Teaching Guide for Knowledge Explorer webquest

Author: Jim Davis

Introduction

The Knowledge Explorer webquest is really a webquest about research and problem-solving. Superficially, students investigate an item that they interact with on a daily basis: snack food. This particular webquest departs from the traditional structure of a webquest by allowing for multiple paths of inquiry, with no fixed goal other than a report on student findings. In the course of carrying out the webquest, students must determine what they want to investigate.

Because the world is deeply interconnected, the study of any phenomenon can serve as the starting point into deeper understanding of all phenomena. If the object of study is a social product, then the in-depth study of that product will lead to a deeper understanding of social processes as well. This webquest is designed to be open-ended, allowing students to select paths of inquiry that interest them. In order to successfully complete the webquest, students must develop, execute and evaluate a research strategy. Using as the starting point a product that most (even all) middle school students are very familiar with, namely snack food, students can learn more about chemistry, biology, nutrition, agriculture, manufacturing, and local and global commodity flows. The snack food object provides a high interest hook into a cross-curricular investigation.

Through the in-depth investigation, students may be exposed to the nutrition, chemistry and biology, agriculture, manufacturing, and the local and global economy. Students start from a common point of inquiry (some brand of snack food), but are free to investigate it as they see fit. The teacher supports and nudges the investigation through timely questions to promote further student thinking. All students are expected to present their findings in a medium of their choosing.

As such this webquest attempts to move beyond the "guided inquiry" model to a strong "open inquiry." (See the Glossary below for definitions.)

As Alan Coburn noted, in open-ended inquiry, "the teacher is the key element in the classroom." ("An Inquiry Primer", Science Scope, March 2000.) When implementing an open-ended inquiry webquest, the teacher is the key element, not the webquest. The Knowledge Explorer webquest attempts to achieve this centrality of the teacher facilitated open inquiry by requiring the teacher to intervene and customize the webquest as students progress in their investigation. The Knowledge Explorer webquest provides a relatively simple mechanism for modifying the content of the webquest Process page. This allows the teacher to insert content specific to each student groups' needs.

Important note about the sample Knowledge Explorer website: As noted above, Knowledge Explorer is an open-ended inquiry. As such, it is intended to be modified according to student needs and interests as it progress. The teacher is expected to help students identify appropriate resources and build relevant skills as the webquest progresses.

The Knowledge Explorer site is intended as an example of the Knowledge Explorer webquest. The Process page shows an example of the webquest used with a hypothetical class of four groups (Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Group 4). (Teachers may modify the proc.html page to name the groups as he or she sees fit.) Each group sees a custom Process page. In the sample scenario, Group 1 has focused on the chemistry of taste and has questions about weight. In the second round of investigation, they have additional questions about the snack food industry, corn, and advertising. Group 2 has focused on taste and food additives during the first round, and nutrition for the second round. Group 3 has focused on the Food Chain during round one, and on the field-to-table journey for round 2. Group 4 shows the Process page as it would appear at the beginning of the webquest, with no customization done for the group.

The customized areas in the sample appear in blue text with pink links to make them easier to identify in the sample. The associated stylesheet (wq.css, styles inc and inchead) can be modified to make the customized portions blend in. In addition, the sample webquest links to one wiki page and shows the pages as they might appear early in the investigation. When using the webquest in class, each group should have its own wiki page.

See the Appendix for information on how the Process page is tailored for groups.

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Aim

The Knowledge Explorer webquest aims to introduce middle school students to critical thinking about the things they interact with on a daily basis.

Rationale

The standard format of a webquest directs students through an investigation using guided inquiry. A fixed path of inquiry is technically easier to design and execute. However, in many cases, an open-ended inquiry may be more desirable because it exercises more higher order thinking skills and develops meta-cognitive learning strategies. This webquest attempts to move into the open water of inquiry, and tries to find a proper balance between teacher and technology guidance, and student freedom to pursue questions that they define.

Students also need to learn problem-solving strategies to be successful learners. This webquest roughly follows Polya's four-step model that is often introduced in the middle school math curriculum: Describe the problem, Develop a plan, Execute the plan, Look Back (evaluate, assess). This webquest provides concrete practice in designing and implementing strategies.

This webquest also attempts to introduce students to a way of doing science that begins with the object under investigation. The scientific method begins with observation; observation leads to questions, and questions lead to investigation strategies. The object of investigation remains at the center of the investigation. So this webquest also exposes students to the domain of qualitative science.

 
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General Goals

• experience group-directed open-ended inquiry
• develop, execute and evaluate a research strategy
• practice observing a phenomenon, formulating interesting questions based on observations, developing strategies to explore those questions, executing strategies, and reporting observations, conclusions and further investigations
• appreciate the interconnections of objects students interact with on a daily basis
• apply critical thinking to those objects (e.g., what are the objects, where do they come from, who interacts with them and under what conditions, what do the objects do to the consumer, etc.)

