The Quest of Discovering Health

TIPC Ratings

IDEAL/TARGET – The students evaluated the web sites they used to research in order to determine if the content was appropriate for their topic. Students used higher order thinking skills to collect relevant information. Once deemed appropriate, students used the information to develop a method for their peers to learn the content and to create an end product. Students located all information on their own using a variety of resources, including but not limited to: OneSearch databases, books, and the world wide web. The web quests and mini projects related to real world situations. For example – one group’s web quest taught the basics of CPR and the corresponding mini project involved the participants having to create a skit modeling the appropriate circumstances of when to use CPR and the correct method of applying CPR.

IDEAL/TARGET – The students created their web quest to teach health content to peers. The web quest encouraged collaboration as they were required to work in groups. Students chose their own topic of interest and groups of 2-4 were created. In each group, the students chose role(s) based on the following responsibilities: researching, creating the web quest, editing, creating the mini project, and creating the rubric. They collaborated again in order to assess their peers’ work which was posted on a HCPS blog site (which is available globally), or through school space discussion board. They posted comments and reflections on the blog and discussion board both within and outside of class time. Finally, the web quests were extended beyond the classroom and shared with other 9th grade Health teachers and used to teach SOLs 9.1-9.5. Original works created by students included: creating a public service announcement in Moviemaker or a poster in glogster, informative skit to perform CPR presented to class, group activity to develop a hands on tangible demonstration of the health concept..

APPROACHING – Students have to use their critical thinking skills in locating and evaluating appropriate resources to teach their specific health content through the development of a web quest and a mini-project. Students not only had to learn about their topic but also grappled with the open-ended questions involving how to best teach this concept in the form of a web quest and how they would assess that the other 9th grade students had learned the content. When students completed other groups’ web quests and mini projects, they had to apply what they learned in a new situation thereby demonstrating their mastery of the content. At the conclusion of the project, student groups summarized their web quest topic and reflected on their experiences both creating and participating in each other’s web quest/mini project.

APPROACHING – After completing research on a topic, students had to synthesize what they had learned and creatively design tasks to teach the content. They had freedom in developing their web quest, beginning with the “attention getter”, continuing throughout the process/tasks, and ending with the Evaluation. Students also had to decide how they would measure student understanding and innovatively created mini projects to be completed at the end of each web quest. In completing other groups’ mini projects, students had to collaborate to create an original work based on a real world situation. Several of these projects were shared school-wide throughout the health setting to provide a healthy 21st century class.