The application of project based learning to promote learner autonomy

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY - NGUYEN THI BICH PHUONG THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY: A CASE STUDY AT THE ASIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Tai Lieu Chat Luong MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL HO CHI MINH CITY, 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI BICH PHUONG THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY: A CASE STUDY AT THE ASIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Major: TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES Major code: 140 111 MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: DUONG MY THAM, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, 2021 STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis entitled “THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY: A CASE STUDY AT THE ASIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL” Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Ho Chi Minh City, 2021 NGUYEN THI BICH PHUONG i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr Duong My Tham, my supervisor, for her great patience and careful guidance through the whole research process Thanks to her advice and instructions, I have gained more understanding of learner autonomy and become more interested in it This thesis would have been hardly completed without the guidance and support from her I am grateful to all of the research participants, students at The Asian International School (AIS), who have contributed to this research study I extend my thanks to Ms Pham Hong Hanh, a teacher of English at the AIS, who has helped me greatly to complete the study A special thanks also goes to my family, my friends and my colleagues for their understanding, great support, patient care and encouragement They encouraged me to continue my work when it would have been much easier to give up Especially, this thesis is like a gift I would like to send to my beloved mother, who has provided me with indirect encouragement and strong spirit to complete it ii ABSTRACT This mixed-methods research aimed to investigate how AIS students self-evaluated their autonomous learning skills and their attitudes towards the application of project-based learning approach in the Media class The participants of the current research were ninth graders at one campus of the Asian International School The data were collected by employing both a quantitative method (i.e., a questionnaire) and a qualitative method (i.e., semi-structured interviews and students’ diaries) The questionnaires and students’ diaries were carried out with thirty-six students and six students conveniently chosen among those involved in the semistructured interviews The quantitative data were analyzed by SPSS 25 in terms of means and standard deviation whilst the qualitative data were analyzed and caterogized in the light of themes The findings of the study showed that AIS students took more responsibilities for their own learning after the project-based Media class Specifically, the improvement in learner autonomy was evidenced in the students’ self-overcoming the learning challenges, selfassessing their learning capacity, expressing more ideas and making plans for project fulfillment Nevertheless, the students’ setting goals and self-monitoring remained unchanged after the project-based Media class With reference to the students’ attitudes towards the application of project-based learning, they generally expressed their positive attitudes in terms of cognition, affection and behavior It is worth noting that the cognitive dimension was superior in rank to the affective and behavioral dimensions Given these preliminary findings, it is recommended that both students and teachers should be equipped with adequate projectbased learning skills and strategies to effectively carry out projects and to maximize students’ independent learning Keywords: attitudes, autonomous learning skills, learner autonomy, project-based learning iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3 Research objectives 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Definition of key terms 1.8 Organization of the study CHAPTER 10 LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Learner autonomy 10 2.1.1 Definition of learner autonomy 10 2.1.2 Levels of learner autonomy 13 2.1.3 Autonomous learning skills 16 2.2 Project-based learning (PBL) 18 2.2.1 Definition of project-based learning 18 2.2.2 Project-based learning activities 21 2.2.3 Principles for project-based learning 24 2.3 Learner attitudes 27 iv 2.3.1 Definition of attitudes 27 2.3.2 The components of attitudes 27 2.4 Previous studies 28 2.5 Research gaps 32 2.6 Conceptual framework 32 2.7 Summary 33 CHAPTER 34 METHODOLOGY 34 3.1 Research design 34 3.2 Research site 35 3.3 Sample and sampling procedures 36 3.4 The application 37 3.4.1 Course description 37 3.4.2 Teaching materials 40 3.4.3 Evaluation 41 3.5 Research instruments 41 3.5.1 Questionnaire 42 3.5.2 Semi-structured interview 43 3.5.3 Diary 44 3.6 Data collection procedure 45 3.7 Data analysis procedure 46 3.8 Validity and reliability 47 3.9 Summary 48 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 49 4.1 Results 49 4.1.1 AIS students’ self-evaluating autonomous learning skills