Project-Based Learning in a high school setting: Students’ voices = tìm hiểu ý kiến của học sinh về dạy học dự án . M.A. Thesis Linguistics: 81401

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

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

*****************

DƯƠNG THỊ HƯƠNG 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

*****************

DƯƠNG THỊ HƯƠNG 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

i

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

iii

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

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

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

Project- Based Learning Students

Teacher Question

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1 Project-Based Learning 4

1.1 Definition 4

1.2 The brief history of PBL 6

1.3 The underlying theory of Project-Based Learning 7

2 Teacher role in PBL 7

3 The procedures of PBL 8

4 Studies on PBL in foreign language learning 11

5 Benefits of PBL 13

6 Challenges of PBL 15

7 Summary 19

CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 20

1 The research context 22

1.1 Research site 22

1.2 The syllabus 23

1.2.1 The new English textbook 23

1.2.2 Projects 25

1.3 Classroom facilities 25

2 Participants 26

2.1 Students 26

2.2 Projects 27

3 Methods of the study 28

4 Data collection 28

5 The questionnaire 29

6 Document Analysis 29

7 Learners‟ diaries 29

8 Data analysis procedures 30

9 Summary 30

CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 31

1 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

2 Students‟ attitudes towards difficulties from PBL 34

3 Students‟ preferences for activities in PBL 35

4 Discussion 37

PART C: CONCLUSION 39

1 Recapitulation 39

2 Implications 39

3 Limitations of the study 40

4 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 2 Students‟ difficulties 35

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 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

2 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

3 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

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4 Research questions

1 What benefits do students report of the Project-Based Learning to their English development?

2 What constraints do the students have in their Project-Based Learning?

3 What types of Project-Based Learning activities do the students prefer and why do they prefer those activities?

5 Methods of the research

The study was conducted as an action research Different methods of an action research were used They are a questionnaire, learners‟ diaries and document analysis These methods were used to collect data from the students and from students‟ products

The survey questionnaires were used to collect data for the study The survey questionnaires were carried out on one hundred and five students from three classes

of grade 12 at A Hai Hau upper-secondary school to investigate students‟ attitudes and their main difficulties After collecting the data from the questionnaires, the data was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively

Learners‟ diaries were used to collect information for the research questions Document Analysis was used to explore which aspects of the projects met its objectives Documents include students‟ final products of the project

All comments, remarks, recommendations, assumptions and conclusions provided in the study based on the analysis of the statistics from the survey

6 Significance of the study

This research is completed to explore the students‟ opinions on Based Learning, the advantages, the disadvantages as well as the obstacles they encountered Besides, the study also identifies the learning activities that the students prefer to be involved in PBL lessons Based on these findings, recommendations to help English teachers determine the suitable methods to improve teaching and conducting the projects In addition, there is a possibility that its outcome could be a reference for other teachers who are teaching English at

Project-other schools surrounding my rural area

7 Design of the study

The study is composed of five chapters, outlined as follows:

 Part A: Introduction

This chapter is a brief description of the research including the rationales for conducting the research, the aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, and outline of the study

 Part B: Development

• Chapter 1: Literature review

This chapter introduces some concepts, theoretical frameworks and related studies

• Chapter 2: Methodology

This chapter introduced the research context and methodology of the study including the context, the subject, the data collection instruments, data collection procedure, and data analysis

• Chapter 3: Findings and discussions

This chapter presents the major findings from students‟ answers as well as attitutes and the students‟ diaries

 Part C: Conclusion

This chapter offers a summary of the key findings, implications, limitations, and future directions for further study

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

Part A has presented the overview of the study, its aim and structure To provide a background of the study, this part will describe a theoretical framework for designing and analyzing data This part begins by reviewing theories of Project-Based Learning followed by theories relating to PBL and English learners

