Project based learning in a high school setting students’ voices

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** DƢƠNG THỊ HƢƠNG GIANG PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN A HIGH SCHOOL SETTING: STUDENTS’ VOICES TÌM HIỂU Ý KIẾN CỦA HỌC SINH VỀ DẠY HỌC DỰ ÁN M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140111.01 HANOI - 2018 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** DƢƠNG THỊ HƢƠNG GIANG PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN A HIGH SCHOOL SETTING: STUDENTS’ VOICES TÌM HIỂU Ý KIẾN CỦA HỌC SINH VỀ DẠY HỌC DỰ ÁN M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140111.01 Supervisor: Ph.D Lê Văn Canh HANOI - 2018 DECLARATION I hereby, certify the thesis named “Project-Based Learning in a high school setting: Students’ voice” is the result of my own work for the Minor Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi The research has not been submitted for any degree at any other universities or institutions I agree that the origin of my thesis deposited in the library can be accessible for the purposes of study and research Hanoi-2018 Dương Thị Hương Giang i ABSTRACT This is a survey research conducted at a rural upper-secondary school in Nam Dinh province Its general objective is to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of Project-Based Learning in the new English textbook to students in terms of the improvement in the language acquisition Specifically, it aims to get evaluative feedback from the students about project lessons that they have experienced so that some necessary adjustments will be made and the effective elements will be explored To achieve this purpose, a questionnaire for students was employed to collect data for the evaluation The participants in this research were one hundred and five students from three classes of grade 12 at A Hai Hau upper-secondary school The results of the study indicated that the students believed that their language skills had improved and they had positive attitudes towards the PBL The results also revealed that the PBL instructions helped improve the students‟ soft skills Importantly, the students reported that they had fun and were happy learning with the PBL activities Besides, the findings of the research revealed that some aspects of Project-Based learning lessons were not suitable to the students‟ levels and interests Some suggestions for adapting the tasks, therefore, were supposed to perfect the implementation of the methodology in this situation ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Dr Lê Văn Canh, my supervisor, for his invaluable support, guidance, and constructive comments Without his assistance and encouragement, this study would not have been accomplished I am also indebted to all of my lecturers at Post-Graduate Department for their valuable lectures on the aspects of my concern My special thanks go to the management and teaching staff at A Hai Hau Upper Secondary School, Nam Dinh Province in general and 105 grade-12 th students in particular who have helped me enthusiastically in PBL lessons as well as gave honest and clear answers to my questionnaires I would also like to show my sincere thanks to all the authors listed in the references for their ideas in this field They have developed my thinking on doing this paper Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude and love to my family and my friends who gave me precious time and a lot of encouragement iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS % Percent CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CLT Communicative Language Teaching Approach PBL Project- Based Learning Ss Students T Teacher Q Question iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES PART A: INTRODUCTION PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Project-Based Learning 1.1 Definition 1.2 The brief history of PBL 1.3 The underlying theory of Project-Based Learning Teacher role in PBL The procedures of PBL Studies on PBL in foreign language learning Benefits of PBL Challenges of PBL Summary CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY The research context 1.1 Research site 1.2 The syllabus 1.2.1 The new English textbook 1.2.2 Projects 1.3 Classroom facilities v Participants 26 2.1 Students 26 2.2 Projects 27 Methods of the study 28 Data collection 28 The questionnaire 29 Document Analysis 29 Learners‟ diaries 29 Data analysis procedures 30 Summary 30 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 31 Students‟ attitudes towards learning English through the project .31 1.1 Students‟ attitudes towards benefits from PBL in language development 31 1.2 Students‟ attitudes towards benefits from PBL in developing life skills 32 Students‟ attitudes towards difficulties from PBL 34 Students‟ preferences for activities in PBL 35 Discussion 37 PART C: CONCLUSION 39 Recapitulation 39 Implications 39 Limitations of the study 40 Suggestions for further study 41 REFERENCES 42 APPENDICES 45 vi LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES Figure 1: Students‟ attitudes towards PBL 31 Table 1: Ss‟ changes after taking part in the lessons using PBL 33 Figure Students‟ difficulties 