舒海莹论文.doc

54 Practical Project Design:Writing Practice Design &Learners InterestInvestigatorShu HaiyingTianShui TV UniversityIn fulfillment of the coursePractical Project DesignPractical Project DesignStage1: Get off the groundStage2: Problem AnalysisStage3: Project DesignStage4: Project ImplementationStage5: Project EvaluationStage6: Project ReportStage 1Get off Ground1. The steps I should followIm a third year student at TianShui TV University. I have done a good job with my last two years courses. Im now ready for my final assault, that is, to launch my practical project design. Ill follow the following steps and methods to carry out my classroom research.Stage 1 Think of a problem in my English teachingStage 2 Understand my problem through problem analysis by using1. The analytic method 2. Socratic dialogue 3. Cause analysis 4. Questionnaires 5. Observation 6. BrainstormingStage 3 Design a project to solve the problemStage 4 Implement or carry out the project Stage 5 Evaluate my project: check if I have achieved my objectivesStage 6 Write my project report 2 What sort of problems can I researchA group of middle school teachers face some problems in teaching English in China. Some of them would be suitable for classroom research.3 Think of my own problemI may have started thinking about my own problem while reading Wing Lings conversation wit Professor Guide, and I may have decided on a particular problem I want to work on after reading the teachers problems in Task 2.Here is the Problem I have decided to work on:Some of my students dont like writing in English.I may feel less worried after writing down my problem on paper. But thats not the end of it. Lets examine my problem together and see if it would be suitable for classroom research.Look at the following table. The eight questions in the column on the left are supposed to help me examine my problem from different angles. I consider carefully each of these questions and give a definite answer (Yes or No) to each of them.Questions to be consideredMy problem: Some of my students dont like using cohesive devices in the writing.1 Is it a problem from your own teaching experience?Yes2 Is it a problem that has been troubling for a long time and now you are determined to find a solution?Yes3 Is it a problem that hinders your students learning in a serious way?Yes4 Is it a problem that requires a lot of theoretical reading, which you have no means of getting access to? No5 Is it a problem concerning the utilization of some technical aids, such as OHP, video, etc, which are not available in your school? No6 Is it an intrinsic problem of the education system, which you can do little to solve in your classroom? No7 Is it a problem which cannot be solved without enough financial aid? No8 Is it a problem which will involve a long-term project to evaluate the solution? NoNow think again about my problem! The above eight questions serve as guidelines for me to decide on my own problem. They have covered important aspects of classroom teaching and learning, as well as other external factors like technical and financial aids, the whole educational system, etc. I have considered them carefully before I make the decision. My answers for the first three questions are Yes and for the remaining five are No. So I think my problem is from my own teaching experience the problem has been troubling me for a long time and hinders my students learning in a serious way, therefore, now Im determined to find a solution.4 Finalize my project timetable StageWeekCalendar datesTasksI.1Sep.2430Identify a problemII.2Oct.17Analyze the problem using scientific method of investigation Analyzing the teaching situation. Analyzing the teaching objectives, teachers roles/task, and students roles. Analyzing the possible cause of the identified problemIII3Oct.815Design a problem-solving project Formulating the project objectives and hypothesis Making a lesson plan Preparing materials and resources needed Proposing data collection method: classroom observation, questionnaire, diaries, interviewIV4,5,6Oct.16Nov.5Implement the projective Report of the classroom implementation of the lesson plan Report of the data collectionV7Nov.612Evaluate the project against a checklist Critical comment on your own teaching by checking your subjective comment against the collected data Suggestions for future teachingVI8,9Nov.1326Write the project reportIll work with my project using the above time table.Stage 2Problem Analysis1 Analyze the possible causes of the identified problem In unit 1，Professor Guide mentioned 6 scientific methods that are potentially useful for problem analysis. I have decided to use cause analysis, brainstorming and questionnaire to analyze my problem.Brainstorming:I discuss the problem with my students and my colleagues.Cause analysisI start with a list of why questions those contribute to the causes.A. Why traditional written practice isnt the better method to practice? (1) Is it because they do not like written English?(2) Is it because the writing tasks are poorly designed? or(3) Is it because they are not motivated? or(4) Is it because my instructions are not clear?(5) Is it because they do not like to practice writing tasks alone? (6) Is it because they do not think writing practice is important and necessary?B. All those make me find out the misunderstanding in writing practice. (1) The teachers side: I was not enthusiastic myself. I failed to give instructions clearly. I did not do any monitoring .I simply sat there, reading the correct answers.