This is a Webquest, created using Dreamweaver, designed to teach third grade students about constellations. The Webquest is a cooperative group learning activity enabling students to understand what constellations are, their history, and the stars that make up each of four constellations. Students used research skills, creative applications and writing formats to create a final project for presentation to the class.
Constellation Webquest
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Course Artifacts
Professionally, I have grown
to become a more involved team member due to the creation and implementation
of this project. With this project, I was able to show my team of third
grade teachers how I could be a lead teacher in a general education
curriculum based area of study, while still providing for the individualized
needs and supports required by my students with special needs. Within
the context of this webquest activity, I was also able to provide opportunities
for students who required more challenges within the general education
curriculum areas. Teacher saw how better to free themselves to provide
assistance and challenges to students working in smaller groups who
were engaged, motivated and often helped each other towards learning,
understanding and creating their final projects. The cooperative group
learning piece of this webquest, allowed all the students to experience
success in their learning together.
My own confidence in directing a large group activity was also improved
through this webquest. By the third pairing with a general education
class, I was better at answering questions, keeping the attention of
the larger group and handling challenges that came up for individuals
or the group. By creating this technology enhanced learning opportunity,
based in a basic grade level goal area, I also gained the confidence
to tackle further areas of study in a similar manner. As of this portfolio
review, I have created four other webquests grounded in cooperative
group learning activities in order to enhance learning success in other
areas of the curriculum, including the study of Native American regions
and a persuasive writing activity.
ISTE-TF.2.A INDICATOR: Design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners.
This web based science activity is developmentally appropriate for third or fourth graders. Due to its cooperative group base, the activities that make up the total can easily be modified or adapted to allow students with various learning differences, including cognitive, learning, attention, or writing differences to succeed with the general education group. Also, individual student goals could be worked on within this framework while still allowing the student to contribute to the whole. Students with no prior background knowledge can begin to understand the concepts of constellations and space in general, while those who do have some prior knowledge in these areas will be challenged to focus their learning and explore the included websites in more detail. In this way, using the technology of a webquest for learning within the general third/fourth grade curriculum enhances the knowledge that students will have in this area.
ISTE-TF.5 STANDARD: Productivity and Professional Practice -- Educational technology facilitators apply technology to enhance and improve personal productivity and professional practice.
Personally and professionally, the creation of this webquest has led me to improve myself within the realm of the general education programs. As a teacher of students with special needs, I am often on the outside, trying to get my students into the general education groups and activities. With the creation of this webquest, I was able to become a leader for my third grade team. Within the webquest, my students could work towards the whole group project while also working on individual goals such as cooperative group behavior, using spelling aids for writing, identifying main ideas and answering “wh” questions. The third grade team was able to see how this inclusion could be successful within the realm of their general science curriculum activities. By grounding the technology enhanced lessons and activities in cooperative group learning, the professional practice of all the teachers on the team was improved. Each of us had more time to challenge students who needed some differentiated acceleration within the activities, to spend time with the smaller groups in a more meaningful way, and to provide additional assistance for those with the need for such. Having the students engaged, working together as teams, motivated and involved in sequential activities laid out within the webquest allowed the teachers this time and involvement.
