SKKN AN INVESTIGATION INTO 10 th GRADERS’ TEAMWORK IN PROJECT BASED LEARNINGFORNEWENGLISH TEXTBOOK AT DO LUONG3 HIGHSCHOOL

NGHE AN DEPARTMENT OF TRAINING AND EDUCATIONDO LUONG 3 UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHING EXPERIENCE Topic: TEAMWORK IN PROJECT-BASED LEARNING FOR NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK AT DO LUONG 3 HIGH SC

NGHE AN DEPARTMENT OF TRAINING AND EDUCATION

DO LUONG 3 UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Topic:

TEAMWORK IN PROJECT-BASED LEARNING FOR NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK AT DO LUONG 3 HIGH SCHOOL

(Nghiên cứu hoạt động nhóm trong dạy học theo dự án của học sinh lớp 10 với chương trình Tiếng anh mới ở Trường THPT Đô Lương 3)

Teacher : Nguyễn Sỹ Long - Nguyễn Quốc Sơn Group : Văn – Ngoại ngữ

School year: 2021- 2022

2.2.1.6 Roles of teachers and students in Project-Based Learning 112.2.1.6.1 Teachers’ role in Project-Based Learning 112.2.1.6.2 Students’ role in Project-Based Learning 13

2.3.1 The relationship between Teamwork and Project-Based Learning 142.3.2 The role of Teamwork in Project-Based Learning 14

2.3.4 The strategies of TPBL in foreign language teaching 15

3.4.2 Interviews 19

4.1 Teachers and students’ perception towards Teamwork in PBL 254.1.1 Teachers and students’ perception towards the necessity and importance of PBL 254.1.2 Teachers and students’ perception towards TW in PBL 264.1.3 Teachers and students’ attitudes towards the real effectiveness of TW in PBL 284.1.4 Teachers and students’ attitudes towards the extent of developing individual strength

4.2 Students’ difficulties in doing project assignments 304.2.1 Students’ difficulties in Project-based Learning 304.2.2 Students’ difficulties in Teamwork in Project-based Learning 324.3 Measures to maximize students’ individual strengths in performing Team PBL 33

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

PBL: Project based learnig

PW: Project work

TM: Teamwork

PBLT: Project-based Language Teaching

FLT: Foreign Language Teaching

DL3: Đô Lương 3

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

Language has long been considered to be as a means of communication among people

It has not only been viewed as a means of thinking but also as a means of transferringculture from one country to another as well as from one generation to another Therefore,many countries focus on teaching languages more than teaching the native language to itscitizens Speaking at a conference, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, NguyenVinh Hien, (2011) confirmed that National Foreign Language Project 2020 (usually called

Project 2020) (it has been adjusted until 2025) aimed: By 2020, the majority of young

people graduating from Vietnam secondary schools, colleges and universities will have hadthe capacity to use language independently; confidence in communicating and learning towork in an environment of integration, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural Language expertshave noted positive changes in teaching and learning foreign languages in recent times,especially English Students learn English more naturally, interestingly and dynamically

At present, English is an international language In the trend of globalization, theimportance of English can not be denied and ignored because it is widely used all over theworld Along with the development of science, technology, and education, English plays themost important role in all fields English has become more dominant around the world.Therefore, English has become a major foreign language in most countries which donot use English as their mother tongue or second language, including Vietnam

To meet the trends and new teaching requirements, along the years, many differentactive teaching methods have been applied and developed but we wonder whether they facestudents’ needs or match the requirement of a new administration Direct method, task-based language teaching, content-based instruction, audio-lingual method, total physicalresponse are all claimed to be the active options to teach English (Stryker and Leaver, 1993;

Brown, 1994; Willis, 1996; Singh, 2001) Since the new set of textbooks from Tiếng Anh 3

to Tiếng Anh 12 were designed and used in school education system, Project-Based Method

is being attracted the teachers and students’ attention because the format of this newtextbook is completely different from the old one The most remarkable feature in this newtextbook is the “Projects” section It is designed to apply the Project-Based Learning (PBL)approach which is learner-centered Significant role of students is selecting the content areasand nature of the projects that they do It means that students understand what they aredoing, why it is important, and how they will be assessed Indeed, students may help to setsome of the goals which they will be assessed on, and understand how they will be assessedover these goals All of these learner-centered characteristics of PBL contribute to learners’motivation and active engagement

In fact, when teaching both present textbooks and new pilot textbooks, we identify that

it is not easy for students to carry out “Projects” and most of the teachers have difficulties inimplementing the new teaching method The problem here may be due to three main

reasons Firstly, most of the teachers are still familiar with their traditional methods ofteaching, according to which the organizing teamwork and giving students the autonomy indoing their duties make teachers worried or even think that students cannot achieve theirlearning goals Moreover, some teachers doubt on the effectiveness of the implementation

of PBL, especially the development of skills, independence and creativity of students Theysaid that teamwork in projects only focuses on the strong and active students Weak studentswill increasingly lack attempts in learning As a matter of fact, some of the students maylack motivation and interest when doing projects Secondly, most of the projects areperformed under teamwork or groupwork forms but not all the students have the samecapacity level and different students have different purposes of learning English Theoutcome of each group or team is affected by many different reasons, including objectiveand subjective reasons The consequence seen from that is some groups or teams haveeffective work while some others do not Thirdly, the key problem that the author is payingattention to is that there is no clear distinction between team and group activities This leads

to the consequence that many teachers do not organize team activities well, which makesthe implementation of the project bring students many difficulties In literature review, thereare few studies about the attitudes of students toward teamwork Therefore, the author has

always taken the grave concern about these questions “How are teachers and students aware of the importance of PBL?”, “How much does Teamwork (TW) have affect on PBL?”, and “How can teachers develop the students’ individual strength by taking TW in PBL?”