1 Project-Based Learning

1.1 Definition

Project work is a term done individually or cooperatively that combines the investigating the topic and presenting it in written form illustrated with photos, pictures, diagrams, etc (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Demirhan, 2002; Yurtluk, 2003; Gültekin, 2005) Project work is student-centered and driven by the need to create

an end-product (Bell, 2010) However, it is the route to achieving this end product that makes project work so worthwhile The route to the end-product brings opportunities for students to develop their confidence and independence and to work together in a real-world environment by collaborating on a task which they have defined for themselves and which has not been externally imposed (Blumenfeld et al., 1991)

Although Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been differently defined by various researchers, the common underlying principle is 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 attitudes (Mezirow, 1991) In experiential learning, learners participate “in concrete activities that enable them to „experience‟ what they are learning about” and “the opportunities to reflect on those activities (Silberman, 2007:8) since “learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the

transformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984)

Experiential learning is related to the project method The project method is “a natural extension of what is already taking place in class” (Stoller, 2002:109) In

other words, PBL is an instructional method centered on the learners PBL requires students to develop a question and are guided through research under the teacher‟s supervision Instead of using a rigid lesson plan that directs a learner down a specific path of learning outcomes or objectives, PBL allows in-depth investigation

of a topic worth learning more about ( Harris & Katz, 2001)

As defined by Krajcik, Czerniak & Berger (1999), PBL approach engages students in exploring important and meaningful questions through a series of investigations and collaborative activities These students ask questions, collaborate with each other in designing their investigation activities, collect and analyze data, share ideas, draw conclusions and create final products (Blumenfeld et al 1991) These active investigations enable them to learn concepts, and apply information in creating their final products (Hughton Mifflin n.d.) which is vital in constructing new knowledge

Project-based learning is an instructional method centred on the learner Students develop a question and are guided through research under the teacher„s supervision (Bell, 2010) Instead of using a rigid lesson plan that directs a learner down a specific path of learning outcomes or objectives, project-based learning allows in-depth investigation of a topic worth learning more about (Korkmaz and Kaptan, 2000; Erdem, 2002; Harris and Katz, 2001) Thomas, Mergendoller and Michaelson (1999) described projects within project-based learning as based on challenging questions and making students having central role in design, problem-solving, decision making processes so giving students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously In project-based learning, students plan, implement, and evaluate projects that have real-world applications beyond the classroom (Blank, 1997) Project-based learning is a comprehensive approach to classroom teaching and learning that is designed to engage students in investigation of complex, authentic problems and carefully designed products and tasks (Blumenfeld et al., 1991) The use of project-based learning in class is possible after providing the information that is needed for the project The classroom activities should be student-centered, cooperative, and interactive (Moursund, 1999)

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Project-based learning engages students in gaining knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks (Moursund, 1999; Thomas, Michealson and Mergendoller, 2002) Project-based learning enhances the quality of learning and leads to higher-level cognitive development through the students‟ engagement with complex and novel problems (Blank, 1997; Bottoms and Webb, 1998) Students are exposed to a wide range of skills and competencies such as collaboration, project planning, decision making, and time management through project based learning (Blank, 1997; Dickinson et al., 1998) Project-based learning increases the motivation of students Teachers often note improvement in attendance, higher class participation, and greater willingness to do homework (Bottoms and Webb, 1998) When teachers successfully implement project-based learning, students can be highly motivated, feel actively involved in their own learning, and produce complex, high-quality work (Blumenfeld et al., 1991)

1.2 The brief history of PBL

For over 100 years, educators such as John Dewey have reported on the benefits of experiential, hands-on, student-directed learning Most teachers, knowing the value of engaging, challenging projects for students, have planned field trips, laboratory investigations, and interdisciplinary activities that enrich and extend the curriculum “Doing projects” is a long-standing tradition in American education

The roots of PBL lie in this tradition But the emergence of a method of teaching and learning called Project Based Learning is the result of two important developments over the last 25 years First, there has been a revolution in learning theory Research in neuroscience and psychology has extended cognitive and behavioral models of learning - which support traditional direct instruction - to show that knowledge, thinking, doing, and the contexts for learning are inextricably tied We now know that learning is partly a social activity; it takes place within the context of culture, community, and past experiences This is apparent in research on problem-based learning in the medical field, an important forerunner of PBL

