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BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TÀI LIỆU BỒI DƯỠNG


PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC THEO DỰ ÁN
CHO GIÁO VIÊN PHỔ THÔNG MÔN NGOẠI NGỮ

PROJECT BASED LEARNING TRAINING MATERIALS


FOR TEACHERS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Hà Nội, năm 2021


PREFACE

The Project-Based Learning (PBL) course is designed to provide English


teachers with the skills to integrate PBL in their classrooms; addressing current
research and theory related to PBL, analyzing working PBL models, and
understanding the necessary components needed to carry out projects at their own
school.
This course is a blended one that consists of two parts. The 3- day first part is
used for the teachers to read this training material beforehand. The second part is a 2
day virtual face- to- face training course delivered by experienced lecturers at
university.

It is our hope that this training material will provide answers to what PBL
means and how to apply PBL in English language teaching at school. Therefore, the
teachers will feel confident when applying PBL to their real teaching context.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 3
1. COURSE OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................................. 3
2. COURSE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES................................................................................................................................... 3
3. COURSE CONTENT ................................................................................................................................................... 3
4. COURSE EVALUATION ............................................................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 2. THEORIES UNDERLYING PBL .................................................................................................. 6
OBJECTIVES................................................................................................................................................................ 6
I. READING 1.............................................................................................................................................................. 6
II. READING 2............................................................................................................................................................. 8
IV. VIDEO SCRIPT 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 13
V. VIDEO SCRIPT 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 15
VI. FINAL QUIZ ......................................................................................................................................................... 21
VII. PERFORMANCE TASK ........................................................................................................................................... 23
VIII. REFLECT ........................................................................................................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 3: PLANNING THE PROJECT ...................................................................................................... 24
OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................................................. 24
I. READING 1............................................................................................................................................................ 24
II. READING 2........................................................................................................................................................... 26
III. VIDEO SCRIPT 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 28
IV. VIDEO SCRIPT 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 30
V. FINAL QUIZ .......................................................................................................................................................... 32
VI. PERFORMANCE TASK ............................................................................................................................................ 33
VII. REFLECT ............................................................................................................................................................ 33
CHAPTER 4: IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT ............................................................................................ 34
OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................................................. 34
I. READING 1............................................................................................................................................................ 34
II. READING 2........................................................................................................................................................... 36
III. READING 3.......................................................................................................................................................... 38
IV. READING 4 ......................................................................................................................................................... 39
V. FINAL QUIZ .......................................................................................................................................................... 41
VI. PERFORMANCE TASK ............................................................................................................................................ 42
VII. REFLECT ............................................................................................................................................................ 42
CHAPTER 5: ASSESSING STUDENTS IN PBL ............................................................................................... 43
OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................................................. 43
I. READING 1............................................................................................................................................................ 43
II. READING 2........................................................................................................................................................... 44
III. READING 3.......................................................................................................................................................... 46
IV. VIDEO SCRIPT 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 47
V. VIDEO SCRIPT 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 48
VI. FINAL QUIZ ......................................................................................................................................................... 49
VII. PERFORMANCE TASK ........................................................................................................................................... 50
VIII. REFLECT ........................................................................................................................................................... 51
CHAPTER 6. CASE STUDIES ............................................................................................................................. 52
OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................................................. 52
I. READING 1............................................................................................................................................................ 52

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II. READING 2........................................................................................................................................................... 53
III. READING 3.......................................................................................................................................................... 55
IV. VIDEO SCRIPT 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 57
V. VIDEO SCRIPT 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 59
VI. FINAL QUIZ ......................................................................................................................................................... 61
VII. PERFORMANCE TASK ........................................................................................................................................... 62
VIII. REFLECT ........................................................................................................................................................... 62
CHAPTER 7. PBL AT PRIMARY SCHOOL ..................................................................................................... 63
OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................................................. 63
I. READING 1............................................................................................................................................................ 63
II. READING 2........................................................................................................................................................... 65
III. READING 3.......................................................................................................................................................... 72
IV. VIDEO SCRIPT 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 74
V. VIDEO SCRIPT 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 76
VI. FINAL QUIZ ......................................................................................................................................................... 79
VII. PERFORMANCE TASK ............................................................................................................................................ 81
VIII. REFLECT ........................................................................................................................................................... 81
CHAPTER 8: PBL AT SECONDARY SCHOOLS............................................................................................. 82
OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................................................. 82
I. READING 1............................................................................................................................................................ 82
II. READING 2........................................................................................................................................................... 84
III. VIDEO SCRIPT 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 88
IV. VIDEO SCRIPT 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 90
V. FINAL QUIZ .......................................................................................................................................................... 93
VI. PERFORMANCE TASK ............................................................................................................................................ 94
VII. REFLECT ............................................................................................................................................................ 95
CHAPTER 9. PBL AT UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS ............................................................................... 96
OBJECTIVES.............................................................................................................................................................. 96
I. READING 1............................................................................................................................................................ 96
II. READING 2........................................................................................................................................................... 99
III. READING 3........................................................................................................................................................ 104
IV. VIDEO SCRIPT 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 128
V. VIDEO SCRIPT 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 129
VI. FINAL QUIZ ....................................................................................................................................................... 132
VII. PERFORMANCE TASK ......................................................................................................................................... 133
VIII. REFLECT ......................................................................................................................................................... 134
CHAPTER 10. ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION ...................................................................................... 135
1. WEIGHTING ....................................................................................................................................................... 135
2. ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION.............................................................................................................................. 135
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 137
KEY ....................................................................................................................................................................... 138

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Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION

1. Course overview
The Project-Based Learning (PBL) course is designed to provide English teachers
with the skills to integrate PBL in their classrooms; to address current research and
theory related to PBL, to analyze working PBL models, and to understand the necessary
components needed to carry out projects at their own schools.
The course consists of ten chapters. Teachers are exposed to PBL approaches
during contact hours and are expected to demonstrate knowledge achieved in the form of
applied PBL practice. The modules are anchored by reading texts, short video tutorials
and quizzes, and are supplemented with tasks and additional support materials.

2. Course aims and objectives


The PBL course is a cohesive ten-chapter group that aims to support teachers in
effectively implementing PBL in the new English curriculum. It also provides teachers
with the theoretical understanding of PBL and hands-on opportunities to design and
implement projects in their local settings.
Upon the completion of the PBL course, teachers are expected to be able to:
 Explain the key principles of PBL and factors that influence PBL.
 Identify implementation models for PBL.
 Select, apply, and analyze a project model for their context.
 Design a project in the new curriculum for their own local settings.
 Implement a project, following the suggested steps.
 Assess students in PBL in terms of their learning process (formative assessment)
and products (summative assessment).
 Develop technology skills needed to support their students’ project.
 Develop critical thinking, collaboration, and autonomy in learning activities with
course lecturers and other participants.

3. Course Content
Teachers will successfully complete the following chapters:
Chapter 1 (Introduction to the course): Understanding the course requirements.
Chapter 2 (Theories underpinning PBL): Explaining the key principles of PBL,
and factors that influence PBL; identifying an implementation model for PBL work; and
analyzing PBL as a teaching method.
Chapter 3 (PBL framework: Planning the project): Determining suitable project
themes, writing effective driving questions, identifying suitable final outcomes, and
writing a detailed project planner.

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Chapter 4 (PBL framework: Implementing the project): Describing
implementation steps of a project, explaining how to identify and support student
learning needs, and developing activities to support learning throughout the project.
Chapter 5 (PBL framework: Assessment): Understanding how to support and
monitor student learning throughout the process of PBL (formative assessment),
discussing how to evaluate the final product of a project (summative assessment), and
developing assessment and evaluation tools for PBL.
Chapter 6 (Case studies): Analyzing previous projects using the selected PBL
evaluation tool and drawing out a model or lessons for their own projects.
Chapter 7 (PBL at primary school): Describing the characteristics of PBL with
primary students, sharing best practices for implementing PBL at primary schools and
developing detailed PBL lesson plans for their own students.
Chapter 8 (PBL at secondary school): Describing the characteristics of PBL with
secondary students, sharing best practices for implementing PBL at secondary schools
and developing detailed PBL lesson plans for their own students.
Chapter 9 (PBL at high school): Describing the characteristics of PBL with high
school students, sharing best practices for implementing PBL at high schools and
developing detailed PBL lesson plans for their own students
Chapter 10 (Assessment and Evaluation of the course): Completing assessment
tasks and evaluation forms for the course

4. Course assessment
Teachers must complete at least 80% of the total required work in order to receive a
certificate of completion.
Percentages are as follows:
✔ Training material reflection: 30%
✔ Final project: 70%
4.1. Training material reflection
Before the virtual face- to- face training sessions, the teachers are required to read
the training material. They should do the tasks and quizzes in each chapter; however, this
is not a must. The suggested answers to the tasks as well as the quizzes are provided at
the end of this training material so that the teachers can check their answers.

It is obligatory for the teachers to answer the three following reflection questions
about the training material before the training sessions.
a. Define at least two areas where you personally feel you have grown from the
training material.

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b. Which areas were the most challenging for you? Which areas do you need to
improve?
c. Can you directly apply to your current teaching context? Why?
They should reply to the three questions by writing three written paragraphs (5-7
sentences each) or recording a video response (4-6 minutes).
The reflection will be uploaded to Google Drive in the following link before the
training sessions.
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Fnf924tM_5eZWvpxmrZh0cwlJqFlaipw

4.2. Final course project


The teachers must submit a project planner for a specific PBL lesson in their teaching
context that includes the following parts:
- Topic of the lesson
- Objectives of the lesson
- Planning, Implementing and Assessing & Evaluation activities
The project planner will be uploaded to Google Drive in the following link after one
day of the training sessions.
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Fnf924tM_5eZWvpxmrZh0cwlJqFlaipw

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Chapter 2. THEORIES UNDERLYING PBL

Objectives
By the end of the chapter, you will be able to:
- Define PBL;
- Explain the benefits of PBL;
- Explain the characteristics of project work;
- Classify a range of projects;
- Analyze PBL as a teaching method.
------------------

I. Reading 1
Read the text about what PBL is and answer the five questions that follow.
What is PBL?
The Project-based learning has been part of the educational practice approximately
at the beginning of the 1980s and it was greatly influenced by the communicative
approach. Nowadays, as an appropriate and effective method, it is widely used in the
teaching of English as a second language.
The history of PBL can be traced back to the progressive tradition advocated by
John Dewey. Dewey insisted on the idea of “learning by doing”. He argued that the
classroom should be a kind of society and the students should be encouraged to become
the center in the learning process.
Legutke and Thomas (1991) define project work as a learner and task-centered
mode of teaching and learning which results from a joint process of discussion between
all participants.
A project is an extended task which usually integrates language skills through a
number of activities (Hedge, 1993). It involves a number of features: the use of authentic
English language materials, an emphasis on integrity and student-centered activities, the
importance of students’ participation and the use of different skills. It is also defined as
“an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with
problems to solve or products to develop” (Moss & Van Duzer, 1998). Project work
encourages creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, self-study, and other study skills.
Project-based learning is a very effective approach that allows the students to
throw out opinions about the topics covering fields of interest, to ask questions, to
estimate, to develop theories, to use different tools, to use the skills acquired in the
context of a real and meaningful life and allows learner to solve problems and answer
questions in a creative way in the classroom and outside (Katz & Chard, 2000) .
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Thomas & Mergendoller (2000) adopt five criteria to define PBL: 1) “Projects are
central, not peripheral to the curriculum”; 2) “projects are focused on questions or
problems that ‘drive’ students to encounter (and struggle with) the central concepts and
principals of the discipline”; 3) “projects involve students in a constructive
investigation”; 4) “projects are student-driven to some significant degree”; and 5)
“projects are realistic, not school-like”. Collaboration, as a matter of fact, should also be
included as a sixth criterion of PBL.
Stoller (2006) defines PBI as: 1) having a process and product; 2) giving students
(partial) ownership of the project; 3) extending over a period of time (several days,
weeks, or months); 4) integrating skills; 5) developing students’ understanding of a topic
through the integration of language and content; 6) collaborating with other students and
working on their own; 7) holding students responsible for their own learning through the
gathering, processing, and reporting of information from target language resources; 8)
assigning new roles and responsibilities to students and teacher; 9) providing a tangible
final product; and 10) reflecting on both the process and the product. Thus, it is different
from the traditional English teaching in that it lays great emphasis on the communicative
and functional aspect of language learning and it also pays attention to the integrity of
language and content learning.
It is obvious that the definition of PBL is changing from time to time. This
diversity of defining features coupled with the lack of a universally accepted model or
theory in project-based learning has finally led to a variety of PBL researches and
development activities, which rendered great complexity to this issue. Fortunately, there
are still some overlaps in these design features.
Task 1: Fill in each gap of the following sentences with NO MORE THAN 3 words.
1. “John Dewey developed his theories about PBL basing on the idea of ………….”
2. Hedge (1993) considered a project as a(n) …………….. …………… which usually
integrates language skills through a number of activities.
3. Project work encourages creativity, ……………. ………………, collaboration, self-
study, and other study skills.
4. According to Stoller (2006), PBL can give students ……………. of the projects.
5. PBL is different from the traditional English teaching in that it lays great emphasis on
the …………………… and functional aspect of language learning.

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II. Reading 2
Read the text about the benefits of PBL and answer the five questions that follow.
Benefits of Project-Based Learning

Too often, traditional learning never ventures beyond the realm of the
purely academic. Project-based learning connects students to the world beyond the
classroom and prepares them to accept and meet challenges in the real world in a way
that mirrors what professionals do every day.
Instead of short-term memorization and summative regurgitation, project-based
learning provides an opportunity for students to engage deeply with the target content,
bringing about a focus on long-term retention. PBL also improves student attitudes
toward education, thanks to its ability to keep students engaged. The PBL structure
lends itself to building intrinsic motivation because it centers student learning around a
central question or problem and a meaningful outcome. Students end up wanting to
understand the answer or solution as much or more than the teacher wants to know what
they know, understand, and are able to do!
Daniel Pink, in his TED Talk and influential book, Drive, says people are
intrinsically motivated by three things—autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Popular terms
like grit and rigor become embedded dispositions when learners sink their teeth into
meaningful endeavors, like those provided during project-based instruction.
A recent collaborative study conducted by the University and Michigan and
Michigan State University suggests the implementation of project-based learning
correlated positively with student achievement, particularly in schools serving high-
poverty communities. This research emphasizes the importance of projects being
standards-aligned and supported with research-proven instructional strategies.
Because of its focus on 21st-century skills, the PBL model also enhances students’
technology abilities. Project-based learning helps students develop teamwork and
problem-solving skills, along with the ability to communicate effectively with others. The
collaborative nature of projects also reinforces the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
programs being implemented at progressive schools around the world.
These interpersonal aspects of PBL dovetail perfectly with the use of technology
in the classroom. Technology-based projects are interdisciplinary, collaborative, inquiry-
based, self-directed, motivating, and address the full range of student needs and learning
styles. Additionally, digital literacies and digital citizenship objectives become ingrained
in tech-based projects, especially when the PBL opportunity is conducted seamlessly
within the friendly confines of your school’s learning management system.
A quick review of ISTE’s recently revised standards for students will disclose the
relevance of PBL to modern learning. By highlighting standards including empowered
learner, innovative designer, creative communicator, and global collaborator, you would

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think these standards were tailor-made with PBL in mind. International standards for
technology skills and project-based learning objectives absolutely go hand in hand.

Task 2: Decide if the following statements are True or False


1. Project-based learning prepares students for real-world situations by mirroring what
professionals do daily.
2. The PBL structure can create extrinsic motivation for students by engaging them in
exploring the central question.
3. The PBL model can greatly improve students’ technology skills.
4. Teachers need to integrate digital literacies and digital citizenship objectives in their
teaching using PBL method.
5. PBL is potential in developing innovative designers, creative communicators, and
global collaborators.

III. Reading 3
Read the text about essential project design elements and answer the five questions
that follow.
Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements
We’re glad to see Project Based Learning becoming popular, but popularity can
bring problems. At PBLWorks, we are concerned that the recent upsurge of interest in
PBL will lead to wide variation in the quality of project design and classroom
implementation. If done well, PBL yields great results. But if PBL is not done well, two
problems are likely to arise. First, we will see a lot of assignments and activities which
are labeled as “projects” but which are not rigorous PBL and student learning will
suffer. Or, we will see projects backfire on underprepared teachers and result in wasted
time, frustration, and failure to understand the possibilities of PBL. Then PBL runs the
risk of becoming another one of yesterday’s educational fads — vaguely remembered
and rarely practiced.

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To help teachers do PBL well, we create a comprehensive, research-based model
for PBL — a “gold standard” to help teachers, schools, and organizations to measure,
calibrate, and improve their practice. This term is used in many industries and fields to
indicate the highest quality process or product. Our conception of Gold Standard PBL
has three parts: 1) Student Learning Goals, 2) Essential Project Design Elements, and 3)
Project Based Teaching Practices. The first and the second part are presented below.
The third part, Project Based Teaching Practices, will be presented in detail in the
subsequent chapters (Chapter 7, 8, and 9).
1. Student Learning Goals
Student learning of academic content and skill development are at the center of
any well-designed project. Like the lens of a camera, our diagram puts the focus of PBL
on preparing students for successful school and life experiences.
Key Knowledge and Understanding
Gold Standard PBL teaches students the important content standards, concepts,
and in depth understandings that are fundamental to school subject areas and academic
disciplines. In good projects, students learn how to apply knowledge to the real world,
and use it to solve problems, answer complex questions, and create high-quality
products.
Key Success Skills
We recommend all projects include a focus on these success skills: critical
thinking/ problem solving, collaboration, and project management. Projects may also
help build other skills, habits of mind and work, and personal qualities (such as
perseverance or creativity), based on what teachers, schools, parents and communities
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value, but we believe the fundamental ability to think critically, solve problems, work
with others and manage projects are crucial stepping stones to future success.
2. Essential Project Design Elements
So what goes into a successful project? Based on an extensive literature review
and the distilled experience of the many educators we have worked with over the past
fifteen years, we believe the following Essential Project Design Elements outline what
is necessary for a successful project that maximizes student learning and engagement.
Challenging Problem or Question
The heart of a project — what it is “about,” if one were to sum it up — is a
problem to investigate and solve, or a question to explore and answer. It could be
concrete (the school needs to do a better job of recycling waste) or abstract (deciding if
and when war is justified). An engaging problem or question makes learning more
meaningful for students. They are not just gaining knowledge to remember it; they are
learning because they have a real need to know something, so they can use this
knowledge to solve a problem or answer a question that matters to them.
Sustained Inquiry

To inquire is to seek information or to investigate — it’s a more active, in-depth


process than just “looking something up” in a book or online. The inquiry process takes
time, which means a Gold Standard project lasts more than a few days. In PBL, inquiry
is iterative; when confronted with a challenging problem or question, students ask
questions, find resources to help answer them, then ask deeper questions — and the
process repeats until a satisfactory solution or answer is developed.
Authenticity
When people say something is authentic, they generally mean it is real or
genuine, not fake. In education, the concept has to do with how “real world” the
learning or the task is. Authenticity increases student motivation and learning. A project
can be authentic in several ways, often in combination. Projects can have an authentic
context, such as when students solve problems like those faced by people in the world
outside of school (e.g., entrepreneurs developing a business plan, engineers designing a
bridge, or advisors to the President recommending policy). We should note that, to
students, school is very “real,” so projects can focus on authentic problems and issues
within school too.
Student Voice & Choice
Having a say in a project creates a sense of ownership in students; they care more
about the project and work harder. Students should feel like they are able to make their
own voices heard—to speak freely in class discussions and during team work, to
express themselves through the products they create, rather than trying to sound like
they think their teacher wants them to.
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Reflection
John Dewey, whose ideas continue to inform our thinking about PBL, wrote,
“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.”
Throughout a project, students — and the teacher — should reflect on what they’re
learning, how they’re learning, and why they’re learning. Reflection can occur
informally, as part of classroom culture and dialogue, but should also be an explicit part
of project journals, scheduled formative assessment, discussions at project checkpoints,
and public presentations of student work.
Critique & Revision
High quality student work is a hallmark of Gold Standard PBL, and such quality
is attained through thoughtful critique and revision. Students should be taught how to
give and receive constructive peer feedback that will improve project processes and
products, guided by rubrics, models, and formal feedback/critique protocols. In addition
to peers and teachers, outside adults and experts can also contribute to the critique
process, bringing an authentic, real-world point of view.
Public Product
A “product” in PBL can be a tangible, media, or digital artifact, a presentation
about the solution to a problem or answer to a driving question, or a performance or
event. There are three reasons for making student work public. First, a public product
adds greatly to PBL’s motivating power and encourages high-quality work. Second, by
creating a product, students make what they have learned tangible and thus, when
shared publicly, discussible. Instead of only being a private exchange between an
individual student and teacher, the social dimension of learning becomes more
important. Finally, making student work public is an effective way to communicate with
parents, community members, and the wider world about what PBL is and what it does
for students.
Task 3: Choose the words from the box to fill in these blanks. There are more
words than you need.
elements goals problem inquiry
quality authenticity choice experience
constructive publicity deeper
In order to assure the success of PBL in language teaching, there are essential
project design (a)……………that need to be guaranteed. The conception of seven gold
standards are constructed with three parts: 1) Student Learning (b)……………, 2)
Essential Project Design Elements, and 3) Project Based Teaching Practices. A project
should begin with a challenging (c)……………or question which can engage students
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and makes their learning more meaningful. The second element is sustained
(d)……………; this describe a cycle where students ask questions, find resources to
help answer them, then ask I……………questions until they are satisfactorily answered.
The third element is (f)……………; students can explore issues arisen within their
school contexts and find appropriate solutions for them. A project should be a great
chance for students to raise their voice and (g)……………, which creates a sense of
ownership rather than thinking in the ways their teachers want them to. Besides,
students need to be able to reflect on what they are learning, how they are learning and
why they are learning as it is believed that humans learn from reflecting (h)…………….
The next element includes critique and revision. It is important to teach students how to
give and receive (i)…………… feedback from peers and outsiders. Finally, a PBL
product should be public by involving parents, community members and the outside
world. (k)…………… creates motivations for students to produce high quality projects.

