A study on the using of cooperative learning in doing project assignments of grade 10 students at cam khe high school

HUNG VUONG UNIVERSITY FACULITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGO THI HUYEN TRANG A STUDY ON THE USING OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN DOING PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT CAM KHE HIGH SCHOOL B.A GRADUATION PAPER Field: English Teaching Methodology Phu Tho, 2018 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÙNG VƯƠNG KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ NGO THI HUYEN TRANG A STUDY ON THE USING OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN DOING PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT CAM KHE HIGH SCHOOL Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng phương pháp học hợp tác phần "Dự án" học sinh lớp 10 Trường THPT Cẩm Khê B.A GRADUATION PAPER Field: English Teaching Methodology Supervisor: Ngo Thi To Loan, M.A Phu Tho, 2018 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted people whose help to make my graduation paper possible First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor Ms Nguyen Thi To Loan, M.A, whose invaluable comments, guidance, criticism and generous help were very important to me in the process of carrying out this study My special thanks also go to all lecturers and the staff of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Hung Vuong University for their useful materials, guidance and enthusiasm during my course of study I really wish to thank all of my colleagues and my students at Cam Khe high school for their enthusiasm participating in doing the questionnaires Without their valuable opinions and ideas on the questionnaires, the study would not have been accomplished Last but not least, I would also like to show my deep gratitude to my beloved family and my friends who always support and stand by me with their consideration and encouragements Viet Tri, May 2018 Ngo Thi Huyen Trang ii ABSTRACT In upper-secondary schools in Vietnam, with the innovation of textbook for 10th form students in light of Communicative Approach, the teaching of the four skills has been much more focused on So far, the English teaching methods have been on the way to perfect However, in doing project assignments is a crucial lesson that the teachers of English experience a lot of difficulties In order to improve the quality of doing project, the graduation paper limits itself to the study on using cooperative learning in doing project assignments for 10th students This study is to bring some effectiveness to the process of doing project in the classroom The study has been conducted for the purpose of investigating the real situation of using cooperative learning in doing project assignments to improve in project lesson of grade 10th students at Cam Khe high school, Phu Tho province Thus, two sets of survey questionnaires are used to investigate student‟s attitudes, perspectives toward in doing project and cooperative learning in project to find out the teachers‟ difficulties in carrying out this technique From the results collected from the survey questionnaires and teacher‟s interview, the researcher recommended some solutions to deal with the cooperative learning and improve the students‟ project performance The results showed that the use of cooperative learning in doing project assignments are an effective way to improve doing project assignments for high school students This is also the researcher‟s wish to have a suitable and interesting method in teaching project to help grade 10 students at Cam Khe high school improve project assignments Hopefully, the graduation paper will make a small contribution to the improvement of learning and teaching in general and in doing project assignments in particular iii TABLE OF CONTENTS i PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Previous researches 2.1 In the world 2.2 In Viet Nam 3 Research purposes 4 Research questions Significance of the study Scope of the research Design of the research PART 2: CONTENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 An overview of cooperative learning 1.1.1 Definition of cooperative learning 1.1.2 Benefits of cooperative learning in language education 1.1.3 Key elements of successful cooperative learning 10 1.1.4 Distinguishing cooperative learning from traditional groups 12 1.1.5 Limitations of cooperative learning 14 1.2 Overview of doing project assignments 15 1.2.1 Definition of project 15 1.2.2 Definition of Project- based learning (PBL) 16 1.2.3 Teacher’s role in doing “project” assignments 17 1.2.3 Benefits of project 18 1.2.4 Limitations of project 19 1.3 Description of English textbook 10 (pilot book) and project assignments 21 1.3.1 English textbook 10 (pilot book) 21 1.3.2 “Project” part in the new textbook 23 iv CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 26 2.1 Settings of the study 26 2.2 Participants of the study 26 2.3 Instruments of the study 27 2.3.1 Survey questionnaires 27 2.3.2 Research procedure 29 CHAPTER 3: DATA REPRESENTATION 32 3.1 Current situation of implementation “project” part in English 10 textbook at Cam Khe High school 32 3.1.1 Data analysis from the students’ survey questionnaires 32 3.1.2 Data analysis from teacher interviews 37 3.2 The effectiveness of CL in doing projects 38 3.2.1 The results from students’ questionnaire 38 3.2.2 The result of teachers’ interviews 42 3.3 Discussions 43 CHAPTER 4: MAJOR FINDINGS AND SOME PROPOSED SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN DOING PROJECT ASSIGNMENTS 45 4.1 Major findings of the research 45 4.1.1 The real situation of applying