Cultivating Advanced Integrated Skills With PBI
by Shélynn Riel
Project-based instruction (PBI) has gained popularity in
both general and second-language (L2) education. Grounded in constructivist
theory, PBI affords many possibilities for transforming classrooms into active
learning environments (Krajcik et al., 1994). However, a review of the
literature shows discrepancies between English language teachers’ and students’
evaluations of PBI. Although some teachers endorse PBI because it provides
opportunities for comprehensible output and integrated language teaching, there
is some evidence that students are frustrated by this form of instruction
because it prevents them from learning from the teacher and textbooks and from
focusing on language skills (Beckett, 2002). There is also discussion about
whether PBI should be incorporated at the university level, as projects can
seem juvenile in nature and design unless framed appropriately for an audience
of adult learners.
The project
I present here was not only amenable to my university-level English learners,
but it transformed our classroom into one in which students embraced the role
of critical consumer, cultural observer, researcher, and journalist. Through
the creation of a digital newspaper, students examined narrative, persuasive,
and argumentative writing structures, noticing an overlap of skills needed for
effective oral and written communication.
Launching An Integrated
Skills Project
In spring of
2019, I set out to deliver advanced integrated skills through project-based
learning for a group of nontraditional adult students. I feared the worst—a
total lack of buy-in from the students—as I hoped for the best.
Over the
course of 15 weeks, students explored distinct rhetorical structures and
purposes in writing as they developed individual digital newspapers. The
project wasn’t without its challenges, though; the creation of a digital
newspaper, particularly for students who may have been out of the classroom for
several years or are unfamiliar with emerging tech tools, is no easy feat.
This project
encouraged recognizing the “beauty of the journey” just as much as it promised
a unique outcome for each individual. Today I want to take you on this journey
with the hope that you’ll be able to discover nuggets of inspiration to use in
your own classroom.
Learning and Language
Objectives
But first, a
bit of context. The course, which ran for the first time in this format in
spring 2019, was entitled “Advanced Integrated Skills: Journalism and Media
Studies.” The learning and language objectives covered all language domains,
the most important of which are outlined here. Together, we aimed to
-
sharpen note-taking skills
and the ability to understand and infer the main ideas and details of readings
and classroom discussions;
-
create and discuss original
written pieces using various structures, including descriptive,
compare/contrast, and problem/solution;
-
perform basic research to
locate and later incorporate resources effectively in written work;
-
become familiar with
newspaper formatting and terminology;
-
plan and execute
well-organized and cohesive presentations on selected topics; and
ultimately
-
create and publish a
digital newspaper.
The
Project
Part 1. Reflecting on
Media Consumption and Bias
We began the
semester thinking about what it means to be a critical consumer of information,
a skillset that has proven incredibly important in the age of widespread
misinformation. Students reflected on bias, both as it exists in their own
lives and across media, analyzing headlines of current events and attempting to
understand political underpinnings. Students looked at the phenomenon that is
targeted advertisement, and pinpointed marketing strategies as they appeal to
distinct demographics.
For their
first major assignment, students created an advertising campaign for a product
or service of their choice, offering two separate advertisement strategies,
each lending itself to a different demographic. In the following samples, the
student shows how she would advertise Trek brand mountain bikes for an
“independent preteen” (Figure 1) and a “concerned parent” (Figure 2).

Figure 1.
Bike advertisement targeting “independent preteens.”
(Click here to enlarge.)

Figure 2.
Bike advertisement targeting “concerned parents.”
(Click here to enlarge.)
Part 2. Considering
Unique Experiences
After
recognizing the bias that exists around us, we started to reflect on how our
unique experiences have shaped who we are. Students recalled moments, people,
and things from their past that bring up feelings of joy. Naturally, the
conversation shifted to food. Students chose recipes from their home countries
and painted a picture of their experiences preparing or sharing that meal.
Students used a personal narrative to introduce their special dish to their
peers during a presentation, and some even brought samples to share. In their
e-newspapers, students included the recipe. Figure 3 shows a students’ recipe
for Jiuniang Yuanzi.