35 vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Rational of the research In order to meet the demand of global economics, a revised English language curriculum in Viet Nam as well as curriculum development, materials, and teaching and learning facilities were introduced in 2012 Part of the pedagogic change in the new curriculum is the introduction of the project-based learning (PBL) In fact, PBL is one component in the new textbook TIENG ANH series for high school students in Vietnam Although PBL is not a new teaching idea globally, and many studies have concluded that PBL helps improve students‟ language skills, content learning, and cognitive ability, and enhances their confidence, self-esteem, and leaning autonomy However, these studies have demonstrated the advantages of using PBL in educational settings (Meyer, 1997; Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Green, 1998; Hadim and Esche, 2002), though they rarely examined this methodology in the language classroom Some researchers examined the students‟ perception and found positive attitudes towards PBL (Tongsakul et al., 2011; Poonpun, 2011) However, in Vietnam, many students and teachers are not familiar with the idea of PBL and there has been little research on students‟ attitudes towards this innovative practice By exploring the students‟ perspectives on PBL, this survey study is an attempt to contribute to the knowledge of how to make PBL more effective to Vietnamese high school students Aims of the research The research aims to explore students‟ opinions on: a) the benefits of Project-Based Learning b) the challenges they encounter in their Project-Based Learning Scope of the research The study was conducted at a high school in Nam Dinh province It limits itself to the exploration of 12 graders‟ opinions of Project-Based Learning These students are studying in a high school in the rural area Figure Students’ difficulties As we can see that 82.85 % of the participants claimed that there were too many new words in the articles and studies they had found, so every week they had to deal with a big amount of words The next ranked difficulty, accounting to 47.14% is lack of computers It is the fact that the main source for students to find articles and studies is through the Internet but many participants not have computers or laptops; therefore, finding articles or studies is not easy for them Even, some of the group gave the hand-writing of the reports and summaries 18.57% stated that the time given is too short Of course this is the time given for week 2-7, when they had to find articles, listed new words and report to the teachers It is possible that the reason leading to this difficult is the collaboration of group work, which 30% of the participants had And the next difficulty is writing summary, accounting to 27.14% Students’ preferences for activities in PBL The students‟ attitude toward activities in PBL is shown through the answers to question 35 Table What kinds of activities you like to participate in when doing the projects? (more than one option is possible) Options a Discussion b Representation c Doing a survey / a research d Designing a poster e Interview f Others: …………………………………………………… (10 Why you prefer those activities?) Question and question 10 help teachers know more about the kinds of activities for PBL that students were fond of participating in and the reasons for their preferences The collected data shows that representation and interview are the activities that students liked to take part in most They highly recommend representing activities to practice their language This result reveals that the students understood, recalled, analyzed, and applied what they had learned and created with their own projects That is, the process of acquiring knowledge took place Most of the student participated believed that discussion is the feasible activity to take part in The students‟ willingness to give English presentations in front of the class, talk about an unfamiliar topic, and contribute to formal discussion in English during their presentation proved their potential language proficiency They also approved of poster designing activities, which provides evidence that PBL can foster creative thinking on the part of the students, but they disapproved of doing a survey or a research because it was thought to require a lot of phases and take much time Also, it was suitable for good students but not for all the class Therefore, ordinary students were not competent enough to take part in such a challenging activity 36 The above-mentioned ideas are some general findings on the kinds of activities for PBL that most students prefer Together with students‟ interest in specific kinds of activities, these will be taken into consideration in order to propose suitable suggestions for the use of activities for PBL in language teaching Discussion The findings of this study show that using PBL could be quite a good technique in teaching and learning English at Hai Hau A high school The results showed that the respondents had positive attitudes towards the PBL activities Most importantly, the majority of the students confirmed