Mmmm.Cookies A Chocolatey Webquest Exemplifying Collaboration

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Mmmm.Cookies! A Chocolatey Webquest
Exemplifying Collaboration
Be sure to view this presentation with Speaker
Notes
Created by Susan M. Eley, Graduate
Student Indiana University School of Library and
Information Science October 26, 2005
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Authentic learning and the school media center

• Authentic learning for todays student is not
  bound by the textbook, the classroom, the library
  media center, or the school. By linking students
  with the unlimited learning opportunities
  available throughout the learning community, the
  school library media program provides a bridge
  between formal, school-based learning and
  independent, lifelong learning (AASL/AECT,
  1998).
• School media specialist knows the curriculum,
  technology, and has access to a wide variety of
  resources.

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Collaboration is important

• Collaboration (sometimes called team teaching)
  between media specialists and subject area
  teachers in guiding meaningful student inquiry is
  just one link in the learning community web.
  This type of collaboration, however, is powerful
  in its use of shared resources.

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A Powerful Recipe

• Subject knowledge and skills of the subject area
  teacher
• The technological expertise and skills of the
  school media specialist
• The use of information resources accessed in and
  beyond the school media center
• Students rich background of knowledge
• A mini-learning community that fosters
  intellectual ties between students and their
  teachers (Pasco, 2003)

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Study Results

• A number of studies from CO, PA, AK, OR, TX and
  IA indicate that students in schools with
  better-funded library media centers and with
  library media specialists who play a
  collaborative, instructional role achieve higher
  average achievement test scores (Pasco, 2003).

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Theory-to-Practice

• In this presentation, I will examine how a
  teacher and media specialist could collaborate
  while using a learning tool garnering much
  attention these days a WebQuest.
• www.webquest.org

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What a real WebQuest IS

• A scaffolded learning structure that uses links
  to essential resources on the World Wide Web and
  an authentic task to motivate students
  investigation of a central, open-ended question,
  development of individual expertise and
  participation in a final group process that
  attempts to transform newly acquired information
  into a more sophisticated understanding (March,
  2005).

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What a real WebQuest IS NOT

• a worksheet with URLs (Dodge, 2002).
• Students must be guided to do more than
  regurgitate information found on the internet.
• Example Students who may create a cookbook or a
  list of best websites found on the Internet need
  to do more than just compile the list.
• To make a compilation task qualify as a true
  WebQuest, there needs to be some transformation
  of the information compiled (Dodge, 2002).

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What a real WebQuest IS NOT (cont.)

• A brand-new concept in education.
• Authentic, inquiry-based learning is not a new
  concept, but the tools are.
• A WebQuest is simply a way to integrate a number
  of sound learning strategies while also making
  substantial educational use of the Web (March,
  2005). Students involved in a WebQuest activity
  are not simply memorizing content, they are
  assimilating concepts and transforming them to
  create a product thats all their own.1

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Six Critical WebQuest Components

• Introduction
• Task
• Set of information sources needed to complete the
  task (including interactive, information-rich
  websites)
• Process
• Guidance on how to organize the information
  acquired
• Conclusion/reflection that brings closure to the
  quest, reminds the learners about what they've
  learned, and perhaps encourages them to extend
  the experience into other domains (Dodge, 1997)

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The Example WebQuest

• Written by Grace Vaknin of Collier County (FL)
  Public Schools
• Chocolate Chip Cookies To eat or not to eat!
• A lesson for 3rd-5th graders that integrates
  science, math and language arts
• http//collier.k12.fl.us/weblessons/cookiewq/inde
  x.htm

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• Outline of Vaknins Chocolate Chip Cookie WebQuest

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Introduction
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Task students are placed into groups of 4, 2
are researchers, 2 are scientists
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Eight websites are provided for researchers to
gather information
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Each group presents findings using a display
board or technology tool
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Conclusion Students prepare and present their
findings and complete their KWL chart
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Authentic Assessment

• Rubric Assessment is more likely to be
  reasonably objective and consistent from lesson
  to lesson and from student to student, especially
  useful in team teaching situations that involve
  collaboration among the library media specialist
  and other teachers (Callison, 2003).
• Checklist A list of criteria that can be used
  as a guide for project development and
  assessment. It often includes items for checking
  both process and product (Lamb, 2005b).