cooperative learning in doing project assignments 45 4.1.2 Awareness about benefits of CL 46 4.1.3 Difficulties of using CL in doing project assignments 47 4.2 Some proposed suggestions to improve CL activity in doing project assignments for grade 10 students at Cam Khe high school 48 PART 3: CONCLUSION 53 Summary 53 Implications 54 Limitations of the study 55 v Suggestions for further researches 56 REFERENCES 57 APPENDICE vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CL Cooperative learning PBL Project Based-Learning CLT Communicative Language Teaching EFL English as a Foreign Language ELT English Language Teaching ESL English as Second Language % Percent vii LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES NO Table Table 1.1: Distinguishing cooperative learning from Page 16 traditional groups Table 1.2: The contents and structure of units in Textbook 25 English 10 Table 1.3: Checklist of project in current “English 10” 26 Textbook Table 2.1: The English entrance examination scores of 28 grade 10A4 Table 2.2: Summary of the students‟ questionnaires 30 Table 2.3: Summary of the teachers‟ interview questions 30 Table 2.4: The experiment procedure at Cam Khe High 32 school Table 3.1: Students‟ understand doing project assignments 34 Table 3.2: “What students know about the CL 37 10 Table 3.3: Students‟ opinion about “the benefits of CL” 37 11 Table 3.4:Students‟ expectations in using CL in English 38 lesson 12 Table 3.5: Benefits of CL in doing project 41 13 Table 3.6: Students‟ difficulties in CL method 42 14 Table 3.7: Students‟ expectations of using CL in doing 43 project NO Figure Figure 3.1: Student‟s attitude before using of CL in doing Page 35 project (%) Figure 3.2: Students‟ feeling in doing project assignments difficult (%) 36 viii Figure 3.3: Students‟ attitudes towards doing project 40 assignments (%) Figure 3.4: Students‟ feeling about CL in doing project 41 assignments (%) Figure 3.5: Students‟ opinion about necessary CL in doing 42 project (%) Figure 3.6: The frequency of using cooperative learning in doing project 43 What are the difficulties in cooperative learning in doing project assignments? More than one answer is possible A Choosing members for groups B Dividing the tasks among group members C Lack of the help from teacher D Others: ………………………………………………………………… What you like your teacher to to facilitate cooperative learning in doing project assignments? A To provide clear instructions for cooperative learning B To design cooperative learning suitable to students C To organize cooperative suitably D To create a competitive atmosphere E Others: ………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for taking time to complete this questionnaire! APPENDIX 4: PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH (Bản tiếng Việt) Xin chào bạn, tiến hành khảo sát việc sử dụng hoạt động học hợp tác thực Dự án học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Cẩm Khê để phục vụ cho đề tài: “Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng hoạt động học hợp tác thực dự án học sinh lớp 10 THPT Cẩm Khê” Dù mức độ đánh giá nào, ý kiến, nhận định bạn có giá trị cho cơng tác nghiên cứu Xin vui lòng trả lời câu hỏi cách lựa chọn đáp án phù hợp điền thông tin khác Bạn thích làm việc theo cách trình thực dự án? A Cá nhân B Theo cặp C Học hợp tác D Cả lớp Bạn cảm thấy việc sử dung học hợp tác việc thực tập dự án? A Rất thú vị B Thú vị C Không phải thú vị D Nhàm chán Lợi ích việc học hợp tác việc thực nhiệm vụ dự án gì? A Nó làm tăng tham gia học sinh B Nó thúc đẩy độc lập hợp tác học sinh C Học sinh nhút nhát thụ động có nhiều hội thể thân D Nó tạo bầu khơng khí thú vị cho hoạt động giống trị chơi E Các ý kiến khác :……………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Việc học hợp tác cần thiết việc thực nhiệm vụ dự án? A Rất cần thiết B Cần thiết C Bình thường D Khơng cần thiết Những khó khăn việc học hợp tác việc thực nhiệm vụ dự án gì? Có thể có nhiều câu trả lời A Chọn thành viên cho nhóm B Phân chia nhiệm vụ chủ đề thành viên nhóm C Thiếu giúp đỡ giáo viên D Khác: ………………………………………………………………… Bạn thích giáo viên bạn làm để tạo thuận lợi cho việc học hợp tác việc thực tập dự án? A Để cung cấp hướng dẫn rõ ràng cho việc học hợp tác B Để thiết kế hợp tác học tập phù hợp với sinh viên C Tổ chức việc học hợp tác phù hợp D Để tạo bầu khơng khí cạnh tranh E Các ý kiến khác :……………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Xin cảm ơn hợp tác bạn! APPENDIX 5: Interview before using CL in doing projects in the English 10 textbook INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS This interview question is designed for my study “A study on the using of cooperative learning in doing project assignments of grade 10 students at Cam Khe High School” Your assistance in answering the following items is greatly appreciated Question 1: Can you tell me about the purposes of project part in English 10 pilot book? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 2: What activities did you use in teaching “project”? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 3: What difficulties did you meet in your lesson? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 4: In your opinion, what are causes of those difficulties? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 5: What should be done to improve the effectiveness of project? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 6: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS This interview question is designed for my study “A study on the using of cooperative learning in doing project assignments of grade 10 students at Cam Khe High School” Your assistance in answering the following items is greatly appreciated Question 1: How you understandabout cooperative learning in doing project? