My contributions to the WebQuest wiki

The Trial of Creon This webquest fits the genre of judge and jury. This webquest requires students to do a mock trial of Creon from greek mythology. Roles for this webquest are clear and it provides links for courtroom procedure and information about Greek mythology.

I added roles for the best list webquest page. I suggested that some possible roles for these best lists webquests could be judges, or people trying to get the nominated. The basic idea of the webquest would be make a presentation to decide what deserves to be on a bestlist or to try and get something onto a best list.

I added roles for the press conference webquest page. I suggested that some possible roles for this kind of Webquest include roles like the person presenting and the press. This would require an active role from both the person presenting and the press.

Chapter 10 Going Beyond the Classroom

A section of chapter ten that caught my eye was when the chapter suggested the teachers steer students toward summer and enrichment programs. The chapter discussed how summer enrichment programs can be a great resource to further educate students as well as stimulate their interests.

This section of the chapter caught my eye because I have done many summer programs that have allowed me to explore many of my interests. My favorite enrichment program was a course computer programming which I did in middle school. I remember for a project we made our own digital pet that we programed to do many things. I regret not exploring computer programming further because of how much I enjoyed it that summer.

Chapter 9 When Things Go Wrong

A section of chapter nine that jumped out at me was when the chapter discussed how teachers should never give up on their classes. The chapter gave an example of a teacher in a wheel chair which students targeted with relentlessly bad treatment. However, instead of giving up on the class, the teacher changed some students classes and eventually won over teaching his remaining students. This teacher did not give up when it could have been very easy to do so.

The section of chapter nine jumped out at me because it reminded me of my seventh grade math teacher who did give up on my class. For some reason the students in my seventh grade math class and my teacher did not get along. Eventually the classes outburst made the teacher resort to harsh punishments and very basic teaching styles. Eventually the teacher just gave up on our class and continued to handout busy work for the rest of the semester. This was insulting to me because I had never had a teacher do that to me before.

Chapter 8 Teaching Teenagers Who Are Still Learning English

A section of chapter eight that caught my eye was the part where a student was defending himself speaking Spanish with other students who could also speak Spanish. The student claimed that if they did not understand what was being said in English they would converse with other students who could speak Spanish to help understand what was being said.

This section of the chapter caught my eye because I disagree with it somewhat. I feel that students learning English should try and distance themselves from other students who can speak their native language because this separation will help them learn English faster. While this is frustrating to students in the beginning, they will eventually gain functional use of the English language enough so future learning will come much easier. I feel this way from observing two German exchange students within my high school. They had all the same classes together and could always be seen whispering in German between each another. By the end of their stay in Maine they had made little progress in developing their English skills because they had rarely spoken English in normal contestation.

Chapter 7 Teaching Difficult Academic Material

A section of chapter seven that jumped out at me was when the chapter mentioned how teaching out of the textbook can successfully be done. The chapter suggests that when a teacher assigns a reading it should have a point to it and it should involve what is being taught in the classroom.

The section of chapter five that discussed textbooks jumped out at me because it reminded me of a history teacher I had who did a very good job of including the textbook within the class. About half of his classes consisted of a short reading assignment involving what was being discussed in class. While the reading was usually met with a mixed response, he asked us to do it because the textbook had a very different interpretation then what we learned in class. Using these multiple interpretations the class got a much bigger perspective on what they learned.

Chapter 6 Motivation and Boredom

A section of chapter six that caught my eye was the part where a student named Diana was discussing about how it was difficult for her to accomplish her homework at home. However, if she stays after school she can get her homework done with little issue. Diana suggests that it is difficult for many students to be motivated to do their homework in their home environment.

This portion caught my eye because what Diana says is very true amongst middle/high school students. It is difficult to expect students after a long day of learning to do more schoolwork because of how distracting their home environment can be. Homes are full of distractions like televison, video games and the internet which make getting work done very different. Even when a student is doing work on a computer they are frequently being distracted by instant massages from their friends. A good example of this is that in the time it took me to write this short response I had a conversation with four people over instant messenger.

Chapter 5 Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group

A section of chapter five that jumped out at me was when the chapter mentioned about participation being a part of a group assignment. The chapter suggested that within groups there be roles assigned to different group members that effect the grade of an individual.

The participation portion of chapter five jumped out at me because it reminded me of many group assignments I have done throughout my education career. I feel that participation grades are very important in group assignments because of students who don’t do any of the work. Within highschool one student slacking off was expected in just about every group assignment. This caused me to do more then my share of work for my “group” assignments. Grading participation makes a lot of sense because it allows diligent and prepared students to get a grade for the work they did.