(2) The students side:My students came from the countryside. Their mastering the vocabulary is too small to finish writing by themselves. Some of them, especially the top ones, would rather give their answers in class to impress their teachers than exchange opinions with their peers. Some of them are afraid of making mistakes and being laughed by their peers. (3) The class size:The class size of over 70 students may have some negative effects.(4) The classroom management:The number of the class is too large to b e controlled. Students may not be properly corrected their writing. After the cause analysis, I feel quite strongly that my poor instruction of writing practice activities is the primary cause of my students not using cohesive devices in the writing .Since I am really scientifically minded ,I want to further confirm my analysis through still another method of scientific investigation, viz. questionnaire.2. Design a draft questionnaireI have followed these steps in my questionnaire 1. Choose the informants2. Work out a list of things that call for the students opinions3. Design a draft questionnaire4. Try the draft questionnaire out with a few students5. Revise and finalize the questionnaires6. Distribute the questionnaires7. Collect the questionnaires8. Process the results9. Evaluate the findingsI want to adopt Wing Lings tips on how to make questionnaire. Informant selectionWho will be my questionnaire informants is not a trivial issue. I should be as neutral as I can possibly be. That is, I should not choose only those who are likely to support my view. I should also include those who may be against my view. Strictly speaking, my informants should be randomly selected, that is without my knowledge of their views such as their order in the class register. Items to be testedThe sorts of questions to be raised in the questionnaire should be carefully worked out. In my case, after I have gone through the problem analysis by the analytic method, cause analysis, I feel quite confident about what sorts of questions I should raise in my questionnaire. If I had not gone though the process, I dont think I would have been able to know which questions I should ask my informants to answer.Design a my draft questionnaire1. Do you think the teacher has given you clear instructions about how to do writing practice? Yes No2. Do you think the teacher is too serious in class for you to feel free to write well? Yes No3. Do you think the teacher herself is enthusiastic herself? Yes No4. Does your teacher always help you when you meet difficulties? Yes No5. Do you like doing writing practice? Yes No Try the draft questionnaire out with a few studentsAfter I have finished my questionnaire, I tried it out with a few students, to see how they react to the questionnaire. In this way I got rid of a lot of “bugs”, or faults, that I had failed to detect myself.The draft version question is a bad one. It is bad, not because of its grammar, which is perfectly acceptable, but because of the way it is put. My students knew I was going to read their answers, and as you can very well imagine, no-one would like to offend me by ticking “no”.So the opinion I wanted to find out by the question was actually fixed before the questionnaire was distributed to my informantsThe revised version of the question is much better one. I did not ask my students to comment on my performance straightaway. I did so in an indirect way. Thus I found out my students genuine view of my instructions. Revise and finalize the questionnaireIt always pays off in the end to revise my questionnaire after trailing it .It improves the validity if my questionnaire tremendously. Then I should really version, and so on, till I get what I want -a questionnaire that obtains the exact information I need Remember also that you will get more honest responses if the questionnaire is left anonymous, that is without the students having to write their names .My informants will be: both some of my students and some of my colleagues studentsI want to find out my informants opinion on the following things:1. Does the teacher have given the students clear instructions about how to do the writing practice on a certain topic before they begin with it?2. Is the teacher too serious for the students to feel free to write that the teacher asks them to do?3. Is the teacher enthusiastic herself when she demonstrate the task?4. Do the students need the teachers help when they meet difficulties?5. Do the students like doing writing practice both in class and after class?6. Do the students want to try their best to improve their writing skill?7. What kinds of measures have you taken to improve their writing skill?8. What are their favorite writing practice activities?9. Which activities can improve their motivation in learning written English?10. Which teaching method do you think is more interesting and more useful?11. What kind of praise can arouse your enthusiasm for learning written English?Questionnaire on Writing Practice Dear Student：I know you are very busy with your study. But could you spare me 10 to15minutes by answering this questionnaire? Your help will improve my teaching of written English, and my better performance will in turn help you to improve your writing.Please return your questionnaire to my pigeonhole at your earliest convenience.Please ticket the box next to the answer that expresses your opinion.Thanks a lot!1. How do you like writing?a. Like a lot b. Like c. Just so so d. Dislike e. Dislike very much2. How would you like your teacher to give you instructions about how to write? a. In plain English. b. In Chinese. c. First in English, then in Chinesed. Give instructions followed by a demonstration.e. Help you brainstorm the topic and write some useful words and expressions on the blackboard. 