Unit
2 Reflection: Project Based Learning, I-Search, WebQuests, & Concept Mapping
January 21st – February 10th, 2008
With our discussion into multiple intelligences and its connection to web-based learning completed, unit 2 provided insight into the framework for web-based learning with particular focus on project based learning (PBL), I-search, and Web Quests. Concept mapping and the overall importance of detailed planning to the development of web-based instruction was also covered in this unit.
Following my study of this unit, one common theme shared by PBL, I-search, and WebQuests that I clearly recognize is their direct connection to the constructivist learning theory. Identified as “a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in,” constructivism includes a number of guiding principles including:
Ø Learning is a search for meaning.
Ø Meaning requires understanding wholes as well as parts.
Ø The purpose of learning is for an individual to construct his or her own meaning, not just memorize the "right" answers and regurgitate someone else's meaning. (funderstanding)
As a strong promoter of technology integration to encourage and support student learning, constructivism has become a dominant characteristic of my personal teaching style. Since my first introduction to that learning theory in the summer of 2000 during the final stages of my Bachelor of Education degree, it has been regularly employed it in my classes. Through WebQuests and other problem-based learning projects, having students construct new knowledge using technology has become very common in many of my courses.
In addition to constructivism, a close relationship also exists between Gardner’s multiple intelligences from the first unit and classroom technology integration using web-based learning in the form of PBL, WebQuests and I-Search. While detailing the parameters of these online learning methods are not the purpose of this reflection, it is important to the benefit they offer to multiple intelligences.
As noted by edutopia, in reference to the differences in which children with various learning styles build their knowledge in regular classrooms with traditional text-based focus compared to newer PBL methods,
PBL addresses these differences, because students must use all modalities in the process of researching and solving a problem, then communicating the solutions. When children are interested in what they are doing and are able to use their areas of strength, they achieve at a higher level. (Edutopia)
On a similar note, teachers who design and develop WebQuests for use in their classrooms can effectively target any number of intelligences outlined by Gardner within the boundaries of the webquest itself. While the WebQuest will provide a scenario that will serve as a problem solving activity for any curriculum area, it is the required finished product itself that may prove of great value to the area of multiple intelligences. These finished products, as found in the “Promoting Tourism in Newfoundland and Labrador” WebQuest developed for the group component of this course, can directly targets any number of multiple intelligences including interpersonal, verbal/linguistic, and musical.
It is also important to note how the constructivist learning activities mentioned above impact three major areas of teaching: curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Regarding the curriculum, WebQuests, PBL, and I-Search “promotes using curricula customized to the students' prior knowledge.” Instruction is impacted as teachers “tailor their teaching strategies to student responses and encourage students to analyze, interpret, and predict information.” In the area of assessment, one of the most significant characteristics associated with constructivist learning is the “assessment becomes part of the learning process so that students play a larger role in judging their own progress.” (Funderstanding)
To conclude this reflection, it is important to discuss the significance of concept mapping when planning and designing web based activities such as those previously mentioned. For visual learners such as myself, concept mapping software such as Inspiration and the free Web 2.0 tool Bubbl.us are ideal tools to help with organizing complex ideas and information when designing such constructivist projects as the ones dealt with in this second unit.
Notable Unit 2 Readings / Resources
Background Knowledge and Theory
http://college.hmco.com/education/pbl/background.html
Project-based Learning
http://www.edutopia.org/projectbasedlearning
Using Multiple Intelligences in Project based Learning
http://www.4teachers.org/projectbased/intell.shtml
Web
Quests and More
http://www.ozline.com/learning/
Workshop Web Quest
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html
The
I-Search: Guiding Students Towards Relevant Research
http://www2.edc.org/FSC/MIH/article.html
I-Search Paper Format Guide
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/writing/formatsheet.html
How
to Construct a Concept map
http://www.udel.edu/chem/white/teaching/ConceptMap.html
Works Cited
(2001). Constructivism. Retrieved March 3, 2008, from Funderstanding Web site: http://www.funderstanding.com/constructivism.cfm
(2007, September 19). Why is Project-Based Learning Important?. Retrieved February 8, 2008, from Edutopia.org The George Lucas Foundation Web site: http://www.edutopia.org/teaching-module-pbl-why
Resources
Social Studies Audio/Visual/Multimedia Resources
Original Technology Integration
Teaching With Technology: Microsoft Publisher in the Social Studies Classroom
EDU 537 Group Project Promoting Tourism in Newfoundland & Labrador WebQuest
Canadian Battlefields Tour of Europe Blog (March 23 - April 1, 2008)