This is the rubric that I wrote this week. A well-designed rubric will help students understand what the learning goals of a task are and what they should walk away from the project being able to do. The students will see the goals as achievable and desirable and this will motivate them as they complete the task.
This is the webquest that I wrote this week. I started another one, but abandoned it as unworkable. At first I thought building a webquest would be easy, but the more webquests I read, the more intimidated I became. It would take a lot of time to produce one that I really think can stand on its own and still be part of our overall curriculum.
For me, I always think of a student asking, "Why should I do this?" "Why do I need to know this?" As a teacher, if I can't give good answers to these questions, I shouldn't be asking the students to do this particular task or learn this particular material. I think there are short-term goal answers and long-term goal answers to these questions.
For example, I don't know how to create hyperlinks. I just copy and paste from a website. If I was away from a computer, I couldn't tell you how to do it. Yet, I know all I need to know, at least at this point. I've learned what I need to know. This is how many of my adult students think. They are motivated to learn what they need to know to accomplish what they want to do. As a teacher, I need to tap into that motivation and use it in my classes. I think a well-built webquest can do that.
Janet
Hi dear Janet,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that building a Webquest is not easy! I will create one later when I have more time and patient to do it. But we have very nice examples of WebQuests that our colleagues have created.
I think that rubrics would help students understand what they are expected to do in the specific given task/s. These tasks should check whether the students learnt the assigned material and whether the learning goals are met or not. I believe that the tasks should assess students' learning/ knowledge of the material taught at class.
I like so much the way you reflect on your teaching! It is always important to think of our students' needs and questions! Students should be aware of the process of learning… they will even learn better when they are convinced of the importance of their work.
Best,
Khuloud.