by Josianne Block
Imagine a context where students are not just learners, but also teachers.
On World Book Day, a group of young adult learners that I teach were offered the opportunity to go to another school to conduct a creative writing workshop with students their age. This required considerable preparation using a project-based learning (PBL) approach, which enhanced not only the students’ communicative skills in English but also 21st century skills like collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.
Students at my school rarely get the chance to practise public speaking outside the classroom, and presenting to a different audience, rather than familiar faces, pushed them out of their comfort zones. Additionally, by conducting this workshop at another school, I hoped my students would be exposed to a different school culture and become aware of different realities, rather than keeping them sheltered.
Aligning with the findings of Astawa et al. (2017), the project revealed that PBL significantly boosted the students’ enthusiasm, creativity, confidence, autonomy, and collaboration. Apart from increasing their self-esteem, PBL also taught them the importance of teamwork and the necessity of taking the initiative and being accountable for their own learning journeys.
The steps I followed were inspired by Markham (2011), who sees PBL as the bridge between education and the global community.
Step 1: Presentation of the idea
I would have preferred for the students to decide on a theme or topic that interested them as this would have generated more initial enthusiasm. Unfortunately, this was not an option since our project was directly tied to the World Book Day celebrations, and we were specifically asked to focus on creative writing.
First, I presented the idea to the students and outlined the outcomes that as a group I hoped to achieve. Everyone was on board; while I initially expected some resistance against the topic, surprisingly the students were more concerned about their ability to conduct a workshop for other students. Their concern revealed a lack of confidence which I hoped to improve using PBL strategies.
Step 2: Project outline and role assignment
Planning was essential before kickstarting the actual work. Some important aspects were decided at this stage, including the duration of the workshop, the number of activities, and the types of activities. We opted for a 45-minute session and agreed on a total of five activities, balanced between presenting information and more interactive, hands-on tasks. Deciding on an approximate length for each activity also helped with content creation.
The students then formed small groups in preparation for the next stage, with different roles assigned to each individual student, focusing on conducting research, content creation, editing, and proofreading.
Step 3: Material Design
First, the students gathered information from online resources to help them make informed decisions about the tasks they were going to create. Inspired by existing tasks, which they discussed and analysed collaboratively, each group created a unique task based on the application of both their existing knowledge and new knowledge acquired through the research process. Five different activities were created:
-
Favourite book presentation
The students presented short reviews of various books written in different languages, such as Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Meriyll, written in Albanian by Viktor Canosinaj, and Le Petit Prince by the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. -
Two truths and a lie
Most teachers will be familiar with the game, but in this case the questions were all related to the act of reading and to famous books. The audience had to raise a green card for the two true statements and a red card for the false statement. -
Writing tips
This short presentation offered suggestions on how to structure an effective story, what makes a strong introduction and conclusion, and how to improve the body paragraphs of a story. -
Creative writing activity
The students prepared pieces of paper, each with a random word on it, and placed them in a hat. The activity consisted of each person in the audience picking one of these papers, then forming groups to create a funny or scary story using all the words they had picked. -
Concluding activity
The students urged the audience to continue writing outside of school. They asked them to choose a fictional character and write an email to them. They also shared their school email addresses so that the audience could share their work for feedback.
Step 4: Source compilation and organisation
Once the tasks were revised and finalised, we compiled them into one digital presentation. Apart from choosing the digital tool (in this case, we agreed on Microsoft PowerPoint), we also decided on the order of the activities and the roles each student would assume during the workshop. For instance, students who were not conducting the ‘Two Truths and a Lie’ activity still had to help by distributing the green and red cards, whereas for the creative writing activity everyone was expected to engage with the audience and answer any queries they might have. Other logistics, such as the dress code and transport, were also discussed at this stage.
Step 5: Piloting and feedback
According to Zano (2022), students are more able to comprehend and arrange information meaningfully and make the necessary connections when they are given feedback by peers. This was a very important stage because it helped the students identify the strengths of the workshop and areas for improvement. Moreover, piloting the project in front of familiar faces also boosted their confidence.
The workshop was tested with another class during their English lesson and at the end, feedback was provided via exit tickets. The piloting went smoothly, but apart from the feedback we received from the audience, I asked my students to also give each other suggestions for improvement. This final phase proved to be challenging for them. It aligns with the study conducted by Zano (2022), in which students admitted their bias as they tended to prioritise preserving friendships over giving honest feedback, leading to positive comments regardless of the quality of the work. Nonetheless, peer feedback not only helped the students become more critical and willing to accept criticism, but it also offered opportunities to modify the workshop before presenting it to a larger unknown audience.
Step 6: Time for Action
Finally, it was time for the students to conduct the workshop and show off their public speaking skills. Despite initial feelings of tension and nervousness, the workshop was well-received. Seeing other students engage so enthusiastically with what we had prepared for them was very rewarding. It is true that the best teacher for our students is their peers.
Concluding Remarks
Through PBL, students are encouraged to participate in collaborative learning and develop into creative thinkers who possess agency. This strategy not only positively impacts their academic performance, including fluency and accuracy in English, but also helps them develop a sense of duty towards their own learning (Astawa et al., 2017).
During the project, the students engaged in various activities such as expressing ideas, researching and sharing information, making collaborative decisions, providing constructive criticism on peers’ work, and ultimately presenting in front of an unfamiliar audience. The use of PBL strategies for this project was vital because, as Markham (2011) notes:
“PBL refocuses education on the student, not the curriculum - a shift mandated by the global world, which rewards intangible assets such as drive, passion, creativity, empathy, and resilience. These cannot be taught out of a textbook but must be activated through experience.”
References
Astawa, N. L., Artini, L. P., & Nitiasih, P. K. (2017). Project-based learning activities and EFL students’ productive skills in English. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(6), 1147-1155. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0806.16
Markham, T. (2011). Project Based Learning A Bridge Just Far Enough. Teacher Librarian, 39(2), 38-42.
Zano, K. (2022). Promoting peer assessment ‘Learner to learner’ feedback in a multilingual high school English first additional language setting. Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 10(4), 561-569. https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v10i4.5268
Author Biography
Josianne Block holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Malta. She has over ten years of teaching experience in English and currently teaches induction programmes at the Migrant Learners’ Unit in Malta. She actively participates in local and international ELT conferences.