LEADERSHIP WEB QUEST

Research Project

A Web Quest for Senior Students

Introduction | Task | Process | Resources  |Evaluation|  Conclusion        

(May be used in English classes after a study of Lord of the Flies and before a study of Macbeth.  May also be used in Social Studies, Leadership, or CAPP classes.)

Designed by:
Ramona McKean
 

This project has been designed to help you develop your skills in the following areas: critical thinking, social responsibility,  literacy: research, computer usage, organization, and written/visual/oral presentation, and collaboration (team work).

www.history.upenn.edu/ TwentiethCentury.html

news.bbc.co.uk/.../world/americas/ newsid_118000/118753.stm

www.antenna.nl/amnesty-nijmegen/ proces.html

 

  1. Introduction:

Lord-of-the-Flies Island really existed.  All students in this class  (in room E201) are residents of a colony called Eetoo-ohwunee (E201-ee). The majority of the population are poor people who live in the agricultural south. The wealthier people live in the mineral rich north where they hire cheap labour from the south.

You are all horrified at what happened on Lord-of-the-Flies Island. You would never want that kind of misrule and chaos to happen to you.  Your colony will be granted its independence in the foreseeable future and you will then have to govern yourselves. How will you do it?

You say you want a government that respects all groups and that provides a just and peaceful society. (You are careful to speak in a "politically correct" way!)

You know (especially by what happened on Lord-of-the-Flies Island) that the personal character and personally held values of leaders are both very important.  The teacher, your governor who’ll soon be leaving you to fend for yourselves, has recommended the following good advice, and you have decided to follow it.

B.  Tasks:

In groups of four you will:

  1. Research a leader, following all instructions as outlined in Part C ("Process").

  2. Note bias in web sites.

  3. Create an educational poster of your leader for the class, meeting these criteria. 

  4. Make a presentation to the class (the residents of Eetoo-ohwunee), either recommending or not recommending your researched leader’s style of leadership as desirable for the colony. In detail, if this leader were to become the leader of Eetoo-ohwunee, what would be the risks and benefits? Be specific.  Criteria for your presentation.

  5. Judge your leader’s morality as measured against a definition of "servant leadership" provided below.

  6. Individually, you will write an in-class essay, comparing a researched leader with either Ralph or Jack.  

C.  Process:

  1. Divide yourselves into groups of four.

  2. Each group of four will select a 20th century political leader of a country to research. (One group, one leader.) 

    3.

  3. Each group member will record notes on the handout: "Leadership Research Project, Focus: Character." 

  4. Visit these three sites to determine which has a positive bias, which a negative bias, and which no bias :

"Pierre Trudeau is Dead at 80"
"CBC News--In Depth Pierre Trudeau"
"Pierre Trudeau--Not a Eulogy"

www.2learn.ca/mapset/Enjoy/ Trudeau/trudeau.html

  1. Record all sources of info, including URL's and your evaluation of their bias on this handout. 

  2. Find one site with a positive bias, one with a negative bias and one with no bias

  3. Divide your tasks equally

  4. Record information on all resources in the Working Bibliography.

  5. You will be working both independently (recording information) and interdependently (sharing information). After you have collected your data, you will meet with your group to share.

  6. As a group, discuss your leader. Help each other develop a clear sense of this individual.  Try to clarify the following: historical context, rise to power, motivations, modus operandi, social justice, social services, education, defence, orderly society, "good government"—responsible, "clean" (Any scandals?).

  7. Evaluate your leader against the standard presented with the following definition. 

"Servant-Leadership":  A humanitarian form of leadership.  A leader of this type encourages collaboration: people working together for the common good.  Also encouraged are trust, foresight, empowerment of others, and the ethical (fair/right) and caring use of power.  Servant-leaders want to leave the world a better place than they found it.  [For more info, visit the Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership web site.  ]

         Use the rating scale to judge your leader. 

12.   Display your poster in the classroom.

13.   Make your group oral presentation to the class.

14.   Prepare your essay outline with introduction and thesis.  Refer to this sample.

15.   Write your in-class essay comparing either Ralph or Jack to your         researched leader.

D.  Resources:

You may use the internet, encyclopedias, books,  electronic encyclopedias, Electric Library, documentary video tapes, etc.                                                                                                                                                                                             

E.   Evaluation:

All aspects of this research project will be evaluated, including:

  1. Submission of all notes, note-gathering sheet, graphics,  any photocopied material, plus any printed material from the inter net.

  2.  On-task, collaborative (working with your group) behaviour in class and in the library.

  3. Educational poster based on criteria provided.

  4. Oral and visual presentation to the class, based on criteria provided and developed in class.

  5. Moral judgement of your researched leader ("Servant Leadership Rating Scale.")

  6. Working Bibliography.

  7. Your "Critique of Visited Web Sites."

  8. Essay outline with introduction and thesis.

  9. In-class essay comparing/contrasting your researched leader with either Ralph or Jack.

  10. Teacher, peer and self evaluations will be used to determine your mark.

F. Conclusion

Lastly, we will debrief and evaluate this research process together. What are the strengths (things that worked), and what are the areas needing to be strengthened?

We are now ready to tackle Shakespeare’s portrayal of corrupt leadership in the bloody play Macbeth, with its elements of love, loyalty, betrayal, and supernatural interference!
 

To send feedback or share teaching ideas, please contact:

Ramona McKean

 

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Kate Girard for permission to use her "Working Bibliography: MLA" recording sheets.  Special thanks to Mike Silverton for technological expertise.  And extra special thanks to Shelley Beleznay for: technological expertise, superb mentorship, and all-round good-natured patience!