IV. Video script 1


Watch the video about types of projects and answer the five questions that follow.
Types of projects
Though similar in many ways, project work can take on diverse configurations.
The most suitable format for a given context depends on a variety of factors, including
curricular objectives, course expectations, students’ proficiency levels, student interests,
time constraints, and availability of materials. A review of different types of projects
will demonstrate the scope, versatility, and adaptability of project work.
Projects differ in the degree to which the teacher and students decide on the
nature and sequencing of project-related activities, as demonstrated by three types of
projects proposed by Henry (1994): Structured projects are determined, specified, and
organized by the teacher in terms of topic, materials, methodology, and presentation;
unstructured projects are defined largely by students themselves; and semi-structured
projects are defined and organized in part by the teacher and in part by students.
Projects can be linked to real-world concerns (e.g., when Italian ESP students
designed a leaflet for foreign travel agencies outside of Europe describing the
advantages of the European Community’s standardization of electrical systems as a step
toward European unity,1 or when general English students at an international school
created a public bulletin board display – with photos and text based on extensive
interviews with EFL faculty – introducing new students to their EFL teachers).2
Projects can also be linked to simulated real-world issues (e.g., when EAP students
staged a debate on the pros and cons of censorship as part of a content-based unit on
censorship).3 Projects can also be tied to student interests, with or without real-world
significance (e.g., when general English students planned an elaborate field trip to an

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international airport where they conducted extensive interviews Project Work 111 and
videotaping of international travelers.
Projects can also differ in data collection techniques and sources of information
as demonstrated by these project types: Research projects necessitate the gathering of
information through library research. Similarly, text projects involve encounters with
“texts” (e.g., literature, reports, news media, video and audio material, or computer-
based information) rather than people. Correspondence projects require communication
with individuals (or businesses, governmental agencies, schools, or chambers of
commerce) to solicit information by means of letters, faxes, phone calls, or electronic
mail. Survey projects entail creating a survey instrument and then collecting and
analyzing data from “informants.” Encounter projects result in face-to-face contact with
guest speakers or individuals outside the classroom.
Projects may also differ in the ways that information is “reported” as part of a
culminating activity (see Haines, 1989). Production projects involve the creation of
bulletin-board displays, videos, radio programs, poster sessions, written reports, photo
essays, letters, handbooks, brochures, banquet menus, travel itineraries, and so forth.
Performance projects can take shape as staged debates, oral presentations, theatrical
performances, food fairs, or fashion shows. Organizational projects entail the planning
and formation of a club, conversation table, or conversation-partner program. Whatever
the configuration, projects can be carried out intensively over a short period of time or
extended over a few weeks, or a full semester; they can be completed by students
individually, in small groups, or as a class; and they can take place entirely within the
confines of the classroom or can extend beyond the walls of the classroom into the
community or with others via different forms of correspondence.

Task 4: Answer the following questions


1. Henry (1994) proposed five types of projects basing on how the projects are
structured.
A. True B. False
2. Unstructured projects are defined and organized by ……………
A. both teachers and students
B. mainly by students
C. mainly by teachers
3. Projects must be linked to real world concern s.
A. True B. False
4. According to Haines (1989), an example of production projects is the creation of
……………….
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A. radio programs
B. a survey instrument
C. oral presentations
5. Is formation of a club an example of performance projects?
A. Yes B. No

V. Video script 2
Watch the video about PBL as a method and answer the five questions that follow.
PBL as a method
This module will describe project-based learning as a teaching method to
develop linguistic and cognitive skills for students. It first looks at its learning contexts,
learning objectives, underlying learning principles of the method, teaching procedures,
teachers’ and learners’ roles and assessment of students’ learning.
1. Learning contexts
According to Petty (1996), a project is a task or a series of tasks that pupils
should fulfill, individually or in groups. Students can often decide themselves how,
where, when and in what order they will do the tasks. Previously, in 1991, Harmer
defined a project as a multi-skill activity focusing on topics or themes rather than on
specific language targets which provides students with opportunities to recycle known
language and skills in a relatively natural context. Harmer also noted that a project
should involve investigation, reporting, commitment and dedication from students and
the most important thing here is the end-product.
Project-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students gain
knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and
respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. (Buck
Institute of Education). According to Krauss & Boss (2013), PBL
 deals with real-world concerns;
 is personalized – dealing with the issues in students’ own lives;
 causes them to inquire;
 helps students learn together and from one another - their learning is meaningful
to people beyond school;
 affects students personally by what they learn.
In short, project-based learning is a method which is implemented in various
contexts, both inside and outside the classrooms. A project can aim to develop some
skills and knowledge for the students as well as to solve a practical problem in their own
community over a period of time. Students will be exposed to a complex set of skills
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ranging from reading, writing, investigating, reporting, presenting, working together or
making a product. It may involve the knowledge of more than one curriculum subject.
Stoller (2006) defines PBI as: 1)having a process and product; 2) giving students
(partial) ownership of the project; 3) extending over a period of time (several days,
weeks, or months); 4) integrating skills; 5) developing students’ understanding of a
topic through the integration of language and content; 6) collaborating with other
students and working on their own; 7) holding students responsible for their own
learning through the gathering, processing, and reporting of information from target
language resources; 8) assigning new roles and responsibilities to students and teacher;
9) providing a tangible final product; and 10) reflecting on both the process and the
product.
Thus, PLB is different from the traditional English teaching in that it lays great
emphasis on the communicative and functional aspect of language learning and it also
pays attention to the integrity of language and content learning.
2. Learning objectives
When teachers adopt project-based learning, they aim at developing a set of
complex skills and knowledge for the students. They can include content knowledge of
a subject like Chemistry and Language, communication skills, cognitive skills, and
process knowledge of developing a product. It can also strengthen students’ attitudes
toward the subject matters or their own learning. When designing a project, it is
advisable for educators to think of SMART objectives, which are: Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
3. Theoretical backgrounds of PBL
3.1. Active construction
Learning sciences research has found that deep understanding occurs when a
learner actively constructs meaning based on his or her experiences and interaction in
the world, and that only superficial learning occurs when learners passively take in
information transmitted from a teacher, a computer or a book. The development of
understanding is a continuous process that requires students to construct and reconstruct
what they know from new experiences and ideas, and prior knowledge and experiences.
Teachers and materials do not reveal knowledge to learners; rather, learners actively
build knowledge as they explore the surrounding world observe and interact with
phenomena, take in new ideas, make connections between new and old ideas, and
discuss and interact with others.
In PBL, students actively construct their knowledge by participating in real-
world activities similar to those that experts engage in, to solve problems and develop
artifacts.
3.2. Situated learning

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Learning sciences research has shown that the most effective learning occurs
when the learning is situated in an authentic, real-world context. In some scientific
disciplines, scientists conduct experiments in laboratories, in others, they systematically
observe the natural world and draw conclusions from their observations. Situated
learning in science would involve students in experiencing phenomena as they take part
in various scientific practices such as designing investigations, making explanations,
modeling, and presenting their ideas to others.
One of the benefits of situated learning is that students can more easily see the
value and meaning of the tasks and activities they perform. When students do a science
experiment by following detailed steps in the textbook, that’s hardly any better than
passively listening to a lecture. Either way, it’s hard for them to see the meaning in what
they’re doing. But when they create their own investigation design to answer a question
that is important to them and their community, they can see how science can be applied
to solve important problems.
A second benefit of situated learning is that it seems to generalize better to a
wider range of situations. When learners acquire information through memorization of
discrete facts that are not connected to important and meaningful situations, the
superficial understanding that results is difficult for students to generalize to new
situations (Blumenfeld et al., 1996). When students participate in step-by-step science
experiments from the textbook, they don’t learn how and where to apply these same
procedures outside of the classroom. However, when students acquire information in a
meaningful context and relate it to their prior connections between the new information
and the prior knowledge to develop better, larger and more linked conceptual
understanding.
3.3. Social interactions
One of the most solid findings to emerge from learning sciences research is the
important role of social interaction in learning. The best learning results from a
particular kind of social interaction: when teachers, students and community members
work together in a situated activity to construct shared understanding. Learners develop
understandings of principles and ideas through sharing, using and debating ideas with
others (Blumenfeld et al., 1996). This back-and-forth sharing, using and debating of
ideas helps to create a community of learners.
3.4. Cognitive tools
Learning science research has demonstrated the important role of tools in
learning (Salomon, Perkins & Geloberson, 1991). Cognitive tools can amplify and
expand what students can learn. A graph is an example of a cognitive tool that helps
learners see patterns in data. Various forms of computer software can be considered
cognitive tools because they allow learners to carry out tasks not possible without the
software’s assistance and support. For instance, new forms of computer software allow

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learners to visualize complex data sets. In such situations, we refer to the computer
software as a learning technology.
Learning technologies can support students (1) in accessing and collecting a
range of scientific data and information; (2) by providing visualization and data analysis
tools similar to those used by scientists; (3) by allowing for collaboration and sharing of
information across sites; (4) by planning, building, and testing models; and (5) by
developing multimedia documents that illustrate student understanding (Novak &
Krajcik, 2004). These features expand the range of questions that students can
investigate and the multitude and type of phenomena students can experience. Although
learners can use a variety of cognitive tools in PBL, a special focus on the use of
learning technologies is placed.
4. How languages are learned through PBL
PBL has a lot to offer teachers and learners of English.
4.1. Input of Language and Skills
According to Thom Markham “PBL offers teachers the opportunity to teach,
observe, and measure the growth of real-world skills” (Markham, 2012, p.x). In the case
of ELT these may be the skills needed for academic study or those required to become a
successful language learner. It also offers us the opportunity to consider the linguistic
skills and knowledge needed to master these skills and take this into consideration when
designing projects.
Language and skills specific input can be linked to specific stages of the
scenarios. For example, a discussion of the patient’s symptoms and potential illness
could be preceded by a teacher’s input on the use of hypothetical language. Students
need to work on reading skills, or note-taking, before they start researching. It is
unlikely that an English teacher would exhaust the potential learning possibilities –
rather the challenge is to limit the input and not overload the learner.
4.2. PBL as natural vehicle for Communicative Language Teaching
We may be in a post-method (Kumaravadivelu, 2001) ELT world yet there is a
broad commitment to a communicative approach. PBL, when combined with Web 2.0
technologies, offers many opportunities to promote language use and acquisition in real-
life contexts. Boothe et al provide a rationale for the creation of an information gap that
can be exploited for language teaching purposes.
“The basic premise of PBL is that learning begins with a problem presented in
the same context as it would be encountered in real life. When presented with the
problem, students begin by organizing their ideas and previous knowledge to define the
problem’s broad nature. Inevitably they reach a point at which they realize they are
missing essential information and create the needs to work out the missing information.
4.3. Motivating language learners
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PBL also fosters student motivation when they undertake tasks, which prepares
learners for future studies or professional careers. Learners recognized the development
of skills that hinted at future utility – for example how collaborative working prepares
for a professional career (Booth et al., 2011). This corresponds with Dörnyei’s
Motivational Self Theory and identity goals – indicating that if learners are able to see
the skills and knowledge developed through PBL they are likely to be motivated in
undertaking the project (Ushioda, 2011).
4.4. Capturing, acknowledging more learning and encouraging mastery
approaches to learning
It is important to make a distinction between teaching and learning. Teachers
have an idea of what they want learners to learn and plan and deliver their lessons
accordingly. However, they cannot determine what learners will learn. They may learn
what we have intended to teach – they may also have learned something in addition.
They may have actually learned something totally different to the teacher’s intentions.
Should we disregard the learning – which was important to the learners (otherwise it
wouldn’t have happened) or try to capture and recognize it.
PBL allows us to capture this learning and development which is lost when we
make judgments based solely on traditional assessment or teachers narrow judgments of
learning. Traditional assessment promotes passive performance orientated learning
which tends to be short-term. PBL can foster mastery learning which is deeper and
encourages reflection on and recognition of a wider range of achievement.
4.5. Encouraging academic content that is broken down for comprehensible
input.
This idea of building schema is one way in which learners really benefit from
PBL. Projects allow they to experience through creating and therefore pulling
knowledge that they already have – despite the language. For example, presenting can
be terrifying for EFL students, which is why teachers should have a plan to help practice
and prepare (start with the individual, then practice in pairs, then small groups, etc).
When they use language to present to an audience, the content is embedded.
It is important to recognize project-based learning as authentic instruction, and
integrating deeper learning and collaborative discourse can be really good for language
learners.
4.6. Promoting discussion and dialogue among peers and student/teacher.
Good teachers who do PBL encourage work cooperatively with peers.
Accordingly, PBL is an excellent tool through which students can explore language in
depth, building from what they know. In PBL, students not only inquire more about the
target language but they also use the language as a tool of communication and working.
5. Learning procedures

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Based upon the above models, Stoller puts forward his initial eight steps
framework, which is, to some extent, an improvement to the previous studies. In order
to keep pace with time, this model is revised later. Stoller (2005) summarized the
revised ten-step process in “maximizing the Benefits of Project Work in Foreign Lan-
guage Classrooms”.
Step 1: Students and instructor agree on a theme for the project.
Step 2: Students and instructor determine the final outcome.
Step 3: Students and instructor structure the project.
Step 4: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of information
gathering.
Step 5: Students gather information.
Step 6: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of compiling and
analyzing data.
Step 7: Students compile and analyze information.
Step 8: Instructor prepares students for the language demands of the culminating
activity.
Step 9: Students present final product.
Step 10: Students evaluate the project.
6. Teachers’ and students’ roles in PBL
In project-based learning, the students will take more active roles and ownership of their
learning while teachers take more supportive roles. They work with their instructors in a
project and take more responsibilities in:
 selecting a theme and focus of their projects;
 determining the final outcomes;
 structuring the project (steps to take);
 collecting and evaluating learning materials;
 learning new skills or knowledge needed for the projects;
 collecting and analyzing data;
 presenting the product;
 evaluating and reflecting the project implementation.
By contrast, teachers should take less control in implementing a project with their
students although they are still in charge of the overall teaching plan, monitoring and
assessing students’ learning. They may take several roles of planning, teaching,
monitoring, facilitating, evaluating, which may change in different steps of the project
implementation.

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Task 5: Are these statements TRUE or FALSE?
1. A project is a multi-skill activity which must be carried out only in groups.
2. The roles of teachers in PBL are different from those in traditional teaching method –
they become facilitators and coaches rather than knowledge providers.
3. PBL focuses students not only on what to learn but also how to work with others,
solve problems, present their ideas clearly to an audience, and learn from their mistakes.
4. PBL encourages students not only to inquire more about the target language but also
to use the language as a tool of communication.
5. According to Stoller (2006), a project can be implemented in 8 steps.

VI. Final quiz


Choose the best answer
1. What is the definition of PBL?
A. Refers to the general assumptions about what language is and about how
learning a language occurs
B. Teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world
and personally meaningful projects.
C. Specific syllabus organization, choices of the materials that will boost learning,
and the means to assess learners and evaluate teaching and learning
2. Which one is the advantage of PBL?
A. Minimizing teacher’s work
B. Developing language learning and skills
C. Changing classroom management
3. Which one is NOT the example of PBL?
A. Students doing presentation
B. Students doing experiments
C. Teacher explaining the material
4. In a PBL classroom, you probably...
A. won't see multiple choice quizzes.
B. won't see homework.
C. won't see teachers lecturing.
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D. might see any of the above.
5. Choose the best answer to complete this sentence:
"In a PBL classroom, lectures or quizzes..."
A. are not used.
B. can help teach a concept or formatively assess student knowledge.
C. are the main strategy to teach knowledge or assess understanding.
6. Which skill(s) can project-based learning help your students develop?
A. Critical thinking
B. Collaboration
C. Creativity
D. All of the answers are correct
7. A PBL unit begins with….
A. the driving question
B. an entry event
C. a brief handout about the project
D. None of the above
8. Pick the best response to complete the sentence: "The main purpose of the entry event
is..."
A. to share details about the upcoming unit.
B. to provide an overall context for learning
C. to create reasons for students’ learning
D. all of the above
9. Which is NOT a key feature of a PBL?
A. Connection to the students' real world
B. Based on academic standards
C. Student voice and choice
D. Memorization of key facts
10. The main purpose of the driving questions is...
A. To help students and the teacher focus on the learning objective
B. To ensure supplies are not wasted
C. To make sure the project is fun and engaging

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D. To help design the project assessment

VII. Performance Task


Choose one of the two options below to demonstrate your understanding of PBL.
Option 1: Produce a two-minute video explaining the key contents of PBL
(definitions of PBL, benefits of PBL, characteristics of PBL, types of PBL, teachers’ and
students’ roles in PBL)
Option 2: Write a summary of 300 words explaining the key contents of PBL
(definitions of PBL, benefits of PBL, characteristics of PBL, types of PBL, teachers’ and
students’ roles in PBL)

VIII. Reflect
Answer the following questions:
1. How might your teaching change when you apply PBL?
2. What are the challenges/difficulties you might encounter when applying PBL in your
teaching context?

