Vicky Saumell Expands on Project Based Learning

Vicky Saumell, an English teacher at Instituto San Francisco de Asis (Argentina), and the blogger behind Educational Technology in ELT, recently wrote a guest post for Ken Wilson’s blog that received a tremendous response from teachers worldwide. The title of the post, Daring to move away from course books, is a subject that many teachers are tempted by. We’re happy that Vicky has agreed to continue the conversation here at TEFL.net so that we can all learn more about her school’s Project Based Learning shift.

Vicky Saumell

Tara: When you wrote your guest post for Ken Wilson’s blog did you expect such an interest from the online community?

Vicky: Absolutely not! I was overwhelmed by the many comments and amazingly interesting questions that arose.

Tara: In the title of your post you use the word “Daring”. Have you always been daring in your profession as an English teacher?

Vicky: Well…not really…and I was thinking of writing a blog post about that! In the beginning of my teaching career I mostly did what was expected of me from my senior teachers in a very traditional way. It was gradually through experience and reflective teaching practice that I got the confidence to criticize educational possibilities in my particular context.

Tara: You mentioned that doing away with textbooks would give students more choice. In what ways do your students have more choice in the classroom now, and how has this motivated them?

Vicky: Well, this takes me back to 1997 when I first heard Andrew Littlejohn talking about choice in the classroom. At that time I was using one of his course books, which included several instances of different options for students to choose about the same topic or task. From that moment on, I have seen how much students enjoy being given the possibility of choice! Nowadays, I try to include different alternatives in every project we do, sometimes the choice refers to topic, sometimes the topic is fixed and they can choose the task to be done, sometimes the choice is in the way they want to work or the tools they can use. This is really motivating for teenagers because they can express their individuality through their choices and they feel they are being taken into account and respected.

Tara: Can you tell us more about the types of assessment you are using now compared to before?

Vicky: We used to focus much more on grammar. Now we design the projects and the final products as a natural expression of the language, grammar and vocabulary we want them to learn and we provide grammar instructions and vocabulary development as needed. The assessment is carried out in two different ways: the process and the product. During the development of the project we evaluate the students’ performance in class through continuous observation which is based on a rubric especially designed for each project. At the end of each project, we evaluate the final product, also according to a specially-designed rubric. The students have these rubrics from the beginning of the project so that they know what they will be evaluated on. In some particular cases, if the teacher feels there is need for a specific grammar or vocabulary test, it is included as a third assessment instance for the project.

Tara: In the blog post, you shared the enthusiasm of teachers and students. How have the parents reacted to your school’s new project based approach?

Vicky: We have sent out letters to parents explaining the change and how the PBL scheme works, but so far we haven’t heard from them…maybe it is too soon.

Tara: Has your online PLN played a role in helping you through your first few months?

Vicky: Although I have not openly discussed this move with many of them, my PLN played an essential role in helping me become the teacher I am today and giving me the confidence to generate this kind of change.

Tara: According to one of your readers, many schools photocopy materials from different course books to create a patchwork of materials. Is this practice part of your new program? (finding the golden nuggets in various books to create supplementary materials for projects)

Vicky: Well, we don’t think “patchworking” is the way to go about it. What we do is to plan original projects using golden nuggets from the realm of authentic materials and then we build the project’s scaffolding tasks, which occasionally include an activity from a course book.

Tara: Your students may no longer need to purchase a core textbook, but what about other fees such as photocopying, printing, and technology costs. Has the project based approach been a financial burden on the school itself?

Vicky: Well, it hasn’t really. The school already had a computer lab with about 25 computers, which was only used by the Computer Studies teachers, and a beamer in a another room, both of which we are now using regularly. The photocopying costs, which are much lower than the cost of a textbook, are covered by the students. The only costs that we have asked the school to cover are the purchase of some microphones and headsets, and the maintenance of the computer lab.

Tara: You mentioned that the hardest part so far has been the upkeep of a wiki. Can you expand on what you and your teachers are using the wiki for?

Vicky: The wiki is the PBL scheme backbone as it functions as a repository of all the projects so that they can be accessed by all teachers and be reused at will. There is a project index that includes the project name, their linguistic focus, level, age, when it was used and with which class. Then there is an individual page for each project where teachers upload the materials and lesson plans and can also leave comments on the projects they have done regarding suggestions, changes and problems. Another part of the wiki is the web 2.0 tools guides, where I have built an index of web 2.0 tools with their uses, tutorials, guides, tips, etc., so that teachers can also develop professionally in this aspect.

Tara: Your post mentioned that your teachers have embraced this change. Have any of them asked for extra compensation or changed their minds about the value of this approach since the original launch in March 2010?

Vicky: My team of teachers and I have one bimonthly meeting that is not paid, and I guess the reason why they have always agreed to this (for years now) is that the meetings are well planned and to the point. They do not extend beyond the agreed hour and a half unless they wish to stay a bit longer. The rest of the meetings are held during the period when there are no classes, except holidays, of course! As for their change of minds, we are going through the hardest stage of the implementation scheme as they start to see beyond the expected advantages and notice some difficulties. The key to overcoming these difficulties is sharing them, suggesting solutions and providing continuous support to teachers. I have found that showing them my own difficulties and how I tackled them makes the whole process more transparent. And acknowledging that this is a normal aspect of any change has been reassuring for them.

Tara: Jason Renshaw suggested that learners help by bringing in their own materials. What do you think of this suggestion?

Vicky: I have provided the materials so far, but for certain projects I think it is really valuable for learners to bring their own materials as it can boost their motivation in a similar way as the choice we discussed before. What has happened to me before is that a student suggests a song or article he has found…which I can use later.

Tara: How will your new project-based system affect how your school does future hiring?

Vicky: That is really an important aspect to consider as I certainly think that you need teachers who have had some kind of experience in this kind of work. For the time being, I just hope none of my teachers is thinking of leaving soon!

Tara: Your teaching team is such an inspiration Vicky! By daring to experiment you will undoubtedly inspire countless teachers and learners around the world. We will be following closely on your blog to see how things work out. Thank you! A big thank you as well to THE Ken Wilson for getting this conversation started.

Vicky’s Blog: Educational Technology in ELT
Instituto San Francisco de Asis wiki: Showcases student work
Follow Vicky on Twitter: @vickysaumell