TEFL Capstone Project: September – October 2013
Guangzhou Tianhe District Markham Education Training Center
English Teacher Training Program
Purpose
· The purpose of this project is to collect information and share ideas for techniques or methods that you can use to make your teaching more effective.
· This will be an individual project, but you can cooperate with your fellow teachers in brainstorming, gathering information, and discussing your findings.
Your topic
· Choose a topic that is practical—something that you can use when you return to your classroom to improve the way you teach English.
· Your project should be something that you can share with other teachers so they can also try your ideas.
· Express your topic in simple, concrete terms. Make its meaning clear.
· Remember that you have a limited time to complete your project. How much will you realistically be able to do in less than six and a half weeks (until the first presentations)?
Your project will have two parts:
· A written report of about 4-5 pages containing:
o A short introductory paragraph telling the topic of your project
o 1-2 paragraphs describing the theoretical background for your project and showing how it connects to what you’re going to talk about.
o Several paragraphs with an explanation of your findings and ideas.
o A short conclusion or summary paragraph.
· An oral presentation
o You will present the main ideas of your project with a PowerPoint in a “pecha-kucha” format. This means:
§ You will create exactly 20 PowerPoint slides telling about your project. Each one will be shown for exactly 20 seconds while you talk about that slide. This means that the total length of your presentation will be a little less than seven minutes.
§ The purpose of using this format is to encourage you to condense your ideas, presenting us the most valuable parts.
§ Your slides should have few words, but lots of pictures or illustrations.
§ If you plan carefully, the script of your pecha-kucha can become a big part of your written report.
o After each presentation, there will be a question and answer session. The listeners must ask questions or give comments to clarify or expand on your ideas or to suggest ways to apply your ideas in their teaching.
Grading
Your project will be graded based on this rubric:
TEFL Capstone Project Rubric
Name:Written Report / Excellent / Satisfactory / Not Satisfactory
The report contains a summary of basic theory related to the topic.
The report clearly explains the results of the writer’s project and tells how classroom practices can change as a result.
The report includes ideas that can be used by the writer and other teachers to improve their teaching.
Oral Report
The presentation followed the required format: 20 slides with 20 seconds of narration for each.
The presentation explained the results of the writer’s project in a way that can be used by the presenter and other teachers to improve their classroom teaching.
Total Grade:
Grading Scale
90% - 100% = A (Excellent)
80% - 89% = B (Good)
73% - 79% = C (Satisfactory)
Below 73% = Not passing
Capstone Project Plan
Guangzhou Tianhe District Markham Education Training Center English Teacher Training Program
Thursday, September 5 / Introduction, topic selection, and planningFriday, September 20 / Project update and review
Friday, October 11 / Project update and review
Friday, October 18 / Project update and review.
Bring your PowerPoint to make sure the technology works.
Teacher’s Name / Project Topic
Monday, October 21
Tuesday, October 22
Wednesday, October 23
Thursday, October 24
Monday, October 28
Choosing and fine-tuning your topic
What is your tentative topic?
What does the topic mean in simple, concrete language? How would you explain your topic to someone who knows nothing about teaching?
How will this apply to your classroom teaching?
How will you gather information for writing your paper?
Articles, books, or other written information?
Interviews or surveys?
What resources or assistance do you need?
Are you interested in…
Learning how to use PowerPoint/Keynote?
Having a future meeting in the computer lab?
Topics / Name of ParticipantsComparison of Sino-US classroom expression to the result of interaction in English class / Bihong Hu, Limei Zhang
A Study of how the teachers in US to encourage less active students in the class / Nan Zhang, Zhiying Zhu
Using mind map to improve logic thinking in writing for students in primary school / Jiecong He, Feixia Huang, Yusheng Li
A new way to design English homework to improve students’ oral English through electronic book in primary school / Yanhong Liu
How to improve reading efficiency for grade six and seven students through group cooperation / Xiaofeng Lyu, Zhihua Li
An empirical study of metacognitive strategy training in improving elementary students’ English reading ability / Xiaoying Deng, Anka Li, Qiugui Yu
Action research to improve junior school students’ writing skills by using mind maps / Huimei Chen, Lining Jian, Feixiang Mo
A practical study of how to improve middle school students' oral English level through project / Ning Liang, Xiaomin Zhu
Research on junior students’ effective completion of assignment / Huier Huang, Liyuan Xie
A study of improve middle school students writing motivation through communicative approach / Jin Ouyang, Minyi Yang
A combination of process approach and TBLT to improve high school students writing ability / Yousheng Liu, Hongqiang Shen, Yanfen Chen