Researcher shows that learners not only respond by feeding back information, but they also actively use what they know to explore, negotiate, interpret, and create They construct solutions, thus shifting the emphasis toward the process of learning

In addition, cognitive research has revealed much more about the nature of problem solving Education has benefited from this research, as teachers have learned how to effectively scaffold content and activities to amplify and extend the skills and capabilities of students

Second, the world has changed Nearly all teachers understand how the

is clear that children need both knowledge and skills to succeed This need is driven not only by workforce demands for high-performance employees who can plan, collaborate, and communicate, but also by the need to help all young people learn civic responsibility and master their new roles as global citizens

In a sense, the need for education to adapt to a changing world is the primary reason that PBL is increasingly popular PBL is an attempt to create new instructional practices that reflect the environment in which children now live and learn And, as the world continues to change, so does our definition of PBL The most important recent shift in education has been the increased emphasis on standards, clear outcomes, and accountability

1.3 The underlying theory of Project-Based Learning

The learning theory that underlies PBL is constructivism, which assumes that knowledge is constructed by learners as they attempt to make sense of their experiences based on their current and previous knowledge (Driscoll, 1994) Learners do not learn with blank slates that passively wait to be filled Instead, it is through the process of exploring, scaffolding, interpreting, negotiating, and creating that learners are active in interacting with environment and in seeking meaning

2 Teacher role in PBL

To make PBL effective, teachers play important roles in motivating students and creating a classroom environment conducive for students learning (Yam & Burge

8

2009) In PBL, teachers are not knowledge transmitters, but they act as advisors , guides ,coordinators., and facilitators (Papandreou, 1994) Collaboration among the students, teachers and others in the community is important so that knowledge can

be shared and distributed among the members In addition, students‟ progress need

to be observed so that problems can be detected early (Winn 1995) Therefore, teachers‟ support as well as continuous tutorial discussions involving teachers and students is imperative to sustain students‟ motivation in the PBL process (Blumenfeld et al 1991) For instance, teachers can help by providing access to information, and support learning by scaffolding instructions to make the tasks more manageable It is argued that teachers should break down tasks to make it manageable, coaching students in formulating strategies to solve problems, and gradually releasing responsibility to the students (Blumenfeld et al 1991)

So, in implementing PBL, the focal point of the learning process moves from the teacher to the learners, from working alone to working in groups

curriculum

The second factor to be considered is time frame and materials to support deep understanding and engagement A good project takes over a significant period of time The time frame should be organized in a good way to provide each student adequate time for: equal opportunity to participate; interpretation of content, effective collaboration and project development; access to quality subject-matter recourses and professional tools for simulation and chip specialization, time for design process, completion of complex tasks and assessment Collaboration is

another factor which need considering The students should be given opportunities

to learn collaboration skills Collaboration can be in different forms: students‟ partnership, team projects, cross-group or cross-university projects In addition, student direction is a key element of the model Each student should receive opportunities and support to define a project in own terms with a relation to course content; to design effective project documentation and presentation and to engage them in real-world research practices as well as in self-and peer-assessment

Another factor is the real-world connection The PBL seeks to connect student projects with the real life The connection to the worksite problems can be established by content chosen, activities type, product type, and professional design tools used It is important to arrange opportunities for each student to develop real world practices of communication with a purpose; collaboration/teamwork, project management, effective use of feedback Last but not least, assessment to be taken into consideration Student knowledge and competences should be evaluated as a result of project work and adequate assessment should be based on clearly defined standards; student reflection and revision

These six factors need meticulous consideration if PBL is to be applied However, it would be not sufficient for students to benefit if no or little attention is paid to how to apply PBL or carry out a PBL project The benefits of PBL can be maximized when the teachers and students follow the ten-step process of implementing project work The ten steps are summarized as follows:

Step 1: Students and teacher agree on a theme for the project At this step, the

students and teacher reach a consensus on a project theme The project range from structured, semi-structured, to unstructured in terms of the degree to which the teacher defines the project; the teacher therefore should work out the ways in which students can develop some sense of ownership toward the project

