessly. It's important to note that resources for the
students are not restricted to those found on the web.
Very
often, it makes sense to divide the list of resources so that some are
examined by everyone in the class, while others are read by subsets of
learners who are playing a specific role or taking a particular perspective.
By giving separate data sources to learners, you ensure the interdependence
of the group and give the earners an incentive to teach each other what
they've learned.
Evaluation
The Evaluation block is a new addition to the WebQuest model. Clearly,
if we're going to justify the expense of using the web for learning, we
need to be able to measure results. Since the learning we're looking for
is at the loftier reaches of Bloom's Taxonomy, we can't gauge it with
(readily) with a multiple-choice test. An evaluation rubric is called
for.
Conclusion
The Conclusion section of a WebQuest provides an opportunity to summarize
the experience, to encourage reflection about the process, to extend and
generalize what was learned, or some combination of these. The conclusion
rounds out the document and provides that reader with a sense of closure.
One
good use for the conclusion section is to suggest questions that a teacher
might use in whole class discussion to debrief a lesson.
*Adapted
from "The WebQuest Page" by Bernie Dodge
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/
webquest/webquest.html
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