Practical Project Design Course Orientation (2005)

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Practical Project DesignCourse Orientation (2005)

• Presented by
• Jia Lin (Dana)

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Welcome to Practical Project Design (PPD)!

• Practical Project Design is a course that
  advanced students can take at the end of their
  third year at BWO.
• PPD follows English Language Teaching Methodology
  I and II as part of a series.

• Students will be expected to apply what they have
  learned about teaching methodology to solving a
  practical ELTM problem.
• By the end of the course, the students should
  have completed two assignments and a proposal for
  conducting research in teaching.

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Outline for PPD Orientation

1. General Introduction
2. PPD Course Units
3. Course Requirements and Evaluation
4. Questions and Answers

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1. General Introduction
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Course Objectives

• Become familiar with research methods
• Gain experience in English language teaching.
• Become actively engaged in the research process
  by designing and implementing an independent
  project.
• Write a research proposal.
• Prepare for writing a Bachelors thesis.

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Prerequisites

• Knowledge of English language teaching
  methodology and the communicative approach.
• An understanding of problems associated with
  language teaching.
• Some language teaching experience and access to a
  group of students on which one can do research
  (discussed in FAQ section).
• Analytical ability and an interest in doing
  research.

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Schedule for PPD

• The course is approximately 12 weeks in length.
• Discussion sessions and VOBs will help students
  in preparing their assignments.
• Students should submit 2 assignments to the
  e-platform.
• Feedback on student work will be provided in
  written comments and during tutorials and VOBs.
• Assignments can be submitted a second time if
  necessary.
• Check the schedule on the e-platform for dates
  and deadlines.

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PPD Textbook Overview
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Steps in Completing PPD

• Note that the 6 steps are not of equal length.
  Some will take more time than others.
• First, you will need to describe a problem that
  can be solved by applying ELTM. (Use Unit 1 in
  the PPD textbook as a guide.)
• Second, you will need to analyze the problem in
  steps to find ways to solve it. (Unit 2 can be
  your guide.)

• Third, you will need to determine your objective,
  hypothesis, rationale and teaching methods. (Use
  Unit 3.)
• Fourth, draw up an outline of the design of your
  teaching activities (Unit 3).
• Fifth, design and describe your activities in
  detail (Unit 3).
• Sixth, write a proposal for teaching students
  using your activities and collecting data on the
  results.

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After PPD

• You will need to actually implement your
  activities by teaching a group of students (Unit
  4).
• While teaching, you will need to collect data,
  just as you said you would in your proposal.
• You will need to show your tutor proof of your
  implementation.

• Then, you will need to organize and evaluate your
  results (Unit 5).
• Finally, you will need to report your results and
  what they mean, and write your Bachelors thesis
  based on your work (Unit 6).

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Before You Start

• Read the textbook to get an overall understanding
  of the project.
• Spend time learning about ELTM and how to conduct
  research by reading some research papers.
• Start thinking about a problem in language
  teaching that you are interested in solving using
  communicative methods.
• Think about ways of collecting data from your own
  ELT students.

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Value of the Research Process

• Experience in research and analysis trains your
  mind in a way that rote learning cannot.
• You need to go through the process of doing
  research in order to fully understand it.
• PPD provides you with a valuable learning
  experience that is part of acquiring a B.A.
  degree and attaining international levels of
  scholarship.

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Evaluation of Your Work in PPD
Assignment 1 (Describe project problem) 5
Assignment 1 (Analyze problem) 15
Assignment 2 (Project basis, activity design) 60
Assignment 2 (Project proposal) 20
Note that all elements must be completed in order
for your project to be assessed.
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Resources and Information

• The course handbook provides basic information
  about the course, along with a list of 13
  reference books and 17 articles.
• A suggested topic list is also provided in the
  handbook.

• The e-learning platform lists some recommended
  books to help you with thesis writing skills.
• There is also a course-based forum on which you
  can pose questions, get answers and follow
  discussions between students and instructors.

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Help Provided as You Need It

• Face-to-face tutorials allow you to meet your
  tutor for discussion and feedback.
• VOC and VOB broadcasts allow you to listen to
  discussion and feedback from the comfort of your
  own computer. Questions can be posed during each
  broadcast.
• At other times, you can contact your tutor by
  phone or email for personal assistance.