3. How many linking words are you familiar with? a. Most b. Some c. only a few d. none4. What kind of topics would you like your teacher to give?a. The topics from the texts books. b. The topics from the real life.5. What measures do you take to improve the writing skill?a. Copying the texts b. Translating single sentences.c. Do nothing d. Writing English as often as possible. 6. What kind of praise can make you feel successful and do better?a. A big hand. b. Well done. c. What a good job! d. A humorous praisePlease provide the following information:Class:_ Age:_ Sex:_. Thank you for your cooperation!Process the resultAbout their attitude to writing, 12% informants like writing a lot. 18% informants like writing. 35% informants think its just so so. 15% informants dislike writing. 20% informants dislike writing very much. They think writing in English is very difficult. 60% informants think if the teacher gives their introduction about how to write on a certain topic, first in English, then followed by a demonstration, 75% informants think its best to help them brainstorm the topic and write some useful words and expressionon the Bb. On how many linking words and pronouns they are familiar with, 15% informants show they know most, 70% informants know some, 15% informants only remember a few. About the topics, 40% informants would like the teacher to give their topics which from the textbook. 60% informants would like the topics which from the real life. About the measures they take to improve their writing skill, 55% informants often copy texts; 35% informants only translate sentences; 60% informants think write English as often as possible; only10% informants do nothing. They think the teachers enthusiasm can arise that of theirs.95% informants prefer different praises to dull ones, 65% informants show they like humorous praises.75% informants show that giving them enough time can make them do better in the writing task.Evaluate the findingsThe result of the questionnaire indicates that some of my students dont like writing. Only a few students like writing very much. About the instructions, most students would like the teacher to give them first in English, then in Chinese. They hope the teacher can help them brainstorm the topic and write down the useful words and expressions on the blackboard. If the teacher can give them instructions followed by demonstration and give them enough time to prepare, they will minimize errors when they write. They think the teachers enthusiasm can arouse the interest of theirs. They would like to hear different praises instead of saying the same words like “Very good.” .They also hope other students not to laugh at them. About the measure, most students think writing in English as often as possible can improve their writing ability. After I analyzed the problem through three different scientific methods, I reached sensible conclusions about the nature of the problem as following-Firstly, I could not make some of my students get a clear understanding of the topics. As a result, some of my students didnt often know what to write and how to write.Secondly, I didnt give them clear instructions.Thirdly, sometimes I lacked enthusiasm myself when I was demonstrating.Fourthly, the praises I said lacked of encouragement Fifthly, sometimes I didnt give them enough time to prepare the task.Sixthly while the students were practicing, I just sit there reading instead of monitoring them and gave them help.But I think if I think of ways to develop methods/techniques, materials/tasks that could be tried out to improve the learning situation, and we need to find ways of testing their effectiveness. Express this stage Generally speaking, I have essentially done three things to tackle my problem. Firstly, I familiarized myself with the six methods of scientific investigation by reading the panel discussion on them; Secondly, I applied three of the six methods to the analysis of my problem. After I use the analytic method, cause analysis and brainstorming to analyze my problem, I feel quite strongly that my poor-designed activities are the primary cause of my students have no interests in the writing .Thirdly, I designed a questionnaire to find out why some of my students do not like writing. All of them returned their questionnaires. As a result, I will design writing-practice teaching activities to arouse students interests of improving their writing. So I can improve quality of my English classroom teaching. Stage 3Project Design 1. Formulate my project objective and hypothesisAfter a length problem analysis, I have reached this conclusion: The problem that some of my students dont like using cohesive devices is mainly due to my poor instruction of writing practice. I am now determined to launch a project to overcome this problem. Thus my research objectives are: (1) Enhance my Ss interest in learning writing practice. (2) Give the students opportunities to practice their skills in using cohesive devices. (3) Improve the ability of using language.The project hypothesis reads: Learners interest in doing writing practice isincreased by better-designed writing practice exercises.My task thus becomes: design a project that proves or disapproves or partially proves that better-designed writing practice exercises indeed increase learners interest in doing writing practice.I call my project Writing Practice Design and Learners Interest Project2: Work out my project rationale: After reading and thinking, I work out my project rational, that is, reasons of assumptions on which my project is based. And I have worked out four reasons on which my project will be based. They are-1. The role of using cohesive d