THE PROJECT APPROACH

Stages of development

The Project Approach•Refers to a set of teaching strategies which enable teachers to guide children through in-depth studies of real world topics. Projects are described as having a complex but flexible structural framework with features that characterize the teaching-learning interaction. When teachers implement the Project Approach successfully, children can be highly motivated, feel actively involved in their own learning, and produce work of a high quality

Projects are like good stories•Projects, like good stories, have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This temporal structure helps the teacher to organize the progression of activities according to the development of the children’s interests and personal involvement with the topic of study.

Preliminary stage•During the preliminary planning stage, the teacher selects the topic of study (based on the children’s interests, the curriculum, the availability of local resources, etc.). The teacher also brainstorms her own experience, knowledge, and ideas and represents them in a topic web. This web will be added to throughout the project and used for recording the progress of the project.

Phase 1: Beginning the Project•The teacher discusses the topic with the children to find out the experiences they have had and what they already know about it. The children represent their experiences and show their understanding of the concepts involved in explaining them. The teacher helps the children develop questions their investigation will answer. A letter about the study is sent home to parents. The teacher encourages the parents to talk with their children about the topic and to share any relevant special expertise

Choosing a Topic to Investigate• Consider what makes a good project topic.• Children can safely study the topic first hand. • The class has easy access to local resources about the topic. "Animals

in the Park" is better suited to Illinois preschoolers than is "The Rain Forest."

• Experts are available to talk with the class about the topic. • The topic is sensitive to local culture but general enough to be

culturally appropriate ("Holiday Meals of Our Families" rather than "Our Christmas Dinner").

• The project will encourage children to develop an interest worthy of their time and energy.

• The topic is the right size. "The Insects in Our Garden" is a more suitable topic for preschoolers than "Monarch Butterflies" or "Insects of the World."

Choosing a Topic to Investigate• Use children's interests as a source of project topics. • The number of interests among a group of preschoolers can

be very large! Look for topics that have wide appeal among the children. It helps to keep a list of things that the children talk about with each other.

• Keep in mind that not all of children's interests are equally worth following up. For example, a study of cartoon characters will not be a worthwhile project.

• You can help the children to develop new interests. You might share things that seem likely to appeal to them: "Look at this huge bug on the swing!" Or ask them to think about ordinary things in new ways: "What kinds of things go on in the supermarket?"

Choosing a Topic to Investigate• Make good use of Pre school time.• State or local curriculum standards (aistear)can give you

some good ideas for project topics. • Focus on topics that the children may not be able to

study outside of the school day, such as insects or the school bus.

• Choose topics at the beginning of the year that are familiar to most of the children in the group ("The Shoes We Wear" or "Our Bags and Backpacks").

• As children become familiar with project work, they can study topics that reflect and support the diversity of their backgrounds and experiences ("The Breads We Eat").

Find out what the children already know about the topic.• Be sure the children are clear about what they will be

investigating.• Bring some items related to the project topic (such as objects,

photos, or books), and invite the children to bring similar items from home. Let children handle the items, and invite them to talk about their own experiences related to the objects.

• Invite children to draw or paint pictures that depict their memories or ideas related to what they are studying.

• Read some nonfiction books that contain information about the topic.

• Use class meetings to involve the children in discussions of their own experiences and ideas related to the topic. During these discussions, create a topic web on chart paper to record and organize the children's ideas

Make a list of questions the children would like to answer during their research.

• Ask the children what they want to find out about the topic. Instead of saying, "Do you have any questions?" ask them questions such as "When the nurse visits our class, what do you want her to show you?" Or "What do you want her to talk about (or explain)?"

• Rephrase children's statements. A child might say, "I want her to show how she fixes bones when they break." Then you can say, "So your question is 'How do you fix broken bones?'"

• Write the children's questions on chart paper. Or you might ask them to use drawings to depict their questions. You can add your own questions to the list, too.

• Ask children to predict the answers to their questions. List children's predictions and their reasons for them alongside the questions. The class will revisit this list during Phase 3 of the project.

