Join our pbl team! svitlana ostapova,vita palahniuk

Svitlana Ostapova ,Vita Palahniuk

JOIN OUR PBL TEAM!

ENGAGING STUDENTS INTO PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TODAY PREPARING THEM FOR TOMORROW

Kamianets-Podilskyi 2016

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Svitlana Ostapova ,Vita Palahniuk

JOIN OUR PBL TEAM!

PRACTICAL MANUAL

Kamianets-Podilskyi 2016 2

УДК 373.5.016:811.111 (075.3) ВВК 74.261.7 Англ+81.432.1-922 К 0 – 76

Reviewers: Yevchuk O.V. English teacher-methodologist, school #9 named after A.M. Troyan, Kamianets-Podilskyi Dotsenko I.V. English teacher-methodologist, school #9 named after A.M. Troyan, Kamianets-Podilskyi

JOIN OUR PBL TEAM. Practical manual/redactors Svitlana Ostapova, Vita Palahniuk. – Kamianets-Podilskyi, 2016. – 20p.

Practical manual “JOIN OUR PBL TEAM” includes practical guidelines for successful implementation of project-based activity into the work of English teacher.

This practical manual has been written for students, schoolteachers and college lecturers.

373.5.016:811.111 (075.3) УДК 74.261.7 Англ+81.432.1-922 ВВК

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e-TWINNING PLATFORM eTwinning programme was launched in 2002 by the European Commission for development and collaboration between European schools. This is a free online community which helps you to find partners and collaborate on the projects within a safe network and platform. Registered educators are offered opportunities : -

To motivate students to learn foreign languages

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To improve students’ and teachers’ levels at using ICT tools

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To learn more about teamwork

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To share experiences and collaborate

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To stimulate high quality professional development

To participate actively in educational events, webinars and video conferences -

To achieve recognition trough eTwinning awards

eTwinning plus is an eTwinning plafrorm for staff, working in a school in one of the neighbouring countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia ,Moldova, Tunisia and Ukraine.

The main concept of eTwinning platform is COLLABORATION between European countries.

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PROJECT TEACHING PROJECT STUFF WITH eTWINNING LEARN AND LAUGH

http://www.etwinning.com.ua/

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OUR PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TIPS

 think outside the box  be open to new ideas  love what you do  be spontaneous  work together with your students  create a stimulating environment  surprise your students  foster collaboration  make lessons interactive  try new things regularly  create and watch Prezi presentations  listen to your students  enjoy your job!

It is very interesting for me! ))

I like it very much!

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It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. Albert Einstein Hanging out with students makes us feel young, inspired and positive. We are extremely passionate about teaching job and our goal is to help students learn in an exciting and enjoyable way! Challenge students to think critically, encourage them to participate in classroom activities actively, try to enhance their progress, present your lessons in an understandable way, respect your students!

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PROJECT #1 LEARN SOMETHING NEW! LEARN SOMETHING COOL! https://twinspace.etwinning.net/20089/home

Project summary It is a combination of regular mini-lessons that consists of clues, fact based sections and curious facts.

It is a concept of micro lessons, only 8-10 minutes, a fairytale of facts, to start each day with a knowledge injection.

This concept has not only inspired pupils, but also their parents and teachers all over the world. More than 20000 teachers use this concept.

The slogan is:

Knowledge is cool! “Be careful, you might learn something!�

Why don't take this to another level and use it for English class. Let's help each other out!

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Aims of the project *The aim is to arouse curiosity and desire to learn. Knowledge is cool, and knowledge should be fun. *Share special inventions / events / people / places from another countries

*Show students that we're part of one European community and to find new friends *Increase students’ motivation for studying English and give them real opportunity to communicate *Use Internet and modern technologies in teaching English and to cooperate with European partners on eTwinning platform.

Significance and innovation The project is framed by a meaningful problem to solve: students’ curiosity and desire to learn. The main concept of the project is: “Knowledge is cool and knowledge should be fun!”

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Work process

Every partner school come up with a thing/gadget (from their country). It can be: *Person - It can be a person who has/had great significance for us humans. *Place - it can be a place that is popular today/was popular. A location that is a mystery. *Thing - One thing that is of great importance, an invention or something special or peculiar to your country / city / community / village. *Event - It can be an event / experience that has affected us humans. It can be an event that is of great importance for us humans.

All these things may be historical or up to date. And all eTwinning partners present their stuff with the help of Prezi presentation.

The Prezi presentation should contain: *Facts *Pictures *Video

*Remarkable/different/special/curious facts

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Examples of our Prezi presentations: https://prezi.com/26ymnnsfcics/extraordinary-plants/

Expected results 1. Establish lasting relationship between students and schools 2. Learn about other cultures and "special things" from other countries 3. Practise in using ICT tools 4. Learn foreign languages Public product A LOT OF Prezi presentations which can be used at English and other lessons.

