Group roles for better engaged learning

The level of interdependence that exists as a direct result of group roles will help to keep learners more engaged and certainly more responsible for their learning.  In the same way an actor gets into character to portray his/her role, the student has the opportunity to fully grasp the intricacies of the equivalent of his or her task in a real-world context by getting into the role selected for the completion of the task.

Group roles

Group roles help to keep the learners focused.  They are an excellent way to ensure that the 'free rider' effect is minimized in that no one learner will ride on the work of his teammates.  By ensuring that each learner has a role, the teacher helps to make learning more meaningful for the students and the students themselves because they know that they work interdependently, will strive to complete the tasks assigned.

Conclusions about Webquests

WebQuests in my opinion are a truly engaging way in which students can learn. The real world connections make learning more meaningful for the students and because this approach requires the direct involvement of students, this makes them more responsible for their learning. I suppose practice makes perfect. The time to set up the WebQuest was slightly challenging for me (in particular the Introduction), but I expect that this will become easier with time. I do see the benefits with this approach and can actually anticipate the students excitement with using this approach to learning.

Webquests

I feel that it is a bit daunting to attempt the webquest, however, after going through the roles of Efficiency expert etc. looking at the different examples from different perspectives I feel a bit more equipped for the challenge.

Hello Activity

Hi everyone,

My name is Sandy Leben.  I am a Curriculum Officer employed by the Ministry of Education, however, I formerly taught French at St. Stephen's College in Princes Town.  I am from Trinidad and Tobago and participated in Module 2 last year.  

Pretty much I like challenges, however, I find that at present it is becoming a bit more challenging for me to multi-task. 

At the end of the course I hope to find viable strategies for improved teaching and learning that can be shared with the teachers in my district (South Eastern).

Love the beach, don't like frogs!

Sandy