This means that you may discuss with your students the behavior criteria expected of them, and propose the necessary changes. This seems to be fair enough and it seems to motivate students more. I will start using them in my PBL activities with my children,too
As regads to webquets, I may say that I learned about them in this course. A good starting point for me , was the site : http://www.zunal.com. This site gave me insights of what they were about. You provide students a task, and a set of information resources needed to complete this task. Students describe what they have to do, answer questions, organize the information and come to a final conclusion. I really like the fact that students are provided with the sites before they start working. This way students do not need to spend a long time searching information, but applying the information in their work, As it is mentioned in the same page, " they are designed to make the best use of a learner ' s time." In reference to webquests. As Iwas searching information, I came to an article about " project approach ". Here, it is clearly specified the difference between a systematic instruction, where students acquire skills, and a project work, where they apply those skills in meaningful contexts. I think, the site is worth a try. It is : http://www.projectapproach.org
I think most of us are inserted in systematic instruction, where we use a textbook and apply traditional tets, but if we have a flexible curriculum, we can match traditional assessments and alternative assesments, as we do at school. Children really engage in PBL activities. They seem to be enjoyable, meaningful and lead them to real communication, the main and most significant goal we , as educators have, for our students.
Hello Denise,
ReplyDeleteConcerning the rubrics and WebQuest, I have to say that they are very rewarding tools. At first, rubrics are very constructive because we can track students' learning and we can see where they often make the mistakes and students can be motivated in correcting them. On the other hand, there is a WebQuest. This is very helpful tool which can help students to develop their teams' skills. It is also rewarding for students to have preselected information because they don't need to waste time looking for the necessary pieces of information.
All in all, everything is so, so *useful* and these tools can help students to become *independent learners*.
Best regards
Rade
Hello Rade :
ReplyDeleteAnd this is what we want. Make our students feel more self-confident so that they grasp the language in a bettre way. Totally agree.
Best regards.
Dear Denise,
ReplyDeleteIt is completely true that we can discuss each criteria of the rubric and explain our expectations on their performance with the students before we use it. I think we should be carefully prepared a rubric to give effective feedback. I tried your suggested link and it seems to be a good resource for us. I will browse more of the site sooner.
Best wishes,
Zun Phyu
Hello Zun Phyu :
ReplyDeleteI teach young and older sudents. I have to help my older students prepare oral presentations, as you probably do, too with your students.I think that learners
feel more motivated to work when they get involved in their own assessmnet criteria. I am glad to see that this site might help you. The best of lucks for next week !
Best regards.
The WebQuest Model was first initiated in 1997. I think that has to be considered when discussing WebQuests. The web has evolved in the past decade and has become interactive. This presents teachers and learners with infinite possibilities. Not only does the project have to be an instructed quest, the results (the so-called Holy Grail) can be published for everyone to admire and comment. What used to be a poster on a wall can now be an interactive online mind map, an online cartoon, an online presentation (prezi), an online blog etc.
ReplyDeleteI have learned that the instructions of a webquest should be extremely clear. Links and sources should be provided for the students - don't overestimate their Googling skills! Somehow, no matter how Facebook proficient teenagers today are, they have not grasped the idea of search engines :)
Helo Anna :
ReplyDeleteThank you for your information on Webquests. They were knew for me and I just learned about them in the course. I got a bit more of information through your comments on the blog. Thanks again.
Denise