Webquest: Gas Laws & Reflection

Webquest: Gas Laws
Partner in this project: Jonathan Mitchell


The article, "The Learning Power of Webquests" was used for the following reflection.

This Webquest project was exciting and informative as, once again, I see the multitude of ways the internet can be harnessed in the classroom to change the very way subjects are taught! I love the idea of Learner-Centered Professional Development which, according to the reading, states that, "When teachers facilitate well-designed WebQuests, they gain in-process professional development, moving them toward learning-centered practice. As they internalize and share their experiences, we all benefit."

This type of setting teaches me to focus on my students' learning and how best to engage them rather than focusing on rote memory that does little to inspire the learners, as well as myself.

The three characteristics that I believe my Webquest speaks to are:

• Scaffolded Learning Structure: "...WebQuests aren’t anything new except that they provide a way to integrate sound learning strategies with effective use of the Web." 

  My webquest, Gas Laws, encourages effective use of the web through researching articles, web pages, videos, images etc. and keeping notes in a blog rather than a paper notebook. This provides a richer, more dynamic format in that my students can link everything they've researched in addition to integrating apps and using their creativity to design a applicable site. This also provides an excellent mechanism for homework submissions - everything is on record in one place and, hopefully, in order.

• Individual Expertise: :...WebQuests support differentiation of content and process and give teachers the flexibility to vary final products and classroom routines as needed."

Gas Laws incorporates the use of role play in which students imagine themselves to be aliens studying a human biologic process. They are viewing the lungs from an outside perspective, as if studying a new creature for the first time. How do they go about their task? How do they teach their scientific colleagues about this process, considering they don't know how it works either. Changing their perspective in this way could encourage new questions and a more novel approach to the research.

• Transformative Group Process: "A quick litmus test for the WebQuest’s group process is to ask two questions. First, we ask, Could the answer be copied and pasted? If the answer is no, then we ask, Does the task require students to make something new out of what they have learned?"

Every article, webpage, video the students research for Gas Laws requires some form of feedback, typically a summary in their own words, however, the summary is a lot more involved than it sounds. Students are encouraged to use images, create pictures, incorporate apps or anything else they can find to aid in their summaries. This is more than just a regurgitation of concepts in that they find and use applicable tools and compile the information in their own personalized way.

Finally, the partners collaborate on a final product they will use to "teach" others about what they have learned.