Teacher Resources: Using the Quest & Challenges

The Iowa Pathways Quest and Challenges are a collection of inquiry-based tasks that challenge and guide students to make and interpret connections among the people, places, events and ideas of Iowa.

What is a Quest?

The Quest is a guided task that helps students choose a topic to research, and then analyze connections among the people, places, events and ideas related to their chosen topic. Students also evaluate the impact of this topic in Iowa history and in the lives of Iowans.

Why Use a Quest?

Using the Quest in your classroom will help students to:

• Become familiar with the Iowa Pathways site.
• Choose a topic using a specific process.
• Research deeply using research questions to collect valuable information and make meaningful connections about topic.
• Summarize their experience with interesting conclusions and carefully explained and supported ideas.

By the end of the Quest experience, students will be able to explain how and why their topic is important to Iowa and to their lives.

Using the Quest Trail Guide

The Quest Trail Guide helps students organize their activities, research, and draw conclusions as they explore the site. The four sections of the Quest Trail Guide follow the four steps of the Quest:

• Browse the site
• Choose a topic
• Make connections
• Tell your story

We encourage teachers and students to download and print the Quest Trail Guide to use as reference and to record progress through the investigation.

Using the Quest Rubric

The Quest Rubric specifies four levels of assessment – Explorer (highest), Adventurer, Surveyor, and Sightseer (lowest) – and each level indicates specific requirements and qualities of student work. The Quest Rubric is also arranged by the four steps of the Quest and defines the learning goal for each step. We encourage students to use this rubric as a self-or peer-assessment during their experience with the Quest. 

What is a Challenge?

After your students have completed a Quest, take their skills to the next level with a Challenge. The Iowa Pathways Challenges are tasks that reflect many historical understanding topics, Iowa's role in the larger perspective of history, and the importance of becoming an active citizen of the state. The Challenges connect to historical understanding, critical thinking, research strategies, communication of ideas, and use of technology.
There are four steps to each Challenge:

• Write a question for investigation
• Plan your research
• Analyze and organize
• Publish and reflect

Why Use a Challenge?

Students will be able to communicate, research, solve problems, and make decisions through open-ended exploration of content, investigation and inquiry, and creation of technology-based products to share.

Using the Challenge Trail Guide

Each Challenge Trail Guide helps students organize their activities, research, and draw conclusions as they explore the site. The four sections of the Challenge Trail Guide follow the four steps of the Quest. We encourage teachers and students to download and print the Challenge Trail Guide to use as reference and to record progress through the investigation.

View the Challenge Trail Guides:

• The Order of Things
• Changing Times
• At This Moment

Using the Challenge Rubric

The Challenge Rubric specifies four levels of assessment – Explorer (highest), Adventurer, Surveyor, and Sightseer (lowest) – and each level indicates specific requirements and qualities of student work. The Challenge Rubric is also arranged by the four steps of the Challenge and defines the learning goal for each step. We encourage students to use this rubric as a self- or peer-assessment during their experience with the Challenge.