"One aspect of understanding is the knowledge of how things hang together, and how things within a topic relate to each other. An analytical task provides a venue for developing such knowledge. In analytical tasks, learners are asked to look closely at one or more things and to find similarities and differences, to figure out the implications for those similarities and differences. They might look for relationships of cause and effect among variables and be asked to discuss their meaning." [1]
Tips for Analytical Tasks
"A well designed analytical task goes beyond simple analysis to the implications of what is found. For example, while creating a Venn diagram comparing Italy with England is a fine task, a better task would include some requirement to speculate or infer what the differences and similarities between the two nations mean." [1]
Examples of a WebQuest in Which Participants Take on an Analytical Role
1. Genes:The Building Blocks of Life
A really great WebQuest that encourages analytical thinking. It utilizes many resources with creative and provocative questions. Audience/Presentation: The audience is a group that would potentially fund a genetics experiment. Students will be split into groups and present a type of genetic experiment that they feel should be funded by the specific company.
2. Poetry of War
This WebQuest places students in the role of analyzer and poet. Students are asked to find two poems that paint a clear image of war, analyze, them and then (after some other procedural steps) they write their own poem related to war and what it means to be at war. Audience/Presentation: The audience of this WebQuest is the reader of the poems the students will make. There is no presentation for this WebQuest, however, I think that it would be a good idea to collect the poems made by the students on a wiki or blog. If the poems are too personal, then the students don't have to put their names on the poems.
3. Edgar Allen Poe
This is a WebQuest that does a good job giving examples of comparing the literature of Poe and either three authors before his time or three authors after his death. Students are given a multitude of resources to adequately research the authors they have chosen to compare to Poe. Audience/Presentation: The audience is the rest of the class who have researched the same time period of Poe. When students are done researching they need to share their knowledge with the rest of their group and then they need to present the information in a 3-5 minute presentation.
4. What Makes Someone Great?
This is a well written WebQuest with a lot of detail so the student knows exactly what to do. Students are supposed to analyze the lives and personalities of celebrities and other famous people to see if there is a correlation to their success. The students get to choose which celebrities they want to compare which makes this topic extremely broad. The process is mapped out in easy to follow steps. The results must be interesting.
5. Never Again - Again?
This WebQuest is very pertinent and engaging, on a difficult topic (genocide). Students must truly look inside themselves and attempt to address a problem that has affected millions of people throughout history, and is widely agreed upon as something that must be stopped. Students will be encouraged to take imminent, real-world action after the WebQuest taks is completed. The task itself forces students to acquaint themselves with powerful, real examples that cannot be ignored.
6. U.S. Constitution Web Quest
In this WebQuest that student must look at the three branches of the United States government and show how the branch they have been assigned would act in a given situation. The class is turned into the U.S. government and the audience for which ever branch a student is assigned to is the the other two branches. It gives a deeper understanding of how the government in this country works in a way that your students can relate too.
7. Barack Obama: The Path to the Presidency
This WebQuest asks students to take a deeper look into President Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. They will use a number of sources including news articles, journals, and respected magazines to analyze what caused Obama's presidential win. They must have evidence to back up their claims from at least three valid internet sites and two valid journal/magazine articles. They will use a blog as an ongoing journal of their research which will work as a pre-assessment and formative assessment. They will use a Mindmap to organize their research and present their findings in a PowerPoint presentation.
8. Frankenstein 2018
This WebQuest is analytical because it discusses Mary Shelley's images of the monster and the creator and the essential aspects of the pictures that illustrate that. It asks the student to think on a deeper level and it doesn't include any part of the task (so it doesn't spoil what is expected of them.) The intro is all about analyzing Shelley's characters.
Definition of an Analytical Task
"One aspect of understanding is the knowledge of how things hang together, and how things within a topic relate to each other. An analytical task provides a venue for developing such knowledge. In analytical tasks, learners are asked to look closely at one or more things and to find similarities and differences, to figure out the implications for those similarities and differences. They might look for relationships of cause and effect among variables and be asked to discuss their meaning." [1]Tips for Analytical Tasks
"A well designed analytical task goes beyond simple analysis to the implications of what is found. For example, while creating a Venn diagram comparing Italy with England is a fine task, a better task would include some requirement to speculate or infer what the differences and similarities between the two nations mean." [1]Reference
[1] http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html
Examples of a WebQuest in Which Participants Take on an Analytical Role
1. Genes:The Building Blocks of LifeA really great WebQuest that encourages analytical thinking. It utilizes many resources with creative and provocative questions.
Audience/Presentation: The audience is a group that would potentially fund a genetics experiment. Students will be split into groups and present a type of genetic experiment that they feel should be funded by the specific company.
2. Poetry of War
This WebQuest places students in the role of analyzer and poet. Students are asked to find two poems that paint a clear image of war, analyze, them and then (after some other procedural steps) they write their own poem related to war and what it means to be at war.
Audience/Presentation: The audience of this WebQuest is the reader of the poems the students will make. There is no presentation for this WebQuest, however, I think that it would be a good idea to collect the poems made by the students on a wiki or blog. If the poems are too personal, then the students don't have to put their names on the poems.
3. Edgar Allen Poe
This is a WebQuest that does a good job giving examples of comparing the literature of Poe and either three authors before his time or three authors after his death. Students are given a multitude of resources to adequately research the authors they have chosen to compare to Poe.
Audience/Presentation: The audience is the rest of the class who have researched the same time period of Poe. When students are done researching they need to share their knowledge with the rest of their group and then they need to present the information in a 3-5 minute presentation.
4. What Makes Someone Great?
This is a well written WebQuest with a lot of detail so the student knows exactly what to do. Students are supposed to analyze the lives and personalities of celebrities and other famous people to see if there is a correlation to their success. The students get to choose which celebrities they want to compare which makes this topic extremely broad. The process is mapped out in easy to follow steps. The results must be interesting.
5. Never Again - Again?
This WebQuest is very pertinent and engaging, on a difficult topic (genocide). Students must truly look inside themselves and attempt to address a problem that has affected millions of people throughout history, and is widely agreed upon as something that must be stopped. Students will be encouraged to take imminent, real-world action after the WebQuest taks is completed. The task itself forces students to acquaint themselves with powerful, real examples that cannot be ignored.
6. U.S. Constitution Web Quest
In this WebQuest that student must look at the three branches of the United States government and show how the branch they have been assigned would act in a given situation. The class is turned into the U.S. government and the audience for which ever branch a student is assigned to is the the other two branches. It gives a deeper understanding of how the government in this country works in a way that your students can relate too.
7. Barack Obama: The Path to the Presidency
This WebQuest asks students to take a deeper look into President Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. They will use a number of sources including news articles, journals, and respected magazines to analyze what caused Obama's presidential win. They must have evidence to back up their claims from at least three valid internet sites and two valid journal/magazine articles. They will use a blog as an ongoing journal of their research which will work as a pre-assessment and formative assessment. They will use a Mindmap to organize their research and present their findings in a PowerPoint presentation.
8. Frankenstein 2018
This WebQuest is analytical because it discusses Mary Shelley's images of the monster and the creator and the essential aspects of the pictures that illustrate that. It asks the student to think on a deeper level and it doesn't include any part of the task (so it doesn't spoil what is expected of them.) The intro is all about analyzing Shelley's characters.