after the projectbased Media class 49 v 4.1.2 Students’ attitudes towards the impacts of project-based learning on learner autonomy 54 4.2 Discussion 60 4.2.1 AIS students’ self-evaluation of autonomous learning skills after the application of project-based learning in Media class 60 4.2.2 AIS students’ attitudes towards the impacts of project-based learning on learner autonomy 61 4.3 Summary 63 CHAPTER 64 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 64 5.1 Summary of the main findings of the study 64 5.2 Pedagogical implications 65 5.3 Recommendations for further research 67 5.4 Summary 68 REFERENCES 69 APPENDIX B 83 APPENDIX C 87 APPENDIX D 89 APPENDIX E 91 APPENDIX F 93 APPENDIX G 95 APPENDIX H 97 APPENDIX I 101 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Jones’ diagram representing scope of the study with adaptations to show self-access 16 Figure 2: The conceptual framework of the study 33 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Demographic information of the sampling 36 Table 3.2: Description of Media course 38 Table 3.3: Research instruments in relation to research questions 41 Table 3.4: Reliability of the questionnaire 48 Table 4.1: Students’ self-evaluating autonomous learning skills 51 Table 4.2: Average mean scores of attitudes towards PBL 54 Table 4.3: AIS students’ attitudes towards PBL 55 Table 4.4: AIS students’ cognitive attitudes towards PBL 56 Table 4.5: AIS students’ affective attitudes towards PBL 58 Table 4.6: AIS students’ behavioral attitudes towards PBL 59 viii APPENDIX E HƯỚNG DẪN PHỎNG VẤN Ngày tháng năm: Địa điểm: Thời gian bắt đầu: Thời gian kết thúc: Cô mong nhận hợp tác từ phía em Cơ thực vấn cho luận văn cô việc áp dụng phương pháp dạy học theo dự án nhằm phát triển tính tự học người học Cuộc vấn dự kiến kéo dài khoảng 25 đến 30 phút Trong suốt trình vấn, em trả lời số câu hỏi ngừng vấn vào thời điểm em muốn Cuộc vấn khơng nhằm mục đích đánh giá kiến thức hay mức độ thành thạo tiếng Anh em Nếu em đồng ý, vấn ghi âm Tất thông tin em chia sẻ bảo mật ẩn tên Các em có thắc mắc trước bắt đầu vấn khơng? Nếu khơng bắt đầu Thông tin người vấn Số thứ tự người vấn: Em học tiếng Anh bao lâu? Thời gian em dành cho việc tự học: Câu hỏi dành cho: A Tự đánh giá kĩ tự học Em có gặp khó khăn thực dự án mơn Media khơng? Nếu có, em giải nào? Em bạn có gặp sau học để hoàn thành dự án khơng? Bao lâu gặp nhau? Có phương thức liên hệ khác ngồi việc gặp khơng? Em thường làm để hồn thành dự án hạn theo yêu cầu? Em tự đánh giá khả học tập xác định điểm mạnh điểm yếu khơng? Bằng cách nào? Em có thường xun phát biểu ý kiến lớp Media khơng? Em có hứng thú tham gia lớp không? Tại sao? B Thái độ học sinh dạy học theo dự án Em có nghĩ dạy học theo dự án đóng vai trị quan trọng học sinh Trung học không? 91 Dạy học theo dự án giúp em cải thiện phương diện việc học tập? Em cải thiện kĩ kỉ 21 thực dự án? Em có thấy cải thiện kết học tập tiếng Anh sau thực dạy học theo dự án khơng? Nếu có theo phương diện nào? Em cảm thấy học tập qua dự án, thường xuyên làm việc với bạn bè có nhiều hội phát biểu ý kiến? Em có dành nhiều thời gian cho việc tự học thực hiên dự án không? Bao lâu? Nếu không, sao? Em có luyện tập kĩ tiếng Anh kĩ kỉ 21 thường xuyên không? Em có thường đưa nhận xét mang tính xây dựng cho bạn không? 92 APPENDIX F GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS’ DIARY WRITING Day _ Week _ Date _ Topic or contents studying this week/ this month* What tasks (or projects) you need to finish this week/ this month*  _ _ _ _ Individual/pairwork/teamwork* _ _ Time allotted _ _ What did you to complete the given tasks (or projects) on time and as requested?* E.g., making plans, assigning specific work, etc Did you face any trouble or problems when doing the tasks (or projects)? Have you overcome? If yes, what solutions did you make to meet the requirements? If not, what are your plans to cope with the problems?* What did you learn from the lesson this week/ month? How to maintain? E.g., I can speak English well I am confident giving speech in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ front of class., etc 93 Your feeling E.g., Teacher’s appraises make me _ _ happier and more positive to _ work or to learn _ I feel helpful that I can help my _ friends solve problems., etc Note: (*) means that the question items must be included in your diary Beside the given cues, any other ideas related to Media class are welcomed in the diaries 94 APPENDIX G HƯỚNG DẪN VIẾT NHẬT KÝ Thứ _ Tuần _ Ngày tháng năm _ Chủ đề nội dung học tuần  (hoặc tháng này)* _ Nhiệm vụ (hay dự án) em cần hoàn _ thành tuần (hoặc tháng này)* _ Nhiệm vụ cá nhân, đôi hay nhóm* _ _ _ Thời gian để hoàn thành _ Em làm để hồn thành nhiệm vụ _ (hay dự án) hạn đáp ứng yêu _ cầu * Ví dụ: lập kế hoạch, phân chia công việc cụ thể, v.v _ _ _ Em có gặp khó khăn hay trở ngại _ thực nhiệm vụ không? Em _ giải chưa? Nếu rồi, _ em giải để đạt _ yêu cầu đặt ra? Nếu chưa, em dự _ định giải khó khăn sao?