For the above-mentioned reasons, we would like to conduct the research entitled “An

investigation into 10 th graders’ Teamwork in Project-Based Learning for new English textbook at Do luong 3 High School” with the ambition that this will bring certain benefits

of using teamwork to increase students’ motivation in carrying out projects in learningEnglish Also, we wish that this short and limited study will be of some help to those whoare really interested in Project-based Language Teaching (PBLT), and it will make acontribution to the process of teaching and learning English in the Project 2020

1 2 Aims of the study

In this research, we study the attitude, awareness and perception of teachers andstudents toward PBL, especially the application of Teamwork in PBL

This study is undertaken to find out the difficulties that students at grade 10 of Do luong

3 High School (DL3 High School) are facing when applying TW in PBL in English classes;find the best ways to minimize the students’ difficulties in taking TW in PBL

The research, furthermore, aims at helping us know whether the application of TPBL inEnglish classes can arouse students’ interest or motivation in learning English Through thesurvey, the most effective and appropriate solutions to raise the students’ individual strength

in Team Project-based Learning will be mentioned

1.3 Research questions

From the aims established above, this research is conducted to find the answers for the

three following questions:

(1) What is the teachers and students’ perception towards Teamwork in Project-Based Learning at Do luong 3 High School?

(2) What are the common problems encountered by 10 th graders in doing project-based tasks at Do luong 3 High School?

(3) How to maximize students’ individual strengths in preforming Team Project-Based Learning?

1.4 Scopes of the study

To find the answers to the three above-mentioned research questions, the experimenthas been carried out among ninety 10th-form students in classes 10D1 and 10T1 in Do luong

3 high school The most characteristic of these students is that their age group ranges from

15 to 16 Almost all students here have been learning English since at least grade 3.Therefore, their knowledge of English is fairly good This helps them easily to finish theirprojects on time and present their final products in a persuasive way

Besides, this study also conducted a survey on the attitudes and awareness of eightEnglish teachers who are teaching at Do luong 3 High School about the role andeffectiveness of the PBL as well as their evaluation on TW in PBL The results of theevaluation on this issue will help many other English teachers get an objective view ofPBLT Also thereby, researchers and educational administrators can have more appropriatemeasures to promote the development of language learning and teaching

- Ethnographic in-depth interview

Besides, reviewing the related document is also a method to establish the theoreticalbackground of the study, which mainly focuses on Teamwork, PBL and Team PBL

1.6 Design of the study

The study consists of five chapters:

- Chapter 1:Introduction gives out the fundamental reason why we choose topic and it

contains rationales, aims, methods, scope and design of the study

- Chapter 2:Literature Review establishes the basic theoretical backgrounds from the

literature on classes, teaching techniques which are focus on the theoretical background ofthree issues: teamwork, PBL and Teamwork and PBL in Foreign Language Teaching (FLT)

- Chapter 3:Methodology describes the overall picture of how the research was carried

out from the first step of determining the research design to the last step of gathering theresults This is composed of the subjects or participants and data collection method Thischapter ends with the procedure of the research

- Chapter 4: Findings and discussions reveals the findings drawn through analyzing

the collected data and opinions Based on this analysis, the discussion of the researchquestions was conducted

- Chapter 5: Conclusion summarizes the key findings made from the research ,

practical implications, limitations of the study and suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEWS

This chapter consists of three sections Section one (1) concerns key concepts related tothe study of Teamwork as well as identifying the difference between team and group Itshows the advantages and disadvantages of using Teamwork and highlights the crucialelements of successful teamwork Section two (2) gives some issues of the definition ofproject and PBL Section three (3) introduces some effective ways to apply TW in PBLT orPBL, which is suitable for English classes

2.1 Teamwork

2.1.1 The definition of teamwork

Teamwork has been reviewed, studied and defined by many researchers and educators

On diverse fields, teamwork is understood in many different factors, but basically they havethe same characteristics

Oxford Dictionary defines teamwork as the combined action of a group, especiallywhen effective and efficient Teamwork involves a set of interdependent activitiesperformed by individuals who collaborate toward a common goal Teamwork is generallyunderstood as the willingness of a group of people to work together to achieve a commonaim In other words, team is the place where collective ideas are generated The employeesundertake responsibilities for quality and productivity execute the works and develop theirabilities and skills in line with the expectations of the organization A team is a group ofpeople who are interdependent with respect to information, resources, and skills and whoseek to combine their efforts to achieve a common goal (Thompson, 2004)

According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, Teamwork is defined as “a joint action

by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests andopinions to the unity and efficiency of the group” This does not mean that the individual is

no longer important However, it means that the efficiency and effectiveness of teamworkgoes beyond individual accomplishments Teamwork is generated most effectively when allindividuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal

Briefly, to obtain a successful teamwork, all team members must create an environmentwhere they are all ready to contribute and participate to promote and foster a positive andeffective team environment The members must be flexible enough to adapt to cooperativeworking environments where goals are achieved through collaboration and socialinterdependence rather than individualized, competitive goals