the effectiveness of PBL collaborative learning settings Interestingly, the respondents in this study were happy and had fun learning English with the PBL activities and they viewed them as an interesting learning method As mentioned above, in Viet Nam, the method of teaching and learning a target language should apply fun activities The “fun” environment for the PBL activities in this study might have helped the students improve their creative thinking skills As shown in the content indicator in Table and 2, the students performed very well They were able to apply what they had learned in actual academic situations Despite their low English ability, their “persistent” efforts illustrated a positive attitude toward language learning Their positive attitudes toward English learning could lead them to being successful language learners in the future, as concluded by Skehan (1989) that positive attitudes contributed to the success of language learning The students‟ attitudes towards the project, which is implemented, are in general positive PBL can develop their English language and improve their other skills However, they had difficulties in doing projects such as short time, writing summary, no computer and too many new words, which is the biggest problem In my opinion, the one which should be the biggest problem is lack of computers Students not have computers, so they had to go to Internet shop to look for studies and articles, which is time-consuming Therefore, the students need to control time wisely if they the project again The lesson here is finding the articles as soon as possible 37 The students also agreed that whenever they have a chance to attend an English course, they really want to have a project activity since they believed that a project can help them improve their English effectively The success of PBL might be attributed to safe learning environment features Since under PBL students can choose their topics of study, and can set their own learning goals and process As a result, the students‟ confidence, motivation, and attitudes towards learning English were engaged The students stated clearly that the project activities helped them feel confident and relaxed The findings also provided evidence that PBL can help improve the students‟ English skills In addition, as the students had to interact with each member of the group, share their ideas, provide feedback, and make conclusions, they reported that their collaborative learning skills had improved and were happy to work in groups Most importantly, the students worked collaboratively, put great effort into completing their projects, and tried very hard to use English so that each member of the group could make effective and meaningful presentations 38 PART C: CONCLUSION As the closing chapter of this research report, this chapter presents the conclusion that was based on the analysis of the findings It also presents recapitulation, implications, some limitations and suggestions of the study Recapitulation This theoretical and practical research on using project-based learning in English language teaching to 12-grade students at a rural high school in Nam Dinh province is to investigate the opinions of the students on PBL It aimed at finding the answer for the questions: (1) What benefits students report of the ProjectBased Learning to their English development? (2) What constraints the students have in their Project-Based Learning? And (3) What types of Project-Based Learning activities the students prefer and why they prefer those activities? To have answers to these questions, the study was conducted with 105 grade-12 th students from three classes at Hai Hau A high school Three techniques were used for collecting data for the study They are questionnaires for students, students‟ diaries and document analysis Both qualitative and quantitative method was used for data analysis Based on the information from the questionnaires, the findings of the study were discovered Implications This study explored the students‟ opinions about Project-Based Learning and the effectiveness of PBL developing their language The findings led the researcher to believe that PBL is beneficial and suitable for the language classroom since the students stated that projects helped them improve their English skills and their confidence in using English and that they would like to learn language using the PBL method if they have a chance Although the task-based project learning in this study was implemented as “activities” in the course, it has proved to have incredible value for language education The experience of the task-based project learning in the English courses at a high school indicated many positive results The challenge 39 is in the grading system design if PBL is used in a language course where assessment criteria are based completely on language performance Other challenges for full PBL implementation include the following questions: “Are the students ready in terms of language proficiency for full-scale PBL?”, “Are the students actively involved in the end-product of the project?”, “Do the teachers have reliable resources for the students to learn in a