When learners work in groups on a project you should ensure all members of the group have an orchestrated and engaging role to play in the group. This does not refer to group note-taker, timekeeper and group chairperson, typical roles allocated in co-operative groups. In WebQuests, as you will have discovered, you are describing real-life scenarios. The group members will therefore be role playing real-life roles as the group acts out the scenario. This is what the activity is about – identifying these roles for the learners in the project groups.
We are not suggesting that only roles will engage learners in learning.
- Read Engaging Students with Project-Based Learning and identify the factors that engage learners in this classroom.
Join the Plan Learner Engagement discussion group and share your conclusions with the group after reading the article. Share other factors that, in your experience, engage learners in the classroom.
Roles in WebQuests
The roles are allocated to group members in the Process section, but in some WebQuests you may see this in the Task section. Some proponents of WebQuests, including founder Bernie Dodge, do not believe allocating roles is an important part of the WebQuest, but co-founder Tom March does believe in its importance. Given what this series of courses will have taught you about learner engagement through authentic real-world learning activities (see the course Innovative Approaches to Learning with Technology), we take the view that group roles are critical to engaging WebQuests.
- Consider the roles in the Searching for China WebQuest and think about their power to engage.