2.1.2 Types of teamwork

In the considered literature a variety of different types of teams can be found: Salas et al.(2000) claimed that there exist several types of teams and therefore it is difficult to

categories and evaluate them In their paper, they defined three types of teams: The action

team, the production team and the management team Each of these teams requires

different processes as well as measurements in order to work effective Sundstrom (1999)

categorized six types of teams: The production team, the service team, the management

team, the acting/performance team, the project team and the parallel team Functionality

is the underlining nature of each of these teams, also mentioned that each team requiresdifferent characteristics to succeed

In the scientific research in language and lives, teams are categorized in various ways.Some researchers classify teams on the basis of their objectives Robbins and De Cenzo

(1998) categorized teams as functional teams, problem-solving teams, self-managed teams,

and cross-functional teams Johnson and Johnson’s (1994) team classification is based on

where the teams are used; work area, sports, and learning situations They define

teamwork as a set of people in interaction which is structured to maximize members’proficiency and success, and to cooperate and integrate members’ effort with othermembers A sports team is a set of people in interaction which is structured to improvemembers’ athletic performance and to cooperate and integrate members’ effort with othermembers

According to the online Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd edition, there are six basic types

of teams These include informal, traditional, self-directed, leadership, problem solving and virtual teams Each specific type of team requires its own individual type of teamwork to

achieve success

Above all, the ways to classify teamwork of Johnson and Johnson’s seem to be themost reasonable They indicated the major aims as well as applied methods in learning team:exchange knowledge and skills to finish a project Depending on those researchers’ opinion,teachers can both classify students into suitable teamwork and choose effective activities foreach kind of team

2.1.3 Advantages of Teamwork

At present, teamwork is very popular in teaching and learning Its advantages arerecognized over the years Improve productivity, quality, and finding solutions to overcomeproblems is one of the advantages of teamwork It is common in the literature that theadvantages of teamwork are thought its characteristics According to Mears (1994), theteam improves communication skills, participation, and efficiency

Obviously, two heads are better than one.Teams create an environment of support andpropel people toward implementation

Among previous mentioned advantages are these included following things:

* Increased information and knowledge

* Increased acceptance of a solution

* Higher performance levels

In short, “when teams are successful, they improve productivity, creativity, employeeinvolvement, and even job security.”

2.1.4 Disadvantages of Teamwork

Basically, a team has the potential to

up the individual members, if it is not functioning properly it can make some members

feel inferior and unimportant They contribute less and are discouraged from accessing theirstrong qualities Some will feel they must carry out the team while others will feel they arethe burden of the team While teamwork does offer a variety of advantages, there are alsosome potential disadvantages you should be aware of when implementing a team concept inFLT List of some follow-mentioned disadvantages should be paid attention when applying

TW in FLT:

Unequal Participation Not Team Players Limiting Creativity

Longer Process Inherent Conflict

2.1.5 Successful Teamwork

Successful teamwork relies upon synergism existing between all team memberscreating an environment where they are all willing to contribute and participate in order topromote and nurture a positive, effective team environment A summary based on literature

on the necessary attributes needed for successful teamwork was given in Pina Tarricone andJoe Luca’s study:

Commitment to team success and shared goals:Successful teams are motivated,

engaged and aim to achieve at the highest level;

Interdependence: Team members need to create an environment where together they

can contribute far more than as individuals Individuals promote and encourage their fellowteam members to achieve, contribute, and learn

Interpersonal Skills includes the ability to discuss issues openly with team members; be

honest, trustworthy, and supportive

Open Communication and positive feedback:Team members should be willing to give

and receive constructive criticism and provide authentic feedback

Appropriate team composition is essential in the creation of a successful team Team

members need to be fully aware of their specific team role and understand what is expected

of them in terms of their contribution to the team and the project

Commitment to team processes, leadership and accountability: Team members need to

be accountable for their contribution to the team and the project, aware of team processes,best practice and new ideas

2.2 Project-Based Learning

2.2.1 Project-Based Learning

2.2.1.1 Definitions of Project-Based Learning

PBL is a student-centered teaching method that allows students to investigate world problems PBL is an innovative, systematic teaching method that promotes studentengagement through deep investigations of complex questions

real-According to another definition, PBL is an instructional strategy that encouragesstudents to learn the content on their own, and to show what they understand by makingdifferent presentations (Stripling & Macko, 2000) It is also suggested that it is aninstructional method that develops students’ thinking skills, encourages them to produce

original things, allows them to work in cooperation, and that enables them to access theinformation on their own, to present this information and to make self-assessments.

In the view of this, PBL is one of the methods recommended to be used PBL refers to amethod allowing “students to design, plan, and carry out an extended project that produces apublicly exhibited output such as a product, publication, or presentation” Through PBL, thelearners are engaged in purposeful communication to complete authentic activities, so thatthey have the opportunity to use the language in a natural context and participate inmeaningful activities which require authentic language use

From all the definitions, it can be determined that PBL is a teaching and learningapproach that allows learners to study and practice independently under the observation ofteachers by creating plans, designing the process, and evaluating the project Learners areoffered opportunities to study on the topics that interest them They use the language skillsand other skills naturally PBL also promotes the learners’ personal abilities in real-worldsituations Learners learn through hands-on experience After the project is finished, theyshould be able to present the work and apply their knowledge in real world Althoughdefined in various ways, projects have some primary features which are discussed in thefollowing part In brief, PBL essentially involves the following:

* students learning knowledge to tacklerealistic problems as they would be solved in

the real world

* increasedstudents’ control over his or her learning.