* _ Em học sau tiết học tuần (hoặc tháng này)? Ví dụ: Em có khả nói tiếng Anh tốt Em tự tin thuyết trình trước lớp, v.v _ _ _ _ _ _ 95 _ Tâm trạng em Ví dụ: Em giáo viên khen nên _ vui thích học _ Em cảm thấy hữu ích giúp _ bạn bè giải vấn đề, v.v _ _ Lưu ý: (*) có nghĩa câu hỏi gợi ý phải đề cập nhật ký Ngoài gợi ý nêu trên, em viết thêm ý liên quan đến mơn học Media 96 APPENDIX H A SAMPLE OF LESSON PLAN Details of Lesson Plan The following is a four-week long lesson plan Each week includes one forty-five-minute class It is based on project-based learning strategy Topic 1: Ancient China First month: four classes Objectives: By the end of the month students should be able to: ▪ make good use of the opportunities to practice presentation skill, English speaking skill and other English skills as well ▪ gain in-depth knowledge of one of the greatest and most civilized societies in the world – ancient China ▪ expand English vocabulary knowledge ▪ exercise searching strategies effectively ▪ work well with teammates achieving the best outcomes ▪ promote creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills Week Content Teacher Students 3: Jones’ diagram representing scopeofofthe study with ▪adaptations show self-and 1st FigurePre-project: ▪ Introduces the topic month Respond totothe riddles accessTopic 1: Ancient China week Getting “Ancient China” by asking guess the topic involvedfourinclasses students to solve some riddles First month: the topic, and Objectives: related to China and guessing grasping the ▪ Informs students that they are ▪ Listen to the topic and the By the end of theasmonth students should be able to:project, pay attention to the demands supposed to have the opportunity ▪ makewell good use practice presentation English speaking skill as of thethe opportunities to journey totoand spend time in skill, teacher’s instructions and and other English skillsancient as well China They need to instructions take notes of main contents ▪ gain in-depth knowledge of one the greatest and most of the project create a of portfolio to reflect the civilized societies in the world – ancient China ▪ expand English vocabulary knowledge 97 ▪ exercise searching strategies effectively ▪ work well with teammates achieving the best outcomes things and experiences they that they need to encountered reflected in portfolios ▪ Gives students be some introductions to the portfolio and its samples ▪ Lists some main issues that need to be involved in students’ portfolios: o Overview of ancient China o Chinese dynasties, civilizations and early ancient inventions o Religions in ancient China o Confucius and Lao-tzu ▪ Guides students to form groups of 4-5 to work on the portfolio ▪ Presents the schedule to complete the portfolios to the students o 1st week: look for information as given to prepare for a presentation o 2nd week: give presentations o 3rd week: continue to research on the rest of main contents and plan for portfolios o 4th week: complete portfolios During-project: Planning and perform them to the class and ▪ Explains that this week students ▪ Work in groups to discuss collecting data need to the research on the and assign specific tasks or following main ideas and prepare responsibilities a presentation, 98 either as to each PowerPoint or Prezi presentation group member to prepare (10 minutes at the maximum for for the presentation both speech and Q&A) for the week after: o Overview of ancient China o Chinese dynasties, civilization and early ancient inventions ▪ Provides students with some ▪ Gather information, select useful resources of information the appropriate information or materials and decide what information o School e-library/ Gale is important and essential to o Nelson Connect History perform to the class ▪ Goes around the class to help students in need ▪ Discusses with students to decide the order of group presentations 2nd week ▪ Introduces the groups’ turns to ▪ Give speeches following give presentations the informed turns ▪ Reminds students to maintain ▪ Pay attention to the focus on presentations, take presentations, notes, ask questions and offer questions (if any) and feedback or suggestions to the provide feedback presenters ▪ Invites groups to present one by one ▪ Asks students to provide feedback for each group ▪ Synthesizes students’ feedback or suggestions, makes general comments on all presentations as well as detailed ones on each group’s performance 99 ask ▪ Reminds students to carefully save the data for portfolios ▪ Asks students to write diaries at home and submit via Google classroom in which students can find the form to write ▪ Asks students to continue their ▪ Continue 3rd week groupwork, doing research on: o religions of ancient China the data collection ▪ Discuss in groups, share o Confucius and Lao-tzu, ideas of the final project to design and carry out the form, and divide specific portfolio tasks ▪ Moves around to provide support to create group portfolios or suggestions if necessary ▪ Reminds students of diary writing and submission at home ▪ Informs the students that they ▪ Revise 4th week have twenty more minutes to portfolios complete their portfolios necessary ▪ Guides students to submit the the organized to make changes or corrections portfolios after the completion Post-project: ▪ Asks students to choose ▪ Present the final outcomes Showing the representatives to present the ▪ Evaluate project and final outcomes, provide feedback different or evaluate each other work choose evaluating the work ▪ Instructs students to choose the best two projects ▪ Gives feedback or expresses evaluation of all outcomes 100 groups’ projects the work groups the best of and two APPENDIX I SAMPLE OF FINAL OUTCOMES OF PROJECTS 101 102 103 104 105