PBL environment?”, “Do the instructors create an appropriate classroom atmosphere for the PBL activities?”, “Do the instructors have the necessary skills to implement PBL?” For example, non-English major students may find it difficult to learn English in the PBL environment Even English major students may need to have guidance or support from teachers in such an environment It is also important to acknowledge the limitations of this study, and to be careful when generalizing the findings Further studies may want to investigate the effect of Project-Based Learning on academic achievement or language achievement, the attitudes learners towards PBL, and the level of L2 anxiety, self-confidence, selfefficacy, and motivations of students when they are placed in PBL settings The advantages and disadvantages of PBL implementation regarding the development of thinking and professional skills should be examined as well In conclusion, there is certainly room for the PBL approach in language learning and teaching The challenge is how teachers can design a “safe” environment so that learners can learn effectively and enjoyably in the Vietnamese context Limitations of the study The study was an action research conducted in the classroom where the teacher is also the researcher with 105 students at Hai Hau A high school, which resulted in a myriad of variables and the sample was not randomized This limitation makes it hard to conclude that PBL is a good teaching method of foreign language teaching to all students in all schools Therefore, there should be a longitudinal research such as quasi-experimental or experimental research to affirm the effectiveness of PBL approach in teaching language 40 In addition, the study may not have enough sufficient techniques to get the most reliable data Though the questionnaire delivery was monitored by the teacher, reliability was not guaranteed to some extent Moreover, attitude is a complex term with different types, so only some aspects were examined in this minor thesis Suggestions for further study In the research, the common view is that even though students struggled at some points, it is a contributing learning approach In line with these conclusions, Project-Based Learning might be regarded as an approach improving individual and team work, creative and critical thinking, problem solving and decision making skills of high students Suggestions;  While practicing project-based learning approach, while planning, instructors should take student characteristics, their qualities, and environmental conditions right along with fundamental principles  PBL approach should be practiced in other fields of education and comparative studies should be effectuated  Experimental studies which compare project based learning approach with other student-centered approaches should be made 41 REFERENCES Harris, J H., & Katz, L G (2001) Young investigators: Theproject approach in the early years New York: Teachers College Press Hedge, T (1993) Key Concepts in ELT: Fluency and Project ELT Journal, 3, 275-277 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/47.3.275 Horan, C., Lavaroni, C., & Beldon, P (1996) Observation of the Tinker Tech Program Students for Critical Thinking and Social Participation Behaviors Novato, CA: Buck Institute for Education Katz, L G., & Chard, C (2000) Engaging Children’s Minds: The Project Approach (2nd ed.) Connecticut: Ablex Publishing Corporation, Stamford Kolb, D.Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Marx, R W., Blumenfeld, P C., Krajcik, J S., & Soloway, E (1997) Enacting Project-Based Science: Challenges for Practice and Policy Elementary School Journal, 97, 341-358 http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/461870 Mezirow, J (1991) Transformative dimensions of adult learning San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Moss & Van Duzer (1998) Project-Based Learning for Adult English Language Learners Washington DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education Papandreou, A P (1994) An application of projects approach to EFL English Teaching Forum, 32(3), 41-42 10 Stoller, F (2006) Establishing a Theoretical Foundation for Project-Based Learning in Second and Foreign Language Contexts In G H Beckett, & P C Miller, Eds., Project-Based Second and Foreign Language Education: Past, Present, and Future (pp 19-40) Greenwich, CT: Information Age 11 J W Thomas, A Review of Research on Project-Based Learning, 2000, Retrieved September 10, 2009 from www.bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/PBL_Research.pdf 42 12 D L Fried-Booth, Project work (2 nd ed.