Step 2: Students and teacher determine the final outcome of the project The

students and teacher come to a decision about the final outcome of the project, e.g, bulletin board display, written report, debate, brochure, letter, handbook, oral presentation, video, multimedia presentation, and theatrical performance They also negotiate the most appropriate audience for their projects, e.g., classmates, other students, parents, program director, a local business

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Step 3: Students and teacher structure the project After the theme and final

outcome of the project are defined, the students and teacher figure out project details that guide students from the opening activity to the completion of the project

At this step, students consider their roles, responsibilities, and collaborative work group After negotiating a deadline for project completion, students arrange the timing for gathering, sharing, and compiling information, and then presenting their final project

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

The language, skills, and strategy demands associated with information gathering should be provided As the teacher is aware of student ability levels, he/she prepares instructional activities for each of the information-gathering tasks

Step 5: Students gather information After practicing the skills, strategies, and

language needed for gathering information, the students can readily collect information using methods such as interviewing, questionnaire, letter writing, and library searches Whenever possible, the teacher provides relevant content resources

to get students started on their information search

Step 6: Teacher prepares students to compile and analyze data At this step, the

teacher should help the students master the language, skills, and strategies needed to compile, analyze, and synthesize the information that they have collected from different sources The instruction for the teacher depends on the types of information collected and the ways in which it was collected, e.g., taped interviews, brochures received in response to solicitation letters, library research, and note-taking

Step 7: Students compile and analyze information The students compile and

analyze the gathered information They work in groups, organize information and then discuss the value of the data that they have collected, keeping some and discarding others They have to identify information that is critical for the completion of their projects

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

The teacher designs language-improvement activities to help students successfully present the final outcome of the project The activities may focus on skills for

successful oral presentations, effective written revisions and editing, persuasive debates, and others The students should focus on form at this point

Step 9: Students present the final product The students present the final

outcome of their projects, as planned in Step 2

Step 10: Students evaluate the project The students reflect on the language

mastered and the subject matter acquired during the project They are also asked to make recommendations that can be used to enhance similar projects in the future The teachers provide students with feedback on their language and content learning

4 Studies on PBL in foreign language learning

Overall, the research on Project-based Learning (PBL) reports positive outcomes related to student learning in the areas of content knowledge, collaborative skills, engagement and motivation, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills This summary utilizes Thomas‟s (2000) five criteria to define PBL: (a) “Projects are central, not peripheral to the curriculum”; (b) “projects are focused

on questions or problems that „drive‟ students to encounter (and struggle with) the central concepts and principals of the discipline”; (c) “projects involve students in a constructive investigation”; (d) “projects are student-driven to some significant degree”; and (e) “projects are realistic, not school-like” (p 3-4) Collaboration is also included as a sixth criterion of PBL

PBL has several positive effects on student content knowledge Compared to traditional classes, students in PBL classes performed better on assessments of content knowledge (Boaler, 1997; Penuel & Means, 2000; Stepien, et al., 1993) Research also reported that PBL had a positive effect on specific groups of students For example, students with average to low verbal ability and students with little previous content knowledge learned more in PBL classes than in traditional classes (Mergendoller, et al., 2006; Mioduser & Betzer, 2003) In addition, students were able to demonstrate specific content area skills after taking part in PBL (Mioduser

& Betzer, 2003; Peck, et al., 1998) For instance, students working on a geometry project linked to architecture and design utilized measurement skills as they developed their blueprints, of which 84% met architectural building standards (Barron, et al., 1998) In sum, students taught in PBL classes emerged with useful, real-world content knowledge that they could apply to a variety of tasks (Boaler, 1997)

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PBL also has resulted in high levels of student engagement (Belland, et al., 2006; Brush & Saye, 2008) For instance, in one study within an economics classroom, a PBL unit engaged the lowest and highest level students as well as those students who were least interested in economics at the start of the unit (Ravitz

& Mergendoller, 2005) Another study reported that PBL had a positive effect on student motivation to learn (Bartscher, et al., 1995) According to elementary teachers, who reported using 37% of their overall instruction time on PBL, students‟ work ethic improved as well as their confidence and attitudes towards learning as a result of PBL (Tretten & Zachariou, 1995) Conversely, one study found that high school student engagement and/or participation were difficult to maintain (Edelson,

et al., 1999)