Figure 3.
Recipe for Jiuniang Yuanzi. (Click here to enlarge.)
Part 3. Researching
History and Historical Figures
The next two
segments in the students’ newspapers would emphasize key figures and moments in
history. Students selected a day and individual that they believed to be of
great importance in the history of the world. Students wrote expositions and
biographies to include in their newspapers, and shared timelines that they
created during presentations. In Figures 4 and 5, respectively, you’ll see a
student’s biography of Steve Jobs and her main takeaways from the infamous
Tiananmen Square protest.

Figure 4.
Steve Jobs biography. (Click here to enlarge.)

Figure 5. Historical highlight: Tiananmen
Square.
(Click here to enlarge.)
Part 4. Writing Travel
Guides
In the next
segment, students selected one of their favorite places to share with their
peers in the form of a travel guide, highlighting some of their go-to
activities. This gave students another opportunity to work on building their
descriptive language through narration; they shared how to spend 72 hours in
their chosen locale. The student example in Figure 6 acts as a great tool for
tourists in Shenzhen.

Figure 6.
Travel guide for 72 Hours in Shenzhen.
(Click here to enlarge.)
Part 5. Examining
Advice Columns
Another
segment examined the history of advice columns, taking “Dear
Abby” as an example. Students wrote letters soliciting advice and
then worked in pairs to provide advice to one another; in this way, students
were able to be featured in each other’s newspapers. This activity created a
solid introduction to persuasive writing, and inspired students to create
annotated bibliographies, in which they provided extension resources that
directly correlated with the advice they gave to their peers. (E.g., a student
who wrote about a challenge with weight received a list of resources related to
mindful eating and breaking habits.)
Part 6. Discussing
Current Events Through Editorials
The second
to last piece of the puzzle, and perhaps my favorite, was the inclusion of an
editorial. Throughout the semester we examined current events and held several
discussions and debates about topics that resonated with students: abortion,
same-sex marriage, the legalization of marijuana, and so on. The editorial
portion of this e-newspaper project was an opportunity for students to select a
topic that spoke to them on a personal level and craft an opinion piece,
pulling from persuasive elements that we had seen in earlier segments. Students
were responsible for sharing their thoughts and guiding conversation around
their topic.
Part 7. Recognizing
Students
The very
last segment was the “Meet the Editor” autobiographical piece. During the
construction of this section, students expressed discomfort in speaking about
themselves and their accomplishments. I took this opportunity for students to
share words of appreciation for their peers, highlighting what personality
traits they’d noticed about one another that deserved recognition. This not
only created a warm environment, but inspired individuals to see themselves as
others see them, catapulting them into the autobiographical process with
increased ease.
The Final
Project
Students
truly embraced each of the segments for its unique characteristics and
opportunities for sharing with their peers, and witnessing the coalescence of
their culminating artifacts proved more rewarding than we could have
anticipated. What seemed like a lofty goal at the start of the semester came to
fruition, and with it, a deep sense of pride and nostalgia. During one last
presentation, individuals shared their final products, highlighting language and
content objectives that presented themselves along the way, and reflected on
insights gained throughout the process.
Figure 7
provides a snapshot of the final product, the first page of two students’
newspapers. For entire compilations, see Appendix A and Appendix B.