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Project Evaluation 1 Rubric(group evaluation)
(Only one area of evaluation is shown here -
other areas include technology skills
integration, research tools, oral presentation
and collaboration)  
3-5 Technology Standards Rubric Student
___________________________ Teacher
_________________________ Date ___________  
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Project Evaluation 2 Checklist(individual
folder evaluation)
 
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• What makes this WebQuest so effective?

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Inquiry-based, Meaningful Learning2

• WebQuest based on inquiry and constructivist
  teaching principles.3,4
• Callisons (2003) ideas about constructivism
• Learning is an active process of constructing
  rather than acquiring knowledge
• Knowledge construction results from activity
• Meaning making is prompted by a problem,
  question, confusion, disagreement, or dissonance
  (a need or desire to know) and so involves
  personal ownership of that problem.
• True learning occurs when students are involved
  in a problem or situation5 , using their critical
  thinking skills6 to question7 and draw
  conclusions.
• Here, students are involved in a question bigger
  than themselves8 Are chocolate chip cookies
  healthy? In the process of solving this problem,
  they use both hands-on and cognitive activities,
  fostering deeper learning.

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Standards, Standards, Standards

• This WebQuest fully integrates content standards
  with information literacy standards.9
• Vaknis provides extensive information on the
  standards fulfilled here http//collier.k12.fl.us
  /weblessons/cookiewq/CAWQ.htm
• Includes 30 Florida State curriculum standards in
  math science and language arts, Florida state
  assessment test standards, school district
  product design standards, and National
  Educational Technology Standards.

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• All nine of AASLs Information Literacy
  Standards for students are fulfilled in this
  Webquest10

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• ILS Standard 1 - Accesses information
  efficiently and effectively
• Students access rich web resources to gain
  information.

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• ILS Standard 2 - Evaluates information
  critically and competently
• Students are required to cull through websites
  to pull the most relevant information and to draw
  conclusions about health after observing the
  fatmass ratio of each cookie.

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• ILS Standard 3 - Uses information accurately and
  creatively11
• Students use factual information to create a
  interesting product of their own design,
  following careful standards set by the teachers.

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• ILS Standard 4 - Pursues information related to
  personal interests12,13
• Have you ever met a kid who doesnt like
  cookies? This project is certain to be
  interesting to most students, and when the
  project is interesting, they are motivated to
  learn. For variety, each team could have a
  different flavor of cookies.

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• ILS Standard 5 - Appreciates creative expressions
  of information
• A WebQuest is a creative way to present the
  information required for this project. Students
  appreciate the use of creative graphics and
  interactive sites within the website, and are
  inspired toward creative methods to present their
  own product. They appreciate other groups that
  present their findings in creative ways.

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• ILS Standard 6 - Strives for excellence in
  information seeking and knowledge generation
• From the start, students are aware of the rubric
  criteria for their product evaluation and they
  want to excel in fulfilling the rubric
  requirements.
• The WebQuest itself is high-quality, using MS
  WORD links, Macromedia Flash, and HTML design to
  exemplify excellence to the students.

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• ILS Standard 7 - Recognizes the importance of
  information to a democratic society
• Students are asked to answer the big question
  of whether or not cookies are healthy for the
  general public, and then they use
  readily-available information (from the Internet)
  to draw conclusions. Without the use of this
  readily-available information and the use of the
  Internet, their products would be severely
  lacking.

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• ILS Standard 8 - Practices ethical behavior in
  regard to information
• Students must not plagiarize information and
  must share resources.

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• ILS Standard 9 - Participates effectively in
  groups to pursue information
• Students are placed into groups at the start of
  the project and collaborate to synthesize their
  findings and present them as a group.14
• The construction of the WebQuest is also
  perfectly suited to different learning
  styles,15,16 requiring some students to analyze
  scientific data and ratios, and others to make
  hypotheses based on textual facts pulled from the
  internet. Inter/intra-personal skills are also
  developed, and artistic sensibilities can be
  indulged in the creation of an interesting
  product.

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Effective Collaboration17,18 between teachers
Perfect example of a lesson that could be
co-planned and co-taught by school media
specialist and subject area teacher (or
teachers). - Initial session to map out the
lesson goals and standards fulfilled
Subject area teachers could work with students on
content-related material such as the use of
graphs to plot data, mathematical computations of
ratios, and problem-solving techniques.
School media specialist could create and/or
modify the WebQuest, help students evaluate and
assimilate the information on the web resources
provided, and aid students in the use of
technology for their presentations.