* teachers serving ascoaches and facilitators of inquiry and reflection.

* students (usually, but not always) working inpairs or groups/teams

2.2.1.2 Key features of Project-Based Learning

PBL is a teaching method in which students can gain knowledge and skills by workingfor an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging andcomplex question, problem, or challenge There are several key features that assist to directthe use of PBL instruction within a classroom It is important that the project has a real-world connection

In Gold Standard PBL, Essential Project Design Elements include the following keyfeatures:

* Key knowledge, understanding and success skills: The project is focused on student

learning goals, including standards-based content and skills such as criticalthinking/problem solving, collaboration, and self-management

* Challenging problem or question: The project is framed by a meaningful problem to

solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level of challenge

* Sustained inquiry: Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking

questions, finding resources, and applying information

* Authenticity: The project features real-world context, tasks and tools, quality

standards, or impact - or speaks to students’ personal concerns, interests, and issues in their

lives.

* Student voice and choice: Students make some decisions about the project, including

how they work and what they create

* Reflection: Students and teachers reflect on learning, the effectiveness of their inquiry

and project activities, the quality of student work, obstacles and how to overcome them

* Critique and revision: Students give, receive, and use feedback to improve their

process and products

* Public product: Students make their project work public by explaining, displaying

and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom

The key features of the PBL have highlighted the advantages and necessity of usingPBL in education in particular and other sectors in general The success of the application ofPBL not only depends on the understanding of its key features, but also on the self-consciousness of all members when performing the team tasks With all the key featureslisted, PBL has both advantages and disadvantages in implementation into teaching.Promoting the advantages as well as reducing the disadvantages means that the teachersshould achieve their teaching objectives

2.2.1.3 Benefits of Project-Based Learning

Schools can, at times, seem to be boring for the learners PBL can fix this byencouraging active their participation and creativity PBL restores the culture class, enableseducators to rediscover the joy of learning with their learners PBL also providesopportunities for students who are not high academic achievers to become team leaders.This shift in typical classroom dynamics is important for learners who have fallen into setsocial roles and gives the entire classroom community a chance to learn from one another innew and unanticipated ways

Most importantly, PBL goes beyond learning It allows students to build theirknowledge according to their own strength, background and experiences This allowsstudents to learn actively in the style best suited to them and helps them to develop a way ofworking and thinking responsibly that will follow them into their adult years Sylvia Chard -

an education researcher- stated that “One of the major advantages of project work is that itmakes school more like real life It’s an in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy

of children's attention and effort.”

Fragoulis (2009) and Bell (2010) stated that there are many benefits of implementingPBL in teaching English as Foreign Language The following advantages seem to be themost outstanding when applying PBL:

* PBL gives contextual and meaningful learning for students

* PBL can create optimal environment to practice speaking English

* PBL can also make students actively engage in project learning

* PBL enhances the students’ interest, motivation, engagement, and enjoyment

* PBL promotes social learning that can enhance collaborative skills

* PBL can give an optimal opportunity to improve students’ language skill

2.2.1.4 Challenges of Project-Based Learning

2.2.1.4.1 Challenges for students

Beside the above-mentioned benefits of PBL, the researchers have shown manydrawbacks when applying PBL in language teaching The new burden of responsibilitybringing challenges to students can be clearly seen in four sections: group work, traditionalteaching style, assessment and weight of work

Firstly, group work or teamwork was frequently identified in the academic literature as

the most significant challenge faced by learners undertaking PBL A study by Meehan andThomas (2006), for example, found students undertaking environmental managementprojects in Vietnam reported team work as being the hardest element of their project work

Secondly, for students, a significant challenge identified in the literature is that of

adapting to an unfamiliar student-centered approach in which significant responsibility forlearning and work management shifts from staff to learner

Thirdly,These focused mainly on one course where lecturers assessing different groups

each used their own criteria, engendering questions of transparency and equity Otherstudies found that students often undervalued their progress “particularly in the social andprocess domains” through lack of communication by staff regarding the aims and objectives

of PBL

Fourthly, Van den Berg (2006) noted that students perceived the workload as heavy,

and staff described students finding the workload “overwhelming” The need for extra timewas not necessarily always negative however as some students appreciated having moretime to work on their project

2.2.1.4.2 Challenges for academic staff

There are many barriers that teachers should consider in order to implement PBL in theclassroom successfully Implementing PBL in the classroom can pose some challenges forteachers They may feel discomfort with their new role as facilitators and think that PBLmay be the loss of class time At times, the students’ inexperience with cooperative orcollaborative learning makes teachers impatient Teachers have to spend time designingappropriate assessment and evaluation instruments for such projects

2.2.1.5 Project procedure

There are some stages of PBL implementation The first is speculation in whichteachers provide the choice of project topics initially based on curriculum and discuss themwith the students In this stage, teachers and students speculate possibilities that will lead tothe projects smoothly

However, for the beginner or lower level students, teachers can choose the project bythemselves but still consider the students’ problem This was because it was assumed that

“the students in beginner or lower level do not have the language or confidence to developproject themes” so that the teachers need to lead them first before they can decide by

The second stage is designing the project activities, referring to organizing the structure

of a project activity that includes group formation, role assigning, concerning methodologydecision, information source

The third stage is conducting the project activities in which the students work what hadbeen planned and designed in the previous stage At this stage, the students gatherinformation, discuss it with their group member, consult problems encountered in theirwork with the teachers, and exhibit their final products that might be in form of presentation,performance, product, publication, etc to wider community such as other classes, teachers,foreigners, etc

The last stage is evaluation referring to “the assessment of activities from theparticipants and discussion about whether the initial aims and goals have been achieved,implementation of the process, and final products” The evaluation, towards the projectorganization, problems encountered during the process of working it, students attitudestoward it, etc., also includes evaluation from others and self-evaluation

These ten steps should be followed to develop a project work:

Step 1: Students and instructor agree on a theme for the project.

