NotebookLM Integrated Project-Based Learning Model Development for Writing Among Undergraduates

NotebookLM Integrated Project-Based Learning Model Development for Writing Among Undergraduates

Nurul Ajleaa Abdul Rahman^1*, Luqmanul Hakim Zulkornain², Goh Ying Soon³, Nurul Huda Hamzah⁴, Chen Chao⁵

^1*Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Terengganu kampus Dungun,

²Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Terengganu Kampus Dungun,

³Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Terengganu Kampus Dungun,

⁴Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

⁵Department of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang College, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China

*Corresponding Author

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.907000444

Received: 12 July 2025; Accepted: 20 July 2025; Published: 22 August 2025

ABSTRACT

The development of English writing skills remains a persistent challenge among undergraduate ESL learners, particularly those in Malaysian public universities such as UiTM. Despite English being the language of instruction, many students struggle to communicate ideas clearly and coherently in writing due to internal barriers like anxiety and low confidence, and external factors such as limited exposure to English and a disconnect between spoken and academic language. This study investigates the integration of NotebookLM, an AI-powered content analysis tool, within a Project-Based Learning (PjBL) framework to enhance students’ writing skills. Through a qualitative approach, transcripts from five English language lecturers—each employing PjBL in their instruction—were collected, organized, and analyzed using NotebookLM. The tool’s capabilities in contextual analysis and summarization supported the extraction of key themes related to writing development, content organization, and collaborative learning. The findings show that PjBL fosters a more engaging and student-centered approach to writing instruction by promoting brainstorming, peer feedback, and structured writing processes. Key themes identified include improved content generation, enhanced essay structure, vocabulary and grammar development, and heightened student motivation. Additionally, the study underscores the significance of technology integration in streamlining qualitative data management and supporting the development of practical, real-world writing tasks. Although challenges such as time constraints and varied student participation were observed, the results highlight the value of individualized support and the need for professional development among lecturers. This study concludes that the synergy between PjBL and AI tools like NotebookLM presents a promising model for addressing long-standing issues in ESL writing instruction. It also provides a replicable method for developing writing competence in higher education, especially in contexts where traditional grammar-focused approaches fail to meet learners’ needs. Future research should explore the long-term impact of such integrations on students’ academic and professional writing proficiency.

Keywords: English writing, ESL engineering students, Project-Based Learning (PjBL), writing anxiety, collaborative learning

INTRODUCTION

Writing remains one of the most challenging areas for tertiary-level ESL learners. Unlike other language skills, writing in English requires students not only to understand vocabulary and grammar but also to express technical ideas clearly, logically, and formally. Many students often face difficulties producing well-structured academic texts, despite understanding the content. This is more pronounced in Malaysian public universities such as UiTM, where English is the medium of instruction but the students come from diverse linguistic backgrounds.

For ESL students, internal factors like anxiety and fear of making language errors add to the difficulty. At the same time, external factors—such as limited exposure to English outside the classroom and a disconnect between spoken and academic English—hinder students from engaging effectively in writing tasks. Given these constraints, traditional grammar-focused teaching methods often fail to help students achieve real writing competence.

The aim of this study is to investigate the integration of NotebookLM, which is an AI-powered tool which can enhance learning and productivity [2], in the development model of project-based learning for writing. The focus is on how this integration can provide a more engaging, structured, and practical solution to help students improve their writing skills through real-world application and collaboration.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Tertiary education writing goes beyond surface-level grammar and vocabulary—it requires clarity, precision, and the ability to explain technical content effectively. However, many ESL students struggle with writing due to limited vocabulary, grammatical challenges, and lack of exposure to academic discourse. These limitations are often accompanied by writing anxiety and low confidence, which discourage students from engaging actively in the revision process (Solangi et al., 2021; Shehzadi & Krishnasamy, 2018). These contribute to lack of motivation, limited practice opportunities, and insufficient feedback, which impede their writing development [4],[5].

Traditional writing instruction usually focuses on grammar accuracy and essay formats but often overlooks creativity, expression, or context. These approaches are less effective for tertiary education students who need to learn how to communicate complex ideas logically and persuasively. In contrast, PjBL allows students to work on meaningful writing tasks in a collaborative setting. Studies (Saad et al., 2024; Yaccob et al., 2022) have shown that this approach not only improves writing fluency and vocabulary but also builds confidence and critical thinking skills.

However, implementing PjBL is not without its challenges. Students may struggle with group coordination, time management, or generating content. Lecturers also face difficulties in giving timely feedback, especially in large classrooms (Al-Wadi, 2023). To support this, artificial intelligence tools like NotebookLM can be used to streamline data analysis and reflection processes during project-based tasks, although its role in writing development remains under-explored (Rostam et al., 2024; Arshavskaya, 2024).

Although not directly impacting the proficiency of writing skills in the process of writing, NotebookLM can be a valuable tool due to its capabilities in streamlining the organization, coding, and interpretation of large volumes of textual data [14]. The AI-powered features such as summarization and contextual analysis enable researchers to efficiently extract key themes and insights from transcripts. The application of Notebook LM can greatly contribute in the process of the model development for project-based learning in enhancing English writing skills among undergraduate students.