Learner Description

The primary target for this webquest is middle school students. Because the webquest is structured as an open-ended inquiry, by its design incorporates differentiation opportunities to support learners with a wide range of learning skills and special needs. Teachers should follow their existing policy regarding heterogeneous vs homogeneous grouping.

Examples of possible accomodation opportunities include:

1. Modifying expectations for the type of questions that students come up with
2. Adjusting the links that are tailored to student groups to meet groups needs. The challenge for teachers is to push student thinking into their zone of proximal development, and adjust the quality of resources they access accordingly.
3. Allowing students to develop presentations in keeping with their abilities and strengths.

Prerequisites

Skills used in this webquest include:

• Reading skills
• Some web research skills
• Collaboration skills
• As designed, the webquest uses wikis for recording findings, so some preparation for wilki use may be appropriate.
  

Subject Matter
 

Problem-solving
Research skills

Possibly (depending on direction of investigation):
Nutrition
Chemistry and biology
General economics
Agriculture
Math
History

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Learning Objectives

On completing this WebQuest, learners will be able to:

• formulate a strategy for investigating a commodity
• identify at least three subject areas where the commodity might be studied (e.g. nutrition, biology, manufacturing, psychology, business, advertising and packaging, waste disposal, labor relations, etc.)
• describe a commodity in terms of at least three different subject areas (or dimensions)

• 3.B.3a Produce documents that convey a clear understanding and interpretation of idea and information and display focus, organization, elaboration and coherence.


• 3.C.3b Using available technology, produce compositions and multimedia works for specified audiences.


• 5.A.3a Identify appropriate resources to solve problems or answer questions through research.


• 5.A.3b Design a project related to con- temporary issues (e.g. real-world math, career development, community service) using multiple sources


• 5.B.3a Choose and analyze information sources for individual, academic and functional purposes.


• 5.B.3b Identify, evaluate and cite primary sources.


• 5.C.3a Plan, compose, edit and revise documents that synthesize new meaning gleaned from multiple sources.


• 5.C.3b Prepare and orally present original work (e.g., poems, monologues, reports, plays, stories) supported by research.


• 5.C.3c Take notes, conduct interviews, organize and report information in oral, visual and electronic formats.


• 7.A.3b Apply the concepts and attributes of length, capacity, weight/mass, perimeter, area, volume, time, temperature and angle measures in practical situations.


• 10.B.3 Formulate questions (e.g., relationships between car age and mileage, average incomes and years of schooling), devise and conduct experiments or simulations, gather data, draw conclusions and communicate results to an audience using traditional methods and contemporary technologies.


• 11.A.3a Formulate hypotheses that can be tested by collecting data.


• 11.A.3f Interpret and represent results of analysis to produce findings.


• 11.A.3g Report and display the process and results of a scientific investigation.


• 13.B.3d Analyze the interaction of resource acquisition, technological development and ecosystem impact (e.g., diamond, coal or gold mining; deforestation).


• 15.A.3c Describe the relationship between consumer purchases and businesses paying for productive resources.


• 17.B.3b Explain how changes in components of an ecosystem affect the system overall.


• 23.B.3 Explain the effects of health- related actions upon body systems (e.g., fad diets, orthodontics, avoiding smoking, alcohol use and other drug use).

National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) addressed in this webquest include:

2. Communication and Collaboration - Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students:

a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.

d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

3. Research and Information Fluency - Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:

a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.

b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.

c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

d. process data and report results.

Work flow

Instructional Plan

1. Discuss the task in general: Students will investigate a snack food item, and learn about it as much as they can. They will then report their findings to the class. To give students a sense of how to proceed, model a multi-modal investigation of an artifact. The artifact should NOT be a food item so as not to spoil the student investigation. The modelling can take the form of a think-aloud series of observations and questions that flow from the observations. The questions become the starting point for investigation. For example, using a cast-iron frying pan as the object:

   Round 1: The physical object
   "It is heavy, black, metallic. It is round, or more like a section of a cone. It has a handle, sloping sides, an indentation. The handle has a hole in it. The inside is fairly smooth, but not entirely. The outside is rough, and has something crusty on it. If I hold it just right and tap on it, it rings."
   
   Questions: What is it made of? How heavy is it? What are its physical dimensions? What is its size to weight ratio? How does that compare with other objects? What kind of metal is it made of? How could I find out? What benefits does that kind of metal offer? Why is there a hole in the handle? What is the indentation (a lip) for? Does it make a difference that the inside is smooth and the outside not? Why does it ring? Do pans of a different size make a different ringing tone? Why might that be? Could one make music with the pan? Why is it round and not square? Why do the sides slope? Why are the sides a particular height?
   
   Round 2: The historical or social object
   I use it for cooking; I purchased it at a store. Beyond that, I don't know much about it.
   