Step 2: Determine the final outcome.

Step 3: Structure the project.

Step 4: Instructor prepares students for the demands of information gathering

Step 5: Gather information.

Step 6: Instructor prepares students to compile and analyze data

Step 7: Students compile and analyze information

Step 8: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of the final activity

Step 9: Present final product.

Step 10: Evaluate the project.

2.2.1.6 Roles of teachers and students in Project-Based Learning

2.2.1.6.1 Teachers’ role in Project-Based Learning

Effective PBL requires the teacher to assume a different role The teacher’s role is notdominant, but he/she acts as a guide, advisor, coordinator, and facilitator Teachers’ role inPBL is facilitating student activities rather than knowledge transmitters often seen in thetraditional classroom teaching In a PBL classroom, the teacher’s role is to guide, not to givestudents the answers to their questions If a student needs to draft engineering plans on acomputer, for example, he or she would have to master computer design software first Theteacher takes on a role of facilitator or guide, allowing the students to discover forthemselves the knowledge, while the teacher helps or facilitates the learning by guiding thestudent down the path of knowledge Commonly, in PBL, a learner-centered approach, theteacher’s role is to guide and advise students rather than direct them Playing the role offacilitator, the teacher works with students to structure meaningful tasks and providecoaching in both knowledge development and social skills

Mentioned in International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), theteacher’s role included knowing, facilitating, context providing, and assessing as shown infigure 2.2.

Figure 2.2: The teachers’ role on PBL

(International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES))

1) Knowing (K): teachers became informants for the learners Therefore he/sheshould have knowledge not only to provide, but also help learners construct their ownknowledge

2) Facilitating (F): teacher became facilitators and supporters for learners’ needs

3) Context Providing (C): teachers provided appropriate classroom settings whichcontained learning resources, learning tools and media, and social context for learners towork collaboratively

4) Assessing (A): teachers prepared the assessment tools which reflected for theperformance assessments and followed up on learners’ progress

Besides, the teachers’ roles in PBL, according to Ms Agnes’ lecture, are evaluated inthree stages of a project as follow:

In Pre-Project Stage: Teacher plays the role of a knower

- Help students select a topic /generate ideas through brainstorming/mind-mapping

- Guide students to formulate their project objectives

- Develop a contract/proposal for the group

In during-Project Stage: Teacher plays the role of a consultant, a facilitator or a co-learner:

- Help students gather ideas, define objectives, draw up the schedule and provide inputfor language skills

Teacher as facilitator

Knowing

Providing basic information

Support important information for each need

Extending the learners’

knowledge

Prior knowledge survey

Facilitating Context

Providing Assessing

Teacher as supporter

Preparing learning tools

Preparing learning resources

Preparing learning interactive classromm

Using variety assessment methods

Using virtual performance assessment

Mornitoring learners’

progress

- Intervene if students’ direction not practical, offer suggestions to solve problems.

- Respond to requests from students

- The teacher seeks to help the students to focus on relevant aspects

- The teacher guides the students by asking questions and negotiating meanings with them

- The teacher tries to frame the problems by referring to the findings of the problem

- The teacher tries to monitor the students’ strategy for solving the problem

- The teacher attempts to guide the students’ negotiation of meaning

In Post-Project Stage: Teacher plays the role of a commentator and appraiser

- Centre on what students learned during the project

- Share the reflection

- Provide a balanced picture of strengths and weaknesses

- Offer suggestions for improvement

2.2.1.6.2 Students’ role in Project-Based Learning

PBL requires learners to engage in intelligently focused communication This approachforces students to take ownership of their success In the PBL model students generallywork in small, collaborative groups They find sources, conduct research, and hold eachother responsible for learning and completing the tasks Essentially, students must managethemselves in this approach to instruction

According to International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES), thelearners’/students’ roles were to create the artifacts or products in the projects within thesocial context The students in each group mainly rotated their own acts of planning,creating, reflecting, and publishing within the cycle and could be related to each step asshown in figure 2.3

Figure 2.3: The learners’ roles on PBL

(International Journal of Research in Education and Science (IJRES)) 1) Planning (P); the learners had to think collaboratively to set their group goals, plan

and design the tasks to meet their goals

2) Creating (C); the learners followed the plan by using appropriate media and

technology When learners encountered the problems in this step and tried to solve theproblems, this led them to make a new plan

3) Reflecting (R); this was a very important step that learners used for talking about and

critiquing their own or others’ tasks for improvement

4) Publishing (P); learners used this step to present their ideas, artifacts, or products.