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Chapter 3: PLANNING THE PROJECT

Objectives
By the end of the chapter, you will be able to:
- Determine suitable themes for students’ project;
- Write an effective driving question for students’ project;
- Identify suitable final outcomes for students’ project;
- Write a detailed project planner for students’ project.
------------------

I. Reading 1
Read the following text about how to pick up a theme for a project and answer 5
follow-up questions.
Before we jump into the “How” of picking a theme for PBL, it is important to
quickly review the role of the theme in PBL and why it is so important.
The project theme is the cornerstone for any project and serves four purposes:
 Grounds it in the real-world: Firstly, the purpose of the theme is to ground the
project in a real-world challenge and, in doing so, turn content that students may
otherwise deem to be personally irrelevant or overly vague into practical,
important, and relevant information. For example, a topic such as “classification of
mineral types” could be - and generally is - viewed as being fairly boring and
lacking in personal relevance for students. However, when viewed through the
prism of campaigning to prevent a mine being opened, the information becomes
highly relevant and essential to solving the problem.
 Provides motivation: The theme provides students with a key purpose for
undertaking the project. The project is not only being undertaken for the sake of
studying or teaching, it is being undertaken to solve an important problem or
challenge that is relevant or interesting to students. This purpose in turn provides
students with the emotional connection and motivation to drive their independent
inquiry through the project.
 Guides the investigation process: The theme should also serve to put some
parameters on the project. One of the initial fears for any teacher embarking on
PBL is that students take the project off into an unforeseen neverland from which
it can’t be brought back on track. A well-framed theme prevents this from
happening by providing explicit guidelines on what sort of solutions would solve
the problem in question.

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 Provides the context for content to be taught: Having a project theme which is
closely tied to curriculum content provides the natural vehicle for students to make
deeper connections between what they are learning and its real-world relevance.
Students aren’t just learning the content because they have to; by establishing,
through an inquiry process, that the information they need to progress in the
project is the content which must be taught, they want to learn it and become more
receptive to it. They recognize its importance beyond the fact that it is in their
textbook. In then transferring what they have learnt to the project context, they
deepen their understanding. The deeper these connections go, the greater the
impact on student comprehension and long-term memory retention.
So, how do you do you pick your theme? Here is a checklist that we can use:
 Challenge: Does the theme provide students with a challenge that they need to
solve?
 Relevance & engagement: Is the theme personally relevant and engaging for
students? For example, determining the area covered by a Roman legionaries
camp may be thematic but it is unlikely to have any relevance to the contemporary
life of a student.
 Focus: Does the theme naturally force students to investigate and understand at a
deep level a number of learning points from the syllabus or curriculum? You will
know that you have this right if students can clearly understand why the content is
important to understanding the problem and to identifying potential solutions.
 Practical output: Does the theme beget the development of a practical solution that
can be built, modelled, prototyped and tested?
Examples of project themes:
- Introducing a dream destination
- Reusing old things
- Designing your own garden

Task 1: Fill in each gap of the following sentences with ONE word.
1. The purpose of the theme is to ground the project in a ………. challenge.
A. hard B. real-world C. technical
2. The project is being undertaken to solve an important problem or challenge that is
relevant or ………. to students.
A. challenging B. surprising C. exciting
3. A well-framed theme provides explicit ……… on what sort of solutions would solve
the problem in question.
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A. guidelines B. challenges C. questions
4. The project theme which is closely tied to curriculum content provides the natural
vehicle for students to make deeper ……… between what they are learning and its real-
world relevance.
A. understanding B. solutions C. connections
5. “solutions to the problem of ocean plastic waste” is a ……… project theme.
A. good B. bad

II. Reading 2
Read the following text about how to write an effective driving question and
answer 5 follow-up questions.
The driving question (DQ) provides the purpose of the project-based learning
(PBL) for students and teachers. It sets the context for the PBL and links to the content
standards. The DQ should be clear, provocative, open-ended, challenging and linked to
the core of what teachers want students to learn. Without a DQ, students may not
understand why they are undertaking a project; moreover, strong driving questions
provide students with an understanding and appreciation for planned investigations and
activities during project time.
Write a PBL Driving Question in 5 Easy Steps.

1. Question:
A project-based learning driving question is a question after all, so it makes sense
to have a question written into it. The question should be open-ended. If you ask a
question that has one right or wrong answer, the PBL experience is over. Encourage
students to think in the upper levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.
The question could start with "How", "Should", "What", "Could" and so on.
PBL Driving Question Example: How can we create a diet plan for over-weight
students in our school to lose weight?
2. Action-Taker(s)
The action-taker is the person or group that will participate in the experience. This
is written into the driving question so that students are clear on who will be involved,
including peers, partners, and collaborators
The action-taker might be "I", "our economics class", "our neighborhood
community", etc.
PBL Driving Question Example: How can we create a diet plan for over-weight
students in our school to lose weight?
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3. Action
The action is what the action-takers will do or create. This is the "what" of the
experience. What will they make? What service will they provide? This is essentially the
final product or information that they will produce that will serve or impact the
community.
PBL Driving Question Example: How can we create a diet plan for over-weight
students in our school to lose weight?
4. Recipient
The recipient is an important piece of project-based learning. PBL is authentic,
meaning the experience and outcomes should be relevant and impactful to those beyond
the walls of the classroom.
An authentic presentation is an important component of project-based learning that
distinguishes it from other teaching methods. Students do not share their final products
exclusively with their teacher and class. They share it with the public, and not just the
public in general, but a public audience that is relevant to the topic or final product. Who
will receive the information or product is written into the driving question.
PBL Driving Question Example: How can we create a diet plan for over-weight
students in our school to lose weight?
5. Impact
The impact is the "why", the purpose, the ultimate goal of a project-based learning
activity. Students often ask me why we do something. Why are we learning this? The
impact is their answer. This gives students a sense of purpose and desire to participate in
the experience. I felt that the impact was a little lost without a driving question.
The impact is what the action-takers wish to have on the recipient(s) of the final
product or information shared .
PBL Driving Question Example: How can we create a diet plan for over-weight
students in our school to loose weight?

Task 2: Decide whether the following driving questions are effective or not.
1. How can we create an effective learning program to teach senior citizens how to use an
iPad?
A. effective B. not effective
2. How can we decrease our carbon footprint at our school?
A. effective B. not effective
3. When do we grow up?

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A. effective B. not effective
4. Who has power and how do they get it?
A. effective B. not effective
5. How can I design a toy store that customers will come and spend money at?
A. effective B. not effective

III. Video script 1


Watch a video about how to write measurable learning outcomes for the project
and answer 5 follow-up questions.
Hello teachers, learning outcomes describe what students are able to demonstrate
in terms of knowledge, skills, and values upon completion of a course, a span of several
courses, or a program. Clear articulation of learning outcomes serves as the foundation to
evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.
When writing a measurable learning outcome, it is important to:
- focus on student behaviour
- use simple, specific action verbs
Focus on Student Behavior: Learning outcomes are about what students are able
to demonstrate upon completion of a course or a span of courses or a program. Learning
outcomes are not about what the instructors can provide but what the students can
demonstrate. The following are NOT learning outcomes:
- The project offers opportunities for students to practice listening skills
- The project will engage a significant number of students in learning English
- the project will enhance students’ critical thinking skills.
- Students will be exposed to a variety of learning opportunities.
Use Simple, Specific Action Verbs. When writing learning outcomes, focus on
student behavior and use simple, specific action verbs to describe what students are
expected to demonstrate. The wording should be something as follows:
Students will be able to + action verbs . . . .”
The following are examples of learning outcomes:
- Students will be able to collect and organize appropriate information about how to
protect wild animals.
- Students will be able to use Microsoft PowerPoint to design their own
presentation.
When writing students’ learning outcomes, Bloom’s taxonomy can be a useful
resource.
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For example:
When students are able to recall or remember facts without necessarily
understanding them, actions verbs can be used in writing students’ learning outcomes are:
arrange, define, label, list, name and so on.
When students are able to understand and interpret learned information, actions
verbs can be used in writing students’ learning outcomes are: classify, describe, discuss,
explain, express, distinguish and so on.
When students are able to put ideas and concepts to work in solving problems,
actions verbs can be used in writing students’ learning outcomes are: demonstrate,
illustrate, operate, show, solve, practice and so on.
When students are able to break information into its components to see
interrelationships and ideas, actions verbs can be used in writing students’ learning
outcomes are: analyze, categorize, compare and contrast, separate and so on.
When students are able to judge the value of information based on established
criteria, actions verbs can be used in writing students’ learning outcomes are: argue,
assess, judge, praise, question, support and so on.
When students are able to produce new or original work, actions verbs can be used
in writing students’ learning outcomes are: design, assemble, construct, develop,
investigate and so on.

Task 3: Decide whether the following statements are measurable learning outcomes.
1. Students will be able to understand the theory of plate tectonics.
A. measurable B. immeasurable
2. Students will be able to name ways that we harm the earth.
A. measurable B. immeasurable
3. Students will be able to compare and contrast ways of saving money.
A. measurable B. immeasurable
4. Students will be able to know more about new ways of studying English.
A. measurable B. immeasurable
5. Students will be able to apply what they have learnt to complete the project.
A. measurable B. immeasurable

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IV. Video script 2
Hello teachers, in this video, we are going to explore steps in designing a project
planner. A project planner is a formal document that outlines an entire project’s goals
and objectives, specific tasks, and what success looks like. Starting a project without a
plan is like taking a trip without a map. You might eventually get where you’re
trying to go, but not without wasting a lot of time and money.
The project planner should start with an executive summary of the main points of
the project; the project theme, the driving question, the project outputs and learning
outcomes and success criteria should be clearly stated.
In the next part, a short description of group work arrangement, procedure and
timelines for each main step of completing the project need to be released explicitly to
help learners have the overall idea of the project.
Potential pitfalls and setbacks should also be mentioned to help learners
navigate rough waters when they inevitably hit; missing deadline, lacking support
of interviewees are examples of them.
Finally, don’t forget to list the project resources that students need to
successfully complete the project. All the technology tools, information searching
engines and so on should be suggested to students.
The following is a sample project planner:
PROJECT THEME: Making recycled products
Driving questions: How can we recycle or reuse old/used things at home?
1. Learning outcomes:
By the end of the project, learners will be able to:
- Name and describe ways that can be used to recycle or reuse old/used things at home
- Design one model that is made from old/used things at home
- Use Microsoft PowerPoint to design the presentation about how to recycle or reuse
old/used things at home
- Collaborate in groups effectively to finish the project on time.
2. Project Description:
Work arrangement and duration of the project
- Students work in groups of 4 and complete the project in two weeks
Procedure and timelines
Step 1 (9/11 – 12/11): search information about ways to recycle or reuse old/used
things
Step 2 (13/11 – 15/11): analyze information and sort out effective ways to recycle
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or reuse old/used things
Step 3 (16/11 – 18/11): design one model that is made from old/used things at
home
Step 4 (19/11 – 22/11): prepare the presentation on Microsoft PowerPoint
Step 5 (23/11): present ways to recycle or reuse old/used things and the model in
front of the class
3. Materials/ Resources suggested:
Some links to gather information on how to recycle or reuse old/used things:
https://www.pinterest.com/donna814/recycle-used-old-stuff/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOuIWjTf8gI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgLATMSJ5sY
Guidelines on how to make a ppt presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF34-Wu6qWU
4. Products (outputs) expected:
- A recycled hand-made product
- A short presentation about effective ways to recycle or reuse old/used things and the
hand-made product (by answering the following questions: what it is, what it is made of,
how to make it? what it is used for?)
5. Assessment
- Individual: collaboration skills
- Team: designing skills, presentation skills

Task 4: Choose the best answer for the following questions.


1. Starting a project without a plan is like taking a trip without a ………
A. tool B. map C. camera
2. Potential pitfalls state ……… that learners should avoid when doing the project.
A. challenges B. solutions C. problems
3. How many learning outcomes are mentioned in the sample project planner?
A. 3 B. 4 C. 5
4. How many outputs are stated in the sample project planner?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4

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5. How does the teacher in the sample project planner assess her students’ work?
A. assess students’ presentation skills
B. assess students’ presentation and designing skills
C. assess students’ collaboration, presentation and designing skills

V. Final quiz
Identify the followings are project theme, output, driving question or learning
outcome.
1. Better mental and emotional health
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
2. How can you improve mental health of old people?
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
3. Students can name ways of improving mental health of old people.
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
4. How can you help disabled people?
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
5. Improving life of disabled people
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
6. An oral presentation about ways to improve mental health of old people.
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
7. Students can demonstrate to the others how their pets are taken care of.
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
8. A video showing ways you helped disabled people.
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
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9. Improving the environment of your neighborhood.
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question
10. Students can name ways where waste in their neighborhood comes from.
A. Theme B. Output
C. Learning outcome D. Driving question

VI. Performance Task


- Choose a project topic. Then write a driving question and identify the project learning
outcomes. Finally, write a detailed project planner following the template provided.

VII. Reflect
Answer the following questions:
1. What are the challenges did you encounter when writing the project planner?
2. What suggestions can you give to overcome these challenges?

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Chapter 4: IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

Objectives
By the end of the chapter, you will be able to:
- Describe the implementation steps of a project;
- Explain how to identify students’ learning needs to support their learning;
- Develop activities to support students’ project implementation.
------------------

I. Reading 1
Which jobs do you think the teacher takes when supporting students conducting
projects? Read the following article about the role of the teacher in PBL.
Gold Standard PBL: Project Based Teaching Practices

Teachers who make Project Based Learning a regular part of their teaching enjoy
their new role, although for some it might take time to adjust from traditional practice.
It’s fun to get creative when designing a project, instead of just using “off the
shelf” curriculum materials. Most teachers like working collaboratively with their
colleagues when planning and implementing projects and interacting with other adults
from the community or the wider world. And PBL teachers find it rewarding to work

34
closely alongside students, tackling a real-world challenge or exploring a meaningful
question.
When transitioning to PBL, one of the biggest hurdles for many teachers is the
need to give up some degree of control over the classroom, and trust in their students.
But even though they are more often the “guide on the side” than the “sage on the
stage,” this most certainly does not mean that teachers don’t “teach” in a PBL
classroom. Many traditional practices remain but are reframed in the context of a
project.
Design & Plan
Teachers create or adapt a project for their context and students and plan its
implementation from launch to culmination while allowing for some degree of student
voice and choice.
Align to Standards
Teachers use standards to plan the project and make sure it addresses key
knowledge and understanding from subject areas to be included.
Build the Culture
Teachers explicitly and implicitly promote student independence and growth,
open-ended inquiry, team spirit, and attention to quality.
Manage Activities
Teachers work with students to organize tasks and schedules, set checkpoints and
deadlines, find and use resources, create products and make them public.
Scaffold Student Learning
Teachers employ a variety of lessons, tools, and instructional strategies to
support all students in reaching project goals.
Assess Student Learning
Teachers use formative and summative assessments of knowledge,
understanding, and success skills, and include self and peer assessment of team and
individual work.
Engage & Coach
Teachers engage in learning and creating alongside students, and identify when
they need skill-building, redirection, encouragement, and celebration.
(From https://www.pblworks.org/blog/gold-standard-pbl-project-based-
teaching-practices)

35
II. Reading 2
Read the following book chapter extract about implementation steps of a project.

Information Gathering Cycle


After preliminary decisions are made, students engage in information gathering
(Stage 2). The types of information gathered and methods for information collection
vary, as does the scaffolded instruction provided by the teacher to set students up for
success at this stage. In Table 2.3, five methods of information gathering and examples
of scaffolded instruction, appropriate for the stage, are itemized. What and how teachers
scaffold is inextricably linked to course goals and students’ language-, strategy-, and
content-learning needs. A review of or introduction to theme- and topic-related
36
vocabulary is typically central to this project stage, as is a review of key grammatical
structures.
Information Processing Cycle
The third stage of the framework engages students in the processing of
information (i.e., organization and analyses of data) collected in Stage 2. Whatever
types of information have been collected, students benefit from being guided in the
processing of that information. With the goal of setting students up for success at this
stage, scaffolded instruction can guide students in (a) reconsidering the purpose of their
projects to inform organization and analysis tasks; (b) reviewing information collected;
(c) distinguishing between pertinent and less pertinent information (in light of project
goals); (d) keeping relevant information and setting aside the rest; (e) coding or
reconfiguring data (with grids, note cards, outlines) to discover categories,
characteristics, patterns, relationships, and trends; (f) summarizing or synthesizing data;
and finally (g) deciding if additional information is needed.
Some types of information require other forms of scaffolded instruction. For
instance, if students have recorded interviews, they may need to learn how to transcribe
them and interpret the transcripts. If students have collected written texts, as another
example, some attention to paraphrasing might be appropriate to assist them in
transferring information from text to notes.
Information Display Cycle
It is during Stage 4 when students finalize and share (i.e., display) project
outcomes with the teacher and possibly other audiences. Like in the other stages of the
process, the teacher incorporates scaffolded instruction into classroom activities to assist
students with finalizing project outcomes and then “displaying” them (when, e.g.,
submitting a written paper, participating in a poster fair, giving a PowerPoint
presentation, engaging in a debate). Table 2.4 itemizes possible forms of teacher
scaffolding for this penultimate project stage.

Task 1: Answer the following questions


1. According to Stoller & Myers (2020), an iterative five-stage framework can guide
language teacher’s planning, implementation, and evaluation of PBL.
A. True B. False
2. Before making preliminary decisions, students should engage in information
gathering.
A. True B. False
3. Scaffolded instruction in Information Processing Cycle can guide students in seven
ways.

37
A. True B. False
4. Different types of project information may require different forms of scaffolded
instructions, for example: interpreting recorded interviews, paraphrasing written texts,
etc.
A. True B. False
5. During Information Display Cycle, when students finalize and share project
outcomes, teachers do not need to incorporate scaffolded instruction into classroom
activities.
A. True B. False

III. Reading 3
Read the following article extract about teacher’s support during a project
progress.
At the heart of project-based learning is the collaborative project work itself.
This includes two basic activity types: background research (including accessing,
processing and drawing on texts, both written and oral, created in English) and product
development, which involves producing something in English, both as the primary
product (e.g. the posters, website or news stories mentioned in Table 1) and also as
descriptive supplements to a concrete or abstract product (e.g. an invention or a
‘solution’ respectively). During this stage, learners are expected to work without the
teacher’s direct support in their project groups for periods of time, and the teacher is
able to respond when required to learner needs, questions, problems, etc. As the project
progresses, the teacher’s focus is likely to move from checking that groups are on task
and working appropriately, to visiting groups for short periods of time (project tutorials)
to get an update, offer advice, support and even critique to push learners to develop their
projects appropriately. Obviously, you as teacher can also create English-use
opportunities at such times by speaking mainly or only English, and encouraging or
requiring that they respond in English, creating a further functional reason for learners
to use English. While products are presented at the end of a project, you will need to
think carefully about the presentation formats at the start of the project – this is
necessary to ensure both that the project meets your intended outcomes, and that these
are reflected in the assessment criteria (which should always be provided to the learners
at the start of the project); another reason why your project needs to be carefully
planned. A well planned, term-length project may have two or more different products,
including, for example:
- Oral presentation to class (with or without PowerPoint, each group member
contributes)
- Written presentation (e.g. structured report, submitted article)
38
- Online presentation (e.g. blog post, website, YouTube video/vlog)
- Drama presentation (e.g. of historical event)
- ‘Pitch’ presentation (e.g. Dragon’s Den; pitching an idea to the board of directors)
- Poster presentation (with a mingle activity involving mini presentations throughout)
- Launch of a ‘real world’ product
- Publication of a research article (e.g. in a university department or academic journal)
(From Jason Anderson. (2021). A framework for project-based learning in TESOL)

Task 2: Match the details in B with the right category in A


A B
1. Background research activity a. producing something in English
2. Product development b. encouraging or requiring responses in English
3. English-use opportunities c. accessing, processing, and drawing on texts
4. Project products d. responding to learners` needs, questions,
problems
5. Teacher’s direct support e. oral presentation and written presentation

IV. Reading 4
Read the following extract about how to get higher quality student work in PBL.
“I thought the project was going well…but by the end, I felt that the work my
students produced was not as good as I imagined it would be!”
This is a common concern of teachers who are new to Project Based Learning.
Things can appear to be going smoothly: students are engaged by the project and they
are busy and meeting deadlines. However, at the end of the project the evidence of their
thinking and learning is not as robust as it should be, and their final products are not
polished. If this is your experience, ask yourself some questions:
1. Did I use rubrics, exemplars, and industry professionals to help students
understand the quality of work expected?
Simply telling students that you want them to do high-quality work is not
enough, nor is giving them a checklist that tracks completion, but not quality. Most PBL
teachers know they need rubrics in order to assess the complex products and
performance tasks typically seen in projects. But rubrics should also be used throughout
a project as a tool for guiding students as they work. Introduce rubrics near the
beginning of a project, and take the time to help students understand the expectations
the rubric conveys and practice using it to analyze work.
2. Did my project include effective formative assessment?
Your project calendar should include frequent and varied opportunities for
students to demonstrate their learning, check their understanding of key concepts, and
39
get feedback on their work. Make sure students use rubrics or other established criteria
as the basis for giving critique. When possible, invite other adults (such as project
mentors from the community) to participate in critique protocols or to provide other
targeted feedback to students.
Of course, the teacher also must provide feedback and critique, so make sure
yours is based on clear quality criteria and arrives in a timely fashion. According to
researcher John Hattie, effective feedback is one of the top ten most powerful
instructional strategies for improving student performance and closing achievement
gaps. Use workshop structures, student conferences, and staggered checkpoint dates to
ensure that you are able to provide thoughtful feedback to all students. Make sure that
your feedback is substantive, aligns to learning targets, and provides students with
strategies and lessons that they can apply to the task at hand but also transfer to other
tasks.
3. Did students have enough time to revise and polish their work?
Especially the first time you conduct a project, it can be difficult to estimate the
time it will take for students to create high-quality products. After students receive
feedback, they need time to reflect on it and revise their work. Be sure to build time for
feedback, reflection, and revision into your plans from the beginning.
4. Did the project feel authentic enough to motivate students – did they care?
A project should increase students’ motivation to learn and produce quality work
for several reasons:
Students care about the issue, problem, or topic of investigation because they see
its relevance to their own lives. The answer to the project’s driving question matters to
them.
Students care about the fact that they are producing work for a public audience.
It’s not just another instance of turning something in to the teacher, or another casual
presentation in front of the class. Students will come to know the quality of a product
matters if they want to make an impact in the real world. They are going to want to
impress people and not be embarrassed when they share their work. Students feel a
sense of authenticity when they collaborate with adult professionals, experts, parents, or
community members during a project.
5. Does my classroom – and my school – cultivate a culture of quality?
In addition to the above, there’s a less tangible but very important aspect to
getting students to do high-quality work: culture. Talk as a school staff about how to
promote commonly-held classroom norms that encourage students to take risks, be
persistent, value feedback, and expect much of themselves and their peers.
(From https://www.pblworks.org/blog/how-get-higher-quality-student-work-pbl-0)

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Task 3: Fill in the blank with the words provided

rubrics quality engaged assessment time

Students may seem to be…… (1)……. in doing the project but at the end their final
products are not polished. If this is the case, ask yourself some questions:
1. Did I use…… (2)……., exemplars, and industry professionals to help students
understand the quality of work expected?
2. Did my project include effective formative……(3)…….?
3. Did students have enough …… (4)……. to revise and polish their work?
4. Did the project feel authentic enough to motivate students – did they care?
5. Does my classroom – and my school – cultivate a culture of …… (5)…….?

