Avenues: the World School

1. Project Based Learning in
Avenues Upper School
Chinese Classroom
Haiwen Lu
Upper School Chinese Teacher
Avenues: the World School

2. Background Information

3. What is PBL?
 Student Learning Goal
 A way of learning rather than
motivation;
 Master the knowledge;
 Apply the knowledge to the
future.
 Essential Project Design
Elements
 Most Likely to Succeed

4. Project Based Teaching

5. What PBL means to language
classroom?
 Chances:
 More possibilities;
 Better culture understanding in language learning;
 Challenges:
 Authenticity;
 Collaboration with other disciplines;

6. Some other Keys to Success
 Understanding and supports from administration;
 Trust between the teacher and the students;
 Fully utilizing resources;
 A lot preparation: scaffolding, DIY before students;
 Not afraid of failures.

7. Project #1
 Textbook Content: Integrated Chinese Lesson 15
(seeing a doctor) and Lesson 18 (Sports)
 Topic: 饮食和健康
 This is a research project in Chinese language focusing
on comparing different views regarding how life style is
related to people’s health. Life style in this case is
about food, drinks and exercises (sports). In other
words people may have different beliefs about how
food, drinks and exercises may affect one’s health.

8. Essential Questions
(Challenging problems)
 How do people maintain their health?
 Is there any connection between food and health; and
exercise and health? What connections are there?
 What are the differences and similarities between the
approaches of Chinese and American to health?
 How are you going to use the language you learned to
describe the differences and similarities between the
approaches of Chinese and American to health?
 How do you explain your findings in Chinese?

9. PROCEDURE
Step 1: literature review – Readings and videos in
Chinese
Ex：体质自测、CCTV《中华医药》、饮食与养生
Key： Inquiry
Authenticity
Scaffolding
Modifications from ideal PBL

10.  Step 2: Field trip to Chinatown:
 (1). You will be given several photos of items related to traditional
Chinese ideas about health.
 (2). You need to find these items in Chinese shops such as grocery
store, drug store or dry seafood store. Suggested map.
 (3). You need to take a selfie with each item.
 (4). You need to find out the names and their connections with
health in traditional Chinese idea by asking people in Chinese.
 Suggested questions: … (Chinese sentences they learned in the
class)
 (5). You need to either video record or audio record the interview.
 (6). Organize and summarize your findings in Chinese. Write down
one paragraph about what you learned about these items.

11. Special thanks to Maisy Zhang!

12.  First reflection:
 How did the field trip go? What went well, what didn’t?
 What did I learn?
 Critiques and revision: peers and teacher

13. Step 3: Interviews: (inquiry, students voice and choice)
(1). Design a questionnaire to find out what are people’s beliefs of
maintaining health around you. The questionnaire need to be in
Chinese. The minimum number of questions is 5.
Suggested Questions: …
(2). You need to interview at least 3 people. Among which one
interviewee will be a Chinese or from a Chinese background. You may
conduct the interview in either Chinese or English. If you conduct your
interview in English, you will need to play a double role simultaneously
for the part of asking questions: you will ask the question in Chinese,
and then translate it into English for your interviewee.
(3). You need to either video record or audio record the entire interview
including everything the interviewee says and you translate.
(4). Organize your interviews and write down the transcripts in Chinese.

14.  Step 4. What is your thesis?
 Based on the material you collect from step 2 and
step 3, what are some interesting findings? What
conclusions can you draw? Are you able to answer
some of the essential questions now? Draft an essay
outline comparing the differences and similarities
between the approaches of Chinese and American to
health.

15. Public Product
 Sharing Your Project: “blog page”
 Use the data you collected and your writing (videos,
photos, texts, and audios) to create a WEB BLOG
PAGE to share your findings and discussion with your
classmates.
 This blog page will need to have a title, text, at least 3
pictures and 1 audio or video clip.

16. Results
 Success：
 Much better understanding of TCM;
 Surprising findings;
 Lots of chance to practice speaking, writing and critical thinking;
 More time for individual revision and reflection.
 Difficulties:
 Talk to people in Chinatown(especially lower grades)
 Finish the project within schedule.
 Language not enough!

17. Double Backup
EVERYTHING!

18. Project #2
 Background info: 5th term- collaboration projects
 Theme: Story Corner
 During the 5th term, the Chinese classes have been
engaged in creating children’s books in an endeavor to
implement Project Based Learning in Chinese. Students in
levels 2-5 are given the task of creating children’s picture
books for Chinese immersion classes from Kindergarten to
3rd grade.
After completed their books, they also went to the Lower
School classrooms to read them to K-3rd graders.

19. Procedure
 1. What are we going to do?
 2. What do we need to know?
 3. What is your story going to be like?
 4. How are you going to implement the vocabulary and
structures?
 5. Revision and practice
 6. Public Production

22.  Collaboration can be horizontal and vertical
 More confident
 More modest
 Community engagement
 Leadership skills
 Tool used:
 iPad and computer
 Photoshop
 App- Book creator

23. 谢谢！