34 of intelligences, teaching in this manner can facilitate a deeper understanding of the
subject material. As the education system has stressed the importance of developing
mathematical and linguistic intelligences, it often bases student success only on the measured skills in those two intelligences. Supporters of Gardners Theory of
Multiple Intelligences believe that this emphasis is unfair. Children whose musical intelligences are highly developed, for example, may be overlooked for gifted
programs or may be placed in a special education class because they do not have the required math or language scores. Teachers must seek to assess their students
learning in ways which will give an accurate overview of the their strengths and weaknesses. As children do not learn in the same way, they cannot be assessed in a
uniform fashion. Therefore, it is important that a teacher create an intelligence profiles for each student. Knowing how each student learns will allow the teacher
to properly assess the childs progress Lazear, 1992. This individualized evaluation practice will allow a teacher to make more informed decisions on what
to teach and how to present information.
g. Steps of project development
In general, there are four steps of project development in PBL namely starting the project, developing the project, reporting to the class, and assessing the
project Foster and Masters, 1996; Markham, et al., 2003; Moss and Van Duzer, 1998; Ribe and Vidal, 1993; Sheppard Stoller, 1997; Stanley, 2000; Stoller,
1995. Those four steps will be further discussed in this section.
35
1 Starting the project
This stage enables the students to select or choose the topic which they are interested in. The teacher can guide them by giving questions in order to stimulate
the students to have an idea of what they have to do. Students then create the outline of the project and plan the method of the development, the final outcome and
individual task. The project is suggested to be challenging so that the students can perform at their best and it surely will result in a successful outcome.
2 Developing the project
In this stage, the students are expected to conduct their research which is done collaboratively with their peers or partners. Students look for information to
answer their project question, taking notes on the results that they have gained, and solve the problems they face. It is actually an efficient process that can be applied
to enhance the project.
3 Reporting to the class
This stage includes presenting and receiving feedback from other students on the progress and improvements to the project. Not only from other students, but
feedback also can be gained from the teacher. This aims at making sure that students understand the problems and utilize their skills and concepts to accomplish their
project.
4 Assessing the project
The ultimate product can be evaluated by an individual student, students as a group, a teacher or external audiences. This stage enables the students to use or
implement and present what they have done or learned during the project
36 completion. Additionally, this stage also enables the teacher to look at the students
work whether the goals of the course are achieved or not.
h. Assessment of PBL
Assessment of PBL is not the same and it is a bit challenging compared to the assessment of traditional learning. Learners in PBL are assessed through various
means such as: case-based assessment, self and peer assessment, performance- based assessment and portfolio assessment Berge, Mortelmans, Spooren, Petegem,
Gijbels, Vanthournout, 2006, p. 347. However, there are also some arguments stating that multiple-choice tests and true-
false tests do not suit to measure students’ learning outcomes in PBL Grant, 2002; Markham, et al., 2003; Slater, Beckett,
Aufderhaar, 2006. In language teaching, students in PBL are using real communication,
authentic language and learning experiences to reach the learning goals. Hence, assessment based performance is very crucial in PBL as they allow a variety of
assessments to evaluate students’ process of learning and tasks Sidman-Taveau Milner-Bolotin, 2001. Hence, multiple types of formative and summative
assessment should be integrated as a part of an effective assessment program Sidman-Taveau Milner-Bolotin, 2001; Slater, et al., 2006. Formative
assessment is commonly used to give feedback for the process of producing projects, while summative assessment gives students opportunity to their
performance at the end of the course Markham et al., 2003. Additionally, summative assessment gives students information about the benefits of the learning
program, learning environment, and teacher performance Cotton, 1995.