V. Final quiz
Choose the words from the box to fill in these blanks.
analyses critique demonstrate authenticity motivation
scaffolded real-world information rubrics outcomes
1. PBL teachers find it rewarding to work closely alongside students, tackling a
……………… challenge or exploring a meaningful question.
2. After the first Cycle of Preparation, students engage in…………... gathering
3. The third stage of Stoller & Myers `s framework (2020) engages students in the
processing of information (i.e., organization and …………... of data) collected in the
previous stage.
4. …………... instruction in Information Processing Cycle can guide students in deciding
if additional information is needed.
5. In Information Display Cycle, students finalize and share project …………... with
teacher and audience.
6. Teacher may visit groups for short periods of time (project tutorials) to get an update,
offer advice, support and even …………... to push learners to develop their projects
appropriately.
7. Most PBL teachers agree that they need …………... in order to assess the complex
products and performance tasks.
8. Your project calendar should include frequent and varied opportunities for students to
…………... their learning, check their understanding of key concepts, and get feedback
on their work

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9. A project should increase students’…………... to learn and produce quality work.
10. Students feel a sense of …………... when they collaborate with adult professionals,
experts, parents, or community members during a project.

VI. Performance Task


Design one activity you would conduct as a teacher to support your students
gathering/processing/reporting information for the following project.
(Project in Unit 5, Grade 6, Tieng Anh 6 Global Success)

VII. Reflect
Answer the following questions:
1. What are two valuable lessons/points you have learnt in this module?
2. How can you apply them in your teaching context?

42
Chapter 5: ASSESSING STUDENTS IN PBL

Objectives
By the end of the chapter, you will be able to:
- Explain how to support and monitor students learning throughout the process of PBL
(formative assessment);
- Describe how to evaluate the final product of a project (summative assessment);
- Practice developing assessment and evaluation tools for PBL.
------------------

I. Reading 1
Read a text about some main principles of assessing students in PBL. Discuss the
importance of the principles.
Assessment is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence to make
judgements about student learning. It is the crucial link between learning outcomes,
content and teaching and learning activities. Assessment is used by learners and their
teachers to decide where the learners are at in their learning, where they need to go, and
how best to get there. The purpose of assessment is to improve learning, inform teaching,
help students achieve the highest standards they can and provide meaningful reports on
students’ achievement. There are three main principles of assessment in PBL.
Principle 1: Each assessment task in PBL should be valid, reliable and authentic.
Assessment tasks should be based on specific learning outcomes and be a valid
instrument for what they are designed to assess. There should be criteria to make students
clear about what aspects of learning are being assessed. When assessing students,
teachers need to pay careful attention to exploring not only the quality of the project work
itself, but also to determining the extent to which, through the project work, students have
achieved the specific learning objectives set in the curriculum.
Principle 2: There should be an integration of formative and summative assessments in
PBL.
In PBL, formative assessments provide feedback and adjust ongoing teaching and
learning during the PBL process while summative assessment usually takes the form of
students’ final products and/or presentations. The integration of formative and summative
assessments enables students to demonstrate their learning in a range of task types not
only at the end point but also throughout their learning process, which provides more
accurate information on each student's progress and achievement.
Principle 3: Maximize the opportunities for students to evaluate and reflect on their own
learning

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Giving students the opportunity to evaluate and reflect on their own learning is a
key element in PBL. Self-assessment in PBL allows students to compare their
performance with the learning objectives. It allows them to develop the skills to monitor
their own learning and helps them to move towards the ultimate goal of becoming life-
long learners.
Task 1: Discussion
1. Read Principle 1 and discuss one technique to increase validity of PBL
assessments.
2. Read Principle 2 and give one example of formative assessments and one example
of formative assessments.
3. Read Principle 3 and give one example of self-assessment in PBL.

II. Reading 2
Read a text about how to use formative assessment in PBL.
Successful projects usually follow certain steps as students move from the initial
engagement with the topic, to taking control of their ideas and responsibility for learning
and doing throughout the project. There are some types of formative assessments during
the first three stages of the PBL process (preparing cycle, gathering information cycle,
and processing information cycle, as mentioned in Module 4, Stoller, 2020).
Stage 1: Determining the project theme/topic/Writing driving questions/
Determining the final outcomes
In this step, teachers may use a spider diagram or mind maps for students to
brainstorm topics for their projects. A formative assessment tool may be exit slips to get
students to reflect on the issue or topic and share their past experiences that connect to the
topic. Here is an example of an exit slip.

EXIT SLIP

3 things I found interesting 2 things I want to find out 1 essential question about
about the topic more about the topic the topic I have

After students have been given an opportunity to think on their own or in small
groups, teachers may use whole class discussion to both foster additional ideas and
thinking and gain insight into student knowledge and thinking. Listening to students

44
discuss their ideas, experiences, and opinions, then giving feedback accordingly is
perhaps the most effective formative assessment teachers can do.
As students begin brainstorming the driving questions and ideas and conducting
initial research, formative assessment occurs through face-to-face contact with
individuals and small groups as they take ownership of the project. Ask students to create
and use graphic organizers to make their thinking visible through discussion,
clarification, and reflection.
Information collected from formative assessments through examples of high-
quality work and assessment criteria will help determine if teachers need to further
clarify expectations and which areas of the project process they might need to
scaffold/support students.
Stages 2+ 3: Information gathering and information processing cycles
When students engage in the information gathering and information processing
stages through corresponding, interviewing, reading, …, formative assessments can be
employed in different forms related to the whats (contents, language, skills,...) and the
hows (skills for project management like collaboration, commitment, problem-
solving,...).
Tools to monitor student learning progress and achievement in content and
language may range from learning contracts, quizzes, graphic organizers, posters,
learning portfolios, rubric, checklist and Cando statements. A ‘learning contract’ is
considered as students’ claimed commitments of the tasks they are to do. A ‘learning
contract’ may consist of simple questions, such as: What task do I need to do? How will
I do it? Who can give support? When can I start? How will I know that I have completed
the task? How will others realize that I have succeeded in doing the task?’. Graphic
organizers are powerful tools to support student ideation and inquiry as well. Learning
portfolios are used to trace students’ evidence of doing the assigned tasks throughout the
project as well as their reflections and comments from peers or teachers. Rubrics are a
valuable tool for self-assessment. Rubrics list success criteria and provide descriptions of
the various levels of performance so students can monitor and evaluate their own
progress. Checklists and Can-do statements are among great formative assessment tools
that communicate goals and can provide appropriate levels of scaffolding.
Tools to monitor the hows may include task list, labour distribution rubric,
collaboration checklist,, … Task list, labour distribution rubric and collaboration
checklist are used to monitor who is responsible for each task of the whole project, how
the tasks are done, and most importantly to monitor student progress in developing their
soft skills, namely collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity,
communication and so on..

45
Task 2
1. List 3-5 formative assessment tools used in PBL during stage 1
2. List 3-5 formative assessment tools used in PBL during stage 2
3. List 3-5 formative assessment tools used in PBL during stage 1
4. Select one tool. Discuss the advantages (+) and disadvantages (-) of this tool.
5. Add 1-2 tools you find appropriate to assess formatively but have not been
referred to in this reading.

III. Reading 3
Read a text about how to use summative assessment in PBL

Summative assessments are used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition,


and academic achievement during stages 4 and 5 of PBL (i.e. Display cycle and
Reflection cycle as mentioned in Module 4). Summative assessments are generally
evaluative, rather than diagnostic. In PBL, summative assessment usually takes the form
of evaluating students’ final products and/or presentations. Criteria for which students
are evaluated are usually established and reviewed at the beginning of a PBL unit. To
make summative assessments valid, rubrics and scoring sheets need to align with the
learning objectives. Rubrics let students know about the success criteria that students
use to determine when they have achieved the established learning goal or objective. In
order to build good final evaluation rubrics, it is necessary to follow the main
steps. First, finalize the content standards or the learning outcomes/ the learning
objectives teachers plan to assess. Each content standard should be presented in one row
on the rubric with at least three levels, ranging from below standard, meeting the
standard and exceeding the standard. Then descriptors for each level should be provided
with the use of Bloom Taxonomy verbs in order to show the order of thinking levels
(i.e., from the lowest thinking level like list, name, ... (remember/ recognize level) to
explain, describe,... (understand level) to the highest thinking order like create, evaluate,
… (create/evaluate level). Finally, teachers should also need to identify which 21st
century skills are included in a certain project so that teachers need to scaffold and
assess such skills accordingly.
Task 3
1. Give an example of an end-product in PBL.
2. What are success criteria?
3. List the main elements of a rubric.
4. Where to find the content standards?
5. What should be assessed in summative assessments?

46
IV. Video script 1
Embedding Assessment Throughout the Project
Peggy: Different than a traditional classroom, PBL's gonna integrate assessment
throughout the project. Because these projects are multi-week projects, you need to keep
on top of students and build in opportunities to assess where they are and what they're
learning as you go along.
Sheela: From the minute a teacher introduces that learning target for the lesson, or
engages in strategic observation, we feel that the assessment process is in play.
Liza: It's not a test at the end of the week or the end of the unit. You're doing a lot
of small check-ins with the students to see where they're at and to see that they're
growing a lot. So some examples of formative assessments that I use in my classroom is
Fist to five. So five is, I feel really good about this learning target, I'm learning what I
need to in class today. A fist, or a zero means I have nothing.
Sheela: You really have to know what kids know and don't know. That can often
determine what next steps need to be put into place in order to support or differentiate the
learning for the kids in their classroom.
Marianne: You saw another form of assessment, which we call a quick check, or
checking for understanding, and that's sort of the thumbs up. I get it, sideways, I'm not
quite sure, or thumbs down, no, I don't get it. That's for them to reflect, but it's also for us
to do a check for their understanding.
Peggy: It's just sharing some of the responsibilities for assessment with those who
are most involved with the project, so you give students the opportunity to assess
themselves. You give them the opportunity to assess their teammates.
Sheela: We find that some of the most important and useful feedback is when kids
can offer it to each other.
Peggy: So typically in a PBL unit, the culminating event is what all the students
and the teacher are working toward. So usually, this involves inviting community
members, inviting other teachers, inviting parents, to the classroom. Or maybe you even
do it in the evening and you present what the students have learned, whether it's the final
product, something that they created, whether it's a solution to a problem facing the
community. So, it's usually a big deal and the teachers should take advantage of that
being a big deal, because the students are very proud to present what they've learned. It
really becomes an event where students are showcasing all that they've learned through
this big project, and their plans for how they're going to pursue it further.
(https://www.edutopia.org/video/embedding-assessment-throughout-project-keys-pbl-
series-part-5)

47
Task 4: Decide who says what. Put a tick where appropriate. There may be more
than one person sharing the same idea.

Statement Liza Marianne Peggy Sheela

1. Formative assessments are not tests after each unit


of learning. They include different assessments along
the learning process to check student current
understanding and help students achieve the learning
goals

2. Some examples of formative assessments are quick


hand signals to check student understanding.

3.Self-assessments play a vital role in PBL.

4. Only when teachers know where each student is,


then they can provide feedback and feedforward
accordingly and differentiate their teaching.

5.Teachers should exploit summative assessment


events as a good chance for students to look back at
their learning and plan for their future learning.

V. Video script 2
Watch a video about how to align summative assessment with standards/learning
objectives in PBL
Hi, and welcome back to Assessing Achievement with the English language
learners in mind. In this lesson we are going to give a brief overview of how Project
Based Learning and assessment align with learning outcomes and Common Core or state
standards. First, let's take a look at how Project Based Learning connects to standards and
Common Core state standards. Project Based Learning mirrors college and work
expectations in that students are presented with a driving question, or presented with a
problem, and are asked to investigate and create solutions to that specific problem, which
is similar to tasks they might encounter if they choose to go to college, or when they
enter the workforce. The second way Project Based Learning is connected to standards or
the Common Core, is that it provides very rigorous content and heavily relies on higher
order thinking skills. The students must apply their knowledge through higher order
thinking skills to access the content and to demonstrate knowledge of the content. Project
Based Learning draws on fewer, but more challenging, standards similar to the Common
Core, where there are not as many standards, but they're more in depth and detailed. The
curriculum for Project Based Learning is based on the project itself, so that the project
actually becomes the curriculum. Students are always involved in that deep critical
48
analysis of the content. And, finally, Project Based Learning is inquiry-based, which is
one of the main components of the Common Core states standards. Let's take a look at
Project Based Learning and how it aligns with the learning objectives as we have
discussed and used in this course in specialization. The first type of learning objective
measures what students will know after completing the lesson. In thinking about Project
Based Learning, students will know the content necessary for the project and the
investigation to take place. And students will know how to think deeply or critically
about that specific content area related to the project. Our next objective will measure
what students will be able to do when aligning to Project Based Learning. Students will
be able to analyze content and information and create something. Students will be able to
ask and answer deep questions or driving questions about the content in many different
formats aligned with higher order thinking skills. Finally, our third type of objective
measures the degree to which learning skills were developed and gained by the end of the
lesson. When thinking about Project Based Learning, students will gain skills related to
teamwork, problem solving, and reflection. The use of Project Based Learning and
assessment as a way to measure content mastery has many positive implications and
clearly aligns to state standards or other standards of measurement used by your school.
(https://www.coursera.org/lecture/ell-assessment/project-based-learning-and-learning-
outcomes-FyEE6)

Task 5: Are these statements TRUE or FALSE?


1. It is suggested that Project Based Learning and assessment align with learning
outcomes and state standards.
2. PBL assessments require that students investigate and create solutions to that specific
problem raised in a driving question.
3. PBL summative assessments do not necessarily integrate main content and heavily rely
on higher order thinking skills.
4. PBL summative assessments should combine at least three types of learning
objectives, ranging from content objectives, project objectives and soft skill objectives.
5. The use of PBL assessments in exploring student content mastery is advantageous.

VI. Final quiz


Fill in the gaps with the words/phrases given in the table.

A. their own B. summative C. gathering D. reach the goal E. central


learning evidence
F. rubric G. visible H. formative I. validity J. integration
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1. This model emphasizes that learning outcomes or learning objectives are _____to the
decisions teachers make about teaching, learning and assessment in PBL.
2. Aligning a learning project with the curriculum learning outcomes/learning objectives
helps achieve the ______ of PBL assessments because this can guarantee that teachers
assess what is supposed to be assessed.
3. There should be an _______ of formative and summative assessments in PBL.
4. Formative assessments exert the importance of _______about student learning in
relation to the outcomes along the project process.
5. Checks for understanding are forms of _______assessments that can happen anytime
and anywhere during PBL.
6. PBL __________ assessments usually take the form of students’ final products and/or
presentations, which can be conducted with the use of rubrics, checklists, observation
sheets and so on.
7. Success criteria are empowering and create transparency about the learning outcomes
and assessment measure while making learning _______ for students.
8. Using success criteria in assessing students in PBL makes the learning objectives clear
to students so that they know what they need to do in order to _________.
9. A useful assessment criteria tool, called a ______, lists all of the specific criteria that
students work should demonstrate, and describes the quality level for each criterion.
10. Giving students the opportunity to evaluate and reflect on ______ is a key element in
PBL.

VII. Performance Task


Choose a project topic in your teaching materials which is suitable for your student level.
Then make a plan for your assessments. You should develop the possible tools of
assessment formatively and summatively.
Use the following checklist to self-assess your work.

CHECKLIST Yes No

1. Do you align your project with specific standards from the


curriculum/learning objectives?

2.Do you include both content learning objectives and soft skill (21st century
skills) objectives in your project?

3.Do you visualize the final product and the step-by-step tasks that guide your

50
students to complete the final product?

4.Do you create rubrics for the final product?

5.Do you design tools to monitor how students do the step-by-step tasks?

6.Do you employ self-assessment and peer-assessment as the main tools for
assessing your students?

VIII. Reflect
Answer the following questions
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of assessing students in PBL?
2. What can be done to maximize student active roles in monitoring their progress in
PBL?

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Chapter 6. CASE STUDIES
Objectives
By the end of the chapter, you will be able to:
- Analyse previous projects using the selected PBL evaluation tool;
- Draw out a model or lessons for their own projects.
------------------

I. Reading 1
Read the text about a project in Unit 2 (page 17), English 3 (Hoang Van Van et al)
and identify what steps it consisted of and fill in the following grid. The project is
adapted to be suitable for the students who are approximately at A1 level at a primary
school.

Steps Activities
Step 1: Preparation cycle

Step 2: Information gathering cycle

Step 3: Information processing cycle

Step 4: Information display cycle

Step 5: Reflection cycle

In this project, the students interview one of their classmates about their daily
routines and write a description in English.
For the interview, the students prepare interview questions in English, and the
teacher gives them feedback on these questions. Then, the students use the questions to
interview one of their classmates. They also ask their partner to give a photograph of

52
him/her. Finally, the students are required to write a description about their partner’s
daily routines.
The final outcome of this project is a booklet of all these descriptions as well as
photos. The students show a photograph of their partner interviewed together with a
written description in English (about 30-50 words). The students submit the written
descriptions to the teacher for feedback and grading. The booklet also has a separate
section about the author, so students also write a self-description and include one of their
photographs.
Based on the information shared by the students, the teacher compiles an
electronic book for the whole class.
Rubrics are used to evaluate the written descriptions (one of the student, one of the
interviewee).
Each of the students will receive a copy of the book electronically and share the
book with the family and friends. They briefly report to the teacher and their classmates
about what their family and friends’ comments are and what they learn in creating this
electronic book.