Talk with the children about how to begin their research.

• Help them think about where they can go to do fieldwork.• Talk with them about whom to invite to class to help them get

information.

Phase 2: Developing the Project• Opportunities for the children to do field work and speak to experts

are arranged. The teacher provides resources to help the children with their investigations; real objects, books, and other research materials are gathered. The teacher suggests ways for children to carry out a variety of investigations.

• Each child is involved in representing what he or she is learning, and each child can work at his or her own level in terms of basic skills, constructions, drawing, music, and dramatic play.

• The teacher enables the children to be aware of all the different work being done through class or group discussion and display. The topic web designed earlier provides a shorthand means of documenting the progress of the project

Getting Ready for Fieldwork• Divide the class into small interest groups.• Invite the children to sign up for small groups (4 or 5

children) to focus on specific questions related to the project topic. "You can sign up to find out about these questions: Who works in our school? What is the lunchroom like? What is the parking lot like?" If a child has a hard time choosing a group, suggest which one to join. "Since you like cars, you could join the parking lot study group."

• Help group members talk about where to get answers to their questions.

• Have children in each group explain their plan to the other groups and ask them for suggestions.

Plan where to look for information. • Discuss possible "guest experts," and help children write

invitations to them.• Identify places (sites) nearby to do fieldwork on their topic

(supermarket, hospital, farm). Visit the locations beforehand without the children. Talk to those in charge about what you want the children to see and learn. Be sure that a child who uses a wheelchair or walker can have full access to the site.

• Keep in mind that some site visits need not involve the whole class. For example, the small group studying the parking lot could go there without all their classmates.

• Enlist parent volunteers to go with small groups during fieldwork.

Encourage children to find answers to their questions in various ways. • Help children make a questionnaire to give to family and

neighbours. Show them how to form Yes/No questions. "Did you ever break a bone?" "Did it hurt?"

• Help children develop interview questions to ask guest experts and people at the site. "What does a supermarket manager do?" "Are you afraid of the dentist?" "How do you change bike tires?" They can make drawings to depict what they want to know, or you can list their questions.

• Take a small group to a library and ask a librarian to help the children find information.

• Help them find information on the Internet.

Provide the materials children will need for fieldwork. • Be sure children know how to make observational drawings.• Show children how to use cameras, counters, timers, recorders,

and other equipment for their investigations

Doing Fieldwork• Visit sites where children can do fieldwork. • Before a site visit, help children plan what they might

draw, photograph, collect, or record. Invite them to decide who will ask specific questions. Ask for volunteers for each task. ("Who will draw the dashboard? Who will record the bus starting up?")

• Give children clipboards, paper, and pencils to make observational drawings during site visits. They can also take bags for collecting things.

• On the site visit, take along a list of who agreed to do which tasks. Gently remind children of their responsibilities as needed.

Encourage children to collect information outside of class.• Children can gather information on some topics from their families.

For example, they can take questionnaires to family members to find out how many have had broken bones. They might also draw or photograph family items related to the project.

• Children can also bring in objects from their families related to the topic. Help them make labels, and display the objects together on a countertop or table

Invite guest experts.

• Let the children practice asking their questions before the expert comes to visit. If necessary, gently remind them to ask their questions during the visit.

• After the visit, invite the children to talk about what the visitor told them and showed them. Write their main points down on chart paper, and post the list in the classroom.

Help children discuss each other's work. • If a small group of children is going on a site visit, encourage

them to ask those who are not going, "What do you want us to find out for you?"

• When children return from fieldwork, let them report what they found to the whole class. They can share their drawings, digital photos, or things they have collected. Encourage the children who did not go on the trip to ask questions of those who did.

Monitor progress.

• As a project proceeds, help the children check their original topic web and their original list of questions and predictions

• Keep track of questions the class has answered and list new ideas or questions that have come up.

Phase 3: Concluding the Project•The teacher arranges a culminating event through which the children share with others what they have learned.

