SESSION 4D

Vicki Bos, ICTE-UQ
The Mojos and the Musos: Learning through projects

Abstract
Have you ever considered doing a project with your class but weren’t sure what to do or how to do it? This workshop will examine the benefits of project-based learning by looking at the materials, processes, feedback and learning outcomes for two case study projects. In one case study, students became “mobile journalists”, working in groups to make documentaries using their mobile phones. In the other project, students wrote and performed their own original songs, without any prior musical experience.

Workshop participants will have the opportunity to examine and try out some of the activities used in the case study classes, considering how to come up with a project idea, how to structure a project-based course, and how to create objective-based materials. Participants will also be invited to reflect on their current practice and share their own experiences of project-based learning. The ultimate goal of this workshop is to consider how to diversify our approaches to teaching and learning by bringing the outside world into our classrooms through project work.

Bio
Vicki Bos has worked as a language teacher and teacher trainer at ICTE-UQ since 2001. Her passion is exploring the diversification of approaches to teaching, learning and student engagement. Her publications and conference presentations to date have focused on the use of choral singing in language learning, teaching pronunciation through song, vocabulary learning, and project-based learning. She conducts the ICTE-UQ Chorus, and is helping organise the Raise Your Voice choral festival for international students taking place in Brisbane later this year.