CultureQuests

How does the CultureQuest project help improve:
1. The Study of Culture?
2. The Implementation of Project Based Learning?
3. The Integration of Technology?
How might I use this in my science class next year?


I enjoyed doing my CultureQuest. At first, I was skeptical, I felt that the directions were very vague, and I didn't feel like my group was headed in the right direction. It took a couple of meetings to refine our topic in such a way that everyone was interested, and it was divided up fairly.

The CultureQuest improves the study of culture by helping us delve into an aspect of a culture that is not necessarily already familiar to us. For instance, I have visited Mexico once, but I am not too familiar with their history or culture. I was excited to work on an aspect of Mexican cuisine, and learn more about something I already enjoy.

In terms of this being a problem based learning assignment, I found it rewarding to show off my research in a beautifully formatted website. I thought that creating a project is a much more interesting way to present the material than writing a paper. Using websites made my information accessible and user-friendly.

This project is definitely helping improve my integration of technology! Now that I know how easy it is to make a website using googlepages, I will definitely implement that in my classroom.

I anticipate that I will use the website creator page, googlepages, in my science class next year. It is easy to pick up and a great way to have students showcase information. However, I do not believe that I will implement a project such as a CultureQuest. It is the end of the year and I am running out of time to focus on Regents material, I believe it would not be a practical use of time in a Regents class to use class time to research other cultures. Our classroom is so diverse that we already have many cultures represented daily. Perhaps if I taught English, history, or an elective class, I would be more apt to use this project.