MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY ------------ HO THI NGOC HAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT WORK IN THE NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK SERIES AT UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY ------------ HO THI NGOC HAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT WORK IN THE NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK SERIES AT UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING SUPERVISOR: PHAN QUYNH NHU, D. HUE, 2019 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ HỒ THỊ NGỌC HÂN KHẢO SÁT VIỆC THỰC HIỆN VÀ ĐÁNH GIÁ DỰ ÁN HỌC SINH TRONG CHƯƠNG TRÌNH SÁCH TIẾNG ANH MỚI TẠI CÁC TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG TRÊN ĐỊA BÀN TỈNH THỪA THIÊN HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SỸ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. PHAN QUỲNH NHƯ HUẾ, 2019 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any universities. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where the reference is made in this thesis itself.
Thua Thien Hue,. December 2019 Candidate’s statement Ho Thi Ngoc Han i ABSTRACT This Master thesis investigates the implementation and assessment of project work at four upper secondary schools in Thua Thien Hue Province. It specifically explores how the teaching, learning and assessment of project work have been implemented at this site and what factors influence the implementation and assessment. To go in depth and breadth of the experiment, the mixed methods was used with the participation of 22 English language teachers and 322 students at 04 selected upper secondary schools in Thua Thien Hue Province.
The findings showed that the practice of project work is much more different than the ideal aims of project-based learning. Project work implementation and assessment have not been conducted in an earnest way due to such major challenges as the lack of training on project-based learning and assessment, limited time to implement this activity in the school schedule and the students’ low English proficiency level. The findings suggest a need for a specific guideline and professional training for teachers on how to implement and assess project work. This study adds to the literature base by describing the current practice of project-based learning in the Vietnamese context.
ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people to whom I should acknowledge for their support and assistance during the completion of this thesis. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Phan Quynh Nhu for her consistent guidance and precious comments throughout my research. She has continuously guided me with her enthusiasm, motivation and great knowledge.
Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank my all respected teachers who helped me much by their teaching, giving me valuable knowledge to start this thesis. I am also highly indebted to all of the teachers and students who agreed to give responses to my questionnaire and participate in the interviews. They gave me important information to help me complete the study. Most of all, I am heartily thankful to my family and my friends for their valuable support they gave to me day after day.
iii TABLES OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. Research objectives and research questions. Organization of the study. Overview Of Project-Based Learning.
Definition of project-based learning. Features of project-based learning. Teacher’s roles in project-based learning. The relationship between characteristics of high school students and project-based learners.
Benefits of project-based learning and project work. Challenges of implementation of project work. Challenges encountered by learners. Challenges faced by teachers.
Stages of project work. Assessment For Project Work. Types of assessment strategies and tools. Self and peer assessment.
Project team plan. Current implementation and assessment of project work at upper secondary school in Vietnam. Benefits and challenges of applying project-based assessment in English teaching and learning at upper secondary schools in Vietnam. Data Collection Tools.
Data Collection Procedure. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Teachers’ and students’ perceptions on project-based learning. Students’ perceptions on project-based learning.
Teachers’ perceptions on project-based learning. The practice of project work at the sample schools. The implementation of project work. The frequency of project work implementation.
Project work activities. Teachers’ and students’ possible difficulties in implementing project work. Teachers’ perception of project work assessment. Teachers’ practice of project work assessment.
The frequency of implementing project work assessment. The implementation of project work assessment. Use of Assessment tools and techniques. Difficulties of project assessment.
Teachers’ and students’ perceptions on PBL. Implementation of project work. Assessment of project work. Difficulties in implementing project work.
Summary of key findings. Implications for teaching and assessing project assignment. Implications for leaders of different educational levels. Implications for English teachers at upper secondary schools.
Limitations of the current study and recommendations for future research. 53 APPENDIX v LIS OF TABLES Table 1. Students’ responses on the skills achieved from PBL. Teachers’ responses on the benefits of project-based learning.
Difficulties in implementing project work. Benefits of project assessment. Frequent use of assessment tools. Difficulties in implementing project assessment.
41 vi LIS OF FIGURES Figure 1. Students’ interest in project work. Teachers’ answers on the frequency of project work application. Sts’ answers on the frequency of project work application.
Teachers’ responses on project work activities. Teachers’responses on the place where project work is taken. Students’ responses on How project work is carried out?. Students’ responses on Where project work is carried out?.