Students who participated in PBL also benefitted from improved critical thinking and problem-solving skills (Mergendoller, et al., 2006; Shepherd, 1998; Tretten & Zachariou, 1995) In particular, one study of PBL showed a positive effect on low-ability students, who increased their use of critical-thinking skills including synthesizing, evaluating, predicting, and reflecting by 446% while high-ability students improved by 76% (Horan, et al., 1996) Furthermore, during PBL, students showed initiative by utilizing resources and revising work, behaviors that were uncharacteristic of them before they engaged in PBL (Barron, et al., 1998)

In addition, PBL has been shown to benefit a variety of students in developing collaborative skills For example, through PBL, elementary students learned to understand multiple perspectives (ChanLin, 2008) and conflict resolution skills (ChanLin, 2008); special education students developed social skills such as patience and empathy (Belland, et al., 2006); and low-ability students demonstrated initiative, management, teamwork, and conscientiousness as they worked in groups (Horan, et al., 1996) Students also enjoyed PBL because it gave them opportunities to interact with their friends and make new friends through cooperative projects (Belland, et al., 2006; Lightner, et al., 2007) However, group- and self-efficacy were found to depend largely on the quality of the group process (Weng-yi Cheng, et al., 2008) while high school students struggled to work positively in small groups (Achilles & Hoover, 1996)

Several studies found that PBL is challenging for teachers to enact despite its positive benefits For example, one study found the following barriers to successful implementation of PBL: (a) projects were time-consuming, (b) classrooms felt disorderly, (c) teachers could not control the flow of information, (d) it was difficult

to balance giving students independence and providing them supports, (e) it was difficult to incorporate technology as a cognitive tool, and (f) authentic assessments were hard to design (Marx, et al., 1997) In addition, the authors found that teachers generally focused on addressing one or two of these challenges at a time and moved back and forth between old habits and new ideas, incorporating the new information gradually and with varied success (Marx, et al., 1994; Marx, et al., 1997) Teachers also may struggle with entrenched beliefs when attempting to implement PBL For example, it may be challenging to negotiate between giving students opportunities

to explore their interests or covering the state standards, allowing students to develop individual answers or providing students with one correct answer, and empowering students to direct their learning or controlling the distribution of expert knowledge (Ladewski, et al., 1991)

In summary, research indicates that PBL: (a) has a positive effect on student content knowledge and the development of skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving; (b) benefits students by increasing their motivation and engagement; and (c) is challenging for teachers to implement, leading to the conclusion that teachers need support in order to plan and enact PBL effectively while students need support including help setting up and directing initial inquiry, organizing their time to complete tasks, and integrating technology into projects in meaningful ways (Brush & Saye, 2008; Krajcik, et al., 1998)

5 Benefits of PBL

There are various benefits associated with PBL approach With real-life applications of principles learnt from the course, PBL improves students‟ motivation and gives students a sense of satisfaction (Blumenfeld et al 1991; Green 1998; Hadim & Esche 2002) Krajcik et al (1999) note four benefits of PBL: students develop integrated understanding of materials; students learn to collaborate

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with each other in solving problems; it promotes independent learning as students assume greater responsibility in their learning; and as PBL involves various types of tasks, it satisfies different learning needs of students

PBL has the potential to enhance deep learning as students have to acquire and apply concepts and principles in solving authentic problems; and it also promotes critical and proactive thinking as they have to formulate plans and evaluate solutions (Blumenfeld et al 1991) In addition, PBL moves students from passive learning to active learning and is able to improve knowledge retention and the learners‟ ability to apply prior knowledge in creating their final products (Felder et al 2000) Besides enhancing students‟ participation in the learning process (active learning and self-learning), it also helps to improve communication and collaborative skills that are important in their working life later (Hadim & Esche 2002)

Most cognitive, emotional and psychomotor aims of project work are achieved by the majority of students More specifically, in relation to language skills, most learners‟ willingness to participate in learning activities increases They are more eager to experiment with new language, since they are less concerned with