II. Reading 2
Read the description of the project below and analyze it based on “Project Planner”
PROJECT 1: CULTURAL INSIGHTS
Goals:
By the end of the project, students will:
 Conduct a research on a topic
 Gather information on a topic from various sources
 Utilize technological tools to convey information learned during the project
 Think critically about an aspect of culture
 Present information using effective presentation skills
Overview:
In this project, students will research and create a YouTube video broadcast on a
topic related to Vietnamese culture and society. The video should use multimedia
(images, embedded video clips, song clips, etc.) with students’ voice-over narration in
English. The target audience is English-speaking people who are interested in learning
more about Vietnam, thus, the video should include a report on the topic and students’
commentary based on their own perspective.
PROCEDURE
Stage 1: Preparation cycle
Pre-Task 1: Choose a Topic
Students choose a topic among the following to explore. A student will be paired
with another one who chooses a similar topic. The teacher will coordinate the groups so

53
that the topics do not overlap. The pairs will conduct research for the content of the video
broadcast.
1. Natural environment
2. Dating and marriage
3. Health
4. Mass media
5. Education and jobs
6. Traditional celebrations
7. Historical figures in street names
8. Spiritual beliefs
Pre-Task 2: Decide the final outcome
The video broadcast needs to:
 be about 15 minutes long
 contain a description of an aspect of Vietnamese culture of the students’ choice. The
description should be based on the research.
 include the group perspectives on the selected cultural aspect
 contain multimedia illustrations (images, charts, graphs, video clips, audio clips,
etc.)
 have voice-over narration in English by students
 be public to all online
Stage 2: Implementing the project
Information gathering cycle
- A student will be the lead author of half of the tasks and give feedback to the
partner for the other half of the tasks.
Suggested arrangement:
Student A:
 Compile and synthesize information about the selected cultural aspect for the
video broadcast content
 Express his/her perspective on the information you found
Student B:
 Gather media resources for illustration (images, video clips, audio clips, etc.)
 Express his/her perspective on the information you found
Information processing cycle
Together:
 Organize ideas from multiple sources and make final decisions
 Create and edit the video broadcast
 Upload the video onto YouTube
Information display cycle: VIDEO BROADCAST PRESENTATION
Each pair will present their video broadcast in class.
Before the presentation, students will upload their video broadcast on YouTube
and share the link with the class.
In the presentation, students will
54
 Explain why they chose the topic
 Describe where they found information for the topic
 Show the video broadcast (which you have previously uploaded to YouTube)
 Ask their classmates to leave comments on the video. Students can respond to
their comments after the presentation.
Stage 3: Reflection cycle
- The project work will be evaluated according to the rubric.
- Video sharing: invite students’ friends and family members to view the video. What are
their comments?

III. Reading 3
MY BLOG PROJECT

GOALS:
By the end of the project, students will
 Think critically about personal choices, beliefs, and culture
 Use previously learned vocabulary, grammar, and content knowledge in
meaningful ways
 Gain increased motivation for reading and writing in English
 Effectively convey ideas, thoughts, and beliefs about familiar topics in writing
 Use technological tools to enhance reading and writing in English
OVERVIEW
For the My Blog project, students (individually) learn to create a simple blog using
free blogging sites (e.g., wordpress.com). In eight weeks (1 hour/ week), students create
six blog posts that take them on a journey of self-discovery. They write their thoughts
and opinions, share current and past photographs, and post a video. Additionally, students
search for and introduce classmates to other interesting blogs. They also read and
comment on peers’ blog posts.
The students’ seven blogs are as follows:
1. Who am I?: Students write a ten-sentence blog post introducing themselves by
providing information about their origins, families, favourite foods, etc.
2. My culture through photographs: Students post ten pictures (five of which
must be taken themselves) along with a short description that explains how each photo
relates to their personal culture. Students select the types of pictures to post (e.g., photos
of themselves engaged in hobbies; more personal photos of family and friends; less
personal and more artistic photos of landscapes or sunsets)
3. Predicting my future: Students imagine what their lives will be like at 40 years
of age and write a letter to their future selves. In their letters, they first explain their
current lives. Then, they predict what their lives will be like in the future (e.g., family,
hobbies).
4. My dream job: Each student prepares for and takes part in a five question
interview for a dream job. Students ask someone they know to interview them using a set
55
of general questions distributed in class (e.g., “What are your strengths?”). The interview
is videotaped on their cellphones and saved for later uploading. Additionally, students
write their ideal answers to a subset of the interview questions; they do not transcribe
what had been videotaped. At week’s end, students post the video of their interview and
written answers to interview questions.
5. My childhood: Students locate an old picture of themselves and post it with a
three-to-five sentence description of how the picture depicts their childhood.
6. Awesome blogs: Students are introduced to five different blogs and using a
worksheet, they analyze each blog for different features (e.g., design, language, and
creativity, content). The instructor prepares students to search for other blogs of interest
and ask them to post three new blogs to their reader, accompanied by a three-to-five
sentence explanation of why they like each blog.
PROCEDURE
The project is structured around the following steps aligned with the PBL five-
stage framework cycles.
Stage 1: The teacher and students decide the topics of the blog posts, final
outcomes and a plan for progressing from start to finish. The project centers on topics
relevant to their studies and lives.
Stage 2: After preliminary decisions are made, students engage in information
gathering such as photos, picture, blogs of interest, etc. At this stage, the teacher scaffold
is provided in order to help the students complete the first draft of their blog posts (topic-
related vocabulary and review of key grammatical structures). Besides, the teacher guides
the students how to form interview questions.
Stages 3: The teacher guides the students to process the information gathered.
Stage 4: The students finalize and share their project outcomes (6 blog posts) with
the teachers and with other audiences. The teacher incorporates scaffolded instruction
into classroom activities to assist the students with finalizing project outcomes and then
displaying them. T
Stage 5: The students are encouraged to reflect through discussion, journal entries
on what they have learned from project engagement in terms of (a) content, language,
skills, and strategies and (b) process and product.
In actuality, reflective tasks occur throughout the project, for teacher and students
alike. As the teacher assesses and provides feedback (on language, content, and
organization) on weekly blogs, she reflects on students’ progress and needs. Students
reflect on feedback and consider ways to improve future posts.
Students engage in other types of conscious self-reflection as well. At the
beginning, middle, and end of the project, students engage reflective tasks that spotlight
the content, language, strategies, academic skills and life skills that they hope to learn, are
learning, and have learned. Such reflections help students reach a fuller understanding of
skills that have improved and those that need improvement.

56
The reflective tasks lead to an evaluation of the process and product of the project.
Through the reflection, the teacher has valuable insights into students’ project
experiences and ways to improve future projects.
Using blogs as project outcomes provides a platform on which students can
communicate about a variety of topics. Blogs, on the topic noted earlier, provide an
optimal way to encourage students to work autonomously to personalize posts. Such
autonomy invites students to (a) reflect on their lives, families, choices and world views
and (b) use English to communicate personally meaningful ideas. Writing and posting
blogs also creates opportunities for recycling vocabulary, grammar, and content that
students learned previously. To adapt this project to different teaching context, teachers
can (a) alter the number of students; (b) increase or decrease the number of blog posts.

Task 1: Analyze the projects described in the video by completing the following
grid. Submit a paragraph summarizing the important points of the video.

Type of the The title of the The motivational effect of Development of


project project the project skills

IV. Video script 1


Project work in our English class
I have come to the conclusion that, one way to get children doing what they like
while still learning is through projects. Children enjoy using their imagination – making
up characters, stories; being creative – making things, drawing, colouring, cutting and
gluing, using multimedia; finding out about interesting stuff; sharing, chatting, working
together; talking about themselves, their friends and family, their interests; making
choices, deciding for themselves, trying new things out; showing off!
In the primary school classroom, a project is usually the work leading to the
production of a poster, letter, birthday card, booklet, magazine, play, sketch, puppet
show, radio recording, video etc. It may be the work of one pupil, but more frequently is
the collaborative work of a number of pupils working together in class.
One key element of all projects is the ‘theme’ – the basic idea. Whether the pupils
are working individually or in groups they are all concerned with the same basic theme.

57
This theme should be open enough to encourage creativity and provide a focus, but not so
open as to confuse your pupils.
The characteristic of a project is that the learning comes from the ‘process’ – the
work which leads to the result rather than the results itself. Most frequently the pupils
will use a wide range of language, a variety of language skills and often knowledge
which may have come from different parts of the curriculum.
In any project they may be learning many different things at any one time:

 How to work with other people


 How to share work
 How to delegate work
 How to appreciate the work of others
 How to work alone
 How to take responsibility for a task
These are all social skills, but they may also be learning practical skills such as
how to use scissors, to design a neat page, to speak clearly or how to operate a piece of
simple machinery.
I do not ‘control’ every stage of the process in a project. I suggest the original
idea, assist in the planning process, and may provide advice or guidance in the actual
work, but the project is essentially the work of the children – encouraging children to
interact and develop independently.
There are lots of ideas. Here are just a few I have used in my class.

 a wall display e.g. posters or collages. Children all contribute a part to making a
whole class end product.
 a report or presentation e.g. on a survey conducted by the children, or research
conducted via the Internet.
 an invention (depending on the target vocabulary)
 a booklet or guide e.g. to their town or to an imaginary place
 a model e.g. of an imaginary island
 a photo story or video e.g. of a story made up by the children, or about a subject
researched by them
 a magazine or newspaper
 an event e.g. a show/pantomime, a fashion show, a party, an art exhibition –
The possibilities are endless. In my school, I always make sure that almost all our
project activities are connected to each of our English coursebook units. Luckily, our

58
coursebooks, are based on both cross curricular and cross cultural topics quite relevant to
our project themes! Also, they are based on both creative project work and group
collaboration which was highly helpful in my teaching with projects!
All in all, in good projects children benefit from the ‘process’ of preparing them,
and they become a stimulus for better speaking and writing. They are also a record of
individual work for display in class or at home. Children have a strong emotional
investment in the best projects. They are personally interested in the topic and proud of
what they have achieved.
(https://aphrogranger.com/aboutme/)

V. Video script 2
PBL is often confused with TBL. According to Bygate, Skehan, and Swain (2001),
“A task is an activity which requires learners to use language, with emphasis on meaning,
to obtain an objective” (p. 11). Bygate et al. focus on one activity in their definition. Yet
PBL requires students to engage in several tasks in order to complete a project.
For example, a teacher assigns students to read and discuss a short story. After
reading and discussing the text, students design a diorama that presents the setting,
characters, and conflict of the story. After reading and note taking, students visually
arrange the dioramas to ensure they include all the key components from the novel
(setting, characters, plot, etc.). They then prepare a presentation and share their work with
the class and the teacher. The teacher facilitates the development and arrangement of the
presentations so students are best prepared to share their work.
After presenting their work, students reflect on the process of creating the
dioramas and their final projects. This entire process takes several weeks to complete.
The teacher, in lesson planning for the project, may design smaller tasks or mini
lessons for students to complete throughout the unit; for example, she or he may design a
lesson on how to take notes. The students may complete this task in class to practice
taking notes while reading. Tasks, especially those completed during a class period, serve
as stand-alone activities. Therefore, these task-based lessons are only one piece of the
entire unit or project, with the goal of ensuring students are on track to complete the
project. In other words, the tasks scaffold to the completion of the project.
Here is the project for a beginning-level communication skills course for adult
learners (PBL). In this lesson, students learn to write and talk about recipes using proper
measurements. This project is presented step by step as follows.
Day Project-Based Planning
1 Objective: Students will be able to identify measurements in recipes.
- The instructor introduces a project in which students will write a recipe, prepare
the dish for their classmates, and collaboratively create a cookbook.
- After reviewing the assignment sheet and rubric, the instructor introduces

59
measurements and has students complete a manipulative to match the correct
measurements.
- For homework, students brainstorm their favorite recipes.
2 Objective: Students will be able to use vocabulary that is common when cooking
and/or reading recipes.
- The instructor may use PowerPoint or the Internet to display target vocabulary
and model how to write a recipe using measurements and key ingredients.
- Using the brainstorming they created on Day 1, students narrow their focus,
select one recipe, and begin drafting the recipe in proper format.
3 Objective: Students will be able to identify and use measurements in recipes as
well as use vocabulary that is commonly found in recipes.
- Students continue writing their recipes.
- The instructor serves as a facilitator and asks questions as students continue to
write their recipes.
4 Objective: Students will be able to talk about their recipes and explain the process
for making the dish.
- Students bring their written recipes to class.
- The instructor shows a cooking demonstration or models how to talk about food.
- Students begin to rehearse their presentations.
5 Students continue to rehearse their presentations.
6 In front of the class, students demonstrate how to make the dish using props.
7 Continue presentations if needed
8 Objective: Students will be able to create a class cookbook in which they include
their names, biographies, written recipes, and any eye-catching visuals for the
audience.
- Workshop day. The instructor acts as a facilitator and assists students as they
work together on the cookbook
9 Workshop day
10 Objective: Students will reflect on the project, discussing their overall
contributions to the cookbook, how they would improve if they had more time to
work, and the value of creating the cookbook.
- Final class cookbook is due

In the project, students are given the opportunity to extend their language learning
and further their abilities to collaborate, critically think, share their recipes with an
audience, or reflect on what they learned. Therefore, we see how the PBL unit extends
students’ learning and helps them acquire higher level thinking and language skills.
Also, as noted in the project, the students are allowed time to workshop and confer
with their instructor. Workshop days allow the instructor to provide students with further
individualized instruction on content they may struggle to comprehend or language that is

60
difficult to use. For example, a student may struggle with writing his or her biography for
the cookbook.
The instructor can use the workshop times to assist the student in writing a
biography by modeling or using sentence forms to help the student write a draft. Then on
the next workshop day, the student can bring his or her draft to the instructor for further
feedback. This scaffolding creates opportunity for the sort of individualized instruction
that is so important for ELLs as they acquire the language.
With a PBL project to work on, students can build up motivation and autonomy,
expanding intellectual development and improving a lot of skills and knowledge needed
for their life. However, the teacher, with the role of an instructor and facilitator, should
provide sufficient assistance and cooperation so that the students could fulfill their
projects comfortably and motivatedly.

Task 2: Answer the following questions


1. Can you apply this project to your teaching context?
2. What might be some of the challenges?

VI. Final quiz


Here are some samples of possible projects, but the information is incomplete.
Complete the table by filling in the gaps.

Topics Essential Linguistic


Process Outcome
Question focus
1. What should Simple present,
tourists see and simple past,
Online research,
do when visiting complete 2.
surveys, etc.
your sentences,
town/region? questions
Housing Poster with rooms
What does an and house items
ideal house look 3. 4. labelled; possible
like? presentation of
reasons for choices
Environment Online research or Questions, Paper, poster,
other research, class modal verbs, presentation, or
5.
and community environment video
surveys, etc. vocabulary
History Who are the most Verb tenses,
influential people questions,
6. 7.
of our time and complex
why? sentences, etc.
8. What is our Group Simple present, Commercial/
region’s main brainstorming, imperatives, advertisement in
61
industry, and online (or other) modal verbs written, recorded,
how could we research, evaluation or video format or
most effectively of advertisements, role-play of
market it? etc. advertisement
Entertainment Think of a
famous story or
Role-play, video,
movie. What 9. 10.
written narrative
could an alternate
ending be?

VII. Performance Task


Plan a project for your own class, following the format of Project Planner.

VIII. Reflect
Answer the following questions:
1. What were the three most important or interesting things you learned from this
Module?
2. How will you use what you have learned?

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Chapter 7. PBL AT PRIMARY SCHOOL

Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Describe the characteristics of PBL with primary students;
- Share best practices for implementing PBL at primary schools;
- Develop detailed PBL lesson plans for their own students.
------------------

I. Reading 1
Read a text about children’s characteristics and PBL then answer the five questions
that follow.
Children’s characteristics and PBL
What are the main characteristics of young learners?

Before listing these characteristics, it is important to note that these learners are
still developing. Many aspects of their cognitive capacities get better while they are
growing up.
1. Young learners get bored quickly.

If the activities are not interesting and engaging enough, young learners get bored
easily. This is because they have a limited attention span. Generally, after ten minutes,
they can get disinterested in the activity at hand, especially if it is taught directly and is
devoid of the elements of play.
2. Young learners are meaning-oriented

They may understand what is being said without necessarily understanding every
individual word. They may not only guess and interpret what is being uttered but they
also respond to it with whatever language resources they have at their disposal.
3. Young learners like to discover things

They are characterized by curiosity and enthusiasm. They like to make sense of
the world around them through engaging and motivating activities where they have to
discover by themselves rather than being told. They also often learn indirectly from
everything around them – not necessarily focusing on the topic being taught.

63
4. They prefer concrete activities

According to Piaget’s cognitive development theory, young learners are still


developing. That is, they are still making their way from concrete to abstract thinking.
Unlike adults who are more analytical, they are not yet well equipped to learn abstract
concepts such as grammar rules. In addition to that, they are more inclined to understand
based not only on explanation but more importantly on what they hear, see and touch
(Harmer, 2001 p. 82).
5. They are more egocentric

They prefer to talk about themselves. Activities that focus on their lives are their
cup of tea. In addition to that, children under the age of 12 need individual attention and
approval from the teacher.
6. They are imaginative

Young learners are imaginative. Activities that are full of imagination is a source
of enjoyment for them. It is sometimes difficult for them to distinguish reality from
imagination.
7. They imitate

They learn by imitating adults. It is amazing how humans imitate and discover
things from a very young age. Children acquire communication skills through social
interactions. Consequently, because imitation functions as a learning tool, it is rewarding
to use it to teach children new skills and knowledge.
Why is project-based learning the best way of learning?
First and foremost, students understand not just the concept but the context of their
lessons. Students no longer are passive learners but the active architects of their own
learning journey.
Secondly, the PBL way of learning encourages kids to make connections with the
lesson content, exploring and soaking each subject area in isolation. Thus, in turn,
helping in long-term information retention.
With PBL students doing a sort of real-world learning, they gain a deeper
understanding of concepts through experiments and experience. This helps the students to
prepare early to meet challenges in the actual world practically and professionally.
In PBL, students are the centre of learning. Thus, gaining trust and improving their
attitude towards education. Instead of running away, students engage more in the class
and positively seek feedback.
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Finally, the PBL way of learning teaches kids the 21st-century skills to solve 21st-
century problems. Thus, making them well equipped for their future careers. Few things
that they learn from PBL like critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, innovation,
communication, etc. will help them for college and make them career ready.
Project-based learning is a powerful tool, through which students get educated by
the “learn by doing” model. Research done by Autodesk Foundation found out that kids
who learn through the PBL model have shown significant improvement in their
attendance, better performance in tests and assessments, and overall class engagement.
It’s the best way of learning because students get to build stronger bonds with their
teacher. The skillsets earned by the PBL model are highly sought after by top universities
and employers.
Task 1: Decide if the following statements are True or False
1. PBL is appropriate for children because it helps them discover knowledge by
themselves rather than being told by teachers.
2. Young learners tend to focus on forms of words when they hear or see them.
3. PBL may provide models for children to imitate and produce similar results.
4. Research has proved that PBL can lead to better exam scores.
5. PBL is suitable for children because they like to raise their voice.

II. Reading 2
Read the text about how to implement PBL in primary classrooms then answer the
five questions that follow.
Implementing PBL in primary classrooms
Look at a sample project in a textbook for primary students (Next Move 3). Read an
example of possible steps recommended by Stoller (2020) to implement PBL in primary
classrooms.

