STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF

PROJECT BASED LEARNING TO LEARN

COURSE: ADVANCED RESEARCH METHOD

LECTURER : AP.DR.NOR AZMI MOSTAFA

NAME : UVARANI RETNAM

MATRICS NUMBER : M20221001403

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging

in real-world and personally meaningful projects. Students work on a project over an extended

period of time – from a week up to a semester – that engages them in solving a real-world

problem or answering a complex question. They demonstrate their knowledge and skills by

creating a public product or presentation for a real audience. As a result, students develop deep

content knowledge as well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication

skills. Project Based Learning unleashes a contagious, creative energy among students and

Project Based Learning 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 teachers.

In 2006, the Malaysian Ministry of Education has suggested a holistic teaching strategy

for teachers by publishing a handbook entitled Project-Based Learning Handbook ‘Educating

the Millennial Learner’. In the book, the Ministry of Education recognizes the need to have

multifaceted approaches in the learning process and the characteristics of Project-Based Learning

(PBL) allow the learning process to be more on students-centered, cooperative and the exposure

to the real-world scenarios beyond the classrooms are deemed to be suitable for the

present situation. Numerous studies have proven that PBL is one of many teaching strategies

that are able to improve students’ English skills, proficiency and foster positive learning

outcomes by

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Integrating authentic materials to learn English and gain a deeper understanding by experiencing

the concept through simulation.

1.1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

PjBL stresses learning by doing (Markham, Larmer, and Ravitz 2003). It begins with a driving

question or challenge, which creates a need to know essential content and skills and requires in-

depth investigation to get to the answer and develop the skills. It values teamwork and

collaboration among participants. Students are often divided into groups of varied sizes, where

they work together, share their findings and decide how to best represent their new knowledge.

They must learn to work in a community and therefore take shared responsibilities and credits.

Project-based learning is not relatively new in pedagogy, in fact, approximately in the early

1980s, project-based learning as part of educational practice and was greatly influenced

by the communication approach (Du & Han, 2016).

The birth of PBL can be originated from John Dewey’s theory of learning by doing in

which he insisted that learning should be more practical where the students experience the

learning process by participating in classroom activities and classroom should represent the

real-life situations (Williams, 2017; Du & Han, 2016; Azura Omar et.al, 2012). His arguments

on which the learning process should be centered on the students and the students viewed as a

community working together to solve problems have inspired PBL to be used as an alternative

teaching strategy in the second and foreign language classroom.

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1.1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Lev Vygotsky’s studies of description of the circumstances under which students learn best is yet

another theoretical framework for project-based learning. Vygotsky defined the Zone of

Proximal Development as "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by

independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through

Problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotskiĭ

& Cole, 1978 p. 86). According to Phan, Kho & Ch’ng (2013) it is important for the teachers to

play a role in motivating the students to be more proficient in the English language for them to

be able to compete in the globalized world. This is because the traditional teaching

methodologies may no longer relevant to help the students improving their English skills and

equip them with the necessary skills for the present century. Therefore, integrating project-based

learning in the English classroom may help with the issue at hand where the students have the

opportunity to use the language in real-life situations through assessments that mimic the

realities.

1.1.3 RESEARCH PURPOSE

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore primary school students’ perceptions of

Project-based learning (PBL) in schools and to identify the benefits and challenges of using PBL.

1.1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This paper attempts an objectives as follows:

To investigate students perceptions on the use of project based learning.

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To determine challenges faced by the students in learning classrooms.

1.1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This paper attempts to answer the following questions:

1. What are the students’ perceptions of project-based learning implementation in the English

language classroom?

2. How does project-based learning able to enhance students’ English skills?

1.1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Students will be able to use project based learning to learn English language in the classroom.

Teachers would promote a friendly learning environment for the classroom and increase the

confidence among learners, as they have an opportunity to accomplish the learning process by

themselves. It stimulates them to experience a real-life situation and learn how to cope with it.

1.1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

It is not long before a study of selected literature will reveal widely varied definitions of

project-based learning. In fact, authors have discussed how difficult it is to study project-based

learning due to the variability of its design and implementation (David, 2008; Thomas, 2000).

Teachers can set up a project-based experience to last a day or weeks, cover one standard or

many, a variety of skills, a variety of disciplines for a variety of purposes. Other terms are used

to capture similar approaches to project-based learning. Science programs, for instance, are

embracing “inquiry-based learning,” as a means to engage students in scientific method.