METHODOLOGY

To address the challenges in writing instruction for undergraduates within ESL contexts, this study employed a systematic, technology-assisted methodology to explore the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PjBL). For efficient data handling in the qualitative analysis, NotebookLM was utilized due to its capabilities.

For the data, transcripts from five English Language lecturers teaching writing were gathered. The main criteria in choosing the population was that these lecturers employed PjBL in their instructions. Their transcripts were prepared in Microsoft Word format and they documented each lecturer’s experiences, strategies, and observable outcomes related their employment of PjBL in their instructions. For analysis compatibility and consistency, these Microsoft Word files were converted to PDF before being uploaded to NotebookLM.

For a streamlined data management, a clearly dedicated labeled folder was created in NotebookLM to ensure organized storage and ease of access. The key feature in the methodology was the targeted AI prompt: “Build a model of PjBL for lecturer guidance.” This served as the analytical foundation, the tool to guide the generation of structured insights and to categorize based on specific themes.

The process produced a methodical and context-sensitive analysis where it reveals critical themes such as student engagement, writing development, and collaborative practices. NotebookLM’s summarization and contextual features proved effective in surfacing nuanced patterns across the data. Ethical research standards were not left out and it was made sure that lecturers provided consent for the use of their transcripts. All personally information was excluded to ensure confidentiality.

Figure 1: Activities conducted for the study

By following this methodology, the research effectively utilized AI tools to develop a structured model of PjBL, providing valuable insights into its application and benefits for enhancing English writing skills among undergraduate students.

RESULTS

This study provide a concise and precise description of the results obtained from implementing Project-Based Learning (PjBL) to enhance undergraduate students’ English writing skills. This is important as the success of PjBL in enhancing writing skills would suggest its more widely adoptation in English language instruction [15]. The results are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 summarises key themes findings.

Table 1: Key Themes and Findings

DISCUSSION

The findings illustrate the potential of PjBL in improving writing skills, fostering collaboration, and enhancing student engagement. There are four emphases in the findings illustrating the success of the implementation of PjBL in enhancing writing skills which are PjBL as the opportunity for authentic learning, the need for individualized support, and lastly, the potential of technology based tools.

The success of PjBL in enhancing writing skills (Theme 2 and 3) suggests that it should be more widely adopted in English language instruction, particularly at the undergraduate level. Integrating collaborative projects, structured templates, and peer feedback mechanisms into teaching practices should be considered to create a more engaging and effective learning environment.

Second, the importance of providing students with opportunities for authentic learning experiences through project-based learning (Theme 1). Limited internet access and collaborative problem-solving can foster critical thinking and creativity, which are essential for academic and professional success. This approach also prepares students to real-world challenges, where independent thinking and teamwork are highly valued.

Third, the findings emphasize the need for individualized feedback and support throughout the activities of project-based learning (Theme 3 and 4). Lecturers play an important role in guiding students through the writing process, providing constructive feedback, and addressing specific challenges. Institutions should consider offering professional development opportunities to enhance educators’ skills in implementing PjBL and providing effective feedback.

Finally, this study focused on interview analysis, with the help of technology-enhanced tools, such as NotebookLM to support qualitative analysis. Future research could explore how AI-powered tools can further streamline project management, enhance collaboration, and provide real-time feedback of analysis result, thereby maximizing the benefits of the use of AI-powered tools for qualitative analysis.

The findings of the study demonstrated that the integration of PjBL and NotebookLM offer significant promise for broader adoption in educational settings.

 CONCLUSION

This study has demonstrated the effectiveness of Project-Based Learning (PjBL) in enhancing undergraduate students’ English writing skills. The integration of collaborative brainstorming, structured templates, and peer feedback within the PjBL framework improved students’ critical thinking skills and content organization. It also demonstrated increased engagement. The findings shows that PjBL provides a dynamic and student-centered approach to writing instruction while addressing key challenges such as lack of motivation, poor organization, and limited critical thinking in traditional methods.

One of the most significant findings from this research is the role of collaborative learning in promoting better engagement. The ability for students to exchange ideas, provide constructive feedback, and refine their arguments contributed to an improvement in their writing. This shows that it not only enhanced language skills but also provided a sense of ownership and autonomy, critical for motivation and self-directed learning [18]. The structured guidance offered is essential for guiding students in organizing complex ideas [19], helping students organize their work more effectively, reducing common structural errors and improving writing coherence.

The study also highlights the importance of technology integration in PjBL, ion this case, the use of NotebookLM as a tool for data organization and analysis. AI-powered NotebookLM can significantly streamline qualitative analysis, making it easier to extract key themes and insights from students’ work. This technological advancement supports efficient teaching practices via an innovative approach to writing instruction.

In conclusion, this study provides a structured model for PjBL use in language learning, reinforcing its potential as an effective pedagogical approach. Continuous refinement and implementation of PjBL frameworks enables educators to foster a better engaging and productive learning environment that equips students with the writing skills necessary for academic and professional success.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant (FRGS/1/2022/SSI07/UITM/02/16).

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