• - Finally, teachers can collaborate for
  student assessment. During the process, informal
  assessment techniques like questioning students
  or conferencing could be used to determine how
  each student group is functioning. Using the
  provided presentation rubrics and checklists
  within the student folders, each teacher can
  effectively assess student learning at the
  projects conclusion.19

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Technology

• One of the things that makes this particular
  WebQuest so effective is its use of excellent
  Internet resources and a wide variety of
  technologies.20,21,22
• Using computers in the school media center or the
  classroom, students access eight websites from
  which to pull factual information for their
  reports. (Use of relevant print resources found
  in the school media center could also be
  encouraged.) They must use Microsoft Word to
  download, modify and print documents. For final
  product creation, if they choose something other
  than a traditional display board, they can use
  web design software or PowerPoint for a final
  presentation.

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Technology (cont.)

• Tom March states it seems reasonable that a
  WebQuest would link to resources on the Web.
  However, it should be noted that these are
  "essential" resources. Those activities that only
  point students to encyclopedic briefs, textbook
  digests or worse, word searches and coloring
  books, do not take advantage of the Webs ability
  to present resources that might be interactive,
  media-rich, contemporaneous, contextualized, or
  of varied perspectives. A quick question often
  resolves whether the Web (and thus a WebQuest) is
  worth using Could this learning be achieved
  just as effectively without the
  Internet?(March, 2005).
• - In this
  case, the answer is NO.

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Technology in a learning community

• How does technology fit into the concept of
  community? At a minimum, it enables flexible and
  powerful information retrieval, analysis, and
  production in a shared environment. More
  ideally, technology allows members of the
  community to communicate and share information
  across barriers of distance or time and creates a
  means by which they collaborate in synthesizing
  and presenting what they have learned (Harris,
  p. 173 Stripling/HH).

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Resources for Teachers

• Create your own WebQuest or search for others
  Webquests!
• WebQuest.org - http//webquest.org/questgarden/ind
  ex.php
• (There will be no cost for membership until
  September 1, 2006. After that time, membership
  will cost (tentatively) 20 for a 2-year
  subscription)
• Filamentality - http//www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/

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Bibliography

• AASL/AECT (1998). Information power Building
  partnerships for learning. Chicago American
  Library Association.
• Callison, Daniel (2003). Key words, concepts,
  and methods for information age instruction A
  guide to teaching information inquiry. Baltimore,
  Maryland LMS Associates.
• Dodge, Bernie (1997). Some thoughts about
  WebQuests. Updated May 5, 1997. Available
  http//webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html
• Dodge, Bernie (2002). WebQuest taskonomy A
  taxonomy of tasks. Available http//webquest.sdsu
  .edu/taskonomy.html
• Dodge, Bernie. WebQuest Portal. Accessed
  October 26, 2005 from http//webquest.org/
• Harris, Frances Jacobson (2003). Building
  learning communities using technology. In B.
  Stripling and S. Hughes-Hassell (Eds.),
  Curriculum connections through the library (pp.
  171-187). Westport, CT Libraries Unlimited.

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Bibliography (cont.)

• Lamb, Annette (2005a). Key Ideas for Information
  Age Instruction. Accessed October 26, 2005 from
  http//www.eduscapes.com/info/keys.html
• Lamb, Annette (2005b). Key Ideas Assessment.
  Accessed October 26, 2005 from http//www.eduscape
  s.com/info/assessment.html
• March, Tom (2005). What WebQuests Are (Really).
  Accessed October 26, 2005 from http//bestwebquest
  s.com/what_webquests_are.asp
• McGregor, Joy (2003). Collaboration and
  leadership. In B. Stripling and S.
  Hughes-Hassell (Eds.), Curriculum connections
  through the library (pp. 199-219). Westport, CT
  Libraries Unlimited.
• Pasco, Rebecca J. (2003). The role of libraries
  in learning communities. In B. Stripling and S.
  Hughes-Hassell (Eds.), Curriculum connections
  through the library (pp. 189-198). Westport, CT
  Libraries Unlimited.
• Vaknin, Grace (2005). Chocolate Chip Cookies
  To eat or not to eat! Accessed October 25, 2005
  from http//collier.k12.fl.us/weblessons/cookiewq/
  index.htm