Reflective Practice in Project-based Culture Learning: Content and Quality of Reflection

Culture learning (CL) needs alternatives beyond traditional teacher-transmitted approaches for reflective practice and intercultural development. This study explored the potential of projectbased learning (PBL) as an alternative CL to practice reflection through student-driven inquiry. Specifically, the study examined content and quality of reflection, adapting two conceptual frameworks: focusing areas of reflection-public theory, private theory, feelings, action plan, and feedback (Bain, Ballantyne, Packer, & Mills, 1999) and reflective indicators-‘additional perspectives’; ‘own values’; and ‘larger contexts’ (Jay & Johnson, 2002). The study used three data sources from eleven students: journals, written reflections, and interviews. The results showed as follows. First, PBL helped the students focus on four contents of reflection other than public theory (i.e., non-reflection): private theory particularly while problematizing cultural topics; feelings about student-centered inquiry toward knowledge construction and insights into cultural content; action plans to pursue deeper cultural knowledge, overall language proficiency, and plans of PBL classes in future classrooms; and communication with teacher such as seeking views on cultural issues. Second, the student-driven inquiry approach helped the students gain ‘additional perspectives’ on learning about three areas: cultural content, English and presentation skills, and PBL as a teaching approach. Similarly, the approach fostered the students to apply their ‘own values’ in learning about the above three areas. The inquiry approach also promoted the students to examine their learning about primarily culture content in ‘larger contexts.’