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Prior to beginning work on this, read
- Estes, L.S., & Krogh, S. L. (2012)
- Chapter 4: Exploring Contemporary Curriculum Approaches in Early Childhood Education
- Chapter 7: Establishing Effective Learning Environments for Young Children
- A Tale of Five Classrooms (Links to an external site.).
- Chard, S. (2013, April). The Project approach to teaching and learning (Links to an external site.) FOUND BELOW
As you learned in your textbook, there are several different learning
approaches that can be used in early childhood education. It is
important that you are able to determine which approach to teaching you
connect with the most, so that you feel confident about how you are
teaching your students. This discussion will allow you to share your
thoughts regarding different learning approaches.
When reading A Tale of Five Classrooms (Links to an external site.),
you will encounter five different classroom scenarios. Each of the
scenarios describes a classroom that follows one of the five main
approaches (Creative Curriculum, direct instruction, High Scope,
Montessori, and Reggio Emilia) that are shared in our textbook.
After reading A Tale of Five Classrooms,
- Determine which of the classrooms/learning approaches are most like
the classrooms when you attended school. Did you enjoy being in this
type of classroom? Why, or why not? - Explain which classroom/learning approach aligns with the type of
classroom environment you would like to create for your students by
clearly stating at least three examples from the scenario that you would
like to see in your own classroom. Make sure to include the name of the
classroom/learning approach you are discussing (e.g., Montessori, High
Scope, etc.). - Use specific examples from the description as well as at least one scholarly source (see the Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table) to explain why you believe the learning approach you chose would be an effective model for early childhood education.
- To assist you in completing the library research required for this assignment, view this How Do I Begin? (Links to an external site.)
tutorial, which provides an overview of conducting searches in the
library, generating keywords, and understanding your assignment prompt.
- To assist you in completing the library research required for this assignment, view this How Do I Begin? (Links to an external site.)
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The Project Approach to Teaching and Learning
What is the Project Approach?
The Project Approach offers teachers a way to develop in-depth
thinking while engaging the hearts and minds of young children. Teachers
take a strong guidance role in the process while children study topics
with purpose and flexibility. Project work presents many opportunities
for young children’s ideas to be valued, their creativity to be
encouraged, their interests to be nurtured, and for their learning needs
to be met.
In early childhood, projects can be defined as open ended
studies of everyday topics which are worthy of being included in an
educational program. Projects emerge from the questions children raise
and develop according to their particular interests. Rather than
offering immediate answers to the questions children ask, teachers
provide experiences through which children can discover the answers
themselves through inquiry at field sites and interviewing experts. For
example, if the children wonder what shoes are made of or how are they
made, the teacher may arrange a field visit where the answer to these
questions can be provided by an expert, in this case a shoe factory, the
shoe repair man’s shop, or a shoe store. Children also consult
secondary sources of information such as books and the internet in the
classroom and with their parents at home.
Project investigations promote in-depth understanding and cover a
wide range of relevant subtopics. For this reason projects usually take
several weeks to complete—and sometimes much longer, depending on the
age and interests of the children.
The Project Approach, then, is the method of teaching children
through project investigations. Because project work follows an
unpredictable path based on the interests of particular children, a
flexible framework to support teachers has been developed. This
framework makes the inquiry more manageable: it shapes the development
of the area of investigation. Teachers guide children through a three
phase process from the beginning of a project to its conclusion. You may
find the Project Planning Journal helpful in understanding and implementing project work. It’s from the book Young Investigators: The Project Approach in the Early Years by Judy Harris Helm and Lilian G. Katz.
What is the Structure of the Project Approach?
Phase 1: In the beginning of a project, the teacher
builds interest in the topic through encouraging the children to share
relevant personal stories of experience. As the children represent their
current understanding of the topic; the river, cars, or dogs, for
example, the teacher assesses the children’s vocabulary, their
individual interests, misconceptions or gaps in current knowledge, and
helps them formulate questions which they can investigate.
Phase 2: As the inquiry begins in earnest, teachers
enable the children go on field visits, interview adults who are
experts, such as waiters, farmers, or nurses, for example, according to
the topic of study. Children also look at books, internet sites, videos,
and so on. As they learn more about the topic they use many forms of
representation to illustrate what they have learned and to share new
knowledge with their classmates.
Phase 3: Finally, the teacher guides the conclusion
of the study and helps the children review their achievements. The
children share their work with parents, another class, or members of the
local community who have helped them in the process of the
investigation. This final phase of the work includes the assessment by
teachers of what the children have learned through the project. All
children will have learned basic facts about the topic. Some children
will have learned more about certain aspects of the topic such as the
role of the adults, or the steps or materials used in the manufacture of
an important item. There will be times when one child may have achieved
individual learning goals such as developing confidence in a particular
personal strength or learning to collaborate effectively with other
classmates.
What are the advantages of the Project Approach?