65
Stage 1: PREPARATION CYCLE
Select one or several standards from the curriculum (2018) and align them with
the appropriate topics in the curriculum.

66
English Reading for Listening for Speaking about Writing
language specific and specific and main a festival: short
standards main ideas ideas about a Poster sentences
about a festival festival presentation about a
festival

Cross- Arts and Crafts


curricular Cutting,
standards Drawing,
Colouring, …

Soft skills Research skills Collaboration Problem- Creativity


standards solving

Teachers should determine the tasks during the process and the final products
based on the selected standards.

Tasks Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5


during Group Read and Listen/watch Make an Make a
process agreement take notes and take outline for poster with
on one about notes about oral images,
festival interesting interesting presentation drawings and
Brainstorm facts and facts and do colorings to
the driving do the arts the arts and support oral
questions and crafts crafts presentation

Assign
roles
among
group
members

67
Final Product 1 Product 2
product Poster Oral presentation
s

After determining the outcomes, teachers need to develop a plan for formative
and summative assessments to measure student learning. Group contracts, self/peer-
evaluation forms, learning reflections, checklists, and rubrics are potential PBL
assessments.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SUMMATIVE


ASSESSMENT

Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Task 4 Task 5 Product 1 Product 2

Group Self- Self- Self- Self- Checklist Checklist


contracts /peer- /peer- /peer- /peer- or rubric or rubric
Task lists reflection reflection reflection reflection with with
form form form form success success
Collaboratio
Learning Learning Learning Learning criteria criteria
n checklist
portfolio portfolio portfolio portfolio Grading Grading

Graphic Graphic Graphic Graphic scales scales
organizers organizers organizers organizers Reflection Reflection
… … … … form form

Stage two: INFORMATION GATHERING CYCLE


Get students to engage in information gathering via reading, searching the
webpages, watching and listening about one festival their groups have selected.
Based on the task lists or group contracts agreed in Stage one, each student is
assigned a role and they have to fulfil their tasks (Tasks 2-3) with teacher/peer/self-
monitoring. During this stage, teachers may scaffold students in reading and listening
strategies for teachers may assign reading and listening texts that are suitable for their

68
proficiency levels. A review of or introduction to the vocabulary related to the theme
and topic of the festival, as well as grammatical structures related to past events,
comparatives and descriptive/narrative sentences is typically central to this project
stage.
Stage three: INFORMATION PROCESSING CYCLE
Let students process the information they have gathered in Stage 2. Guide them
in the processing of such information by using graphic organizers/mind
maps/infographic/spider diagram,… to summarize the interesting facts
(when/where/why/what (food/clothes/music/dance…) /who…) about the festival (Tasks
2-5).
Stage four: DISPLAY CYCLE
After processing the information and working on their final products, students are
guided to conduct their oral presentation with the support of a poster. Teachers should
design several activities where students trace all the success criteria in the checklist or
rubric and compare with their products so that they can revise their oral presentation
accordingly. If necessary, teachers can ask students to analyze the example of good work
before they can discuss the outline of their oral presentation.
This stage can be named a summative assessment event where teachers and peers
evaluate the groups’ products and performances. Use rubrics to determine whether
students have clearly communicated the learning standards and achieved the success
criteria, and to decide whether all group members participated meaningfully.
Grades can also be assigned to groups or individuals at this stage. Grades can be
meaningful when they are included in the rubric with marking scales and descriptors for
each grade.
This is a sample of a rubric to assess the oral presentation.

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ORAL PRESENTATION

Performance Task 0 1 2 3 Point


s

Organization/Delivery Presentation is Presentation Presentation Presentation


not done or covers some covers covers
speaks briefly interesting interesting interesting
and does not facts about facts about facts about the
cover the festival the festival festival (when,
interesting (when, (when, where, what,
facts about the where, where, who…) with
festival what, what, logical
(when, where, who…) who…) but delivery
what, who…) with
minimal
information

Knowledge of Subject Little or no Minimal Knowledge Knowledge of


Matter evidence of evidence of of subject subject matter
knowledge knowledge matter is is evident and
evident but incorporated
not shared throughout the
in presentation
presentation

Use of Poster during Display Display Display Display


Presentation images are not images images images f used
used during used to limit used effectively
presentation amount of moderately throughout
speaking during presentation
time presentation

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Voice No voice Voice Voice is Voice quality
qualities are quality is good but is outstanding
used adequate could be and pleasing to
effectively improved listen to

Grammar/Word Extensive Some (3-5) Few (1-2) Presentation


Usage/Pronunciation (more than 5) grammatical grammatical has no
grammatical and and grammatical or
and pronunciatio pronunciatio pronunciation
pronunciation n errors n errors errors
errors

Stage five: REFLECTION CYCLE


At this stage, teachers should consider having students fill out reflections about
their learning (including what they’ve learned about the language content and the
research process throughout the project). Reflection forms or self-evaluation forms can be
useful tools for students to look back and reflect on the whole process of their doing the
project. Reflections benefit not only students but also teachers since weaknesses and
strengths are drawn out, which can assist teachers in implementing PBL in the future.
Task 2: Answer the following questions
1. How to align the project with the curriculum standards?
2. At what stage are formative and summative assessments planned?
3. What is the purpose of the Task lists?
4. How do teachers provide scaffolding to students in Stage 3?
5. Analyze the sample rubric in Stage 4 and identify the strengths and weaknesses.

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III. Reading 3
Read the following text about evaluating children’s projects and answer the five
questions that follow.
Evaluating children’s projects
Teachers should ask themselves the following questions as a beginning approach
to evaluating children’s project work.
Did most of the children become deeply interested in the topic?
It is unlikely that all the children in a class would be equally interested in a topic.
But it is a good idea to select a topic that many of the children in the group are likely to
become deeply involved in. Experience indicates, by the way, that a topic might work
well in one class one year, but not in the class two years later! It depends on so many
things.
Every once in a while, a child will resist participation in the work involved in the
project and will say, “I am not really interested in finding out more about the
supermarket.” Then the teacher could say—in a friendly but matter-of-fact tone—“I
understand that you are not very interested in that, and I hope the next project we do will
be more interesting for you. But, in the meantime, please go over there and help Jordan
and Leslie with what they are making.”
Did most of the children learn what you hoped they would about the topic?
It is a good idea to take some time before launching a project to make a list of
what you hope the children will learn—not just about the topic itself but about how to use
certain kinds of skills (for example, measuring things), how to work cooperatively with
others, and so forth (see The Project Approach: Anticipating What Children Might
Learn).
Did the children do most of the work?
On the basis of lots of experience with teachers of young children conducting
projects, I found that one of the hardest things for them is to let the children do the work!
There is always a great temptation to do the work for them. But children can learn so
much—even if they are struggling with the work. Instead of solving a problem for them,
let the children know that you are available if they decide they need your help. You can
say, “I’ll be over there if you need help.” It is also important to teach children that it is ok
to decline your offer of help by saying politely something like, “Thanks, but I don’t need
help right now.”

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Not long ago I was impressed by how much a teacher of a class of 3- and 4-year-
olds taught the children when they were in the final phase of the project. The teacher and
the children were working on preparing a display on the bulletin board. The teacher went
to the group of children who had worked on a particular subtopic of the supermarket
project, and she gave them about 10 photographs she had taken when they were
“building” their part of the market in their classroom. She pointed to the bulletin board
and said, “You know, we’ve only got room for four photos here. So pick out the four
photos you think will help your moms and dads see how you made this.” At first, the
children squabbled when one boy argued against one of the photos because he wasn’t in
it. But the teacher again reminded them that the purpose of the pictures was to let
someone who wasn’t there understand and appreciate how they made the item. What she
did was provoke these young children to imagine how someone who wasn’t there could
be helped to see what happened. This kind of “anticipatory reasoning skill” is a life skill,
and its development can be launched very early in a real context, not a phony one. Never
be phony with children!

Task 3: Match each half of the following statements (1-5) in column A to its ending
(a-e) in column B.

A B

1. Choose a topic that a. including the topic contents and


necessary skills

2. Make a list of what you want b. do the work themselves


children to learn

3. Assure that children c. evokes children’s interests so that


they will be involved in doing the
project.

4. Let children know that d. is not a good idea because they can
learn a lot even when they struggle.

5. Solving problems for children e. they can seek for teachers’ help at
any time

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IV. Video script 1
Watch a video about how to assign roles to students in project work and complete
a follow-up task.
Assigning roles for children in PBL
A project may be a failure if it is completed by only one or two good children in a
group. Some teachers simply form a group of children and let them break it up then put it
back together when each child has individually covered a section of the project; this way
of teaching will not get all children involved in doing the project. Collaboration in the
real world involves being able to work together on each part of a task, while learning to
compromise and solve problems as they arise. The benefits of designing and assigning
roles to group members are listed below:
- First, group roles offer an opportunity for high quality, focused interactions
between group students. Students are more likely to stay on task and pay closer attention
to the task at hand when their roles in the collaboration are clear and distinct.
- Second, group roles provide all students with a clear avenue for participation.
Students are less likely to feel left out or unengaged when they have a particular duty that
they are responsible for completing. Along the same lines, assigning group roles reduces
the likelihood of one individual completing the task for the whole group, or “taking
over,” to the detriment of others’ learning.
- Third, group roles encourage individual accountability. Group members are more
likely to hold each other accountable for not completing work if a particular task is
assigned to them.
- Group roles also allow students to strengthen their communicative skills,
especially in areas that they are less confident in volunteering for.
- Finally, group roles can help disrupt stereotypical and gendered role
assignments, which can be common in group learning. By assigning roles during group
work, and by asking students to alternate these roles at different points in the semester,
students can work past gendered assumptions about themselves and their group mates.
We rob our students of some great practice when we split tasks! Depending on the
needs of the project, you can have graphic designers, managers, organizers, researchers,
etc. While one student would be named ‘in charge’ of graphics, for example, they would
still be working with the input of the rest of the team – much like how adults collaborate
on projects in the ‘real world’.

74
Encourage them to switch roles as needed, based on the strengths of their team, or
on the skills each student needs to develop. No one student should always be ‘in charge’
or ‘approving’ all the work.
Use the following Task List template to help them assign and define roles for
group members.

Example:

Different possible roles for this project include:


- The designer draws the images.

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- The interviewer writes questions and interviews friends.
- The writer produces the text and suggests titles.
- The proofreader checks spelling.

Task 4: Choose the words from the box to complete the following sentences.

a. completing b. distinct c. disrupt d. possibility e. different

1. Students will stay on task and pay closer attention to the task when their roles in
groups are clear and ……….
2. Assigning group roles reduces the ………. of one individual completing the task for
the whole group.
3. Group roles can help ………. stereotypical and gendered role assignments.
4. Try to make sure that each student chooses a ………. role from project to project.
5. Group members are more likely to hold each other accountable for not ………. work if
a particular task is assigned to them.

V. Video script 2
Watch a video about the effectiveness of PBL on primary student achievement in
cross-curricular subjects.
Project-Based Learning: Raising Student Achievement for All Learners
Nell Duke: In the U.S., we have a persistent gap in the achievement of kids who
live in poverty and kids in wealthy communities.
Aaron Phillips: What's this over here?
Nell Duke: Project-based learning is a very powerful tool to connect students with
their communities, with real purposes and audiences, and it does appear to be an effective
way of improving student achievement.
Anne-lise Halvorsen: My name is Anne-lise Halvorsen, and along with Nell Duke,
we designed curricula that integrated literacy and social studies using project-based
learning.

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Nell Duke: Project PLACE stands for "project approach to literacy and civic
engagement." We designed four big projects. We aligned the units around the literacy
standards and social studies standards for 2nd grade. Then we commenced a fairly large
study to test the impact in high-poverty low-performing school districts. Our study was
with 48 different classrooms in 20 elementary schools. Half of them were assigned to
teach the projects that we designed, and half of them were asked to teach the regular
social studies curriculum. Teachers were randomly assigned to do project-based learning
or not. These were teachers who did not have prior experience doing project-based
learning. They taught sixty lessons and we tested children at the end of the school year.
We found that students who received project-based learning scored at higher levels in
reading and social studies. So that tells us that a project-based framework can be
successful right out of the gate.
Aaron Phillips: So this morning, we are going to go on our field trip to Hawthorne
Park.
Aaron Phillips: My name is Aaron Phillips. I teach second grade at Grayson
Elementary. We are doing the civics and government unit of Project PLACE. We started
the unit by taking a field trip.
Aaron Phillips: Go ahead, guys!
Aaron Phillips: We go to a park and kind of just discover the park and look at its
strengths and weaknesses. All the kids were engaged, all the kids were interested. That is
when they can shine and you can see a total difference in the learning.
Lynn Bigelman: It was very exciting for our kids to feel that they had a voice in
what could possibly promote change.
Student: Wow!
Nell Duke: Right away the driving purpose, to improve the park or other public
space, is established.
Aaron Phillips: All right, we'll start heading towards the bus.
Nell Duke: Every lesson there's a direct connection between what students are
doing and that ultimate purpose that they have.
Aaron Phillips: So, the ground of the play structure is not safe.
Student: We were writing things that you did not like and you think that you can
fix.
Student: You can, like, fall down.

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Student: There's no wood chips and the weed barrier is coming out.
Aaron Phillips: So anybody have any ideas of something we could do?
Student: We could say to the person who made the park to fix the park.
Anne-lise Halvorsen: Our hope was that students would see that they're valuable
contributing members to the community and they can make a difference.
Aaron Phillips: I wonder if we could try to persuade people in the government to
fix something at the park.
Aaron Phillips: We learned how to write a proposal. They got to create posters for
the different departments within the local government.
Aaron Phillips: So what does the sanitation department do to help citizens?
Anne-lise Halvorsen: Children are curious about the world around them. They're
curious about issues in their community and what adults do.
Aaron Phillips: This is what your group did, Kaylie?
Anne-lise Halvorsen: So civic education is a really important part of students
becoming functioning citizens who are contributing and are active in their communities.
Aaron Phillips: We took the work and made it into a PowerPoint presentation to
ultimately present it to somebody on the City Council.
Student: Today is the proposing day where we propose to the councilman.
Councilman Carter: Hi, I'm city councilman Randy Carter.
Anne-lise Halvorsen: We know from research children's writing tends to be
stronger when they are writing for an audience beyond school.
Student: Good morning and welcome to Grayson Elementary.
Nell Duke: Part of it is that project-based learning conveys high expectations for
students.
Student: Our class suggested adding more wood chips.
Nell Duke: As much as possible, we want to give kids an opportunity to write for
an audience that's not just their teacher but maybe members of their local community,
their state, their nation, or the world.
Student: Councilman Carter, we hope you enjoyed our hard work.
Councilman Carter: They were able to show me with pictures and data exactly
what the problems are. And I will act upon their proposal immediately.
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Councilman Carter: Can we say Grayson Gators get things done?
Student: It just makes myself proud that I'm helping the whole community.
Lynn Bigelman: Project-based learning gives children of all ages, of all status, of
all diversity an opportunity to have a voice. I see the level of engagement. I see that the
learning becomes contagious. And I see that years later kids come back to me and talk
about the projects.
Anne-lise Halvorsen: We were excited about conducting this study to be able to
really say, project-based learning can make a difference in children's achievement at the
elementary level. It's a great alternative to traditional approaches to learning.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGWqBZSFgxE&t=355s)

Task 5: Decide if the following statements are TRUE or FALSE


1. Project-based learning is a very powerful tool to connect students with their
communities, with real purposes and audiences, and it does appear to be an effective way
of improving student achievement.
2. In this project, all students have to attend sixty lessons and are tested at the end of the
school year.
3. Students have a voice and choice in BPL.
4. Students achieve better in PBL because PBL conveys lower expectations for students.
5. Project-based learning can make a difference in children's achievement at the
elementary level.

VI. Final quiz


Choose the best answer (A, B or C) for each of the following questions.
1. Why is PBL suitable for children?
A. Because it creates a real-life learning experience for them.
B. Because it can involve all children in the project completion.
C. Because it includes topics that engage children’s interests.
2. Is this statement True or False? “A project is a success when each child individually
completes his role.”

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A. True
B. False
3. What is a good way of assigning roles for children in PBL?
A. Let children choose their roles and switch in doing different projects.
B. Make a list of roles for children to choose from.
C. Encourage the group leader to assign roles for members.
4. What is an appropriate approach in assessing children’s projects?
A. Teachers should stick to their rubrics.
B. Teachers should combine answering their pre-set questions and the rubrics.
C. Teachers should answer a set of questions about children’s projects.
5. How can teachers involve all children in doing a project?
A. Select topics of their interest.
B. Make a list of desired skills for children to learn.
C. Create a set of assessment criteria.
6. How many main stages of PBL are suggested by Stoller (2020)?
A. 5
B. 8
C. 10
7. At what stage (Stoller, 2020) should teachers identify the success criteria for the PBL
end-products?
A. Stage 1
B. Stage 4
C. Stage 5
8. Where to look for the core learning standards?
A. Lesson plans
B. Textbooks
C. Curriculum
9. In what ways can PBL bring success to all learners?
A. Learners study less.
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B. Learners have their voice and choice.
C. Learners are well prepared for tests.
10. What language skill is most likely to be developed in PBL?
A. Listening
B. Reading
C. Writing

VII. Performance task


Write a detailed project planner for a project which is going to be implemented to
primary children following the template provided.

VIII. Reflect
Answer the following questions:
1. What are the most useful things you have learnt in this module?
2. How can you apply them in your teaching context?

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Chapter 8: PBL AT SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Identify the characteristics of PBL with secondary students;
- Share best practices for implementing PBL at secondary schools;
- Develop detailed PBL lesson plans for your own students.
------------------

I. Reading 1
Read the following text about top 5 tips for teaching project for teenagers and
answer 5 follow-up questions
Teenagers are often described as an unwelcome bunch of learners that pose
multiple difficulties to teachers. And it may be true as it is for any age group when you
do not know how to deal with them. So here are top 5 tips that help you teach project for
teenagers.
Rapport: Building rapport with teens is essential for success. If you don’t, they
will probably complain about everything and anything you say or propose. A genuine
interest in them and their lives will really improve your relationship with teenagers. They
have a talent for seeing through you and knowing if you are being genuine or faking this
interest. You could use the first minutes of class to engage in informal conversation about
their lives.
Interests: Take time to get to know their interests and using them in your project
planning. You can do an online survey, for example with Survey Monkey, at the
beginning of the year and then use the results to inform your planning. It’s difficult to
please everybody but you can go for popular topics chosen by many of your students.
You can also take into account their preferred types of topics and vary from group to
group.
Choice: Build choice into your project activities. It should be clear that you cannot
always let students choose what they want to do, so you first need to identify the main
objectives of your project. Once your main objective is clear you can come up with more
than one way of achieving it. The choice can be in the type of task, the tool to be used,
the way to present it, among others.
Here are some examples:
- If you want students to make a presentation on their project product, you can let
students choose what tool to use to make the presentation. Powerpoint? A video? A
poster? Let them choose!

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- If you have worked with a book and you want students to do a wrap-up project,
you can let them come up with ideas of what to do. You can always guide them by giving
them a few options so that they know what you expect from them. In this case it is a wise
idea to approve the choices before any work is done in order to avoid misdirected tasks or
projects.
Variety: Teens get bored easily. Use variety as your ally. You can vary topics,
types of presentation, etc. Predictability can ruin your class. You can change the order in
which you normally do things and come up with unexpected, original tasks to break
down classroom routine.
Challenge: Do not play it safe…. Add challenge. Challenge can come in different
ways. Creating slightly more difficult tasks. More difficult tasks will require more
concentration on the part of the learners and will stretch their minds thus increasing
student engagement.
Introducing competitions in the classroom. Most teens are very competitive and
will get involved in almost any task if there is a competition element involved. Make sure
you keep track of points and set up a prize system, maybe monthly.

Task 1: Decide whether the following statements are true or false.


