Week 05: Project-based Learning, WebQuests, and rubrics

PBL (Project-based Learning)

After reading Susan Gaer’s article, ‘Less Teaching and More Learning’, I think PBL can be used to help motivate students more for the following reasons.

1) Otherwise teacher-centered learning, PBL is student-centered leaning and students can develop their project theme as independence learners.
2) PBL gives the purpose and meaning (value) to leaning.
3) Through PBL, students can experience language learning in their real life.
4) In the case of group project, students can be encouraged participation, cooperation, and communication.
5) Doing project work, students can search for information, analyze it, and share it with others.
6) Students can try various ways and tools to achieve their goals. In this process, technology (web skills) can be the one of useful learning tools.

Sources:
-Less Teaching and More Learning by Susan Gaer
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385

WebQuests

WebQuest is closely related to PBL activities. In PBL, students choose project theme and develop their learning process by themselves. WebQuest is a kind of online PBL, I think. Teachers can facilitate students’ learning by setting the goals, making tasks and process, and explaining the rubrics.
I made my first WebQuest using Zunal WebQuest Maker.

My WebQuest is: http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=120532

Sources:
-Zunal WebQuest Maker - http://www.zunal.com/
-WebQuest.org - http://www.webquest.org/

Alternative Assessment and Rubrics

Features of alternative assessment
-based on authentic task (performance based)
-focused on communication
-set the criteria with learners
-self-assessment and peer-assessment

Four main types of rubrics
1) Holistic rubrics: respond to language performance as a whole, focus on what a student does well
2) Analytic rubrics: divided into separate categories, dimension scores are added to determine an overall score.
3) Primary trait rubrics: narrows the criteria for judging performance to one main dimension
4) Multitrait rubrics: resemble analytic rubrics, involve dimension that are more closely aligned with features of the task

Sources:
-Aleternative Assessment
http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/assessing/alternative.htm
-Creating a Rubric: Tutorial
http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm
-Rubistar (Rubric Maker)
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/