2.3 Teamwork in Foreign Language Teaching

2.3.1 The relationship between Teamwork and Project-Based Learning

From the above-mentioned literature review of Teamwork and PBL, there is aconnection between the project-based language learning and Teamwork PBL is an effectiveapproach that allows multiple skills to be developed through an integrated and meaningfulactivity This type of learning is valuable since it is connected to real world issues andenables learners to demonstrate their knowledge in practical ways It also engages learners

in sustained investigations and allows learners to participate in a variety of tasks that seekmeaningful interactions Therefore, it has become an important option in classroomteaching and learning approaches PBL uses the research process in teaching and learningactivities which will develop learners’ skills such as problem-solving skills andcollaborative skills, most of which are applied through work activities Also, PBL can helpimprove the social skills of the learners The use of projects in the classroom is not a newone, and reflects a search for ways to make the learning of a foreign language as meaningful

an experience as possible Projects are a means by which learners become activeparticipants in an experiential learning model They also assist in the development ofindependent and cooperative learning skills Learners are more likely to feel personallyinvolved in the learning process and motivated by the tangible end product By using TW inPBL, teachers can help students enhance their knowledge and improve many personal skills

2.3.2 The role of Teamwork in Project-Based Learning

Teamwork is used across many different teaching methods to increase performance andstudents’ knowledge Teachers use project-based approach assembling teams in order todiffuse students’ responsibility Team members use teamwork to bounce ideas off of oneanother before deciding on a development path for a project PBL creates a learningenvironment that fosters creativity and teamwork, and teaches students to use the tools attheir disposal to find innovative solutions to problems that are always changing In otherwords, teamwork is one of the key means to implement PBL (next to individual activities,community activities, pairs or group activities) Selecting the appropriate teamworkactivities is the best way that teachers create collaborative learning environment as well asincreasing interaction

PBL is set apart from traditional lecture-based classroom activities in the cooperative

nature of the project itself Because small groups of students are required to complete acertain task or project, it requires them to interact and work with one another As the ability

to work with others is certainly an implicit goal of education, scenarios in which studentsare given an opportunity to work with others in a low-stakes, educational setting allowsthem to develop and hone their teamwork skills Teamwork plays an important role in PBLnot only because it is the way to help students develop their cooperative skills but alsobecause it is the easy method to organize in most classes in FLT

2.3.3 The concept of Team Project-Based Learning

According to researchers’ opinion, PBL is mainly carried out through teamwork Itmeans that PBL is based on the learners’ active participation A new teaching methodcombining Teamwork and PBL was established and called Team Project-Based Learning(TPBL) TPBL is an appropriate way to activate interactions among students and toencourage knowledge building through collaborative learning TPBL is one of the mostcommonly used methods to activate interactions among students TPBL has beenintroduced and is increasingly used as a teaching and learning method in higher education topromote knowledge building through social interaction

TPBL has attracted educators’ attention as an alternative teaching method for bothimproving the quality of teaching and enhancing learning effectiveness in higher educationthrough social learning In addition, TPBL promotes higher learning skills includingcooperative ability, critical reasoning, creative thinking, responsibility, and communication.TPBL allows students to engage in the practice of knowledge building through a process ofsocial investigation in a meaningful context During the team work, students construct theknowledge and skills through social interaction

2.3.4 The strategies of Team PBL in foreign language teaching

If language teachers decide to apply TW into their teaching projects, they have toconsider both advantages and disadvantages of TW or PBL to design suitable activities andtasks which meet students’ need, interests and abilities The process of creating such planshas to meet the requirements of curriculum through the perspective of TPBL theory One ofthe most important strategies challenging all the teachers is turning student groups intoeffective teams Group work is needed and really effective for PBL in teaching foreignlanguages However, if teachers just stopped on the organization of group activities withoutpromoting them to become active team activities, the role and effectiveness of PBL hasbeen more limited In addition, the teachers are also responsible for raising individuals’strength, interest and power in team activities so that TPBL would become an optimalapproach in FLT

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Context of study

The study was conducted at Do luong 3 (DL3) High School, located in Do luong town,Nghe an province Like many other high schools in Vietnam, DL3 High School includesstudents of grades 10, 11 and 12 Each of the grades 11 and 12 consists of 12 classes whilegrade 10 has 12 classes All students who are studying at DL3 high school had to pass anentrance exam with three core subjects: Maths, Literature and English Comparing withother schools in Nghe an province, the entrance scores that students had to acquire to have aplace at DL3 high school is quite high, which means that the DL3 students’ quality is betterthan many other schools’

Currently, DL3 students must study 13 subjects in which Maths, Literature and Englishare always considered as the most important subjects At DL3 High School, there are from

42 to 45 students in each class Obviously, this number is rather difficult in dividing andcontrolling teams when assigning projects However, the students who have been learningEnglish since they were at primary schools are self-confident, active, creative and hard-working As a result, these things are good criteria to apply PBL in teaching English forstudents

Among 36 classes of the school, 10D1 and 10T1 are two of six gifted classes, all ofwhose students are good at English, Maths and Literature and are selected from all thestudents with high entrance scores Three above subjects are always received the bestconcentration in teaching and learning of both teachers and students Of course, not allstudents in these two classes are good at English Many students who have studied Englishfor many years still find it difficult to communicate in English The application of “project-based learning” into the curriculum has been making a lot of positive changes in the senseand the outcomes of learning English Difficulties encountered during PBT are the selection

of the most effective and appropriate project implementation method for the student and theactual school conditions Most of the teachers seem to be struggling to meet therequirements of equipping students with a large quantity of linguistic academic knowledgefor national exams, and fostering their integrated skills at the same time Additionally, most

of the teachers are still familiar with their traditional method of teaching, which lead them tosome obstacle in PBT Furthermore, the level of the students in each class is not the sameand different classes have different purposes of learning English, which require the teachers

to apply teaching methods flexibly

In short, the author decided to choose TW as a perfect way to carry out projects with theambition that this would bring about certain benefits to increase students’ motivation andhelp increase students’strengths in language performance

