PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
Project-based learning
– A Fundraising
Experience
Farrah Jin, Vivian Lang and Jin Yoon describe a recent project carried out with
adult learners.
Background information
The institution: Wintec
As one of the key Institutes of Technology
and Polytechnics in New Zealand, Wintec
is a government-owned tertiary education
provider. In early 2018, ‘AKO’, a new
approach of teaching and learning was
introduced to promote shared leadership
between teacher and learner to enhance
positive learning experiences. Together
with inclusive practices, work-integrated
learning, blended learning and flipped
classroom, project-based learning
has been adopted as one of the five
approaches to implement AKO principles.
The programme:
New Zealand Certificate in English
Language Level 2 (NZCEL Level 2)
NZCEL Level 2 is a qualification
accredited by New Zealand Qualifications
Authority and is one of the language
programmes that Centre for Languages at
Wintec offers. The programme is intended
to help learners who do not speak
English as their first language to improve
their language skills so that they can be
effective communicators in everyday
situations. Students who successfully
complete the programme are expected
to be able to manage familiar topics with
some independence. Because the level
is roughly equivalent to the Common
European Framework of Reference
(CEFR) B1, Empower B1 has been chosen
as the textbook for this course.
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The students
There is normally a wide range of students
at our centre and in the current semester,
among the 63 enrolled in the NZCEL
Level 2 programme, there are 37 domestic
students (i.e. second language speakers
who are NZ permanent residents), while
26 are international. Around one third of
the domestic students are from refugee
backgrounds, who have minimal previous
education. On the other hand, some other
domestic students completed degree
level study in their home countries. The
youngest learner is 16, while the oldest is
64, with the length of residency ranging
from just several weeks to over 10 years.
The project
We realised early on that one of the
things lacking in the programme was
an opportunity to use students’ own
knowledge and skills in a meaningful,
extended communicative activity.
Therefore, during the semester break, we
decided to include a number of projects
in the students’ portfolio. Topics were
selected to match those in the textbook
used at the level, i.e. Empower B1 and A
Fundraising Experience, the first project
in the semester, was developed to go
with Unit 3 Money (Empower B1) as it
has a focus on charity and generosity.
Purpose of the project
The general purpose of the project is to
provide an opportunity for students to:
nn research a charity organisation and
organise a fundraising event
nn collaborate with each other and
allow them to use their different
talents and skills
nn take responsibility of their own
learning, for example deciding which
charity organisation to choose and
what they need to prepare to gain more
support and thus raise more funds, etc.
Language learning that happens in the
project includes:
nn listening and reading for gist and
specific information
nn learning charity and fundraising
vocabulary
nn numeracy: discussing budget;
recording expenses; counting money
collected and calculating net amount
of funds raised
nn giving an oral presentation on the
fundraising experience
nn writing a narrative about the
fundraising experience
By accomplishing the assessed tasks
in the project, students are also seen
as demonstrating evidence to achieve
the following NZCEL Level 2 learning
outcomes (LOs):
Speaking
LO3: Give short presentations about
events, daily routines step-by-step
 PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
Step 1: Step 2:
Research and Plan a
select a charity fundraising
to support event
instructions and/or directions for
everyday activities.
Writing
LO2: Write narratives and descriptions
on straightforward topics using
connected paragraphs.
Procedure
Before the project work started, students
were placed into groups each of which
had members possessing various skills.
All groups were expected to complete the
tasks described in the flow-chart above.
A project booklet with worksheets for
each step was designed to guide and
assist completion of the tasks. Students’
work at the end of each step was
required to be signed off before they
could move on to the next step and
teacher support was available during the
entire project.
Skills practised
The project integrated practice of all four
skills; other than the tasks mentioned
above, which formally assessed students’
speaking (LO3) and writing (LO2),
during the project, students were also
expected to complete work that helped
them prepare for assessments they would
have later in the course to achieve other
learning outcomes.
Receptive Skills: Listening (L)
and Reading (R)
A web link where there is a list of
charities was provided at the beginning
of the project.
When selecting their charity to support
and searching for fundraising ideas,
students worked in groups to gather
information online. This involved
watching YouTube videos and reading
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Step 4:
Step 3: Prepare a group
Hold the presentation
fundraising to talk about
event the fundraising
event
texts on various websites where
students practised ‘following the main
points … in extended discussions
on familiar topics’ (LO2, L), ‘extract
and reproduce key information from
… media broadcasts on a range of
familiar topics’ (LO4, L) and ‘get
information from reference sources,
including online’ (LO3, R).
To help students to get started, in a
timetabled computer lab hour, students
worked in groups to complete a
worksheet on Red Cross. It was wonderful
to see that those who are better at online
searching helped their less capable peers
and at the end of the session, all students
were able to locate the information they
were expected to find.
Before the fundraising event, students
were also expected to complete reading
tasks posted on Moodle (e.g. Red Nose
Day) to learn more about charitable
events and search for and read tips on
fundraising ideas.