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CHAPTER 2

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

(Basilotta Gomez-Pablos et al., 2017; Choi, Lee & Kim, 2019; Kokotsaki et al., 2016). PBL is an

active student-centered form of instruction which is characterized by a student’s autonomy,

constructive investigation, goal-setting, collaboration, communication and reflection within real-

world practices by presenting learners with problems or a certain situation and motivating

learners to identify and carry out the solutions. It provides opportunities for students to carry out

learning activities by working on collaborative projects.

Besides, project work encourages students to gather more in-dept knowledge and sharpen their

skills in research. Moreover, students can develop creativity by doing projects and solving

problems (Anazifa & Djukri, 2017; Kean & Kwe, 2014).

Project-based learning is not relatively new in pedagogy, in fact, approximately in the early

1980s, project-based learning as part of educational practice and was greatly influenced

by the communication approach (Du & Han, 2016). The birth of PBL can be originated

from John Dewey’s theory of learning by doing in which he insisted that learning should be

more practical where the students experience the learning process by participating in

classroom activities and classroom should represent the real-life situations (Williams, 2017; Du

& Han, 2016; Azura Omar et.al, 2012). His arguments on which the learning process should be

centered on the students and the students viewed as a community working together to solve

problems have inspired PBL to be used as an alternative teaching strategy in the second and

foreign language classroom.

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Based on the previous studies, PBL shared similar features that can be summed up as an

instructional approach that emphasizes student-centered learning where the students learn

by executing a project based on the real-world problems or develop a product over a period of

time which they learn how to investigate, solve problems, make decisions and finish with

realistic products or presentations (Schneider, 2005; Grant, 2002; Jones, Rasmussen, &

Moffitt, 1997; Thomas, Mergendoller, & Michaelson, 1999; Moss & Van Duzer, 1998). Stoller

(2006) as cited in Du & Han (2016) describes PBL as 1) having a process and product; 2) giving

students (partial language classroom to help improve students’ English abilities. Keywords:

Project-based Learning, English as Second Language, ESL Students.

2.1.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Traditional education and standardized testing generally fail to comply with 21st-century

requirements, which consist of the external requirements of the workplace and internal

requirements, such as individual learner needs. In addition, there is a wide array of learners,

including low-achieving students and students with special educational needs, whose instruction

requires innovative methods. This is emphasized by Thomas (2000), who reports on the

effectiveness of PBL in diverse contexts, including racially diverse groups and low-achieving

students. Oakley et al. (2004) have proposed preventing at-risk minority students from becoming

isolated by forming groups of three or four students representing diverse ability levels.

Moreover, they suggest using the Team Policies Statement and the Team Expectations

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Agreement, which helps groups establish rules that all members can adhere to. In addition, it

provides a framework for dealing with problems that might arise during the project (Oakley et al.

2004).

2.1.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The experiential learning theory by John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget states that people

learn through experience (Kolb & Kolb, 2012). Dewey (1897) believes that “education must be

conceived as a continuing reconstruction of experience” (p. 5). This experience is gained by

active learning, thinking, feeling and perceiving. The experiential learning is considered as the

result of the interaction between the human and his or her environment (Kolb & Kolb, 2012).

According to Harrigan (2014), the experiential learning theory served as the basis for the

development of the constructivist theory, which states that learners do not acquire knowledge but

actively construct it themselves. This theory was developed by Jerome Bruner, John Dewey, Lev

Vygotsky and many other scholars. Constructivists claim that learners do not transfer ready

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knowledge from outside but create their own meaning and interpretation of the world through

gained experience (Ertmer & Newby, 1993).

My study is based on the combination of these two theories. Harrigan (2014) states that both

experiential learning and constructivist theories lead to the theoretical foundations of project-

based learning. PBL “provides a framework for cohesively combining a series of educational

strategies” (Baumgartner & Zabin, 2008, p. 98). Many scholars admit that there are many

benefits of using PBL for students. Unfortunately, both teachers and students do not always take

full advantage of PBL implementation (Tamim & Grant, 2003). They may struggle, having

different challenges while implementing it. I examine students’ perceptions regarding PBL in

order to explore the various benefits and possible challenges of using PBL in the context of

learning language.

