EQ Australia

Science, values and the WWW

Developed and widely used in the USA, WebQuests are gaining popularity in Australia, particularly with teachers of English and SOSE. Science teacher Gary Simpson discusses WebQuests and how they can help lead students of science to make value judgements about social and environmental implications of scientific and tecnological developments.

Critical constructivism
WebQuest is based on the constructivist approach to learning and can be used to answer the criticism of constructivism that it fails to consider ethics and values. With WebQuests, students respond to questions that focus on the appropriateness of the application of scientific and technological developments in relation to the environment, genetics or issues of social justice. This suits my own constructivist inspired student-centred learning approach (Simpson, 2001). Because WebQuests are so flexible, I am able to create a series of linked tasks to meet the needs of students who come to my class with a diverse range of learning styles, learning abilities, multiple intelligences, prior knowledge and experience, and personal enculturation. My students are able to share what they have to offer in a learning situation with their peers and build upon their personal foundations in the way most appropriate to them.

WebQuests are also excellent vehicles for engaging students with information and communication technologies, as students are able to use the web to find and share information, and deliver their completed work. Students are encouraged to explain what they have learnt from the WebQuest using a multimedia format, and to share this with their peers (as a minimum) and the greater school community as appropriate. Using the school intranet, I am able to load all my files in a folder that my students can access from school or home. Students can download my files, complete the task and send me their finished work. Later, students and I can publish that work on the intranet for access by all students at the school.

What are WebQuests?
WebQuests are student-centred teacher-designed activities, which use the Internet as the major source of information to support student investigation, usually in small groups. Each WebQuest has six essential components.

1. An introduction explains clearly and concisely what the WebQuest is about. It is designed to engage students. For example, in my year 10 ‘Good Nutrition’ WebQuest, the following statement is used:

Welcome to our WebQuest. In this activity you will be required to investigate practices of diet and exercise that promote good nutrition in humans to respond to the following statement: ‘Western society’s obsession with body image threatens the long-term health of individuals and the species.’ You will need to present your findings in a way that can be shared with the class, school and/or school community.

2. The task is then set out. It relates directly to the introduction and explains precisely what is required of each student. This may take the form of a focus question that defines the task followed by a series of activities to be completed. For example, my year 10 ‘Motion’ WebQuest required students to work in groups of two or three to complete four experiments, four question sheets, two investigations and two activities. Having completed these activities, they were then to prepare a final web-based presentation that displayed what they had learnt and how it all linked together.

3. Students are given a list of resources, primarily from the Internet, which can be used to successfully complete the activities listed in the task. The teacher has already found the appropriate sites to inform the various questions the student will need to answer. In this way, students are sheltered from inappropriate Internet sites and more successful in searching for information.

4. The process students should follow to successfully complete the task is laid out step by step. This provides a strong framework to follow, so that all students can complete these activities successfully. My ‘Good Nutrition’ WebQuest offers an example:

Select your partner(s).

Discuss the work to be completed and prepare a plan of action. What questions will each of the members investigate?

Check out the websites listed in the reference section for helpful information.

Check out the web. When you find something you like, check the web page for a copyright notice. Often, students are encouraged to copy things that will be used in the classroom. Sometimes people don’t want their work copied at all. A good practice is looking for an email link on the page and then using it to ask for permission.

Copy any text you want (provided you have the copyright owners’ permission). Save any images you like by downloading them.

Now sort through your information. Ask yourself the following questions:

Do I have enough information on each of the questions listed above?
Do I have images that will help me explain these things in my multimedia report?
Have I collected all the bibliographical details of the sites and books I’ve used for my reference list?
If you have answered yes, you are ready to prepare your multimedia report.
If the answer is no, what will you need to do to complete this project successfully?

5. The students are supplied with an evaluation rubric so that they are fully aware of the assess-ment criteria. The table below shows the final criterion from the rubric for a year 10 ‘Future Space Travel’ WebQuest I am developing to encourage students to question how science and technology are used by society to achieve its particular ends. 6. The conclusion challenges the learner to act upon what they have achieved. During Term 3, one of my year 10 classes studied the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems. Two outcomes were required: the first was a presentation on ‘Good Nutrition’; the second was an action plan—what could they do to promote the work of the Heart Foundation and raise money for it? The students’ response has been to organise a ‘dance-a-thon’ during Term 4.

Statement of values

Beginning
The student has stated a straightforward viewpoint that displays a view of the role of science and technology in our society.

Developing
The student has stated a detailed viewpoint that displays a view of the role of science and technology in our society.

Accomplished
The student has stated a thoughtful viewpoint that displays a detailed view of the role of science and technology in our society.

Exemplary
The student has stated a complex viewpoint that displays a richly detailed view of the role of science and technology in our society.

Reflection
WebQuests have proven to be a useful way to share control of the teaching and learning situation, and to engage my students in a meaningful way with the development of knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts. But more than this, I can also encourage my students to become critically reflective about their own learning, and the role of scientific knowledge and its use by society. I have attempted to make a connection between the study of science in the classroom and the lives of my students outside of school, in their real world. In this way, my students and I can enter into a conversation that focusses on values and ethics as they are applied to the use of knowledge by our society.

References
Simpson, G B (2001). ‘Student Centred Teaching and Learning: A theoretical perspective', Lab Talk, vol45, no5.

Gary Simpson teaches science at Woodleigh School in Baxter, Victoria.

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