“sounding silly” (Lightbown and Spada, 1999:31) At the end of the school term, most students show an improvement in all four language skills Their speaking and listening skills, in particular, have the greatest improvement This is particularly important, since it is not uncommon for students to have good knowledge of the linguistic system of the target language, but little listening comprehension and speaking skills, because they are not provided with opportunities to participate in real and authentic communication activities

In addition, students gather a wealth of information about local history from a variety of sources (books, interviews, and the internet), learn a lot about local history, and gain in-depth understanding of issues related to local history These findings are similar to findings suggesting the development of content knowledge through project work (Gu, 2004)

Most students‟ communicative competence develops, mainly discourse competence, that is, the ability to connect sentences to form a meaningful whole, and strategic competence, “the verbal and non-verbal communication strategies that may be called into action to compensate for breakdowns in communication due to performance variables or due to insufficient competence” (Canale and Swain, 1980) Their grammatical competence “knowledge of lexical items and of rules of morphology, syntax, sentence-grammar semantics and phonology”, and sociocultural competence (using language in a social context) shows less improvement, though

Their social skills and collaborative skills improve dramatically, which is consistent with findings in other studies (Coleman, 1992) After the project work students know that being a team member entails certain obligations, most of them develop skills for solving in-group conflicts, and learn to be responsible in relation

to the roles assigned to them Most importantly, all students, regardless of language performance, or motivational intensity seem to develop their cooperative skills Also, their computer skills improve, mainly, the ability to use the internet to search for information

To put in a nutshell, PBL is very beneficial to students in general and those of English in particular The question here is what the teacher and students do to maximize the benefits of PBL

6 Challenges of PBL

Despite numerous benefits of PBL, it presents several challenges for the teachers; these include: teachers‟ content knowledge, students‟ lack of experience in PBL and their preferences for traditional-structured approach that emphasize passive learning, in addition, the organization and administration of PBL can be very time-consuming (Frank, Lavy & Elata 2003; Helle, Tynjala & Olkinuora 2006) Teachers perceive that PBL can bring many advantages to the learning experience

of the students; however, as they implement it in the classroom, they may face certain challenges and they need to adjust their teaching accordingly

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Moving from transmission approach to the constructivist approach in teaching

Thomas (2000) reports that one important challenge is the conflict PBL brings to the deep-seated beliefs of teachers in their approach to teaching and the degree of balance needed between student control and teacher control over the activities As teachers get introduced to PBL, they tend initially to rely on the transmission of knowledge approach (Blumenfeld, Krak, Marx, & Soloway, 1994) They need time

to transition towards the constructivist approach of PBL, whether it is in sharpening their skills or changing their beliefs Teachers must be able to recognize and accept

a shift in their function and become comfortable with implementing centered pedagogies, such as PBL (Grant & Hill, 2006; Rogers, 2010)

Additionally, teachers must be able to tolerate the ambiguity and flexibility of the dynamic environment created by the student-centered approach Teachers may doubt their ability to complete the required curriculum because of the time needed

to spend on projects In addition, the teachers may be concerned of losing control over the topic and the behavior of the students, which might prevent them from allowing students to work in small groups Therefore, teachers have difficulty giving their students the time needed to build their skills; instead, they feel that they need to teach the students the skills before starting the projects (Hertzog, 2007) On the other hand, Ravitz (2003) posits that even when teachers show enthusiasm about the constructivist teaching approach after participating in professional development workshops, they might not find it easy to implement it in their classrooms

Curriculum and selection of topic Another challenge facing teachers is the

creation of a balance between district curriculum, testing policies, and the large content that needs to be covered within a fixed schedule (Krajcik, Blummenfeld, Marx, & Soloway, 1994; Snyder & Snyder, 2008) Moreover, selecting meaningful project topics that engage students could also be challenging (Akinoglu, 2008; Howard, 2002; Wirdinger et al., 2007) On the other hand, teachers may not have enough expertise on the subject they are teaching to be able to coach the investigation properly or students might explore areas that are not necessarily familiar to teachers (Grant & Hill, 2006; Howard, 2002) Therefore once teachers

hone their skills in PBL and become creative in planning the relate activities, they will overcome their concerns of not following the curriculum strictly and choosing

the appropriate topic (Wirdinger et al.,2007)

