An Webquest is an inquiry-oriented activity or lesson in which all or most of the information that learners use comes from resources on the internet. Teachers can create Webquests using different programs.

An Webquest is an introduction that sets the stage of the activity, an interesting task, a set of information resources, a process and a conclusion that provides reflection from students learning. 

An Webquest promotes student motivation and authenticity, develops thinking skills since it focuses on real world situations and encourages cooperative learning.

 In other words, Webquests include group work, prior knowledge and learning. Students use what they know before the lesson and will work together to figure out the overall goal of the lesson, which include collaboration and prior knowledge.

In addition, I will share with you something interesting about cooperative learning because webquests are included in Project Based Learning and Cooperative Learning.

Cooperative learning

It is all about the student at the center of learning process. Cooperative learning enhances collaboration, interaction, engagement, no competition, team building and the development of thinking skills. Another aspect of this way of teaching is about avoiding bullying situations and improving race relations. 

A simple way to start Cooperative Learning is to begin with pairs instead of whole teams.

Two students can learn to work effectively on activities such as:

1. Assign a math worksheet and ask students to work in pairs.
2. One of the students does the first problem while the second acts as a coach
3. Then, students switch roles for the second problem.
4. when they finish the second problem, they get together with another pair and check answers.
5. When both pairs have agreed on the answers, ask them to shake hands and continue working in pairs on the next two problems.

This is a Cooperative Learning Strategy taken from http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/cooperative-learning-strategies

I want to share with you how I have applied it in my class. It is similar to Project Based Learning method but the main difference between these two theories is that PBL always ends with a final product. In addition, students in PBL activities have the option to work alone when they want to study a problem other groups are not interested in. But despite their differencies, both theories are referred to as best practices.

An activity would be:

Divide students into groups and give them the assignments. They have to work in collaboration with others, to work even with those they do not know and to share their opinions about the topic.

If the topic is family, they are going to be divided into four groups and each group has a task to complete for the final result. 

Hope it helps!

The quote of the week: Cooperative learning is not simple, but the rewards can be great!