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2. PPD Course Units
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Unit 1 Get off the Ground

• The first thing you need to do is think about and
  describe a researchable problem.
• The PPD handbook contains a list of topics.
• You will also need to make sure that the problem
  is realistic in relation to your teaching
  situation.
• Your tutor will guide you in the selection
  process and help you to narrow your research
  problem so that it is specific enough.

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Unit 2 Problem Analysis

• Next, you will need to become familiar with 6
  methods of investigating and analyzing a problem.
• You should practice these methods and select one
  or more of them to be developed in detail in your
  assignment.
• Your analysis should be progressive and lead to
  conclusions that suggest an approach to solving
  the problem.
• Consult your tutor for help and guidance during
  the problem analysis stage.

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Submit Assignment 1.

• In the first assignment, you will need to
  describe your research problem and how it relates
  to your teaching situation.
• You will need to work out a detailed problem
  analysis using suitable methods.
• Finally, you should arrive at sensible
  conclusions on how to solve the problem.

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Unit 3 Project Design

• During the third step, you will need to formulate
  your project objective and hypothesis.
• At this point you should be reading books and
  articles related to your topic, gathering ideas
  and preparing citations to be included in your
  bibliography (discussed in Unit 6).
• You will also need to work out a detailed design
  for your project.
• You may find it helpful to participate in
  discussion sessions and see how other students
  plan their projects, with your tutors guidance.

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Submit Assignment 2.

• In the second assignment, you will need to
  describe your objective and hypothesis in a way
  that is clear and demonstrate that your project
  is relevant and realistic.
• You will also need to write a rationale,
  including several paragraphs about WHY you chose
  to solve the problem in that particular way,
  based on what you have learned about ELTM.

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Submit Assignment 2 (contd).

• Assignment 2 requires you to list the
  communicative teaching methods you will use.
• You will need to fill in the Teaching Activity
  Outline, providing a summary of the original
  teaching activities that you have designed.
• You will also need to describe your activities
  and data collection methods in detail.

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Submit Assignment 2 (contd).

• The last thing you must complete in Assignment 2
  is a project proposal.
• The proposal is an article in which you summarize
  your ideas and explain your plan for conducting
  research.
• At the end of the proposal, you should predict
  what you expect to find and how this will prove
  your hypothesis.

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Units 4-6

• Units 4 to 6 of your textbook cover
  implementation, evaluation and report writing.
• You will do these things after you complete
  Assignments 1 and 2 for PPD.
• Nevertheless, you should be aware of what these
  units contain, since your work in PPD will
  directly affect the Bachelors thesis that you
  must write later.

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Unit 4 Project Implementation

• This is where you will use the ELT activities
  that you designed in PPD with real students.
• You will need to collect data as you teach, since
  this data will be required for your Bachelors
  thesis.
• So, you should organize your time for teaching
  students well in advance, and collect data in an
  organized way.

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Unit 5 Project Evaluation

• Another thing you will need to do is evaluate
  your data and show whether it provides support
  for the hypothesis you came up with in PPD.
• The evaluation of your data and the conclusions
  that result from it will be included in your
  Bachelors thesis.

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Unit 6 Project Report

• Unit 6 discusses how to write a project report
  that includes a title page, abstract, body,
  conclusions and a bibliography.
• It also shows how to include relevant materials
  (questionnaires, tables of results etc.) in the
  appendix of your report.
• This unit is one of the resources that will help
  you in planning your thesis.

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Focus on PPD

• But since the Bachelors thesis is still in the
  future, you need to focus on PPD Assignments 1
  and 2 for now.
• Next, I will present an overview of these
  assignments.

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3. Course Requirements and Evaluation
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Course Requirements

• There are no progress reports or exams associated
  with this course.
• Evaluation is based on the results of 2
  assignments.
• Assignments must be submitted on the e-platform
  in the proper order.
• Students who fail after submitting an assignment
  will be given only one additional chance to pass
  the course! (Must resubmit by the second
  deadline.)

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Evaluation of Assignments
Asst Assignment Title Full Points Passing Points
1 Problem identification and analysis (Units 1-2) 20 12
2 Project basis, activity design, and proposal (Unit 3) 80 48
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Using the Assignment Specifications

• ?? ???
  ??_________
• ???? ????
  ??________
• FOR TUTORS
• You are required to comment on the students
  writing paragraph by paragraph or immediately
  following flow charts and tables. Write your
  comment after each paragraph/table/flow chart
  using a contrasting font color .