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PROJECT #2 FEEL YOUR NATIVE PLACE https://twinspace.etwinning.net/18931/home

Project summary The project is about the students’ native cities shown with their eyes.

The aim of the project is to compare information from different countries,

and different cities to find similarities among them, so that the students

become more aware of the cultural distinctions and expectations if they

decide to study abroad. At the same time they are given the possibility of

enriching their vision about Europe.

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The students will be able to improve English speaking, writing and listening skills through different activities.

Aims of the project To compare information from different countries; To find similarities and differences among them; To collaborate with students from other countries; To encourage students to improve their English and ICT competences; To learn about different cultures and lifestyles; To enrich the knowledge about Europe.

Significance and innovation The significance of the research is to build a cultural and communicative bridge among students from European counties. The research addresses to the problem of cultural and communicative gaps among different European countries. The project will provide the answer to an important practical problem: communication between teenagers from different countries (Ukraine, Portugal and Bulgaria).

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Work process The schools will do the same activities at the same time: 1.Introduce the schools, the cities and the students.

Register students on Twinspace and initiate communication between them through drawing pictures. The students drew the pictures of the most impressive touristic sights of the city.

Make a logo for the project.

2. Postcards, maps and souvenirs exchange. Our Portugal and Bulgarian friends received the postcard from Kamianets – Podilskyi. We also got the letters from Funchal in Portugal and Asenovgrad in Bulgaria.

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3. Make a simple movie with the hot touristic spots of each city and exchange it.

The students were very happy to go on trip to the Old Fortress and create a real movie! They did well both as the TV presenters and the directors of the movie. They filmed it themselves! Bulgarian and Portugal students learn about history of the old part of the old town, its churches, monuments and legends. Ukrainian students felt like a real TV stars! Our partners also presented their cities in videos. Learning other cultures is always exciting! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR_uDKC4jHI

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Exchange other cultural specifies of each city and means of life, make a presentation to compare the information.

4. Sing the song about your city and do the quiz about the students’ native places. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkyFNX5E6C8

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5. Create the year calendar using students’ pictures of the the most popular sights of the cities.

The students will use the eTwinning platform to communicate and they also can use chatting. . My Bulgarian partner, Slavka Stoycheva writes on Twinspace journal: “We are very pleased with the chat session that we were having with Ukraine. It was great that our students had a chance to reflect on our project. We hope to have a chance to work with you and your students again, Svitlana and Pedro. :)”

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Expected results - At the end of this project students will be more aware of other students’ lives in different countries.

- The students will be more able to make a presentation in different web tools; - The students will have a more complete vision of Europe.

- They'll improve their English topical vocabulary to describe appearances, to talk about hobbies , to describe the town or city.

- The students will be more open to communicate with the other country students.

- All the activities are going to be implemented in the school curriculum.

Public product Students make their project work public by displaying or presenting their final product (the calendar).

After we had implemented all the activities , we applied for the quality label, the award and evidence we did successful and collaborative project.

Doing international projects is collaborative and creative work both for students and teachers. We , teachers, can share ideas and learn from each other. It’s a great experience and unforgettable moment of cooperation, support and friendship.

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PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: LET’S PLAN THE PROJECT In the modern language classroom students learn through a variety of techniques and approaches, the teacher considers to be the most effective and beneficial. No doubt, every teacher wants to make a teaching process interesting, creative, enjoyable and motivating for his students. The aims and purposes of modern school is to prepare a student for adult world, full of global issues and problems. The needs of today’s life require that students could implement the fundamental skills, which are reading, writing and math and such skills as problem-solving, researching activity, teamwork and time management in real life. All these objectives can be fulfilled with the learner - centered teaching approach.

Learner-centered teaching is a bunch of teaching methods that shifts the focus of instruction and activity from the teacher to the students. The teaching process is defined as equal teachers’ and students’ interaction. Group work is included , learners collaborate and communicate with each other. Implementing students - centered instruction, a teacher teaches his learners how to think critically, solve problems, analyze arguments, evaluate evidence and generate hypotheses. Students are engaged in the learning process with the content. That is why their learning skills develop faster.

A learner-centered teacher encourages his students to reflect on their learning. Thus, the students become more aware of themselves as learners and this makes them want to develop their learning skills. Thus, the students become responsible for their learning. Learner-centered approach aims to develop learner’s autonomy and independence.

Learner-centered teaching includes task-based learning (TBL) and projectbased learning (PBL).

So, what is task-based teaching approach? To begin with, this methodology is based on doing meaningful tasks by students using the target language. It is focused on completing the task itself, rather on learning a certain grammar structure or lexical area of the language.