Figure 7.
Examples final student project.
(See Appendix A and Appendix B for the full sample projects.)
Table 1
shows how each of the segments aligned with content and language
objectives.
Table 1. Project Segments Aligned With
Objectives
Newspaper
Segment |
Content Themes |
Language
Considerations |
Advertisements |
Consumer
tendencies
Recognizing
distinct demographics |
Persuasive
language
Recognizing
bias in media
Linguistic
registers |
Recipes |
International
cuisine |
Personal
narrative |
Today in
History |
Historical
perspectives
Creation of
timelines |
Author’s purpose
and tone
Historical
narrative/ exposition |
Who’s Who? |
Influential
figures of our time |
Biography |
72 Hours
in... |
Tourist
attractions |
Descriptive
language |
Dear
Abby |
History of advice
columns |
Giving
advice
Annotated
bibliography |
Editorial |
Synthesis of
current events |
Language for
debate
Argumentation |
Meet the Editor-in-Chief |
The role of an
editor |
Autobiography |
Reflections and Implementation
Tips
1. Take advantage of free tech tools.*
There is so much out there, especially now that so many classrooms are online.
Expect to spend some time orienting yourself before introducing these tools to
your students, and allow time for a learning curve on their end, too. I relied
heavily on the following resources and created an in-class tutorial for each,
which allowed students to navigate these new tools in a supported
way:
-
Padlet: Despite their work being primarily independent, students participated in a great deal of peer revision activities and brainstorming sessions. This tool (now quite familiar to most) allows for online collaboration and continuing the conversation outside of class.
-
Canva: A free design platform that offers a plethora of free images, icons, and layouts, Canva also offers the ability to create teams so students can share their work during the process.
-
Piktochart: Another
design platform that allows students to create infographics with ease,
Piktochart is particularly useful when relaying high-impact
takeaways.
*Students who didn’t feel
comfortable working with these tools were permitted to rely on Microsoft tools
(PowerPoint and Word) to create and present their work. They were required,
however, to use the new tools for at least three of their submissions to ensure
exposure for potential future use.
2. Create ample opportunity for collaboration and peer feedback. These collaborative interactions are important, despite the outcome being individual. While this was the culminating project for the term, students were provided with class time to work through some of their segments. Some peer feedback was guided, but the most incredible exchanges occurred when students simply had a chance to share ideas and ask questions in an informal way.
3. Choose segments based on the needs and interests of your group. Working with advanced students meant that I had predetermined structures and skills to incorporate, which is why I chose segments that lent themselves to our specific objectives. This is a project that could easily be pared down and scaffolded, incorporating fewer segments and language and content objectives that serve your unique purposes. And of course, beyond instructional and curricular design is the question of student engagement: The more students felt like they had a say in the segments we created, the more effort they put forth.
4. Pair each segment with a short presentation. Although students often knew what their peers were planning, they were eager to see the “final products.” It was obvious that they felt proud of their processes and really reveled in seeing how their suggestions came to fruition in their peers’ creations.
5. Be present and available throughout the process. I won’t sugarcoat it—from a planning perspective, this project presented a challenge. I tried to find a balance between encouraging student autonomy and celebrating our learning community working toward a common goal. During this first run, I worked with nine students. It was effective because I was available to guide them throughout the
process.
If you are attempting this with a larger
group, I would definitely recommend setting up accountability partners within
the group, so that students can use each other as resources in a more structured
way. I would also recommend scheduling check-ins for each segment, and not
waiting to see items until they are finalized.
A year
later, I find myself constantly looking for opportunities to facilitate the
creation of another round of digital newspapers with my students. Despite my
initial reticence to commit to PBI fully, I have since discovered that
thoughtful PBI can be so enthralling that students forget that they are even
learning.
This project
not only served as an excellent formative assessment tool of integrated skills
in this particular class, but proved a class favorite. Students were proud of
their work and called attention to how working toward the creation of a highly
personal learning artifact bolstered not only their language skills throughout
the process, but their confidence in their abilities as well. What more can an
educator ask for?
References
Beckett, G.
(2002). Teacher and student evaluations of project-based instruction. TESL Canada Journal, 19(2), 52–66. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v19i2.929
Krajcik, J. S., Blumenfeld, P. C.,
Marx, R. W., & Soloway, E. (1994). A collaborative model for helping
middle grade science teachers learn project-based instruction. The
Elementary School Journal, 94(5), 483–497.https://doi.org/doi:10.1086/461779
Shélynn
Riel holds a master’s of education in
teaching English to speakers of other languages from Rhode Island College. In
2017, Shélynn served in Argentina as an English Language Fellow with the U.S.
Department of State, facilitating the teacher training and professional
development of in-service teachers. Shélynn has held roles in curricular design
and administrative leadership, but always finds her way back to the
classroom.