International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, Vol. 39, No. 6, 15 September 2008, 793���802 The effects of designing Webquests on the motivation of pre-service elementary school teachers Erdogan Halat* Department of Secondary Science and Mathematics, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey (Received 8 November 2007) The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of webquest-based applications on the pre-service elementary school teachers��� motivation in mathematics. There were a total of 202 pre-service elementary school teachers, 125 in a treatment group and 77 in a control group. The researcher used a Likert- type questionnaire consisting of 34 negative and positive statements. This questionnaire was designed to evaluate a situational measure of the pre-service teachers��� motivation. This questionnaire was used as pre- and post-tests in the study that took place in two semesters. It was administered to the participants by the researcher before and after the instruction during a single class period. The paired-samples t-test, the independent-samples t-test and analysis of covariance with �� 0.05 were used to analyse the quantitative data. The study showed that there was a statistically significant difference found in participants��� motivation between treatment and control groups favouring the treatment group. In other words, the participants who designed the webquest-based applications indicated positive attitudes towards mathematics course than the others who did the regular course work. Keywords: motivation Webquests mathematics pre-service elementary school teachers internet 1. Introduction Research has demonstrated that many students have difficulties in learning mathematics and show poor performance in mathematics classrooms [1]. Moreover, research shows a decline in students��� motivation towards mathematics courses [2]. In fact, [3���5] argued that there is a positive correlation between student achievement and motivation in mathematics. There might be different variables affecting student achievement and motivation in mathematics, such as teachers��� mathematics knowledge, instruction, gender, prior knowledge, parental-care and so forth. The National Council of Teacher of Mathematics [6] recommends that new ideas, strategies and research findings could be utilized in teaching in order to help students overcome their difficulties in learning mathematics. Knowledge of theoretical principles gives teachers an opportunity to devise practises that have a greater possibility *Email: ehalat@aku.edu.tr ISSN 0020���739X print/ISSN 1464���5211 online �� 2008 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/00207390802054466 http://www.informaworld.com

of succeeding [7]. The examination and understanding of the implications of learning theories on curriculum are goals of the teacher preparation programmes at universities, such as Florida State University, Afyon Kocatepe University, University of Georgia and Michigan State University. In addition to the knowledge of pedagogical theories, pre- service teachers are also expected to be competent in the use of technology for teaching and learning. According to [8], using technology in teaching and learning has positive effects on students��� motivation, attitudes and achievements. Moreover, the Internet has become an open resource in which everybody can find and access to a wide range of information in seconds. In short, although educational theories and models, such as van Hiele theory, constructivism, behaviorism, multiple-intelligence, cooperative learning and others, help teachers and students, it seems at times that a theory or model is inadequate when applied to curriculum [7,9]. So if we support use of these theories for curriculum development that uses technology, we might be more successful in teaching and learning [10,11]. In particular, the use of computers with well-prepared educational software could enhance teaching and learning. It is clear that the Internet has a great influence on both students and teachers [12]. Therefore, an instruction supported with webquest-based applications including use of technology and the Internet might help students overcome their difficulties and enhance their motivation in teaching and learning mathematics. 2. Webquest One fast emerging use of the Internet is web-based activities [12]. ���Webquest��� is a computer-based learning and teaching model in which learners are actively involved in an activity or situation, and use the Internet as a resource. Likewise, [13] claimed that Webquests are a student-centred and project-based approach to teaching and learning, which is supported by a variety of theories including the following areas: constructivist philosophy, critical and creative thinking, situated learning environments, cooperative learning and engaged learning. Webquest has become prominent in many educational areas and has received considerable attention from teachers and educators, since it was proposed and developed by [14] and [15]. Dodge [16] defined two types of Webquests: short-term and long-term. According to [16], the instructional goal of a short-term Webquest is the acquisition and integration of knowledge. At the end of a short-term Webquest of one to three class periods, a learner should have gained a significant amount of new information and made sense of it. The instructional goal of a long-term Webquest, however, is to extend and refine the knowledge. After completing a long-term Webquest, a learner would have examined a body of knowledge, transformed it in some way, and would show an understanding of the material or gained knowledge by creating something that others can respond to, on- or off-line. A long-term Webquest should be completed in from 1 week to a month in a classroom setting. Dudeney and Hockly [17] expressed that short-term Webquests could be employed to complement textbook materials in a course for a couple of hours, whereas long-term Webquests might be more suitable to weekly or monthly course works. According to them, while the students are working on the Webquests, they should be reminded about what they are doing, why they are doing it and what the benefits are to them because it is very easy for the students to not think of the benefits and view regular visits to the computer 794 E. Halat