   Questions: Where did the material for it come from? How was it obtained? What needed to be done to it before it could become a frying pan? Who made it? What was their work like? How many people were involved in making it? What were the steps? How did it get from ground to factory to store to kitchen? How do I use it? Why do I choose it for some foods and not others?
   
   Round 3: The emotional object
   I am fond of my frying pan; I like its simplicity and sturdiness and the way it cooks food. I like that it is old and still works well.
   
   Questions: Why those feelings?
   
   Round 4: History, origins, social need
   More questions: Did someone "invent" the frying pan? Where did frying pans come from? What is their history? Why did someone come up with the idea of the frying pan? What preceded it? Cooking food is important. How does a frying pan fit into that?
   
   Round 5: The thing in general
   Thinking about the pan, I realize it is a tool. I use other tools. How is it similar? How is it different? Are there other forms it takes? Why?
   

   And so on. The important idea here is that students see that all observations and thoughts about the object at this stage are valid, and should consider all questions as appropriate. Students will find it useful to proceed in stages with their questions. One important idea here is that the object of investigation should stay at the center of the questioning -- it will anchor the investigation.


2. In groups, students select a snack food item. Allow students to bring the item to class, and devote one period to consumption of the item, having students take notes on different aspects of the item (saltiness or sweetness, texture, color, shape, how they feel about it, etc. Also, where did they get it? How much did it cost? How big is the bag? How much does it weigh? What happens to the item when it goes in the mouth?)
   
   As a class, brainstorm questions that came up. Model developing an investigation strategy. Have brainstorming continue in groups. Students should consolidate their lists, and record their group lists on their wiki page.
   
   Based on their questions and brainstorming, have students create an investigation strategy, and save it on their wiki page. The group emails the teacher, teacher reviews and approves or requires refinement to ensure focus, depth and do-ability.


3. Students should keep an individual learning journal. This journal is personal to them, but will be used as an additional formative assessment tool. The journal will serve as both a log of findings, and a place to reflect on their findings. Students should be encouraged to record their findings and thoughts after each research session.


4. Students determine roles for their group and select their roles.


5. Students execute strategy. Strategies may involve web research; interviews, e.g. with the store owner or a nutrition expert or the driver of the truck who delivers the food to the store; or some basic chemistry; or a survey of students. This portion is open-ended but subject to suggestion and support from the teacher. Teacher modifies Process page as needed to support students. See Appendix for teacher role in this portion of the webquest. Students record results in wiki.


6. Class reviews wikis, and add questions and comments for a second round of investigation.


7. Conduct second round of investigation.


8. Propose format for final presentation for teacher sign-off.


9. Prepare final presentation to report findings.


10. Present final report.

Materials

A snack food (supplied by student)
A web browser and an Internet-connected computer
Wiki service (demo site uses wikispaces.com, which provides free sites to K-12 teachers)
Necessary materials for final presentation (TBD, based on student choice of medium)
Learning journal
Copies of Investigation Getting Started hand-out
Copies of Presentation Proposal handout
Copies of Storyboard handout


Optional:
Digital recorder for interviews
Final presentation rubric handout if students will score each others' presentation
As needed, materials (links, handouts, minilessons) to support investigation (e.g., how to do interviews) or final presentation (e.g., how to do a podcast)

 
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Plan for Assessment and Evaluation

Student assessment: Students will primarily be assessed via a final presentation using a rubric. Students witl evaluate their own and their teammates' project participation. Ongoing formative assessment will be done via review of milestone products. Student journals should be reviewed periodically as an additional means of doing formative assessment.

Webquest assessment: As an open-ended inquiry, the Knowledge Explorer webquest should obtain a high "inquiry quotient" score. See "Inquiry Quotient" Rubric for Webquests for a rubric that may be used to assess the open-ended inquiry dimension of the Knowledge Explorer webquest. The usability of the webquest can be assessed based on the kind and number of questions raise about the webquest, teacher reflection on the process, and the degree of student enthusiasm at the end of the webquest. This last assessment may be based on observation, the final student reflections, and the quality of student presentations. Student assessment will provide some insight into the learning efficacy of the webquest. Peer review will also provide an assessment of the first-impression quality of the webquest. However, since by design the webquest is open-ended, it only fully comes into being when it is executed. As a result, teacher feedback after implenting the webquest is very important.

Feedback to the author: Teachers: please submit feedback by completing the short survey below:

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Appendices

• Asking open-ended, or divergent, questions (such as "What are you doing?" "Tell me about what you're thinking?" and "What do you think would happen if...?");
• Waiting a few seconds after asking the questions, giving student time to think;
• Responding to students by repeating and paraphrasing what they have said without praising or criticizing (to encourages students to think for themselves, and to stop looking to the teacher for validation);
• Avoiding telling students what to do, praising evaluating, rejecting, or discouraging student ideas and behaviors;
• Maintaining a disciplined classroom.