Lifelong Learning Programme

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This material reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein

Also available in:

Webmaster: Pinzani.it

Teaching Resources

Homepage > Teaching Resources > Teaching Resources Form

TEACHING RESOURCES INFORMATION

TITLE OF TEACHING RESOURCE
WebQuests:
1. 2010 Viagem no Espaço! (2010 Travel in space!)
2. A Química no Rasto do Crime! (Chemistry in the Track of Crime!)
3. Sensibilizando para a energia limpa!
(Raising awareness for clean energy!)
IMAGE
NAME OF AUTHOR(S)
Carla Morais e João C. Paiva
DATE OF PRODUCTION
2006
WEBSITE OF THE PRODUCT
TYPE OF PRODUCT
Web Site/Portal, Webquest
LEVEL OF CHEMISTRY KNOWLEDGE
Medium
PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
Cooperative learning, Problem solving
SUBJECT AREA
Fundamental Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry
TARGET GROUP LEVEL
Lower Secondary School
LANGUAGE/S OF TEACHING RESOURCES
Portuguese
TUTORIAL SUPPORT
Yes
DESCRIPTION
This resource was developed for 7th grade students (~12 years old) which study physico-chemical sciences. It presents three problems to be solved in the form of webquests.
1. 2010 Travel in space!
2. Chemistry in the track of crime!
3. Raising awareness for clean energy!
A webquest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web (http://webquest.org/index.php). The structure of a webquest can be defined as follows: introduction; tasks; process; resources; evaluation; conclusion.

The investigation is made by students, using online resources that were previously selected by the teacher and are provided in the webquest. All the research elements/tasks are organized so that students are focused on the project.

The last two webquests will be described in more detail, as they are more Chemistry related.
The webquest “Chemistry in the track of crime!” starts by describing a crime scene: during a Math test, the Professor's dog, is kidnapped! A ransom note is left in the classroom.
A challenge is proposed: To find out the author of the kidnap, by comparing the ransom note with the Math tests, using the appropriate techniques. Each group is composed of three students, each with a defined role (Office prosecutor, Laboratory technician, Responsible for organizing the process). A few resources are made available for students: Evidence of crime and ransom note; Data from the suspects; Results of laboratory tests; Suggestions for presenting the case to the court; laboratory safety rules; Information about chromatography; Results of laboratory tests. At the end of the work, students should present their conclusions explaining how chromatography helped them in the identification of the kidnapper.
The webquest “Raising awareness for clean energy!” starts by contextualizing the global energy problem, in the introduction, ending with the question “What can we do?”. Then, the challenge is defined: To find alternative sources of energy and to prepare a campaign to support the use of clean energy. In this webquest, a group of four students will search information on renewable energies, using the online resources provided, choose one of the types (wind, solar, geothermal, etc.) and, then, design a campaign to advocate its use. Each team member has a defined role (to write a poster, pamphlet, radio script or slogans). Students then use the resources provided in the webquest to look for information on renewable energy.
This type of methodological activity can be used as a group work, in the classroom and as homework project.
COMMENTS
The use of webquests seems to be a good option to avoid dispersion of students when they are navigating internet, in search of information for a given project. They both deal with real issues, involving work in teams of 3 or 4 students where each member plays a different role. They are original problems that use a good variety of real online resources.
Unfortunately, they are only available in Portuguese and some of the links, proposed in the resources section, are not currently available.
NAME OF THE REVIEWING ORGANISATION
Instituto Politécnico de Bragança

Comments about this Publication

Your comments are welcome


National Reports on successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry The national reports on chemistry successful experiences to promote lifelong learning for chemistry are now available on the related section of the project portal. The reports presents examples of successful experiences in the partner countries and the results of testing of ICT resources with science teachers.

.