Productive skill: Speaking
When working in groups deciding on a
charity to support and working out plans
for the fundraising event, students had
to demonstrate their ability to ‘exchange
information in some details, agreeing and/
or disagreeing, and giving opinions in
one-on-one and small group discussions’
(LO2). The activities they did include:
In class survey
Students were asked to do a survey
in class about how they generally
feel about supporting charities and
homeless people. They went around
the class to ask three quick closed
questions and collected data. They
then analysed the data and turned it
into bar graphs. Students got in groups
and talked about the results.
Step 5:
Write about
the fundraising
event experience
(individual work)
Speaking journal
Students were given six topics and
they had to choose one to discuss as a
group. This task was linked with some
reading activities which helped them
to get started with their discussion.
Students were exposed to topic-related
vocabulary, phrases and collocations
through class activities as their input
before their discussion.
Group discussion
Students got together to discuss how
they would like to run their fundraising
event. There were prompt questions
to assist thinking about before, during
and after the event. Students were given
some class time to organise and prepare
what they needed for their fundraising.
Productive skill: Writing
Students were given two YouTube
videos to watch (i.e. Thai Commercial
‘Paying It Forward’ https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=2c9ppimfqV8
and an Egyptian short film ‘The Other
Pair’ https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=FGh0iduZOJQ, both of which
tied in with the theme of generosity.
After watching the videos individually,
students worked in groups to write a
narrative about the story in one of the
two videos. This writing task helped
them practise using past simple and
some of the vocabulary they needed
for their individual writing task at the
end of the fundraising project.
After the fundraising event, by using
the prompts provided in the project
booklet, students had a brainstorming
session to get ready for the individual
writing task. During the session, they
looked at the vocabulary and some
chunks of language they might need
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and also discussed how to organise and
sequence their ideas into paragraphs to
produce a logical piece of writing. They
then completed their own narrative
individually.
Reflection
Students’ reflection
What went well?
All of the 16 students who included their
reflection in their narrative writing made
positive comments on their fundraising
experience:
nn Almost all students reported that they
had learned new knowledge, not only
about the charity organisation they
chose, but also about ‘... how to go to
[do] fundraising’ and ‘how to prepare
a presentation’.
nn Most of them felt that ‘It also made
me more confident to speak English
with people. I felt so pleased.’
nn Some expressed the sense of
achievement they felt because of the
support they gained by presenting the
charity of their choice. For example:
‘... we were very happy that we
raised a lot of money for homeless
people’;‘When I talked about illegal
fishing, someone felt sad and they
understand it was very important to
support this charity and I enjoyed it’;
‘We were happy that we could help
other people. Our group felt that our
fundraising was successful because
many people supported us and we
raised enough money.’
nn Some felt they ‘learned how to work
together with others’ and realised
‘group cooperation is very important
because we could do things faster
and we could be more relaxed’.
nn Many also wrote that they had
learned ‘the importance of
helping others’ and decided that
‘a fundraising event is a good way
to remind more people to support
other people who need help in the
world and we have ability to save
more lives’ and ‘Maybe in the future
we would like to become volunteers
to help some charities in New
Zealand because we think giving
is better than receiving.’
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What didn’t go well?
Three students also commented on
how some of the things did not go
as they wanted:
nn ‘We felt that sometimes it was a bit
messy because there were too many
people. We also felt that people
didn’t listen to us carefully’ and
‘Some people only came for the gifts
and they not listening [didn’t listen].
Some people came to donation
[donate[ and the[y] went back [to]
their class.’
nn ‘Next time we would like to be more
organised, for example, each person
will have a job to do and take turns
to talk.’
nn ‘We also encountered a lot of
problems in fundraising, for example,
when other people asked me some
question[s], I didn’t understand and
forgot some information, so some
questions were not answered.’
Teachers’ reflection
What went well?
Students’ engagement was maximised
The project was student-centred
and during the whole process,
they had to constantly take active
parts and collaborate with their
peers to achieve their goals, i.e.
complete the tasks explained above
which include selecting a charity
organisation, gathering fundraising
ideas, planning the fundraising event
and writing about their experience.
Teachers remained as facilitators and
supporters. Most students were
excited to be part of the fundraising
event – some of them dressed up as
homeless people and some prepared
little gifts and cards to show their
gratitude to donors.
This project was successful because
it was authentic and student driven.
From the research to actual event,
the teacher’s role was minimal as a
facilitator or supporter. Students had
to actively research different charities
which involved a lot of reading,
thinking, discussions, decision-making
as they had to justify and persuade
group members with their own
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
preference or choice. This happened
again during the second stage of the
project: planning the activities. They
had to be involved in active decision-
making and discussions again on
the distribution of the work in their
group such as preparing materials and
resources and designating different
roles for the event. It was great to see
most students actively engaging with
the project not only in class but also
outside the class using their own time.
Authenticity was achieved
Although the fundraising event took
place in a classroom, with all the
potential supporters/donors being
students who study in the same
programme and donation made in
fake money, students gained first-hand
fundraising experience because they
went through the whole process in the
same way as a real fundraising event
would have been planned and held.