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.0 RESEARCH DESIGN

This is a qualitative research through the use of case study where data is collected through semi

structured interviews. The data collected is to identify issues contributing to low performance of

English in the school. At the same time, data collected also aimed to identify issues that may be

overlooked in contributing to low performance of English in the school. The respondents for this

research were four teaching staff of English and also four identified pupils. The respondents

were chosen through purposive sampling where all the teaching staff are those that teaches

English while the four pupils were categorized into two groups where the first group consisted of

pupils who excelled in their English subject while the second group consisted of pupils who are

very poor in their English subject.

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3.1.1 INSTRUMENTS

The research instrument for teaching staff are one ordinal questions and semi structured

interview questions. Ordinal question was used to determine their views on the impacts of the

issues presented. After that, semi structured interviews were conducted to further delve on the

reasons for their order on the ordinal question given earlier.

Meanwhile, four pupils with different performance perception were chosen for semi structured

interviews to find out the difference between them and how they find project based learning

enhance in learning the language. Interviews were done could understand the questions better

and able to express their answers accurately in their

The following instruments were used to achieve the objectives of the research

3.1.2 Needs Analysis Questionnaire

The questionnaire consists of three domains. The first domain covers the learning needs of pupils

in the classrooms. The second one covers pupils learning preferences in PjBL. The third explores

the topics covered in the classroom.

3.1.3 Structured interview

Structured interviews were conducted among the pupils of year 3 in the school. Each interview

lasted for 10 minutes. The emphasis in the interview was given to questions related to the

benefits
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of learning English through project based learning pupils in the classrooms. The interview results

revealed that PiBL needs are significant in learning English Language in the classrooms. All

respondents agreed to the suggested innovative methods of using PiBL in the classroom. All

respondents appreciated the idea of doing experiments and devising new ways of English

language teaching based on project work and problem-solving approaches. They agreed that

Integrating Project-Based Learning Strategies in the Design of learning English in the classroom.

3.1.4 Data Collection Procedures

The study used questionnaires with closed and open-ended questions to collect data. The

questionnaire consisted of three sections. Section A was made up of demographic questions,

Section B consisted of 6 Likert scale questions with 1 being ‘Strongly Disagree and 5 beings

‘Strongly Agree' on PBL in general and Section C consisted of 15 open-ended questions to elicit

their specific perceptions of PBL. The purpose of the study was explained to the participants and

their participation was voluntary. The questionnaires were distributed to the participants during

the final week of the study.

3.1.5 Data Analysis Procedures

Thematic analysis is the process of identifying patterns or themes within qualitative data

(Maguire & Delahunt, 2017). The analysis started by coding the data in the answers to search for

repeating patterns or themes. The data then categorized into groups based on the same

features and later labelled according to the themes related to perceptions and English skills.

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REFERENCES

Akindele, D. O. (2012). Enhancing Teamwork and Communication Skills among First Year

Students at the University of Botswana. TESOL Journal, 6, 2-15.

Aksela, M. & Haatainen, O. (2019). Project-based Learning (PBL) in Practice: Active

teachers’ views of its advantages and challenges. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 333868087_project-based_learners_

pbl_in_ practise_ active_teachers'_ views_of_its’_ advantages_and_challenges

Anazifa, R. D. & Djukri. (2017). Project-Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning: Are

they effective to improve student’s thinking skills? Jurnal Pendidikan IPA

Indonesia, 6(2), 346-355

Aniroh, K. (2018). Cultural Traits in Language Teaching: A Review of English Language

Teachers and Entrepreneurs. TESOL International Journal, 13(4), 9-25.

Artini, L. P., Ratminingsih, N. M., & Padmadewi, N. N. (2018). Project Based Learning in

EFL Classes: Material development and impact of implementation. Dutch Journal of

Applied Linguistics, 7(1), 26-44. https://doi.org/10.1075/dujai.17014.art

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 APPENDIXES :An Open-ended question

1. (What is/are the benefit(s) you obtained from a project work?)

2. Were your group members cooperates well during the project work?

3. Is the task assign suits your level of understanding?

4. Did your group members are helpful?

5. Did you manage to send in your project work on time?

Appendix B: Questionnaire- Checklist survey

1. According to the implementation of project work in the classroom, what skills do you

agree that you well developed? (You may select more than one answer.)

1.1 English Skills

Speaking skills Report writing

Critical reading Grammatical structure

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Reading and listening comprehension Vocabulary

Other (Please specify) ………….

1.2 Life Skills

Collaboration and teamwork skills Flexibility and adaptability

Communication skills Information literacy

Problem-solving skills Critical thinking skills

Media and technology literacies Other (Please specify)

APPENDIX : C OBSERVATION IN CLASSROOMS

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