WebQuests vs Inquiry: Whose Question is it, Anyway?

1. WebQuests vs Inquiry: Whose Question is it, Anyway? Philip Molebash & Bernie Dodge San Diego State University

2. Viva Las WebQuest Adios Las WebQuest

3. WebQuests: The Beginning • 1993: $5M grant • 7 Post-doc fellows • 12 GA’s • Delphi study • Meta-analysis • Prototype testing n=500

4. Well..... not really.

5. WebQuests: The Beginning

6. New WebQuest Server http://webquest.sdsu.edu

7. Now • 4500 - 6400 hits/day • 204,000 “WebQuests” in Google

12. Concept-Making

14. Memetic Drift A

15. Memetic Drift A A

16. Memetic Drift A A

17. Memetic Drift A a

18. Memetic Drift A a

19. Memetic Drift o A

20. http://webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix.html

21. http://www.geocities.com/salemwitches_ca

22. Gridlock http://imet.csus.edu/imet2/stanfillj/projects/grid/intro.htm

23. What is Scaffolding? Scaffolding is a temporary structure which provides help at specific points in the learning process. It allows learners to complete a challenging task which they would not be able to accomplish without help.

24. How Do We Scaffold in a WebQuest? by… • Specifying the Task • Specifying roles and perspectives • Providing links and offline resources • Providing outlines, guides and templates • Guiding thinking through visual and other means

25. Inquiry Levels of Science Activities 0. CONFIRMATION/VERIFICATION – confirmation of a principle through an activity with the results are known in advance. 1. STRUCTURED INQUIRY – students investigate a teacher-presented question through a prescribed procedure.

26. Inquiry Levels of Science Activities 2. GUIDED INQUIRY – students investigate a teacher-presented question using student-selected procedures. 3. OPEN INQUIRY – students investigate topic-related questions which are student formulated through student-selected procedures.

27. Levels of Inquiry

28. Asking questions Planning and conducting investigations Using appropriate tools and techniques to gather data Critical thinking about relationships between evidence and explanation Constructing and analyzing alternative explanations Communicating results/arguments Ways of Thinking & Acting Associated with Inquiry

29. Science Experiments Problem-Based Learning Socratic Dialogue Constructivism WebQuests Ways of Teaching Commonly Associated with Inquiry

30. WebQuests 1. Structured Inquiry RemoveScaffolding Learners’ Responsibility Web Inquiry Projects 2. Guided Inquiry 3. Open Inquiry?

31. Web Inquiry Projects Use online uninterpreted data/information • primary sources, weather data, sports statistics, music lyrics… • used in ways that allow learners to actively pursue answers to questions that are both interesting and relevant to their required studies.

32. Web Inquiry Projects

33. Web Inquiry Projects http://edweb.sdsu.edu/wip/

34. Balance Structure Freedom

35. WebQuests and Weaning • Q: How does this way of teaching prepare kids to be independent inquirers? • A: Gradually!

36. WebQuests and Weaning • Q: How does this way of teaching prepare kids to be independent inquirers? • A: Gradually!

37. WebQuests and Weaning • Q: How does this way of teaching prepare kids to be independent inquirers? • A: Gradually!

38. WebQuests and Weaning • Q: How does this way of teaching prepare kids to be independent inquirers? • A: Gradually!

39. Stages of Self-Directed Learning • 1. Dependent • 2. Interested • 3. Involved • 4. Self-Directed http://www.longleaf.net/ggrow/SSDL/Model.html

40. Fading the WebQuest Support • TASK: Gradually allow more flexibility in how and what to produce in the task • PROCESS: Gradually provide fewer URLs and expect learners to find more • PROCESS: Gradually move scaffolding of notetaking, information organizing, writing prompts, etc. from required to implicit. • CONCLUSION: Put more resources here for learners to explore on their own later

41. Levels of Inquiry