1. One way to build rapport with teenagers is having an informal conversation with them.
A. True
B. False
2. Survey Monkey is an online test that you can use to assess your students’ knowledge.
A. True
B. False
3. There is more than one way to achieve the learning objectives.
A. True
B. False
4. Teenagers will get tired if they always do unexpected things.
A. True
B. False
5. Competition is one way to get students involved in the project work.
A. True
B. False

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II. Reading 2
Look at a sample project in a textbook for secondary students (English 6, Global
Success). Read an example of possible steps recommended by Stoller (2020) to
implement PBL in secondary classrooms.

Looking back and project, page 35, Unit 3, English 6, Global Success
Stage 1: Preparation cycle
Based on the project provided, teachers can write a project planner as below:
a. project themes: My class yearbook
b. Driving questions: How can you make a yearbook for your class?
c. Learning outcomes:
- By the end of the project, students will be able to:
+ use words for body parts, appearance and personality to describe their classmates.
+ use drawing skills, photographing skills and designing skills to create a yearbook for
their class.
+ Present in front of the class what is included in their page.
d. Project description
Work arrangement and duration
- Students work in groups of 4 and complete the project in two weeks
Procedure and timelines
Step 1 (9/11 – 12/11): Stick a photo or drawing of the friend next to you on a large
sheet of paper
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Step 2 (13/11 – 15/11): Interview your friend to find out about him/her favorite
subjects, books …
Step 3 (16/11 – 18/11): Write a short description of your friend. Describe his/her
appearance and personality
Step 4 (19/11 – 22/11): Decorate the page
Step 5 (23/11): Show and present the page in front of the class
e. Products expected:
- A hand-made yearbook page
- A short presentation about the yearbook page
f. Assessment
- Designing skills
- Writing skills
- Presentation skills
Stage 2: Information gathering cycle
Get students to engage in information gathering via the following steps:
- Writing interviewing questions for their friend
- Revising the interviewing questions with a friend
- Interviewing their friend
Stage 3: Information processing cycle
Let students process the information they have gathered in Stage 2. Guide them in
the processing of such information by using graphic organizers/mind
maps/infographic/spider diagram… to summarize the interesting facts.
Stage 4. Display cycle
After processing the information and working on their final products, students are
guided to conduct their oral presentation about their class yearbook page. Before their
presentation, teachers should introduce to students all the success criteria in the checklist
or rubric so that they compare with their products together.
The following is a sample rubric that teachers can use to assess students’ writing
skills:

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WRITING A RUBRIC
Rate the writing in 3 scales:
3 – Good 2 – Average 1 – Poor

Criteria Descriptors

1 2 3

Ideas and content Few details and no Some interesting Fascinating topic
new information ideas with rich ideas and
clear focus
Organization No beginning, Missing some A clear beginning,
middle and end and transitions and middle and end with
no transitions some ideas are good transitions
out of order
Word choice Your words aren’t Still need and add Vivid description
helping me to see more description language. I can see
and feel what you and be more what you are writing.
are describing specific
Sentence fluency Sentences are all Need more Varied and
the same length variation of interesting sentences
and lack interest, sentence length that begin in diverse
all starting the and patterns. ways.
same way.
Convention Lots of error that it Some mistakes Correct spelling,
hard to read grammar and
punctuation

Stage 5: Reflection cycle


At this stage, teachers should consider having students fill out reflections about
their learning. Reflection forms or self-evaluation forms can be useful tools for students
to look back and reflect on the whole process of their doing the project. Reflections
benefit not only students but also teachers since weaknesses and strengths are drawn out,
which can assist teachers in implementing PBL in the future.
The following is a sample self and peer evaluation form:

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SELF & PEER ASSESSMENT RUBRIC
(https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=cehsgpirw)
Rate your participation on a scale of 1-5 (points)
1 2 3 4 5
5 – Excellent 4 – Good 3 – Average 2 – Poor 1 – Very poor
Rank your peer participation.
5 – Excellent 4 – Good 3 – Average 2 – Poor 1 – Very poor
Remember, all other grades for this project are group grades so if you don’t feel as
though a person contributed enough, this is the place to inform me.
Peer names and items for making assessment Descriptors
Peer name: 1 2 3 4 5
1. Helped with idea development and problem solving
2. Gave positive (rather than negative) comments or
suggestions.
3. Accepted positive comments or suggestions
4. Gave best effort in helping with the project
5. Overall: Was helpful and positive
Peer name: 1 2 3 4 5
1. Helped with idea development and problem solving
2. Gave positive (rather than negative) comments or
suggestions.
3. Accepted positive comments or suggestions
4. Gave best effort in helping with the project
5. Overall: Was helpful and positive
Peer name: 1 2 3 4 5
1. Helped with idea development and problem solving
2. Gave positive (rather than negative) comments or
suggestions.
3. Accepted positive comments or suggestions
4. Gave best effort in helping with the project
5. Overall: Was helpful and positive
Peer name: 1 2 3 4 5
1. Helped with idea development and problem solving

2. Gave positive (rather than negative) comments or

87
suggestions.
3. Accepted positive comments or suggestions
4. Gave best effort in helping with the project
5. Overall: Was helpful and positive

Other comments:
……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
Task 2: Matching stages of implementing a project with their activities.
1. Preparation cycle a. In this stage, students evaluate themselves and their
peers’ participation in the process of doing the project.
2. Information gathering cycle b. In this stage, teachers assess students’ project products.
3. Information processing c. In this stage, students work together to collect
cycle information needed for their project.
4. Display cycle d. In this stage, teachers present learning outcomes and
steps that students should follow to finish their project.
5. Reflection cycle e. In this stage, students evaluate and organize all the
information they have.

III. Video script 1


Watch a video about how to assign roles to students in project work and answer 5
follow-up questions.
Hello teachers, as you know, getting your learners to collaborate effectively is
not always easy. Some students do too much work; some students do too little or some
even do not even know that they should do at all. Therefore, asking your learners to
design and assign roles in a project lesson will help you get a lot of benefits:
- First, group roles offer an opportunity for high quality, focused interactions
between group students. Students are more likely to stay on task and pay closer attention
to the task at hand when their roles in the collaboration are clear and distinct.
- Second, group roles provide all students with a clear avenue for participation.
Students are less likely to feel left out or unengaged when they have a particular duty that
they are responsible for completing. Along the same lines, assigning group roles reduces
the likelihood of one individual completing the task for the whole group, or “taking
over,” to the detriment of others’ learning.

88
- Third, group roles encourage individual accountability. Group members are more
likely to hold each other accountable for not completing work if a particular task is
assigned to them.
- Group roles also allow students to strengthen their communicative skills,
especially in areas that they are less confident in volunteering for.
- Finally, group roles can help disrupt stereotypical and gendered role
assignments, which can be common in group learning. By assigning roles during group
work, and by asking students to alternate these roles at different points in the semester,
students can work past gendered assumptions about themselves and their groupmates
For example:
Let’s look at this project section again:

Looking back the project, page 57, Unit 5, English 6, Global Success
In this project, students work in groups to design a poster about natural wonder
they would like to visit. Your students should decide what roles are needed for the
project. For instance:
- The drawer helps to draw the natural wonder and design the poster
- The information gatherer helps to collect information about the natural wonder.
- The writer produces the text and suggests title for the writing
- The proofreader checks grammar, punctuation and spelling
- The presenter presents the poster in front of the class
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Remember that students need to establish what each role entails. This will mean
each learner is clear about what they have to do. Then, assigning themselves to each
role according to their strengths or alternatively based on the skills they like to improve.
Try to make sure that each student chooses a different role from project to project. This
will ensure they are constantly developing different areas.

Task 3: Choose the words from the box to complete the following sentences.

a. completing b. distinct c. disrupt d. possibility e. different

1. Students will stay on task and pay closer attention to the task when their roles in
groups are clear and ……….
2. Assigning group roles reduces the ………. of one individual completing the task for
the whole group.
3. Group roles can help ………. stereotypical and gendered role assignments.
4. Try to make sure that each student chooses a ………. role from project to project.
5. Group members are more likely to hold each other accountable for not ………. work if
a particular task is assigned to them.

IV. Video script 2


Watch a video about ways to give feedback and answer 5 follow-up questions.
Hello teachers, in this video, I am going to talk about giving feedback to
teenagers in project work. So what is feedback?
Feedback is a reaction or information that occurs as a result of actions or behavior
undertaken by an individual or group. In a Learning & Development context, both
positive and negative feedback is crucial.
In Project-based Learning, if feedback is only given at the end of a project,
it's already too late.
Students need ongoing feedback in a variety of ways for the purpose of revising
their thinking and their work.
Here are four ways you can use to give feedback during projects.
1. Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a tool to create assignments to students. They can create a
Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide presentation to complete the task. Additionally, Google
Classroom allows a teacher and students to share private comments back and forth on the

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assignment screen. A teacher can—if they choose—provide a grade out of 100 points or
leave the task ungraded.
With the Google Classroom app for iPhone or Android, a teacher can provide
feedback anywhere at any time.
2. Gallery Walk
If your school or district isn’t using Google for Education tools, there are other
ways to provide feedback, like using a gallery walk. Students can display a piece of
writing on their Chromebook screen or on a piece of paper on their desk. Students
circulate the room quietly writing feedback on sticky notes. You can scaffold the
feedback to address the following: What works? What’s confusing? What was something
you wondered?

3. Padlet
Another way you can use to gather information from students to prepare feedback
is via Padlet. This is essentially a free, electronic bulletin board where students can
respond to a prompt and share their thoughts in one place. It’s possible to use the
comments in a Padlet to sort students into discussion teams or groups that could benefit
from more direct instruction.
4. Observe & Prompt
Of course, one of the simplest ways to provide feedback to students is to sit with
them and observe them working on a task. You can sit beside your students, listening to
them verbalize what they’re thinking and doing. When they get stuck, you offer prompts
or cues to help them refine their thinking.
The Nature of Feedback
As Ron Berger says, feedback needs to be kind, specific, and helpful. Doug Fisher
and Nancy Frey, in The Formative Assessment Action Plan, add that feedback must be
timely, understandable, and actionable, too.
Timely means throughout the project process and not just at the end. Also,
students need time to act upon the feedback given, to revise their thinking and their work.
Understandable feedback promotes revision of thinking or work. If a teacher
passes along qualitative comments that aren't specific ("I really like your intro" or "This
part is confusing"), a student will struggle to translate those comments into action. This is
where a rubric can help.
Actionable means students can build on what you've said rather than react to it.
Feedback ought to include next steps, a plan to reteach, a reference to something, an
exemplar, a moment to reflect on and unpack what did and did not work.

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Task 4: Which ways of giving feedback do the following activities belong to? You
can choose more than one answer for each activity.
1. You can create assignments and share private comments back and forth with students.
A. Google Classroom
B. Padlet
C. Gallery walk
D. Observe and prompt
2. Students move around the class quietly and write their feedback on sticky notes.
A. Google Classroom
B. Padlet
C. Gallery walk
D. Observe and prompt
3. You communicate with them directly and give guidance to refine their thinking when
necessary.
A. Google Classroom
B. Padlet
C. Gallery walk
D. Observe and prompt
4. Students can share their thought online in groups for free.
A. Google Classroom
B. Padlet
C. Gallery walk
D. Observe and prompt
5. Students can give and receive feedback online from the teacher for free.
A. Google Classroom
B. Padlet
C. Gallery walk
D. Observe and prompt

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V. Final quiz
Read the following statements. If they are true, choose True; if they are false, choose
False; if they are not stated, choose Doesn’t say.
1. One tip for teaching project for teenagers is creating challenging tasks for students.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say
2. Building students’ confidence is another tip that makes their project work successful.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say
3. One of the stages in implementing the project is asking students to evaluate
themselves.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say
4. Writing the project planner is in the third stage of implementing a project.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say
5. There are six benefits of assigning specific roles to students.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say
6. Gender is an important factor to consider when assigning roles to students.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say
7. One of the benefits of assigning roles to students is encouraging individual
accountability.
A. True
B. False
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C. Doesn’t say
8. One of the roles in completing poster about a natural wonder is doing a survey.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say
9. Google Drive is one way you can use to give feedback to your students’ project work.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say
10. When giving feedback, make sure that your feedback must be timely, understandable
and actionable.
A. True
B. False
C. Doesn’t say

VI. Performance Task


- Write a detailed project planner for the following project using the template provided

Looking back the project, page 57, Unit 5, English 6, Global Success

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Project planner template

PROJECT THEME:
Driving questions:
Unit: Grade: Duration:

Class: Teacher(s):
Learning outcomes
Work arrangement and duration of the project
Project Description:
Procedure and timelines

Materials/ Resources
suggested:
Potential problems
Products (outputs) expected:
Assessment

VII. Reflect
Answer the following questions:
1. What are the most useful things you have learnt in this module?
2. How can you apply them in your teaching context?

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Chapter 9. PBL AT UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Identify the characteristics of PBL with secondary students;
- Share best practices for implementing PBL at secondary schools;
- Develop detailed PBL lesson plans for your own students.
------------------

I. Reading 1
Read the following passage, simplified from an article about project design
elements”
Gold Standard Design Elements

Student Learning Goals


Student learning of academic content and skill development are at the center of
any well-designed project.
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Key Knowledge and Understanding
In good projects, students learn how to apply knowledge to the real world, and use
it to solve problems, answer complex questions, and create high-quality products.
Key Success Skills
In school and college, in the modern workplace, as citizens and in their lives
generally, people need to be able to think critically and solve problems, work well with
others, and communicate effectively. We could add other skills to the list, such as
creativity/innovation and project management. We call these kinds of competencies
“success skills.” They are also known as “21st Century Skills”.
Essential Project Design Elements
CHALLENGING PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS
The heart of a project – what it is “about,” - a problem to investigate and solve, or
a question to explore and answer. An engaging problem or question makes learning more
meaningful for students. They are not just gaining knowledge to remember it; they are
learning because they have a real need to know something, so they can use this
knowledge to solve a problem or answer a question that matters to them. The problem or
question should challenge students without being intimidating. When teachers design and
conduct a project, we suggest they (sometimes with students) write the central problem or
question in the form of an open-ended, student-friendly “driving question” that focuses
their task, like a thesis focuses an essay (e.g., “How can we improve our school’s
recycling system, so we can reduce waste?”.
SUSTAINED INQUIRY
To inquire is to seek information or to investigate – it’s a more active, in-depth
process than just “looking something up” in a book or online. In PBL, inquiry is iterative;
when confronted with a challenging problem or question, students ask questions, find
resources to help answer them, then ask deeper questions – and the process repeats until a
satisfactory solution or answer is developed. Projects can incorporate different
information sources, mixing the traditional idea of “research” – reading a book or
searching a website – with more real-world, field-based interviews with experts, service
providers and users.
AUTHENTICITY
When people say something is authentic, they generally mean it is real or genuine,
not fake. In education, the concept has to do with how “real-world” the learning or the
task is. Authenticity increases student motivation and learning. A project can be authentic
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in several ways, often in combination. It can have an authentic context. It can involve the
use of real-world processes, tasks and tools, and performance standards. It can have a real
impact on others or personal authenticity when it speaks to students’ own concerns,
interests, cultures, identities, and issues in their lives.
STUDENT VOICE & CHOICE
Having a say in a project creates a sense of ownership in students; they care more
about the project and work harder. If students aren’t able to use their judgment when
solving a problem and answering a driving question, the project just feels like doing an
exercise or following a set of directions. Students can have input and (some) control over
many aspects of a project, from the questions they generate, to the resources they will use
to find answers to their questions, to the tasks and roles they will take on as team
members, to the products they will create.
REFLECTION
John Dewey, whose ideas continue to inform our thinking about PBL, wrote, “We
do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” Throughout a
project, students – and the teacher – should reflect on what they’re learning, how they’re
learning, and why they’re learning. Reflection can occur informally, as part of classroom
culture and dialogue, but should also be an explicit part of project journals, scheduled
formative assessment, discussions at project checkpoints, and public presentations of
student work.
CRITIQUE & REVISION
Students should be taught how to give and receive constructive peer feedback that
will improve project processes and products, guided by rubrics, models, and formal
feedback/critique protocols. In addition to peers and teachers, outside adults and experts
can also contribute to the critique process, bringing an authentic, real-world point of
view.
PUBLIC PRODUCT
A public product adds greatly to motivating power and encourages high-quality
work. Think of what often happens when students make presentations to their classmates
and teacher. The stakes are not high, so they may slack off, not take it seriously, and not
care as much about the quality of their work. But when students have to present or
display their work to an audience beyond the classroom, the performance bar raises, since
no one wants to look bad in public. A certain degree of anxiety can be a healthy

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motivator. But too much anxiety can of course detract from performance – so it’s
important that students are well prepared to make their work public.
Task 1: Match the category in column A with the description in column B

A B

1. Knowledge & a. to think critically, work well with others,


Understanding and communicate effectively

2. Public Product b. to apply knowledge to the real world, and


use it to solve problems

3. Critique & Revision c. display their work to an audience beyond


the classroom

4. Sustained Inquiry d. to give and receive constructive peer


feedback

5. Success Skills e. to investigate in a more active, in-depth


process

II. Reading 2
Read the following Project Overview Sample for the Project section (use the book
map and the 8 essential PBL design elements).
Task 2: Answer the following questions
1. How are the language and skills of the lesson practiced/developed in this project?
2. Is the question/problem driving enough?
3. Do students have voice and choice in doing this project? How?
4. How would students reflect on the project?
5. Would you like to add/adjust this project planner? How?

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100
Project Overview:

Project Name/ Driving Question:


The One that Needs Help

Unit: 4 Grade: 10 Duration: 4 weeks

Class: 10A1 Teacher: Celine Lee

. Vocabulary related to community development, activities (and the


Language environment)
knowledge
. Past Simple, Present Simple, Will/Be going to
expected:
. Word stress

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. Read for general & specific information about community work &
Language development (for ideas, vocabularies, written expressions, and structures)
skills . Write a draft paragraph, describing the case from interview data/info
expected: . Speak/Present about a volunteer plan to help the case
. Listen to presentations & giving comments/feedback

. Communication skills: interviewing, negotiating, agreeing, disagreeing


. Teamwork: deciding/ assigning tasks & roles, leadership skills

Soft Skills . Time management


expected: . Responsibility
. Researching skills
. ICT (poster design, collaborating online…) / Artistic skills (drawing)

- Project: The One that Needs Help


. Content: What? Who?
Where?
When?
What happened/is happening?
What to do?
. Language: Notice on Verb Tenses, & Vocabulary
Project - 2 products:
Description,
. A poster with image (s) of the case (Printed)
Products . A presentation about your plan to help
expected
. Live, before the audience (our class)
& Display
- Students work in group of 5-6:
- Timing & Progress:
. Preparation: 4 weeks, from Nov 12
. Event date: Dec 17
. Project plan: Dec 19
. Team Report: Weekly, Nov 26, Dec 03, Dec 10
(printed to submit or online via Google Drive 1 day before due date)
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. Consultancy with T: 1 hour weekly, booking in advance
- Other supports needed: now & during the project
. Messages to Parents (hours of using the Internet, smart phone,
time for gathering/online working, parenting apps – Family
Link/Internet browser history)

. Websites for reading about community work (short readings) &


websites searching skills
https://www.dosomething.org/us/articles/community-service-project-
ideas
https://www.wcsu.edu/community-engagement/benefits-of-
volunteering/
https://www.goabroad.com/articles/volunteer-abroad/best-volunteer-
opportunities-vietnam

Materials/ . Making readings easier:


Resources https://rewordify.com/
suggested: . Videos about community work (CC on)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClrFW2Y2Bv8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3Nn3Pxqk1c
. Checking your drafts:
https://app.grammarly.com/ or Microsoft Word
. Poster Design: available templates
https://www.canva.com/ or Microsoft Powerpoint
. Collaborating online: Google Doc & Drive

- Product assessment by Whole class & Teacher:

Assessment . Poster assessment rubrics


Rubrics . Presentation rubrics
suggested: - Teamwork Process assessment by Team members:
. Teamwork plan
. Teamwork weekly report

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. Self & Peer reflections
- Scoring: Progress & Products
Average of: Poster (15%) + Presentation (35%) + Teamwork plan
(15%) + Teamwork reports & progress (25%) + Self & Peer
reflections (10%)

III. Reading 3
Read the Samples of Project Calendar and Students’ Plan & Report, which follow
the Project Overview in Reading 1.
Task 3: Answers the questions (use the PBL Five-stage Framework by Stoller &
Myers to help).
1. For which stage(s) will the Calendar and Students’ Plan & Report of most help?
2. How does the teacher scaffold her students implementing the project?
3. Do students have voice and choice in doing this project? How?
4. How does the teacher scaffold her students displaying the project?
5. Would you like to add/adjust this calendar? How?