3.2 Research approach

Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in this study to obtain and

analyze the data Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different

academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences It involves the study of anyimaginable phenomenon in any field as long as institutional human subjects are involved Inqualitative research, the why and how of decision making are studied Qualitativeresearchers often employ the following methods for gathering information:ParticipantObservation, Non-participant Observation, Field Notes, Reflexive Journals, StructuredInterview, Semi-structured Interview, Unstructured Interview, and Analysis of documents

and materials Meanwhile, quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantities

i.e quantity or amount A quantitative approach is one in which the researcher primarilyuses investigation techniques such as surveys and experiments and collects data usingpredefined measurement instruments that provide statistical data

The whole method of observation, questionnaires and ethnographic in-depth interviewwere to answer two following research questions:

(1) What is the teachers and students’ perception towards Teamwork in PBL at DL3 highschool?

(2) What are the common problems encountered by 10thgraders in doing project-basedtasks at DL3 high school?

(3) How to maximize students’individual strengths in preforming Team PBL?

3.3 Participants

In accordance with the research topic, a survey was carried out in two groups ofsubjects The first, and also the majority, are ninety 10th-form graders of classes 10D1 and10T1 at Do luong 3 High School, Do luong 3, Nghe an Province At the age of 15 or 16 andhaving been living in city for ages, all of them have studied English for from 4 to 9 years.Althought they do not have the same English capacity level, they all have high motivation

in learning English because they are seen as choosing classes for gifted students in English

at Do luong 3 high school By investigating this group, we are able to specify how much theteamwork could help them finish the given projects effectively The students’ profiles aredescried in table 3.1

Number of students Percent (%)

Table 3.1: Students’profiles

The second group of subjects was eight English teachers at Do luong 3 High Schoolwho are currently applying TPBL in English classes All of the teachers have taught Englishfor more than ten years after graduating from university Their ages ranged from 38 to 53.Some of them had two pedagogical foreign language degrees (France and English); some

had master degree of English A survey was conducted for all eight teachers in order tounderstand the attitudes, opinions and difficulties that these teachers have to face whenteaching project lessons and when applying TW in PBL An interview made on two of theteachers helped the researcher realize the advantages and limitations of using team activities

in PBL as well as how to maximize personal strength for students when applying TW inPBL The observation of these teachers’ classes also helped the author understand moreabout the need of adopting TW theory in PBL The teachers’ profiles are described in table3.2

Number of teachers Percent (%)

3 4 Data collection instruments

The data for this research was primarily collected through questionnaires and interviews.The observation of English classes was carried out with the aim at identifying the perception

or attitude of teachers and students toward TW in PBL All of the instruments will bedescribed in detail in the following parts:

3.4.1 Questionnaires

Questionnaires provide a relatively cheap, quick and efficient way of obtaining largeamounts of information from a large sample of people Data can be collected relativelyquickly because the researcher would not need to be present when the questionnaires werecompleted This is useful for large populations when interviews would be impractical

By effective means of questionnaires, the behavior, attitudes, preferences, opinions andintentions of relatively large numbers of subjects are measured more cheaply and quicklythan other methods The distinction between open-ended questions and closed ones isimportant

The survey questionnaire for students consisted of twelve questions (appendix 1),which were designed in both multiple choice and open-ended ones for the purpose offinding out initial attitude of students toward the Teamwork and PBL Through thesequestions, the researcher was able to identify the problems that students often encounter andget students’ proposal ideas for suitable solutions when doing project assignments.Questionnaire was divided into three sections, each of which could help the researcher find

relevant information for each research question The first five questions were used toinvestigate the attitude and the perception of students when applying TW in PBL in FLT.The next question mainly focused on gathering information of the effectiveness of TW inPBL in real process, which further proved for the first five answers of the students.Questions seven was used to find out the evaluation how much teamwork promotedindividual strengths in PBL Question eight aimed at understanding the students’ attitudetoward TW in PBL in the future study The next two questions were conducted to identifystudents’ difficulties when doing projects as well as when applying TW in PBL The lasttwo questions collected some of the proposals for organizing team activities in Englishclasses and adopting PBL in FLT more effectively.

In addition, another questionnaire was also designed for English teachers to analyzetheir attitudes, opinions and view on the application TW in PBL This questionnaire(appendix 2) was conducted at the same time with the questionnaires for the students Withtwelve given questions, the author was able to collect important and necessary informationwhich could deal with the main objectives of the study

All the questions in the questionnaires for the students were written both in Vietnameseand English to ensure that students fully understand the questions and were able to give theanswers correctly In order for the data of the survey to be collected objectively, thequestionnaire was delivered one day in advance so the participants would have enough freetime and privacy to answer the questions independently and thoroughly The respondentscould hide their names and were encouraged to express their ideas frankly

to TW as well as the effect of the application in the PBL Depending on personal interviewswith the teachers and students, the researcher was able to acquire a lot of useful dataconcerning how they think of the benefits of using team techniques in PBL to improve thestudents’skills

3.4.3 Classroom observation

According to many researchers, systematic classroom observation is a quantitativemethod of measuring classroom behaviors from direct observations that specify both theevents and behaviors that are to be observed and how they are to be recorded Generally, thedata that is collected from this procedure focuses on the frequency with which specific

behaviors or types of behavior occurred in the classroom and measure their duration.