• You should complete the first four blanks at the
  top of each assignment.
• Include your name, student number, year that you
  began study at BeiwaiOnline, and the name of your
  learning center.

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Assignment 1 (Part 1)

• You must explain your topic and link it to a
  general or specific topic on the list (in the
  handbook).
• The topic must be discussed with the tutor and
  approved before the assignment is submitted.
• Your teaching situation must be explained clearly
  and honestly.

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Assignment 1 (Part 2)

• You should state which analytic method was used.
• Analysis questions should relate to the specific
  problem and should progressively search for
  helpful conclusions.
• Answers to questions cannot be too simple or
  superficial.
• Your analysis should result in a better
  understanding of the problem and ways of solving
  it.

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Assignment 2 (Part 1.1)

• The project objective should be a single
  statement about what you hope to achieve.
• The hypothesis is a statement about what you
  expect will happen as a result of the
  implementation.
• The rationale should include several paragraphs
  showing reasons for the research methods that
  have been selected.
• Under Communicative Teaching Methods, specific
  methods from ELTM such as enacting role-plays,
  using error sheets, and training listening for
  gist should be listed.

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Assignment 2 (Part 1.2)

• The Teaching Activity Outline provides a quick
  overview of activities by date. It is also a
  checklist to remind you of important elements
  (e.g. Materials?name of textbook, computers). It
  should be filled in with words and short phrases
  only (e.g. Data Collection Methods?surveys), not
  sentences.
• Under Detailed descriptions..., you should
  provide longer explanations of each activity
  listed in the table and how you will collect
  research data.

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Assignment 2 (Part 1.3)

• Check to make sure that each of these criteria
  have been met (e.g. your objective is clear and
  relevant).
• Your rationale should explain reasons for your
  approach, based on what you learned in ELTM.
• Acceptable methods are described in ELTM.
• The objectives of activities are related to
  proving the hypothesis.

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Assignment 2 (Part 1.4)

• Activities that are original should be described
  in specific details and show evidence of your
  creativity.
• Descriptions are detailed enough if another
  teacher could conduct the class easily based on
  the instructions.
• Your descriptions should be written in clear,
  accurate and unambiguous English.

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Assignment 2 (Part 2.1)

• You should create your own titles for the Table
  of contents which also appear in the body (main
  part) of the report.
• The introduction to the proposal should provide
  background information, the body should provide
  detailed explanations, and the conclusion should
  summarize your expectations in terms of the
  hypothesis.
• The body and conclusion should generally be
  written in the future tense, since the proposal
  explains the project plan.

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Assignment 2 (Part 2.2)

• The proposal is a separate report and thus
  requires a cover page and table of contents.
• The cover page should show the title, your name,
  school, date and course name.
• The introduction should provide relevant
  background information, but be concise (not too
  long).
• The body should explain in detail how the
  research will be conducted.

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Assignment 2 (Part 2.3)

• The approach that you take in PPD should reflect
  the communicative methodology you learned in
  ELTM.
• You will need to explain your data collection
  methods.
• In your writing, you should be able to express
  yourself clearly and concisely, without too many
  English mistakes.
• After reading the proposal, the reader should
  feel that you know how to proceed with the
  project.

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Other Submission Details

• A hard copy (printed paper) may be required by
  your tutor in addition for the e-version. Check
  with your tutor regarding this requirement.
• You will need to pass the previous stage before
  you can proceed to the next stage.
• In order to complete all the requirements on
  time, it is your responsibility to keep in touch
  with your tutor!

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4. Questions and Answers
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FAQ 1

• Question What do I do if I am not currently
  teaching and have no students to collect research
  data results on?

• Answer Arrange to teach English at your place of
  work. Or, you can find students to tutor
  privately. You can contact a local agency that
  will put you in touch with prospective students.

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FAQ 2

• Question What if I cannot participate in
  discussion sessions?

• Answer Participation in discussion sessions is
  not a requirement, but you should still keep in
  regular contact with your tutor. Remember that
  your tutors advice and experience are important
  in topic selection and in the development of your
  project.

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FAQ 3

• Question Where can I find ideas and resources
  for my research?

• Answer You may find it helpful to review your
  ELTM textbooks and read books on the PPD
  recommended book list. BWO tutors have also
  compiled lists of sources on the internet. You
  just need to make use of the resources that are
  available!

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Thank you for listening!

• Questions are welcome!