Meeting Time Students’ Work Instructor ’s Notes


Scaffolding

1 – Fri, Nov 12 . Get the main points . Introduce the project . Handouts/ PPT
(project requirements) . Arrange on for key points
Then: consulting schedule . Sample poster
. decide team members (->
Contract)
. KWL for team plan

2 – Mon . Consulting before/after . Scaffolding . Google Drive for


class, if any teamwork plan &
3 - Wed reports submission
(questions & booking in
advance, if possible) online
. Feedback/advice
4 – Fri, Nov 19 . Teamwork Plan submitted . Check carefully & (online or printed)
give feedback (in
. Keep track of Ss’
written form) on the
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plan, tasks, roles, work & kindly
timing,… asap remind when
necessary
5 – Mon . Consult on the plan & . Scaffolding
gathering info
6 - Wed

7- Fri, Nov 26 . Teamwork Report . Check, take notes &


submitted give feedback, mainly
. Consult on gathering data/info

8 – Mon . Consult on the plan & . Scaffolding


gathering /processing info
9 - Wed

10 - Fri, Dec 03 . Teamwork Report . Check, take notes &


submitted give feedback mainly
. Consult on processing
data/info

11 – Mon . Consult on the plan & . Scaffolding, mainly


processing, presenting info on presenting info
12 - Wed

13 – Fri, Dec . Poster Display & . Facilitate the event . Links for online
10 Presenting & give reflections
. Give comments, basing comments/feedback . Finalize on scores
on the rubrics
. Self & Peer reflections . Suggestions for
(may submit later, further work, if
confidentially, online) any (publicizing)

Teamwork Plan

PROJECT MANAGEMENT LOG: TEAM TASKS

PROJECT NAME:

MEMBERS OF
TEAM:

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TASK WHO IS RESPONSIBLE DUE STATUS DONE
DATE

126
PROJECT WORK REPORT: TEAM

Project Name:

Members of Date:
Team:

For the Time Day(s): Week:


Period:

During this time, 1


we had the
following goals for 2
project work:
3

During this time, 1


we
accomplished… 2

Our next steps are… 1

Our most important 1


concerns, problems or
questions are… 2

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IV. Video script 1
Watch a video about designing rubrics for a project
Rubrics are a great way to score a project or problem. However, well-designed
rubrics can be more than a tool of tabulation. When created before the project or problem
is introduced to students, the rubric can help ensure alignment between the entry event
and the student-created culminating product. Similarly, rubrics should be used by
students to identify needs to be met and serve as a recurring checkpoint along the creation
process.
Step One: Select Indicators to Assess
Select domains and indicators to assess in your project
Step Two: Use a Template to Build Your Rubric
Step Three: Add Standard-Specific and Project-Specific Indicators
You can build your own descriptors for additional content knowledge or skills you
will focus on during the project.
Step Four: Determine Scores
If you will be providing grades based on this rubric, determine how you will do
that in a way that prioritizes learning growth and acknowledges where learners start.
Make sure to consider percentages; if your rubric has only a small amount of points,
percentages can drop quickly.
Step Five: Utilize Your Rubric throughout the Unit
Now that you’ve created a fantastic rubric for your project or problem, plan to use
the rubric throughout the unit! Rubrics can be useful for:

 Student goal-setting
 Team contract creation
 Student reflection and self-assessment
 Peer assessment and feedback
Notice that you have rubrics or assessments for all the products required in your
students’ project.
Task 4: Put the following steps in the correct order
a. Utilize Your Rubric Throughout the Unit
b. Use a Template to Build Your Rubric
c. Add Standard-Specific and Project-Specific Indicators
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d. Determine Scores
e. Select Indicators to Assess

V. Video script 2
Watch a video about ICT tools help with Project-based learning.
Teachers can use a variety of tech tools to translate each of the following Gold Standard
Teaching Practices into rich and rigorous projects.
Design & Plan.
Teachers create or adapt a project for their context and students, and plan its
implementation from launch to culmination.
Coming up with new projects is not always easy, especially for teachers new to PBL. The
Global SchoolNet’s Online Registry offers 3,000 annotated projects, which are
searchable by date, age level, geographic location, collaboration type, technology tools or
keyword, and created by educators and youth from around the world.
NextLesson also offers Common Core aligned projects and performance tasks for K-12
students in math, science, social studies, and English language arts.
BIE’s website has project planning forms as well as an online project planner.
Align to Standards
Teachers use standards to plan the project and make sure it addresses key knowledge,
understanding, and success skills.
Aligning projects to standards and key concepts and skills is an essential PBL teaching
practice to ensure rigor. Teachers can access project-based courses aligned to the
Common Core Standards and Next Generation Science Standards for students in grades
9-12 on Educurious. On this site, students also have access to project and career experts
who provide expertise and real-world feedback.
Build the Culture
Teachers explicitly and implicitly promote student independence and growth, open-ended
inquiry, team spirit, and attention to quality.
Google Forms is a great tool for teachers to create quick surveys for students to share
feedback on lessons, voice their opinion, and offer ideas about projects.

129
Teachers can administer free annual surveys to collect valuable information directly from
students, using Tripod’s Student Surveys of the 7Cs: Care, Confer, Captivate, Clarify,
Consolidate, Challenge, and Classroom Management.
Gallup also offers the Gallup Student Poll, a free annual student survey that measures
Hope, Engagement, Entrepreneurial Aspiration, and Career/Financial Literacy for schools
and districts to administer in grades 5-12.
Manage Activities
Teachers work with students to organize tasks, set checkpoints and deadlines, find and
use resources, and create products. 8. Projects have many pieces that need to be
organized from start to finish. Teachers can use Project Foundry, a web-based platform,
to manage projects and to help students manage, archive, and showcase projects.
Using Google Docs, teachers can use Google’s online Docs, Sheets, and Slides to create
and archive projects, project activities, student work, and much more. Google Docs is the
ultimate sharing and collaboration tool.
Microsoft Office Online offers many templates, which can be used as is or customized.
Teachers can use choose from a variety of Planners and Trackers to set up and monitor
their projects.
Teachers can help students and parents stay on track during a project using Remind.
Using this web-based tool, teachers can send messages to individuals and groups about
project updates and deadlines using instant messaging with photo and document sharing
features.
Engage & Coach
Teachers engage in learning and creating alongside students, and identify when they need
skill-building, redirection, and encouragement.
Teachers who practice Gold Standard PBL coach students to success. The basis of their
coaching comes from an understanding of each student’s strengths, weakness, and
interests. NextLesson’s InterestID makes it easy for teachers find out what interests
students. K-12 students can share their likes and dislikes for interests in over 30
categories, ranging from careers to amusement parks. Teachers can determine student
interests as a class and find interest-aligned projects in NextLesson’s bank of projects.
Scaffold Student Learning
Teachers employ a variety of lessons, tools, and instructional strategies to support all
students in reaching project goals.

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In PBL, teachers carefully move students progressively toward deeper understanding of
the content and greater independence in their learning. Newsela has hundreds of news
articles and non-fiction literacy texts at five different reading levels for students in grades
2-12. Students can annotate and highlight articles and take Common Core aligned
quizzes.
Teachers can use Screencast-O-Matic to provide oral feedback on students’ writing or
work products, which is a great way to support English Learners, students with
disabilities, and struggling readers.
Assess Student Learning
Teachers use formative and summative assessments of knowledge, understanding, and
success skills, and include self and peer assessment of team and individual work.
Edmodo’s Snapshot is a database of over 15,000 Common Core aligned questions that
teachers can access and use as checkpoints throughout a project.
Biz Movie is a fun and engaging way to assess student learning in a project. Students in
grades 3-6 show what they know and can do by creating animated movies. Students also
learn the basics of entrepreneurship and business as they create and run movie
companies.
Task 5: Match the following ICT tools with their potential use in PBL mentioned in
the video

A B

1. Google Forms a. Build the Culture

2. Google Docs b. Manage Activities

3. Screencast-O-Matic c. Scaffold Student Learning

4. Snapshot d. Assess Student Learning

5. InterestID e. Engage & Coach

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VI. Final quiz
Read the following statements. If they are true, choose True; if they are false, choose
False; if they are not stated, choose Doesn’t say.
1. Teacher (sometimes with students) should write the central problem or question in the
form of an open-ended, student-friendly “driving question”
A. True B. False
2. A project can be authentic in several ways, but it’s likely to be impossible to combine
them
A. True B. False
3. Having a say in a project creates a sense of ownership in students; they care more
about the project and work harder.
A. True B. False
4. Reflection should be made formally always
A. True B. False
5. In addition to peers and teachers, outside adults and experts can also contribute to the
critique process, bringing an authentic, real-world point of view.
A. True B. False
6. First, like authenticity, a public product adds greatly to PBL’s motivating power and
encourages high-quality work.
A. True B. False
7. A project over illustrates what teacher prepares to guide students on doing project, but
it can be changed/adjusted with students’ voice
A. True B. False
8. Teacher don’t need to scaffold students during their project implementation.
A. True B. False
9. Project calendar, students’ teamwork plan, students’ periodical report are some tools
to help with teachers’ scaffolding.
A. True B. False
10. Rubrics should be used by students to identify needs to be met and serve as a
recurring checkpoint along the creation process.
A. True B. False
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VII. Performance Task
Write a detailed project planner for the following project using the templates below.
Design rubrics for it.

Looking back and project, page 35, Unit 3, English 10, Students’book
Project planner template

Project Name/ Driving Question:

Unit: Grade: Duration:

Class: Teacher:

Language knowledge
expected:

Language skills
expected:

Soft skills expected:

Project Description,
Products expected
& Display

Materials/ Resources
suggested:

133
Assessment Rubrics
suggested:

Meeting Students’ Work Instructor ’s Scaffolding Notes


Time

VIII. Reflect
Answer the following questions:
1. What are two valuable lessons/ points you have learnt in this module?
2. How can you apply them in your teaching context?

134
Chapter 10. ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Objectives

By the end of the chapter, you will be able to:


- Complete assessment and evaluation tasks of the course;
- Complete the evaluation form of the course.

------------------

1. Weighting

A: Training material reflection: 50%


B: Final project: 50%
Total score (C): C = A*0.5 + B*0.5

2. Assessment and Evaluation

Teachers must complete at least 80% of the total amount required work in order to
receive a certificate of completion.
Percentages are as follows:
✔ Training material reflection: 30%
✔ Final project: 70%
4.1. Training material reflection
Before the virtual face- to- face training sessions, the teachers are required to read
the training material. They should do the tasks and quizzes in each chapter; however, this
is not a must. The suggested answers to the tasks as well as the quizzes are provided at
the end of this training material so that the teachers can check their answers.

It is obligatory for the teachers to answer the three following reflection questions
about the training material before the training sessions.
a. Define at least two areas where you personally feel you have grown from the
training material.
b. Which areas were the most challenging for you? Which areas do you need to
improve?
c. Can you directly apply to your current teaching context? Why?

135
They should reply to the three questions by writing three written paragraphs (5-7
sentences each) or recording a video response (4-6 minutes).
The reflection will be uploaded to Google Drive in the following link before the
training sessions.
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Fnf924tM_5eZWvpxmrZh0cwlJqFlaipw

4.2. Final course project


The teachers must submit a project planner for a specific PBL lesson in their teaching
context that includes the following parts:
- Topic of the lesson
- Objectives of the lesson
- Planning, Implementing and Assessing & Evaluation activities
The project planner will be uploaded to Google Drive in the following link after one
day of the training sessions.
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1Fnf924tM_5eZWvpxmrZh0cwlJqFlaipw

2.3. Course evaluation


The teachers are required to complete an online survey to give their feedback
about the course. The evaluation survey must be completed after one day of the training
course.

136
REFERENCES
Boss, S. (2013). PBL for 21st Century Success (Project Based Learning Toolkit Series).
Buck Institute for Education
Boss, S. & Lamer, J. (2018). Project Based Teaching: How to Create Rigorous and
Engaging Learning Experiences. ASCD
Fried-Booth, Diana. (2002). Project work. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Gras-Velázquez, A. (2019). Project-Based Learning in Second Language Acquisition:
Building Communities of Practice. New York. Routledge
Hutchinson, Tom. 1991. Introduction to Project work. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Lamer, J., Mergendoller, J, & Boss, S. (2015). Setting the Standard for Project Based
Learning. ASCD
Osters. S, Tiu.S. F. Writing Measurable Learning Outcomes. Third annual Texas A & M
Assessment Conference.
Richards, J.C., & Willy A. R. (2002). Methodology in Language Teaching: an Anthology
of Current Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Soykurt, M. (2011). Project-Based Learning in Teaching English: Project-Based
Learning in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. LAMBERT Academic Publishing

https://my.pblworks.org/resources
https://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning
https://ctl.wustl.edu/resources/using-roles-in-group-work/
https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/05/26/video-tips-project-work-teenage-
learners/
https://my.pblworks.org/resource/blog/4_ways_to_provide_feedback_in_pbl
https://helpcenter.newtechnetwork.org/hc/en-us/articles/360030989291-How-do-I-create-
rubrics-for-my-projects-PrBL-Units-
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2016/01/20/17-teacher-tech-tools-for-high-quality-project-
based-learning/
https://aphrogranger.com/aboutme/

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KEY
CHAPTER 2
Reading 1
1. learning by doing
2. extended task
3. critical thinking
4. ownership
5. communicative
Reading 2
1. T 2. F 3. T 4. T 5. T
Reading 3
a. elements b. Goals c. problem d. inquiry
e. deeper f. authenticity g. choice h. experience
i. constructive k. publicity
Video 1
1. B 2. B 3. B 4. A 5. B
Video 2
1. F - A project is a multi-skill activity which can be carried out either individually, in
pairs, in small or big groups.
2. T
3. T
4. T
5. F
CHAPTER 3
Reading 1
1. B 2. C 3. A 4. C 5. A
Reading 2
1. A 2. A 3. B 4.B 5.A

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Video 1
1. B 2. A 3. A 4. B 5. B
Video 2
1. B 2. B 3. B 4. A 5. C
Final quiz
1. A, 2. D 3. C 4. D 5. A
6. B 7. C 8. B 9. A 10. D

CHAPTER 4
Reading 2
1.A 2.B 3.A 4.A 5.B
Reading 3
1. c 2.a 3.b 4.e 5.d
Reading 4
1. engaged 2. rubrics 3. assessment
4. time 5. quality
Final quiz
1. real-world 2. Information 3. Analyses 4. Scaffolded
5. Outcomes 6. Critique 7. rubrics 8. Demonstrate
9. motivation 10. authenticity

CHAPTER 5
Reading 1
Possible answers
1. Aligning a learning project with the curriculum learning outcomes/learning objectives
helps achieve the validity of PBL assessments because this can guarantee that teachers
assess what is supposed to be assessed. Using criteria in assessing students in PBL makes
the learning objectives clear to students so that they know what they need to do in order
to reach the goal. The clarity of PBL assessment criteria not only helps learners complete

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the task and increase the quality of the project work, but also supports teachers to assess
students more accurately and reduce subjectivity when grading/marking. A useful
assessment criteria tool, called a rubric, lists all of the specific criteria that students work
should demonstrate, and describes the quality level for each criterion.
2. One example of formative assessments: oral or written feedback throughout the
process, collaboration checklist, exit slip, self-check sheet, learning journal, observation
sheet, etc.
One example of summative assessments: rubrics for final project product/rubrics for final
presentation, reflections on the whole project, etc.
3. One example of self-assessments: Can-do statements, self-evaluation checklist,
personal reflection, etc.
Reading 2
Possible answers
1. listening/observing students work in groups brainstorming/discussing ideas; exit
slips; giving feedback;
2. Learning contract, collaboration checklist, task list, learning portfolio, rubric,
checklist, can-do statements, …
3. Learning contract, collaboration checklist, task list, learning portfolio, rubric,
checklist, can-do statements, ...
4. Checklist: + provide success criteria; help students self-assess; - take time to
design;
5. Check for understanding; Quiz; EdTech tools to monitor student progress such as
Kahoot, Quizziz, Padlet,...
Reading 3
Possible answers
1. Presentation, written assignment, a video, writing piece, research paper, report,
performance,...
2. Success criteria are the evaluative measures that students use to determine whether
they have achieved the established learning goal or objective.
3. Main elements: standards/learning objectives; levels of achievement; descriptors
for each level.

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4. Content standards can be found in the expected outcomes from the Curriculum
guide documents or in the syllabus (Unit, Lesson expected outcomes/ learning
objectives)
5. In summative assessments, students’ final products are usually assessed.
Students are assessed in their learning, skill acquisition, and academic
achievement.
Video 1
1. Liza and Peggy 2. Liza and Marianne
3. Peggy and Sheela 4. Sheela
5. Peggy
Video 2
1. T 2. T 3. F 4.T 5.T
Quiz

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

E I J C H B G D F A

CHAPTER 6
Task 1
Type of the project: Blog posts
Title of the project: My Blog Project
Motivational effects of the project: Using blogs as project outcomes provides a platform
on which students can communicate about a variety of topics. Blogs, on the topic noted
earlier, provide an optimal way to encourage students to work autonomously to
personalize posts.
Development of skills: reading and writing in English, using ICT tools, critical reading
Final quiz
1. Tourism
2. Presentation, poster, or tourist brochure (hand-made or on the computer)

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3. In-class discussion or survey; students combine ideas into one outcome
4. Vocabulary related to houses
5. What is the main environmental problem in our town/region, and how can we solve it?
6. Online or other research, surveys, etc
7. Paper, poster, presentation, or video
8. Industry
9. Group discussion of story and characters; brainstorming
10. Will vary, depending on level of students

CHAPTER 7
Reading 1
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T
Reading 2
Possible answers
1. Aligning the project with the curriculum standards by either selecting the appropriate
standards and themes for the project or identifying the possible standards arising from the
project topic.
2. Formative and summative assessments are planned from Stage 1.
3. The purpose of the Task lists is to assign roles and responsibilities among group
members.
4. Teachers provide scaffolding to students in Stage 3 in reading comprehension,
summarizing specific information, teaching new words, explaining key grammatical
structures,...
5. Strengths: both individuals and groups can be assessed; success criteria are suitable
for assessing speaking, meaningful marks,...
6. Weaknesses: the language used in the rubric is not student-friendly; some success
criteria are still vague, difficult to measure, no Bloom verbs are found in the descriptors,
etc.
Reading 3
1. c 2. a 3. b 4. e 5. d

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Video 1
1. b 2. d 3. c 4. e 5. a
Video 2
1. T 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. T
Final quiz
1. A 2. B 3. A 4. B 5. A
6. A 7.A 8.C 9. B 10.B
CHAPTER 8
Reading 1
1. A 2. B 3. A 4. A
Reading 2
1. d 2. c 3. e 4. b 5.a
Video 1
1. distinct
2. possibility
3. disrupt
4. different
5. completing
Video 2
1. A 2. C 3. D 4. B 5. A, B
Final quiz
1. A 2.C 3.A 4.B 5.B
6.C 7.A 8.B 9.A 10.A

CHAPTER 9
Reading 1
1. b 2. c 3. D 4. e 5. a

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Video script 1
e-b-c-d-a
Video script 2
1.a 2.b 3.c 4.d 5.e
Final quiz
1.T 2.F 3.T 4.F 5.T
6.T 7.T 8.F 9.T 10.T

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