You used to think that the teacher was the ultimate authority in the classroom and that students should listen carefully in order to learn. However you recently undertook some staff development training which changed your mind. Your own experience was that you learned less in some teacher-led sessions because of complete boredom, but you enjoyed and learned more in others where you were given the chance to reflect and find out more for yourself. This has made you realise that promoting student autonomy is perhaps an effective way to combat lack of motivation and slow progress. Your key questions are:

• ‘Does this WebQuest enhance autonomy?

• Do students need to be pushed all the way or are they given a chance to think and act for themselves?’

You will try to gather evidence that each WebQuest either does or does not enhance autonomy.