Hello!
This week's topic is about Constructive learning and WebQuests.

WebQuest is a teaching strategy that allows students to obtain information from the Internet through a teacher-led process. In other words, WebQuest is a research- and inquiry-oriented learning method that fosters critical thinking and collaborative learning.   

Suggesting students to carry out a search on the web is a widespread and risky practice, since there are many sources available on the web and the teacher cannot have control over the authoritativeness of the materials used by students.

From this point of view, the WebQuest proves to be an invaluable tool because it is the teacher who selects the materials to be used and this allows students to work critically and consistently on the web.

WebQuest: how it works

The WebQuest consists of six steps:

• Introduction: the teacher explains the objectives and aims of the assignment;

• Task: the teacher explains the assignment (problem solving, report, video, research, project implementation, etc.);

• Resources: the teacher gives the sitography (the list of sites to be used to find information) and any criteria for using materials outside of those provided;

• Procedure: the teacher suggests the work steps to follow;

• Assessment: the teacher explains how the students' performance will be assessed;

• Conclusion: students present the work and reflect on the whole process.

WebQuest: the teacher's role

Through the WebQuest, the teacher builds a structure between the student and the internet, in order to allow the student to concentrate on the task rather than searching for information. The teacher's task will therefore be to organise the work in advance, choosing the most suitable sites for the assignment and formulating the delivery in a clear and comprehensive manner.

At the same time, the teacher assumes the role of mediator of the interaction and learning processes of the students and must intervene to encourage dialogue and confrontation in the event of moments of impasse or loss of motivation.

Advantages of WebQuest

The WebQuest is based on the constructivism paradigm, according to which knowledge is conceived as the personal construction of the learner. This means that the learner becomes an active protagonist of his/her own learning process and does so in a cooperative dimension where he/she is stimulated to interact among peers. In this way, the acquisition of knowledge and skills takes place through cooperation, overcoming conflicts and sharing work and results.

The WebQuest also adapts to all disciplinary areas and strengthens the motivation of the students, who respond to this didactic proposal with greater interest than the classic "erogative" lesson because they feel they are active protagonists in learning and in the continuous self-evaluation of the methods and products realized.

WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which students get all information from the web. Teachers provide their students with the documents that include links to websites to use the information, according to the activity. The purpose of using WebQuest is to encourage students to use information rather than gathering it and participate in meaningful classroom discussions. WebQuest supports critical thinking through analyzing, creating, and evaluating. Also, it integrates technology into learning and foster cooperative learning.

What is constructivism?

Constructivism is the theory that says learners construct knowledge rather than just passively take in information. As people experience the world and reflect upon those experiences, they build their own representations and incorporate new information into their pre-existing knowledge (schemas).

Related to this are the processes of assimilation and accommodation.

• Assimilation refers to the process of taking new information and fitting it into an existing schema.

• Accommodation refers to using newly acquired information to revise and redevelop an existing schema.

For example, if I believe that friends are always nice, and meet a new person who is always nice to me I may call this person a friend, assimilating them into my schema. Perhaps, however, I meet a different person who sometimes pushes me to try harder and is not always nice. I may decide to change my schema to accommodate this person by deciding a friend doesn’t always need to be nice if they have my best interests in mind. Further, this may make me reconsider whether the first person still fits into my friend schema.

Consequences of constructivist theory are that:

• Students learn best when engaged in learning experiences rather passively receiving information.

• Learning is inherently a social process because it is embedded within a social context as students and teachers work together to build knowledge.

• Because knowledge cannot be directly imparted to students, the goal of teaching is to provide experiences that facilitate the construction of knowledge.  

This last point is worth repeating. A traditional approach to teaching focuses on delivering information to students, yet constructivism argues that you cannot directly impart this information. Only an experience can facilitate students to construct their own knowledge. Therefore, the goal of teaching is to design these experiences.

There are many consequences for teaching and the classroom if you adhere to constructivist principles. The following chart from the Teaching and Learning Resources wiki compares traditional and constructivist classrooms across several components