Management and design in project-based learning The successful orchestration

of all the features of PBL is one more challenge teachers face when they carry out PBL activities (Krajcik, Blumenfeld, and Maxz, Solo, 1994; Snyder& Snyder) Teachers need to orchestrate several elements in order to manage a project: a variety

of resources, information sources, learning contexts, participants, time, tasks, and arrangements This is in addition to planning, monitoring, scaffolding, adjusting, and troubleshooting strategies (Thomas &Mergendoller, 2000) Kolodner et al (2003) discuss the ability of the 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 the interpretation and reflective activities Moreover, teachers may be challenged by their inexperience of designing adequate project-based activities or by their lack of training in critical thinking methodology (Akinuglo, 2008; Snyder & Snyder, 2008) Therefore, teachers working in PBL need to gain skills in managing environments that are not stagnant, that draw on several resources, and that guide the learners in inquiry as much as partner with them in choices

Assessing project-based learning Assessing student achievement in PBL is an

additional challenge that teachers must address Marx, Blummenfeld, Krajcik, and Soloway, (1997) state that, in some instances, teachers ask students to produce artifacts that do not require the use of critical thinking and assessing these artifacts does not measure understanding They add that assessing artifacts quality is difficult because of the several features that must be taken into account, such as design, organization, and accuracy Additionally, Grant and Hill (2006) argue that assessment should include several learning products and not only the final artifact They suggest portfolios as a learning product where students reflect on their learning experience as they go through the phases of the project Similarly, Barron and Hammond (2010) stress the importance of formative assessment and suggest

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rubrics, solution reviews, whole class discussion, performance assessment, written journals, portfolios, weekly reports, and self-assessment as other forms of assessment Moreover, Grant (2011) posits that teachers need to provide their students with clear expectations about the project requirements for better assessment Therefore, teachers need to look at assessment in PBL as multifaceted

It targets individual and group performance, concrete products and cognitive and metacognitive skills, as well as learning and social skills

The nature of collaboration The collaborative work needed in PBL is one of its

most difficult aspects (Kapp, 2009) It is essential for teachers to create a classroom culture of collaboration, where students feel responsible of helping each other, and

of iteration, where they expect to make mistakes in order to learn from them (Kolodner et al., 2003) Also, it is important to create a classroom environment that supports mastery and develop a constructive view of error, especially since students might defeat the learning goals of the project if they are worried about failing more than succeeding (Meyer, Turner, & Spencer, 1997)

It is important that projects be designed to sustain student motivation, thus teachers must be supported by the management in creating this type of learning tasks (Blumenfeld et al 1991) They propose a number of factors to be considered

in project design to make sure the intended outcome is attainable These include whether the students find the project to be interesting and worth doing; whether they have the competence to complete the project, and whether they focus on learning rather on grades

Besides that, due to the constraint of time and resources, PBL project need to

be feasible and manageable for both teachers and students (Blumenfeld et al 1991) Also, students who are inexperienced in collaborative learning environment may find difficulties in working in groups (Johnson & Johnson 1989) In this regards, teachers should provide support for group work and conflict management to facilitate the process

Finally, some students have difficulty accepting the new role of the teacher as a facilitator and coordinator, and not as a source of knowledge and provider of

solutions Some students often feel uncomfortable with being given choices (e.g topic selection, team information), and are thus apprehensive about project work

In conclusion, it can be found that constraints can happen with involved parties (e.g teacher and students) In order to overcome these challenges, the teachers need

to plan carefully for the detailed steps of the PBL implementation, teaching materials, timeline and so on

7 Summary

To sum up, the chapter reviews the literature on many issues related to Project-Based Learning and English teaching and learning In addition, previous studies related to Project-Based Learning were mentioned This knowledge, therefore, serves as a basis for further work in the latter chapters