Applying project based learning in teaching unit 15, english text book 12, education publishing house

Many teachers have been trying hard to apply suitable methods oflearning and teaching with a view to helping students understand the lessonsbetter and better.. Nevertheless, it is a matt

Author: Dang Thi Hoai Thu

Position: Teacher

Subject: English

I- INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

For many years, it has been said that teaching and learning English isconsidered by a lot of teachers as teaching and learning a set of isolated skillssuch as reading, listening, speaking, writing skill as well as teaching grammaritems in language focus Teaching English, indeed, was viewed as a mastery ofthese skills Many teachers have been trying hard to apply suitable methods oflearning and teaching with a view to helping students understand the lessonsbetter and better Nevertheless, it is a matter of fact that the present Englishtextbook curriculum designed over 10 years ago and used in teaching in manyhigh schools throughout Viet Nam does not meet the demand of learning aspresented in the UNESCO International Commission on Education for the 21stCentury in 1996, that is : learning to live together, learning to know, learning to

do and learning to be Language teachers; therefore, should find out the mostsuitable methods– from the curricula, pedagogies, school environment andsettings, assessments and extra-curricular activities to concretely bridge theoriesand practices

Basing on these facts, I forcefully chose and applied Project based learning(PBL) in teaching many units in English textbook, Education Publishing House,with the aim of enabling my students to “experience what they are learningabout and the opportunity to relect on those activities” (Silberman, 2007:8),since “learning is the process whereby knowledge is created throughtransformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984)

In what follows I shall concentrate on the application of PBL in teachingunit 15, English textbook 12, Education Publishing House, but many of thepoints apply to other languages too

2 Aims of the study

My theme focuses on making clear about some issues below:

- What is PBL?

- Why is PBL?

- How is PBL applied?

3 Objects of the study

The objects chosen for my study and application are 12th grade students inclasses 12B3, 12B5, 12B10 in Hoang Hoa 4 High school, Thanh Hoa province.The students are in the last year of high school, tending to focus only in theirmain subjects in the National Examination and English is not really their

interest; therefore, they complete the tasks in their English text book in apassive way.

4 Methods of the study

My study is conducted by qualitative methods in order to collect anumber of information, compare, and then, analyse data By using thecombination of these methods, my theme will make clear the questions in thistopic, and reach effectively the targets of the essay

II- CONTENTS OF THE STUDY

1 Theoretical background

According to Wikipedia, Project-based learning (PBL) is a centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in whichstudents acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-worldchallenges and problems.[1] Students learn about a subject by working for anextended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question,challenge, or problem.[2] It is a style of active learning and inquiry-basedlearning

student-The experience of thousands of teachers across all grade levels and subjectareas, backed by research, confirms that PBL is an effective and enjoyable way

to learn - and develop deeper learning competencies required for success incollege, career, and civic life Why are so many educators around theworld interested in this teaching method? The answer is a combination oftimeless reasons and recent developments

 PBL makes school more engaging for students Today’s students, morethan ever, often find school to be boring and meaningless In PBL, studentsare active, not passive; a project engages their hearts and minds, andprovides real-world relevance for learning

 PBL improves learning After completing a project, students understandcontent more deeply, remember what they learn and retain it longer than isoften the case with traditional instruction Because of this, students who gaincontent knowledge with PBL are better able to apply what they know andcan do to new situations

 PBL builds success skills for college, career, and life In the 21st centuryworkplace and in college, success requires more than basic knowledge andskills In a project, students learn how to take initiative and responsibility,build their confidence, solve problems, work in teams, communicate ideas,and manage themselves more effectively

 PBL helps address standards The Common Core and other present-daystandards emphasize real-world application of knowledge and skills, and the

development of success skills such as critical thinking/problem solving,collaboration, communication in a variety of media, and speaking andpresentation skills PBL is an effective way to meet these goals.

 PBL provides opportunities for students to use technology Students arefamiliar with and enjoy using a variety of tech tools that are a perfect fit withPBL With technology, teachers and students can not only find resources andinformation and create products, but also collaborate more effectively, andconnect with experts, partners, and audiences around the world

 PBL makes teaching more enjoyable and rewarding Projects allowteachers to work more closely with active, engaged students doing high-quality, meaningful work, and in many cases to rediscover the joy oflearning alongside their students

 PBL connects students and schools with communities and the real

world Projects provide students with empowering opportunities to make a

difference, by solving real problems and addressing real issues Studentslearn how to interact with adults and organizations, are exposed toworkplaces and adult jobs, and can develop career interests Parents andcommunity members can be involved in projects

2 Practical background

It is a matter of fact that the present English textbook, used in manyVietnamese high schools, was a theme- based design, including 16 units and 6test yourself units Each unit is relevant to a certain topic and is divided intoreading, speaking, listening, writing skills and languague focus lesson

Many teachers have been trying hard to find suitable teaching methods and,

to a certain extent, these methods can fulfil the aim of helping studentsunderstand and know thoroughly the contents of the lessons Nonetheless, howwill the class be if these methods are applied in all the lessons? Will thestudents find it interesting to learn whereas they can find the exact answers forthe tasks in many reference books? Will the completing tasks in the text bookhelp students learn how to take initiative and responsibility, build theirconfidence, solve problems, work in teams, communicate ideas, and managethemselves more effectively? Will the students have chance to build importantskills such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication

in a variety of media, and speaking as well as presentation skill? Moreimportant, will the students be connected with comunities and the real worldwhile studying in textbook only?