Students’ response on the frequency of implementing PWA. Teachers’ responses on the frequency of PWA. Teachers’s response on how PW is marked. Sts’s response on how PW is marked.
39 vii LIST OF ABREVIATIONS PBL Project-based learning PW Project work PWA Project work assessment viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In response to the national call for a fundamental and comprehensive reform of Vietnamese education (Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam 2013), particularly the requests for changing teaching and learning to prepare students with essential skills for the 21st Century, many schools in Vietnam have taken all their efforts to implement innovative teaching methods, of which project-based learning is recommended because it is believed to provide the students with such skills (Fragoulis, 2009; Larmer, 2010). Testing and assessment should be also innovated to meet the criteria and standards of this new teaching method. In 2004, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MOET) issued a clear guideline on implementing language performance-driven assessment for English subject (the Dispatch 5333 / BGDĐT-GDTrH, issued on September 29th, 2014). With that form of assessment, teachers and students may know their strengths and weaknesses in order to improve or adjust their learning and teaching that best fit the requirements.
Project assignment is an activity where students apply what they learnt into a realistic and authentic situation (Bell, 2010). The implementation of project assessment is apparently a demanding task. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate on how project work assessment has been carried out at four upper secondary schools in Thua Thien Hue province and what factors have affected the assessment. This chapter commences with the description of research rationale, and problem statements.
It then states the study objectives and research questions. The scope and the structure of this study are also presented in this chapter. Rationale In an attempt to integrate communicative and pragmatic competences into English language teaching and learning, new English textbooks published by Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training have been carefully designed and have incorporated a number of positive changes in their content.The student book consists of 10 learning units. Each unit is divided into five sections, namely 1) Getting started, 2) Language: Vocabulary, Pronunciation and Grammar, 3) Skills: Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing, 4) Communication and Culture, 5) Looking back and project.
The project assignment is designed in the last part of the unit with an aim to provide students with an opportunity to apply the language and skills they learnt throughoutthe unit to carry out a task in an authentic situation (Hoang et al.Project work is thus a significant task that involves 1 students in designing, planning and implementing the activities. The application of project work as an extensive task provides opportunities for students to develop their confidence and cooperative skills, encourages them to demonstrate positive attitudes toward learning, learning autonomy as well as to participate in the authentic activities (Bell, 2010; Fragoulis, 2009). However, the effectiveness of project work implementation and its assessment have been still under-researched. The research has its special significance in raising the awareness of implementing and assessing project work since it addresses an urgent issue in the reform of Vietnamese education, which ultimately needs to take into account innovative methods (Vu, 2017).
This research is important as it deals with under-researched issues of teaching and assessment of project-based learning (PBL) that need more empirical evidence for any challenges that teachers and students might face when implementing and assessing project work. Then, it can propose solutions and suggestions for the policy makers, leaders, and English teachers who employ project work. Problem Statement Nowadays, there is an emerging issue of ill-prepared labour forces among many countries including Vietnam (“Higher-skilled labour force necessary for Viet Nam’s further economic development”, 2019). Students are known as lacking skills to be successful citizen in the 21 Century who are thought to be good at problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and innovation (Harris, 2014).
Therefore, shifting teaching methods from pouring knowledge into preparing skills to students and transforming passive students to active learners have been encouraged (Bell, 2010). In response to the national calls for an application of innovative teaching methods to all levels, from primary education to higher education across the country, a blooming movement on new teaching methods has been spreading throughout the country. Departments and Bureaus of Education and Training of many provinces and cities require their schools to implement innovative teaching and learning methods. However, there has been little detailed guidance on how to apply innovative teaching methods successfully and little official evaluation on the effectiveness of such innovative teaching methods, including PBL (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2018).
In other words, the paucity of empirical research on the implementation and assessment of project work or PBL at upper secondary schoolsposes an urgent research gap to be filled in. In addition, project work assessment not only focuses on the end product but also the skills in the process. Thus, the integration of formative and 2 summative forms of assessment is the best option for evaluating project work (Ketabi, 2014). However, there is a strong influence of traditional teaching and assessment; therefore, learners’ performance driven assessment still receives less concern.
Since PBL and project assessment are the two new concepts in the context of Vietnam, little literature focused on PBL and teaching. Thus, this research will shed a light on the current knowledge on project-based assessment in the case of Thua Thien Hue upper secondary schools. Details will be discussed in the following research objectives and research questions below.