This project was carefully scaffolded.
They all had sufficient information
about the topic to describe in both
oral and written language by the end
of the project, as they were guided to
go through step by step and checked
by the teachers and received some
feedback at each stage. Throughout
the planning of the actual event,
students could build on their receptive
skills and used them to enhance their
productive skills later on through
speaking coursework – presentation,
and writing coursework – narrative.
Overall, having to go through the
fundraising event, students were able to
gain a new experience or add another
experience which they could talk and
write about at the end.
Targeted learning outcomes
were assessed
By participating in the project and
completing the tasks assigned to
a satisfactory standard, students
demonstrated the language ability
required to meet learning outcomes
they were expected to achieve. It
created an opportunity for students’
performance to be assessed in a
meaningful but less formal and less
stressful manner.
 PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
What didn’t go well?
Group dynamics were not ideal for some
Since groups were organised by the
teachers, some students experienced
problems working with each other due
to reasons such as different work ethics,
personality clashes, etc.
Time allocated was not sufficient for
weaker students
In the parts where students worked in
a group, progress was generally made
at the right pace. However, when it
came to the individual writing stage,
although some preparation was
done in class, weaker students still
struggled a lot to complete their work
on time. Extension was granted for
some as a flexible approach was seen
as necessary.
The running of the event was not fully
under control
As raised by a few students in their
reflection, some students did not listen
carefully when visiting different stalls and
some left soon after the event started.
Some of them also felt that it was a bit
chaotic as ‘there were too many people’.
Implication for future
project work
Since most students indicated in their
writing that they found the whole
experience ‘exciting’ and ‘interesting’,
it is felt that topic selection for project
work is very important. Students’ past
experience should be considered and
related to. Some students from refugee
backgrounds expressed how touching
the topic was and some had tears when
watching the videos and seeing pictures
of images of people living in poverty-
stricken areas.
Due to the problems in group
dynamics, it is suggested that students
be allowed to organise their own
groups. Although this means that the
skill mix in each group might not be
great, it is assumed that when group
members get along well, efficiency
can be achieved more easily. Also,
to help weaker students to meet the
deadline, one-on-one tutorials can
be put into place to provide more
personalised guidance.
10 www.modernenglishteacher.com n Volume 27
To stop students from leaving the event much they think this new way of learning
without listening to the presenters, they has helped them to progress.
can be asked to complete a worksheet
with questions about all the charity
organisations present during the event. A
quiz can also be given at the end of the
fundraising session, where the winner
gets a prize. Since students mentioned
that they felt there were too many people
during the fundraising event, a bigger
classroom might need to be booked to
Vivian Lang has been working at Centre
make it easy for people to move around.
for Languages as an Academic Staff
Member at Wintec since 2009. She
After the project, information regarding gained her Bachelor of Primary Education
students’ reflection on how the project from the University of Waikato in 2007
and also completed CELTA in the same
went for them was collected through
year. She then worked as a teacher aid
their writing. However, in order to
in a primary school for two years. She
better understand students’ experience, finished Grad Dip. TESOL at Wintec in
a structured survey with a set of 2010 and the New Zealand Certificate in
Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education
well-designed questions needs to be
in 2017. Her interests include blended
conducted.
learning and technology and she enjoys
exploring new ways to teach and learn.
Make it real?
When planning the project, teachers
considered using real money but limiting
spending to $2–3 with students buying or
selling real stuff such as used clothes and
toys, so at the end of the project, they
could donate the money they raised to
the real charity they supported. However,
thinking of students’ different financial Jin Yoon gained her MA in Applied
situations, we decided to use fake money Linguistics from The University of Waikato
in 2015 and also completed PGDip in
which was thrown away at the end. Second Language Teaching in 2013.
Although using fake money was fun as She finished Grad Dip.TESOL at Wintec
some of the students raised over $4,000 in 2004. She has been working as an
and got excited about it, it would have EAL tutor at Centre for Languages at
Wintec since 2010 and also as a Korean
been even more authentic to use real Language tutor at Wintec since 2005.
money. This was simply not possible in Before Wintec, she worked at a primary and
the circumstances. intermediate school in Hamilton for three
years (2002–2004) and at a high school
in Korea for two years (2000–2001).
Students’ perceptions on
project-based learning
As teachers, we were all satisfied with the
outcomes of the project: oral presentation
and their final writing; and we heard a
lot from students how they enjoyed it
throughout the process. However, this
was only the first of the three projects
we’ve planned for this semester, so it will Farrah Jin received her MA in Language
be a good idea to have a final survey Teaching and Learning from the University
after students have completed all three of Auckland in 2006 and is an Academic
Staff Member at Centre for Languages,
projects. The purpose of the survey will be Wintec, New Zealand. She started teaching
to hear the students’ voice on PBL, to find English in a Chinese university in 1993 and
out how they perceive it at this level, if our despite a gap of about five years working
new learning and teaching principles are in other sectors, she continued teaching
ESOL after immigrating to NZ in 2001.
being applied at any stage and if so, how
n Issue 4