PBL bearing many good points as mentioned above can bring to a newchange in teaching process I therefore forcedly implemented PBL in teachingmany units, of which Unit 15, English text book 12, Education Publishing

House brought my students as well as my teaching much joyful experience andcore value.

3 Applying PBL in teaching Unit 15, English text book 12, Education Publishing House

The process of PBL can be varied, depending on the real situation interms of students’ ability and the content of each unit By my experience inlearning and teaching English, instead of teaching lessons in each units; thatmeans teaching Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing skills and languagefocus in turns traditionally, I have forcefully and successfully applied PBL inteaching unit 15, English text book 12, Education Publishing House in thefollowing stages

3.1 Stage 1: Discovering real situation related to the content of the lesson.

Many students find schoolwork meaningless because they do not

perceive “a need to know” what they are being taught They are unmotivated

when told they will need it later in life or simply because “it’s going to be onthe test.” With a compelling student project, the reason for learning relevantmaterial becomes clear: I need to know this to meet the challenge I haveaccepted

In this stage, as a classroom teacher, I could powerfully activate mystudents’ need to know content by launching a unit in a way that engagesinterest and inititates questioning This could take the form of a livelydiscussion

English 12, Unit 15: Women in society, P 162

Project: WOMEN IN SOCIETY

1 Throughout history, unrooted cultural beliefs allowed women onlylimited roles in society However, there have been many considerablecontributions of women to society from the past to the present day andwomen in most parts of the world have gained significant legal rights Work

in group

- Discuss the role of women at home, at work

- Find out pictures or photos of famous women with their contribution andstatus in the past and in the world

- Write the slogan and the core value of your project

2 Prepare and give presentation to your class

3 Time: 10 days

Also, in this stage, I gave out many driving questions to my students.Good driving questions capture the heart of the project in clear, compellinglanguage, giving students a sense of purpose and challenge The question should

be provocative, open-ended, complex, and linked to the core value of what you

want students to learn It could be abstract (What are characteristics of modernwomen?/ to what extent the life of a city woman is better than that of a countrywoman?); concrete (Are women treated equally to men nowadays?); or focused

on solving a problem (How can we change the attitude of the world to women?)

3.2 Stage 2: Negotiating the Criteria for Evaluation

I and my students decided that the projects should be assessed byfullfiling the questions in rubrics including self assessment rubric, peerassessment rubric and teacher assessment rubric (See Appendix 6) andchecklist.(See Appendix 4)

Once the criteria were clearly defined, the students realized that theymight have to be modified in the future

3.3 Stage 3: Deploying projects

The group’s leaders assigned the task for each members In terms ofmaking a project feel more meaningful to students, the more voice and choice,the better The leaders should assign the tasks depending on each member’sability On one end of the scale, groups’ members should also discuss on how todesign, create, and present products In the middle, I might provide a limitedmenu of options for creative products to prevent students from becomingoverwhemed by choices On the other end of the scale, students could decidewhat products they will creat, what resources they will use, and how they willstructure their time Students could even choose a project’s topic and drivingquestions Basing on the topic in units 15, women in Society, my students choseposters to be their final products During this stage, students in each group usethe check list (See Appendix 4) and Project team work plan (See Appendix 1)and Assessment for group work skill (See Appendix 5) to check the work and

the duty of each member

(Groups’ leader distributed work to members)

3.4 Stage 4: Conducting the project.

A project should give students opportunities to build such 21st century

skills as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and the use of

technology, which will serve them well in the workplace and life This exposure

to authentic skills meets the second criterion for meaningful work—an

important purpose A teacher in a project-based learning environment explicitlyteaches and assesses these skills and provides frequent opportunities forstudents to assess themselves.

Being given the Guidelines for poster layout (See Appendix 3), thestudents in each group worked on preliminary sketches until they decided on afinal design Besides, students gathered information from many resourses such

as websites, newspapers and their real lives They then compiled imformation,deciding on what pictures and information to paste on the posters Finally, theydecided on how and where to put information and pictures on the posters.During this stage, Check list for poster (See Appendix 4) was also used to checkthe tasks of all the members

(Students gathered information and pictures)

(Students compiled information and pictures)

(Students drew their poster)

During this stage, I served as coach, moving from group to group toguide the students' work As I did so, I asked myself the following coachingquestions :

 Do the students have a clear understanding of the task?

 Does each student have ownership of her role within the group?

 Are the students attentive and working together cooperatively?

 Are the resources that students use geared to their comprehensive level ofunderstanding?

 Are any groups stumbling in a way that is blocking their work due

to heightened emotions?

My role as coach obtained a clarity of purpose throughout this process.Prompted by the coaching questions and the checklist, the students used theirown intellects to solve problems while attaining a higher level of learning

3.5 Stage 5: Presenting the project

In this stage, students became aware of the ways their presentations meetthe criteria of assessment The teacher-coach using Teacher’s assessment (SeeAppendix 6), observed how engaged they were in presenting their projects.Each group in my class showcased its poster to the class, explaining how the

product was achieved as well as presenting the content, the core value of the

project Not one student was absent on the day of the competition

“A beautiful woman pleases the eyes, a good woman pleases the hearts The

first one is jewel, the second is treasure”(Group 1 with their project and

presentation)

“Women make happy homes”(Group 2 with their project and presentation)

“Women‘s rights is the human rights”( (Group 3 with their project and

presentation)