Final Reflection

Overall, creating and implementing this research project was a success. The kids came up with some great webquest prompts, and they helped each other every step of the way. There are things about the unit that I will do differently next time--asking them to write a question and not a "prompt," obtaining more computer time, giving more concrete instructions--but the basic structure of the lesson proved to be possible. 

I am in the process of using this same structure for a series of lessons leading up to a research paper project, and I'm confident that things will go much smoother this time. 

Assessment

I have now finished assessing my consultee's students' webquests prompts. I used the following criteria for their prompts:
1. Use of Blooms Verbs
2. Complete Sentences
3. Thoughtful, Creative Use of Resource
4. Proofreading and Aesthetics

Here is the rubric for their responses to each prompt:
1. Complete Sentences
2. Followed Directions
3. Proofreading

Most students earned an A or a B. The students who earned Bs on the prompt they created lost points for boring prompts (example: "go to _______ website, and copy down the following information). Also, some students didn't use the Blooms verbs we suggested. Otherwise, the prompts were creative and engaging. I couldn't have created better prompts myself.

Completing the Class-created Webquest

This morning, Mrs. Barber and I compiled the prompts from each class into a class webquest. Our original intention was to have each group create one prompt, but since students were finishing so early, we had them create three. This actually worked in our favor because we could look at the three prompts that each group created, and choose the best one.

So, we assembled each webquest, and saved them to the Public Drive so that students could simply pull it up instead of printing it. Students had a full class period to complete all six prompts either individually, or with a group. This seemed to be a perfect amount of time, because most kids finished right before the bell rang. The prompts also produced some excellent answers.

Another benefit to having the students create their own prompts was that if a student had a question about a certain prompt, we simply told them to consult the group that had created the prompt. The students worked very well together, asking for help from each other, and working almost completely independantly of the teachers.

Overall, I was very pleased with the webquests that students created, and the products. It was obvious that students had to use critical thinking throughout the process, so I believe our goals were met.

Creating a Prompt

After completing their research, students were instructed to create a prompt for each of their websites. Originally, I wanted to have students only create a prompt to accompany their best source, however during first hour (when we were still having students only come up with one prompt), they were finished in about five minutes. So, for the rest of the day, students had to create a separate prompt for all three of the websites they found.

In order to ensure the quality of their prompts, I gave them a list of Bloom's verbs from http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/time_savers/bloom/. I told students that they had to use verbs from Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation, and that the other verbs were optional. I also went over a list of good prompts and bad prompts so that students would know what I expected.

Many of the students had trouble grasping what I meant by "prompt". They would ask, "Is it a question? What do you want us to write?" Next time I do this assignment, I will probably instruct students to create a question or set of instructions. For some reason, prompt is just too abstract for them.

Once students understood the concept of a prompt, they began to work. Most students took all hour to create their three prompts, and many of them were very good. Students used the verbs I asked for, and were very creative. We explained that the students themselves would be completing these prompts the following day, so they should make them interesting and fun to do. This seemed to really motivate them to make "fun" prompts, which for the most part were excellent.

My next post will be a collection of some of the best student-created prompts.

Researching in Groups

Today, students are researching their topics with their groups. Most students are on task, and actively talking about their topics, however others seem a bit confused and off-task. Mrs. Barber's classes are co-taught, meaning that some of the students have IEPs for learning disorders or behavioral disorders. It is often difficult to keep these kids on-task, especially when they are doing something new and unfamiliar. Once they understand what they are supposed to do, they readily begin to work.

Most students are doing a good job of filling out the chart about their sources. Some are having trouble deciphering what kind of source their websites are, and the purpose. When students get stuck, we just show them how and where to find the information they need. I think this aspect of the assignment reinforces critical thinking. Many of these students have never thought about what kind of source they're getting their information from, or how reliable it is. They've also been labeling some opinions as fact, which we've needed to redirect. This also helps with critical thinking.

All groups have been able to find quality sources for their topics. Our next step is to have them create a prompt for a webquest using their sources.

Implementation

Today is the first day of my unit implementation. My consultee is explaining the assignment to her students, and we are putting them into groups. So far, it has gone very well. The students seem to understand the assignment, and are--I think--genuinely excited about it. Because it is a history class, the students have become accustomed to the lecture/note-taking model, so this webquest will be a nice departure.

The only foreseeable problem at this point is time. I'm a bit concerned that my consultee's students will not have enough time in the computer lab to complete the necessary research. Though they have three days to complete it, that's really only about two hours because of the time it takes to get settled in, etc., and because most of them do not have computers at home. We'll see in a couple of days!

Unit Plan Progress

I'm still trying to work out the kinks of my unit plan. I've been working with my consultee for several weeks now, and I'm still having trouble figuring out how much time her kids will need. It's so hard to get computer time, so I sort of have to plan the unit around the computer schedule.