Students learn in different ways, and webquests are a great way to let students follow their interests or play to their strengths within an assigned theme. Small group projects allow students to do the portion of the task that address their “intelligences” (see Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences). Individual projects make it easier for the teacher to determine who did the actual work, however.
The most effective webquests have a “real world” task that students try to accomplish: a presentation to the board of directors of the Art Museum, a design for a war memorial, etc. These tasks require the students to take the new knowledge they have gained and synthesize it into a “product” of some kind. The exact product will depend on your time available, skills you are trying to teach, and the age level of the students.
Try to provide the opportunity for students to show their strengths by taking different roles within their group or different project options:
- written projects, such as reports, booklets, scripts, letters, editorials
- multimedia presentations
- visual/artistic displays or posters (with an oral explanation, if necessary)
- performances or role-play
- mathematical spreadsheets or charts
If you provide a clear rubric of the expectations for the different options, your students can use their imaginations to meet expectations their own way.
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Webquest
101 – Putting Discovery into the Curriculum