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998 13 Y Lam and G Lawrence, Teacher-student role redefinition during a computer-based second language project: Are computers catalysts for empowering change?, Computer Assisted Language Learning, Vol 15, No 3, 2002, pp 295315 14 Achilles, C M., Hoover, S P (1996) Exploring problem-based learning (PBL) in grades 6-12 Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Tuscaloosa, AL 15 Barron, B J S., Schwartz, D L., Vye, N J., Moore, A., Petrosino, A., Zech, L., Bransford, J D., & The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1998) Doing with understanding: Lessons from research on problem- and project-based learning The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 7, 271-311 16 Bartscher, K., Gould, B., & Nutter, S (1995) Increasing student motivation through project-based learning Master‟s Research Project, Saint Xavier and IRI Skylight 17 Belland, B R., Ertmer, P A., & Simons, K D (2006) Perceptions of the value of problem-based learning among students with special needs and their teachers The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learing, 1(2), 1-18 18 Stoller, F (2002) Project work: A means to promote language and content In J.C Richards & W.A Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice (pp 107-120) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 Beckett, G.H and Slater, T (2005) The Project framework: a tool for language, content, and skills integration ELT Journal, 59(2), 108-116 20 Green, A.M.(1998) “Project-Based Learning; moving students towards meaningful learning”, ERIC Database, ED422466 21 Mapes, M.R (2009) Effects and challenges of Project-Based Learning A review by Michele R.Mapes 22 Alan, B., & Stoller, F (2005) Maximizing the benefits of project work in foreign 43 language classrooms English Teaching Forum, 43(4), 10-21 23 Richard Sagor (1992) How to conduct collaborative action research, ASCD 24 Sheppard, K., & Stoller, F L (1995) Guidelines for the integration of student projects into ESP classrooms English Teaching Forum, 33(2), 10-15 25 Stoller, F (1997) Project work: A means to promote language content In J C Richards & W A Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice (pp 107-118) Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press 26 Nunan, D (1991) Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers New York: Prentice Hall Regents 27 George Lucas Educational Foundation (2001, November 1) Project-based learning research Edutopia (retrieved from www.edutopia.org*.) 28 Thomas, J.W (2000) A Review of the Research on Project-Based Learning The Autodesk Foundation 44 APPENDICES APPENDIX (A questionnaire completed by the students) SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (for students) I am Duong Thi Huong Giang This survey questionnaire is designed for my master research “Project-Based Learning in a high school setting: Students‟ voices” Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is solely for the study purpose and you can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Please use either English or Vietnamese Thank you very much for your cooperation Instruction The questionnaire is in two parts, please circle the number 1, 2, and given short answers in the provided space Please use either English or Vietnamese Rate each of the following questions on a scale of 1-5 Use to indicate that is “strongly disagree”, is “disagree”, is “neutral”, is “agree” and is “disagree” Attitudes to Language development Life skills 45 Question 7: What are your opinions of your own changes after taking part in the lessons using Project Based Learning? a strongly agree b agree c I don't know d disagree e extremely disagree Your own changes: I have made progress in speaking English I am motivated to take part in the lessons I have taken greater responsibility for my own learning I have developed collaborating skill I have gained confidence in speaking in front of the audience What are the difficulties you have encountered when doing project work? What kinds of activities you like to participate in when doing the projects? (more than one option is possible) 10 Why you prefer those activities? 46 CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH Những câu hỏi sau nhằm phục vụ cho Đề tài nghiên cứu “Tìm hiểu ý kiến học sinh dạy học dự án.” Xin em vui lòng trả lời câu hỏi sau theo suy nghĩ Chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác em! Hãy khoanh vào ô mà em lựa chọn với số “ hồn tồn khơng đồng ý”, “ không đồng ý”, “ trung lập”, “đồng ý” “hoàn toàn đồng ý” Thái độ Sự phát triển ngôn ngữ Các kỹ sống Câu 7: Quan điểm em thay đổi than sau tham gia tiết dạy học dự án? a hoàn toàn đồng ý b đồng ý c d không đồng ý e hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Em tiến nhiều môn tiếng Anh Em có động lực tham gia tiết học 47 Em có trách nhiệm với việc học tập thân Em phát triển kỹ hợp tác Em tự tin giao tiếp trước đám đơng Câu Những khó khăn mà em gặp phải tiến hành làm tập dự án? Câu Những hoạt động mà em thích tham gia tiết học dự án? (có thể đƣa nhiều lựa chọn) Câu 10 Tại em thích hoạt động đó? 48 ... teacher to manage projects in a large classroom, all the while maintaining the engagement of all students, in addition to maintaining a balance between the investigative aspect of the project and... experiential learning Experiential learning is defined as the exploitation and processing of experience, aiming not only at acquiring knowledge, but also at transforming the way of thinking and changing... newspapers and magazines at Hai Hau A high school library, which are good sources of current target language, are not available I think these are the reasons that have effect on our teaching a lot