Pedagogy
Say What?? Webquest Rationale/Reflection
SAU Effective Teaching Domain: Pedagogy
Title: Say What?? Webquest
Context: EDU 360: Integrating Technology in Teaching
Date: June 2013
Developed in June 2013, the objectives of this Webquest were basically for students to gain a deeper understanding of key characters in the events leading up to the American Revolution. This corresponds with Michigan Social Studies standard 5 – U3.1.6, which requires students to “Identify the role that key individuals played in leading the colonists to revolution, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Thomas Paine.” Students did this by taking on the roles of these characters and using valuable websites to uncover important information about the characters. They used the information they found as well as some critical thinking to determine which of the characters they believed spoke a certain quote. By trying to discover the speaker of the quote, students were challenged to think more deeply about their characters and discover more about them than simple facts and figures. The evidence of student learning occurred when groups of students presented their guess at the end of the lesson and gave supporting reasons for why each character did or did not say the quote. In explaining their reason for choosing or not choosing a character, students demonstrated actual knowledge of that character. This Webqest clearly portrays my grasp of pedagogy because I used a number of strategies to create an interesting and engaging learning experience for my students. Foremost among these strategies is the use of technology as an asset in instruction. I also made use of strategies such as collaborative learning and graphic organizers in this lesson.
While creating this Webquest, I learned a great amount about using technology as an asset in teaching that I had not known before. Since creating the webquest, I now feel confident in my ability to create other lessons using the internet in such a dynamic way, and I feel that I have added more variety to my pedagogy. Pedagogy is incredibly important in teaching because the way a teacher teaches has a huge impact on whether students learn or not. As I grow as a teacher, I plan to continue discovering and practicing new strategies and pedagogical practices so that I can be the most effective teacher possible.
SAU Effective Teaching Domain: Pedagogy
Title: Say What?? Webquest
Context: EDU 360: Integrating Technology in Teaching
Date: June 2013
Developed in June 2013, the objectives of this Webquest were basically for students to gain a deeper understanding of key characters in the events leading up to the American Revolution. This corresponds with Michigan Social Studies standard 5 – U3.1.6, which requires students to “Identify the role that key individuals played in leading the colonists to revolution, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Thomas Paine.” Students did this by taking on the roles of these characters and using valuable websites to uncover important information about the characters. They used the information they found as well as some critical thinking to determine which of the characters they believed spoke a certain quote. By trying to discover the speaker of the quote, students were challenged to think more deeply about their characters and discover more about them than simple facts and figures. The evidence of student learning occurred when groups of students presented their guess at the end of the lesson and gave supporting reasons for why each character did or did not say the quote. In explaining their reason for choosing or not choosing a character, students demonstrated actual knowledge of that character. This Webqest clearly portrays my grasp of pedagogy because I used a number of strategies to create an interesting and engaging learning experience for my students. Foremost among these strategies is the use of technology as an asset in instruction. I also made use of strategies such as collaborative learning and graphic organizers in this lesson.
While creating this Webquest, I learned a great amount about using technology as an asset in teaching that I had not known before. Since creating the webquest, I now feel confident in my ability to create other lessons using the internet in such a dynamic way, and I feel that I have added more variety to my pedagogy. Pedagogy is incredibly important in teaching because the way a teacher teaches has a huge impact on whether students learn or not. As I grow as a teacher, I plan to continue discovering and practicing new strategies and pedagogical practices so that I can be the most effective teacher possible.