•The children can be helped to tell the story of their project to others by featuring its highlights for other classes, the principal, and the parents. The teacher helps the children to select material to share and, in so doing, involves them purposefully in reviewing and evaluating the whole project. The teacher also offers the children imaginative ways of personalizing their new knowledge through art, stories, and drama. Finally, the teacher uses children’s ideas and interests to make a meaningful transition between the project being concluded and the topic of study in the next project.

Develop a plan for concluding the study. • Revisit the topic web and original list of questions with the

children. Which of their questions have and have not been answered? If the children have addressed most of the questions, suggest that it might be time to finish the project.

• Suggest possible closing activities: "You could invite other classes to see your displays. You could plan an Open House so your families can see your work. You could put on a play that shows what you learned.

Invite children to discuss their research findings. • Involve the children in talking about the predictions they made in Phase 1

about the possible answers to their questions: "Jamal, you predicted that you would find out that workers get paid with coins. How did that turn out? Oh, you found out they get paid with checks instead."

• Ask the small groups to decide what parts of their study they think should be represented in a classroom display.

• Invite some children to pick the photographs taken during the study that best tell the story of the project. Involve the children in deciding how to display them.

• Encourage children to apply what they have learned to their dramatic play. For instance, they might turn the block area into a place they studied (restaurant, beauty parlor, pet shop).

Organize a culminating event.

• Engage the children in preparing for a final event in which they deepen their awareness of what they have learned and invite others to share in it. This event is a main part of the final phase of project work.

• Help children make invitations for their families and other classes to attend the event.

• When children prepare displays and presentations about their work, ask them to think about what their visitors would find most interesting.

• Make time for children to dictate information about the project. Give each child and each group time to draw, paint, or complete models that show what they have learned.

• Help the children decide how to share responsibility for presenting the story of the project and for explaining the displays to guests. Keep in mind that the children may need to rehearse before the presentation.

Inclusion -Including Every Child • Notice what interests each child.

• Does Jake's attention deficit disorder sometimes send him off-task? Find out if something in particular attracts him. Maybe the things that catch his attention can be included in the project.

• Does Sophie tend to withdraw or avoid participating in what the class is doing? Help her get involved in studying a topic of her own choice. Then see if other children are interested in it, too.

Inclusion -Including Every Child • Give children chances to have a range of learning experiences.

• Do the individualized goals for Ty include using verbal responses and requests? He can work on those goals when he helps to plan a project or makes up a question to ask a guest expert or someone at home.

• Does Malik rely on touch because he has a visual impairment? Include him in a small group studying textures of objects related to the project. Encourage the other group members to try Malik's ways of studying and describing things.

• Are some children unsure how to communicate with a classmate who has a hearing impairment? Teach them some basic signs and show them other ways to interact.

Inclusion -Including Every Child • Adapt project tasks to children's special needs.

• When you plan a site visit or field trip, find out how accessible the place is for children with physical disabilities. Ask for parent volunteers who can help children on ramps, stairs, or elevators.

• If Marta's wheelchair can't get around easily during a site visit, invite her to photograph classmates from where she sits. Later, Marta can talk with the other children about what they were doing in the pictures she took.

• Does Winona have speech or language delays? She can make drawings or models to show what she observes. Have her use signs or a picture system, or let her dictate a few words about her work each day.

• Does José have trouble holding a paintbrush? Add foam to the handle to help him grip it. Give him a sponge or roller for painting large areas of a class mural.

Inclusion -Including Every Child • Arrange active roles for children with disabilities. • Set up the room so that a child in a wheelchair is at eye level with

peers during discussions.• Schedule activities so that children who work more slowly than

others can take part. Does Leah need extra time to tell others what she has learned? Let her be the first in the group to talk while her classmates' attention is still fresh. Or help her practice what she wants to say ahead of time.

• Make sure that children with disabilities have opportunities to be in leadership roles. Take hints from the positive ways in which the other children include a classmate with special needs.

Images from Project approach

Images from Project approach

Images from Project approach

References • http://illinoisearlylearning.org/illinoispip/projects/music.html• http://illinoisearlylearning.org/illinoispip/guides/wheels.html