Learning About the Cold War Through WebQuests

Abstract

In the Hawaii State Department of Education, state standards dictate the scope and sequence of the curriculum. This action research project addressed two U.S. history benchmarks. One asks students to explain the origins of the Cold War. The other asks students to determine the relevance of sources and assess their credibility. The vast majority of Cold War content resources available at high schools on neighbor islands were textbooks. By utilizing online primary source documents, students would be able to access a wider selection of materials and then determine their relevance and credibility. This research determined the effects of using a WebQuest to enhance learning about the origins of the Cold War for 9th grade students at a rural high school on Maui. Online primary source documents embedded within WebQuest were used to analyze and explain the origins of the Cold War. Participants were asked to produce either a PowerPoint or VoiceThread that explained the origins of the Cold War from at least three different perspectives. Data analysis indicated that WebQuests with primary source documents can help students explain the origins of the Cold War. These findings suggest that WebQuests engage secondary students to higher order thinking.