When teachers encourage children’s curiosity and help them to ask
questions, the study of local everyday topics becomes interesting and
relevant to them. Young children’s learning is energized as they become
part of a community of investigators and share the findings of their
inquiry. Children apply skills and knowledge in their study of buses,
shoes, trees, or grocery stores. They learn about the value of reading,
writing, and numbers in the life of the adults around them. In the
context of the project the children become apprentices in the pursuit of
knowledge alongside their teachers. Teachers take a responsive role in
developing the project. They coordinate different interests and support
small group and individual inquiries as these emerge. Teachers who use
the project approach report that students show great interest and
actively participate. They ask questions and follow up their own
curiosity with investigations.
Along with the motivation it provides, project work also integrates
all areas of learning and aspects of child development. It offers many
chances to practice problem solving and critical thinking—skills that
build language, math and scientific understanding. In fact, it helps
children gain confidence in themselves and their abilities and develops
in them the disposition to strive for understanding.How does the Project Approach align with curriculum requirements and standards?
This type of learning differs considerably from the preplanned
lessons of a published curriculum. While project work supports the
curriculum standards identified for testing, teachers do not teach to
the test through project work. The emphasis is on the context in which
learning is intrinsically motivated and engaging to young children.
Through careful observation and skillful planning on the part of the
teacher, curriculum goals can be integrated into project work. The
teacher anticipates where a project may go, and includes elements of the
required curriculum in her plans. For example, the curriculum goal of
data collection and analysis can be incorporated into a project on cars,
if children decide to count and record the kinds of cars they see. The
teacher records her plan and project documentation provides evidence of
learning.
In addition to the aspects of the curriculum which relate directly to
the acquisition of skills and knowledge, project work offers
interesting opportunities for children to apply and practice what they
have learned in other parts of their daily program in school. Intrinsic
motivation enables children to learn through projects in personally
meaningful ways. Children who excel in certain academic areas learn to
offer leadership to their peers. Children who experience difficulty in
some areas frequently learn from skilled or knowledgeable peers more
easily than from adults.
In classrooms where the Project Approach is well implemented,
teachers and parents report that children show increased achievement and
confidence in talking about what they know and can do.
Curriculum goals, such as data collection and analysis, can be naturally integrated into project work.
How does the Project Approach fit with other teaching strategies?
Project work can be incorporated into learning centers, as well
as into a typical daily schedule. For example, circle time can be used
to discuss a current investigation or books on the subject can be placed
in the literacy area.
However, with all its advantages, most early childhood professionals
would agree that project work alone does not cover all the learning
experiences that should be included in the curriculum. Children learn
through many different experiences in school. For young children these
experiences include sensory exploration, various kinds of play activity,
observation, and practice. They learn some things through direct
instruction, some through small group work, some through repeated trials
and persistence, and some through collaboration and lively discussion
with their classmates.
The Project Approach offers children the flexibility to develop
interests, to work hard at their strengths, to share expertise and make
personal contributions to the work of the classroom. The use of
open-ended learning centers in a classroom can make for easier
differentiation by teachers in their instruction as they help children
to self-assess and challenge themselves appropriately in the classroom
context.
What are the challenges of implementing the Project Approach?
The principle challenge for teachers is to know the children well and
to be able to guide them effectively in their inquiry. It requires
dedication and creativity to take full advantage of individual strengths
and interests, engage parental expertise (for interviews, access to
field sites, etc.), and seek out resources. The key to a successful
project is the teacher’s daily classroom assessment; it guides the work
towards optimal learning opportunities in responsive environments for
all children. These challenges demand that the teacher’s own creativity
be engaged in crafting with the children the stories of their learning
through projects.
As with any teaching approach or method, positive results are only
evident when the teaching is done well. It is easier to set up learning
centers with activities, worksheets, and boxes of props which are the
same each year. It is easier to read the same fantasy literature and
have the children play the parts of the characters in dramatic play year
after year. In project work, teachers depend on rich communication with
the children to determine their interests and prior levels of
understanding. A project on ‘pets’ for instance, may focus on different
subtopics from one year to the next as different groups of children and
their parents show interests, expertise, or gaps in knowledge. One year
the direction might be how to care for pets’ everyday needs, another
year the focus might be around pet health and the work of the
veterinarian, while yet another might be the work that animals can do
for human beings, such as service dogs, leisure pursuits and exercise,
or work with the elderly or young people with autism or other
challenges. Teacher’s responsiveness to children challenges them always
to bring fresh thinking to project work.
Another challenge for teachers is to plan the work so that there is a
unity and cohesiveness to each project which all the children can
appreciate. As various interests are developed teachers have to keep the
communication focused on the value of each group’s contribution to the
knowledge and understanding of the topic by all the children in their
classes.
Yet, teachers wishing to help students develop a life-long love of
learning and understand the interconnected relationship of all things
will find there are unique advantages to project learning.
References