Along with questionnaires and interviews, classroom observation was also done tocollect data for the study The observation covered the classroom procedure as well as thestudents’ behavior and performance in the PBL lessons During the research period, theauthor acted as a non-participant observer and her observation was noted down in theteaching journals after each lesson

One of the main purposes when conducting class observations is to confirm the realdifficulties of the student in applying teamwork in PBL The results of the classroomobservation will be analyzed integratedly with the data of the questonaires and randominterviews

3 5 Procedures

To design the appropriate questions, the researcher collected and arranged all thenecessary information from the book documents, articles, and websites Then the first tendrafts of the questionnaire were randomly assigned to ten participants Then, the researcherstudied all the answers of the first ten participants carefully and adjusted the questions sothat they could be clearer and more focused

After that, ninety copies of the revised questionnaire were distributed to ninety subjects

in the first group Appropriate time of recess was chosen to carry out this step because theparticipants had enough time to read the questions carefully and gave the answers whichdepended on personal opinion of each person Along with that, the implementation of thesurvey of teachers was also conducted Eight questionnaires copies were delivered to eightteachers in the English Department As soon as the questionnaires were collected, the datawould be compiled quantitatively and analyzed for the most objective results

As for the interviewing method, after designing interview questions, the researcherarranged to conduct interviews with two teachers who are currently teaching at Do luong 3High School and two students from classes 10D1, 10T1 The topic of the interview wasspoken to all the teachers first so that they could visualize the goals and prepare responses.Then the interview questions were given in turn The author paid attention to taking out thedetailed questionnaire in order to gather the most relevant information for the desired topic.Some interviews were conducted randomly when it was necessary to clarify the datacollected from the questionnaires Thanks to the enthusiasm of the participants, all of theinterviews were carried out smoothly Also, their answers were tape-recorded and thentranscribed for analysis

Along with the two above-mentioned methods, a number of class-observing activitieswere carried out for the purpose of verifying the objectivity and accuracy of the collectedanswers Observation activities were done in other layers of tenth-form classes (10D3, 10D4)where TW in PBL were used

Teamwork activities performed indoor and out door applying PBL in Tiếng Anh 10 Some of projects discussed in Teamwork before making presentations

Teamwork discussing indoor and out door before making projects

* Individual presentation performed the project work in each Team

* Team leaders presenting their project work in front of the whole class:

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Teachers and students’perception towards Teamwork in PBL

With the aim at investigating the teachers and students’ attitudes towards TW in PBL,the first section of questionaires with eight questions was gathered and analyzed bothdescriptively and interpretively The results shown below are rather significant to the study

and can be used clarify the first research question: What is the teachers and students’ perception towards Teamwork in PBL at Do luong 3 High School?

This part will be presented into 4 main categories: attitudes towards the necessity ofPBL; attitudes towards using TW in PBL; attitudes to real effectiveness of TW in PBL withopinion of using TW in PBL in the future and the extent to develop individual’s strength

4.1.1 Teachers and students’perception towards the necessity and importance of PBL

In the questionnaires, the first question was made to investigate the teachers andstudents’ attitudes towards using PBL in English classes The first question asked theparticipants if PBL had been necessary and important or not The results of the survey wereshowed in the following figure:

Figure 4.1: Teachers and students’perception towards the necessity and importance of PBL

As can be seen from figure 4.1, most teachers and students admitted the importanceand necessity of doing projects A noticeable number of teachers (87.5%) and students(75.6%) agreed that doing projects was really necessary Although there were six students(6.6%) expressed their hesitation towards PBL, no students denied its importance Forteachers, they all recognized the importance and necessity of applying PBL into teachingEnglish, which demonstrated their high acceptance to the PBL method No teachershesitated or disagreed with using PBL in English teaching, which meant the pilot textbookswere designed suitably

Also, teachers need to pay attention to the different learning goals of each studentduring the PBL application process Above all, the high acceptance of teachers and studentsshowed that PBL was essential in the current trend of reforming educational program,content and method

4.1.2 Teachers and students’perception towards TW in PBL

From figure 4.1, it was clear that majority of the participants agreed that the projectlessons were necessary That result led to the teachers and students’ attitude towardsapplying TW in PBL, one popular way of carrying out the projects in English classes aswell as in FLT Questions 2, 3, 4, and 5 had been prepared to collect information of differentaspects of TW in PBL (Appendix 1 and 2) Figures 4.2 and 4.3 indicated the students andteachers’evaluation for TW in PBL:

Figure 4.2: Students’attitude towards TW in PBL

Figure 4.3: Teachers’attitude towards TW in PBL

As can be seen from figures 4.2 and 4.3, majority of the participants believed that

TW was the most suitable way in project lessons 77.8% of the students and 62.5% of theteachers thought that TW was really effective in PBL These figures demonstrated the highlevel of acceptance of both teachers and students toward TW in PBL When asked why theylike TW in PBL, eighty students (88.9%) agreed that TW has high interactivity,collaboration and support among its members Besides, all of these students identified theuseful help among members themselves with the effective management of the team-leaders.More than 75% students and teachers strongly agreed that TW was more effectual thanothers ways in doing projects Meanwhile, six students (6.7%) expressed their hesitation