Training Teachers to Use the Power of WebQuests

1
Training Teachers to Use the Power of WebQuests

• Brook Greno

2

• Alternative high school of choice with a school
  within a school concept
• http//www.kusd.edu/schools/reuther/reuther2.html
• Majority of students are considered at-risk of
  failure whether due to home situation or
  educational history
• Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound Program
  (ELOB) is the largest program emphasizing
  learning by doing

3
Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB)

• Non-profit school improvement organization
• Research-based design built around learning
  expeditions and other active forms of teaching
  and learning
• The Core Practices guide the work of an ELOB
  school
• www.elob.org

4
ELOB Core Practices
5
Challenges

• Technology integration lacking support in ELOB
  program.
• Many students lack motivation and are easily
  disengaged in a school setting.
• Developing meaningful professional development
  that addresses the Core Practices of ELOB and
  helps to increase student achievement

6
Reuther ELOB Needs Assessment

• PART I - Assessed each teachers current use of
  technology in curriculum and instruction in 21
  areas and what their desired use was.
• PART II - Open response section inquired about
  desired skills in technology and what technology
  skills they felt ELOB students needed.

7
SolutionTraining on WebQuests

• What are they?
• What are the uses?
• How do you effectively search for one?
• What does it take to create or adapt one?

8
Benefits

• Provides an instructional strategy that allows
  for integration of the Internet effectively in a
  teachers classroom.
• In an at-risk environment, WebQuests can increase
  student motivation, support higher level
  thinking, and facilitate cooperative learning.
• WebQuests address the Core Practices of ELOB
  which provides staff with a rationale for the
  training.

9
Training Agenda

• Introduction
• Facilitator is introduced and the focus of the
  training is shared. Building Background
  Knowledge Gallery begins.
• Common Read
• Participants are placed in groups and read the
  article Why Webquests by Tom March.

10
Building Background Knowledge Gallery
11
Training Agenda

• Expert Groups
• Participants locate A WebQuest about WebQuests
  http//webquest.sdsu.edu/webquestwebquest-hs.html
  on individual laptops and complete the WebQuest
  by each taking on a certain role within the
  group.

12
Training Agenda

• Sharing
• Groups come back together to share and discuss
  the WebQuest.
• Common Read
• Participants are given a rubric for effectively
  evaluating quality WebQuests. After the handout
  has been discussed, each participant is given
  matrix of examples organized by content and grade
  level.

13
Training Agenda

• Individual Search
• Each participant will search for WebQuests
  specific to their content area and choose one to
  evaluate with the rubric.

14
Training Agenda

• Debrief
• Participants share about their experience with
  WebQuests, how they plan to implement this into
  their classroom, and any further questions that
  they may have.
• Evaluation
• Evaluation feedback form is completed by each
  participant.

15
Evaluation

• Formal evaluation form was completed by each of
  the 21 participants.
• Feedback collected by observation of teacher
  participation and engagement.
• Quality of group debrief and content area
  WebQuest evaluations.

16
Results

• All staff responded that
• The subject of the training was VERY useful.
• The manner of the presentation was stimulating.
• They can apply what they have learned in their
  classroom.
• The quality of the presentation was a 4 on a
  scale of 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent).

17
Conclusion

• With any professional development, participants
  must see the value of the instructional practice
  and how it will fit into their classroom.
• WebQuests are one possibility for effectively
  integrating the Internet into the classroom.
• WebQuests lend themselves particularly well to
  topics that require higher-level thinking and
  tasks with many possible end results.
• Just as the ELOB staff at Reuther High School
  did, all teachers must see a need and relevance
  for the training and it will contribute to its
  ongoing use and growth as a tool within the
  classroom to increase student achievement and
  learning.

18
Future Professional Development

• Creating and publishing WebQuests
• Student-created Webquests