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Also, task-based learning/teaching is a methodology associated with communicative approach. As the students need to complete the tasks successfully, they have to use the language and share ideas. For this reason, the language becomes an instrument of communication and its aim is to fulfill the tasks successfully. The students are free to use any language they see appropriate to complete the tasks.

Task-based language learning/teaching is based on using the communicative tasks related with real world. The tasks are evaluated according to the completing real world tasks and accuracy is not taken into consideration.

In short, making a poster for foreign visitors includes areas which students can use in their life. In the end of the lesson they make notes of useful phrases of the topic.

The main advantage of TBL is that the students are provided with the context. Making the poster they use the relevant language and own experience. Secondly, students come across a great variety of lexical phrases, collocations and grammar forms. They do not concentrate on one grammar point or lexical phrase. Students make their own conclusion and solve problems themselves. The teacher does not suggest his own solution.The lessons are funny and enjoyable. Eventually, TBL is of great effectiveness.

Another learner-centered approach, which is of higher level is project-based learning.

PBL also involves students in investigating activities to make a solution on a problem. In the same way as TBL, it is based on a real-world challenge. While doing a project students acquire their knowledge through problem-solving and research.

Gradually, students develop such skills as collaboration, communication and independent learning. Working on project prepare students for successful school and life experiences. PBL has many aspects in common with TBL. However, there is slight difference between the two approaches. TBL is implemented during a lesson, whereas PBL encompasses completing the task during a whole term or academic year.

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The structure of project based learning includes: 1. The main subject or topic from which all the activities and tasks derive and which leads the project to a final objective or product.

2. Investigational work should be done to collect and analyze information.

3. Tasks and tools for sharing ideas and communicating. Interaction between peers and other learners.

4. A final product presented with the variety of IC tools and posters.

The advantages of PBL are as follows: - Motivation and involving the students in the project personally.

- The main four skills such as reading, writing, listening and speaking are integrated.

- Students’ autonomy as they become more responsible for their learning.

- Students get learning outcomes as an end product.

- Using authentic tasks - Group work stimulate impersonal relations.

- Content can be selected both by the students and the teacher.

- Parents are more involved in the child’s learning as they can ask their parents to help them in the project.

- The students perform different activities, thus they are not bored with routine.

- The students can decide on themselves which language to use and are not obliged to use certain structures and lexis.

But the most defining one is motivating students to search, investigate, share, communicate, solve, collaborate and learn. Students learn better and more willingly when they come across the subject in real life. Compare learning about any subject just by reading it from the book or hearing it from the teacher and finding out step by step how it works in reality. What will be more efficient?

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Planning the project - Opening. Describe the project idea to the students. They should clearly understand what they must do. Display them the pictures or materials from the past projects.

- Proposing. Ask the learners to decide on their own what steps must be fulfilled in the plan. Help them design the scheme of work: - Which tasks they want to be included in the project.

- What form the tasks will be performed in.

- Who will be responsible for what - To limit with the time each part of the project.

- Any material or resources they need for the project Also, you should decide how much time should be allocated on every activity.

You can have the sessions on the same day each week. Organize some space in the classroom, which the students will have for the project. It could be the classroom wall or a corner. If the activities are going to be fulfilled by means of IC tools, take them to the computer classroom and show how IC tools work. Provide the students with the materials and recourses they might need. Encourage them to find some information on the net at home. If they ask you to use a school computer, make sure that they know what they are searching for! Help the students avoid aimless surfing the net. Let them prepare the list of subjects they need to look for. Ask students to display their final product or prepare a presentation at the last session or lesson. Ask the students to design the tasks for other students in the classroom to connect them with the project. It could be a quiz with the information they will learn about or a crossword using the project lexis or comprehensive questions to the stories and videos, the students have made.

Every project step must be evaluated. In such a way they will feel that their work is really appreciated. Design a project evaluation report, which comments on such aspects as content, tools, language work and oral presentation of the project.

However, there could be some drawbacks to the project work. If the students are given too much freedom, other students might not be involved in active work. They 23

are just doing nothing. Project groups could be working at different speeds. One group may have completed the work earlier. Remind the students that they have the allocated hours on the project activities. Help them extend the work they have already done.

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RELATED LINKS

1. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/project-wo..

2. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/a-task-bas..

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task-based_language_lea..

4. http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/pub..

5. http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resou..

6. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/tbl-pbl-tw..

7. https://www.edutopia.org/video/5-keys-rigorous-projec..

8. https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/15-characteristic..

9. http://www.bie.org/about/what_pbl

CONTENTS eTwinning platform ............................................................................... 3 Project #1 ............................................................................................... 7 Project #2 ............................................................................................... 11 Project-based learning: let’s plan the project ........................................ 19 Related links .......................................................................................... 24

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