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 2: What you think about the effectiveness of cooperative learning in doing project assignments? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 3: Do you feel interested in this method when teaching project? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 4: What are your difficulties you encountered when applying cooperative learning in doing project assignments? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 5: What should be done to improve the effectiveness of cooperative learning in doing project assignments? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 7: Lesson plan Date of preparing: 10/03/2018 Period: 80th UNIT 8: NEW WAYS TO LEARN Lesson 7: Looking back and project I Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will able to: - Pronounce correctly three -syllable adjectives and verbs related to the topic new ways to learn - Use some words / phrases relate to electronic devices that can help us learn - Do the exercises on relative clauses - Talk about some reasons that we should use electronic devices in class II Teaching method: -Integrated, mainly communicative, presentation - Students work individuals, in groups or pairs III Teaching aids: Textbook, pieces of papers, computer, CD IV.Anticipated problem V Procedures: Class organization (1 minute) Class Teaching date Checking homework :( 2minutes) Talk about how you use the mobile phone? Absentee New lesson: Stage/Time Teacher’s activities Students’ activities IV Project discuss about the reason for the - read all the (20’) use of electronic devices in class statements Ban (v) : decide the thing is not -listen to the teacher allowed: nghiêm cấm -work in groups - After the teacher will move the topic in lesson about personal - write the answer on electronic devises in class- to use the board or not to use - Ask student to read aloud the requirement of this task in textbook.” Your class is going to hold a discussion on the topic Personal electronic devices in -Listen to the teacher class - to use or not to use To - read all the prepare for presentation, your group's statements discuss following” the -listen to the teacher -work in groups - Divide class into groups, give - write the answer on poster for each groups to the board cooperative learning and give - Give groups‟ their ideas on poster presentation on the - Before doing this task, teacher board asks students to know about the - Each group have a cooperative learning presenter about - Introduces some information groups‟ production about cooperative learning -Other student listen - Ask students discuss to Personal and feedback electronic devices in class - to use or not to use in their group and maybe others groups And then write their result on the poster - Go around to help if necessary Present - After minutes, call on groups goes to the board to stick the poster Base on the poster present on the whole class - Check the student‟s answers then give feedback Summary the main idea (1’) Home work (1’): present about the topic Personal electronic devices in class APPENDIX OBSERVATION SHEET Class:……… Teacher:………… Date:………… Lesson:…………… Part/Section:………… Time:………… Number of students:……………… Observation sheet Objective Comment Does the teacher use in doing project activities Names of activities Time Work arrangement The student‟s involvement The student‟s attitude Comment:……………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… OBSERVATION SHEET Class: 10A4 Teacher: Le Thi Kim Thoa Date: Monday 12th, 2018 Lesson 7: Unit 8: New ways to learn Part/Section: Looking back and project Time: 45 minutes Number of students: 42/42 Observation sheet Objective Comment Does the teacher use in doing Yes project activities Names of activities Giving questions Time 15 minutes Work arrangement Applying of cooperative learning The student‟s involvement 100% The student‟s attitude Good Comment: board layout OBSERVATION SHEET Class: 10A4 Teacher: Le Thi Kim Thoa Date: Thursday 24th, 2018 Lesson:7 Unit 9: Preserving the environment Part/Section: Looking back and project Time: 45 minutes Number of students: 42/42 Observation sheet Objective Comment Does the teacher use in doing Yes project activities Names of activities Listing Time 15 minutes Work arrangement Applying of cooperative learning The student‟s involvement 100% The student‟s attitude Very good Comment:Well – prepared, clear instruction However, teacher should provide new word and structure for students APPENDIX 9: SOME PICTURES OF THE EXPERIMENTSABOUT DOING PROJECT THROUGH COOPERATIVE LEARNING  10A4 students are using cooperative learning under teacher’s instruction  Student’s result after using of cooperative learning  Students and teacher’s feedback about other’s presentation APPENDIX 10: SOME PICTURES OF DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE Delivering the questionnaires 42 students in class 10A4 are completing the survey questionnaires ... main focus of the analysis is on integrating the qualitative and quantitative data In order to get information about the current situation of using cooperative learning in doing project assignments. .. carry out a research on ? ?A study on the using of cooperative learning in doing project assignments of grade 10 students at Cam Khe High School? ?? Previous researches 2.1 In the world Ahangari and... towards using of CL in 1,2,3 doing project assignments After applying CL Current situation of using cooperative learning in doing projects Teachers‟ suggestions for using cooperative learning