Develop a good understanding of the benefits
of Projects in the early years
Introduction
Project approach is one of the strategies
that are applicable in imparting content to the children in school which is
aligned with curriculum goals. In this method generally learners become active,
innovative, initiative and effective listeners because any projects should be
carried out with proper instructions from teacher. Well-designed projects
encourage active inquiry and higher-level thinking (Thomas, 1998). Brain
research underscores the value of these learning activities. Students'
abilities to acquire new understanding are enhanced when they are
"connected to meaningful problem-solving activities, and when students are
helped to understand why, when, and how those facts and skills are
relevant" (Bransford, Brown, & Conking, 2000, p. 23). Project-based learning is an
instructional model that involves students in investigations of compelling problems
that culminate in authentic products. Projects that make for stronger classroom
learning opportunities can vary widely in subject matter and scope, and can be delivered
at a wide range of grade levels. Nonetheless, they tend to share defining
features. Projects grow out of challenging questions that cannot be answered by
rote learning. Projects put students in an active role such as: problem solver,
decision maker, investigator, or documentarian.
Benefits of project
in the early years
The project based learning
methodology provides wide range of platform to both the learners and teachers
for interaction and investigating new steps to tackle problems. Children love
playing and as play is main tactics to boost cooperative learning in the
school. It encourage learners to investigate in-depth on particular topic, it
generates interest in learning, can make optimum use of teaching learning
materials and enhance critical thinking, creative thinking and also inculcate
sense of collaborative working/belongingness. It benefits teachers professionally
as to develop learning materials which is not available in the school and will
make teacher active, innovative and build more skillful. It provides
opportunity to explore and to connect with IT world as to make projects
effective and meaningful. We thought that this project method also provides opportunity for
teachers to be alert and to be prepared to face any circumstances as we have to
involve numerous concern authorities.
There
are many kinds of projects being implemented in daily teaching in the Bhutanese
school but not been conscious hence it was not structured/planned projects. We
also thought that project based learning in lower primary classes can be like
modeling, measuring objects in and around the classroom and so on. We have
noticed that this approach is liked by our children as they participate
actively in this process and even it retain for longer period. It
reinforce/encourages children to learn inquiry bases and get more experience
interaction skill. The effective projects will balance the level of learner
control with teacher-planned structure that guides and focuses the learner
work. In this approach, learners get ample of opportunities to explore by
themselves whereby they learned by doing but should be within planned activity
in order to achieve academic goal.
As per the expertise, the
benefits of project-based learning are;
it increased attendance, growth in self-reliance, and improved attitudes
toward learning (Thomas, 2000), Academic gains equal to or better than those
generated by other models, with students involved in projects taking greater
responsibility for their own learning than during more traditional classroom
activities (Boaler, 1997; SRI, 2000 ), Opportunities to develop complex skills,
such as higher-order thinking, problem-solving, collaborating, and
communicating (SRI, 2000), Access to a
broader range of learning opportunities in the classroom, providing a strategy
for engaging culturally diverse learners (Railsback, 2002). The project based learning/teaching is
strategy which provides learners to experience real-world activities and it
motivate to take roles in projects.
Project based learning supports the development cognitive thinking skills such as collaboration, self-monitoring, analysis of data, and evaluation of information. It will also provide learners to think what, how, when and where to use required learning materials in the processes of project based learning. Through project based learning/teaching, inquiry of questions aligned with curriculum goals will offer learners to think and make connections to the contents/concepts that matter with subjects. Well designed projects will provoke learners to put their interests and passion to culminating products and performance, for that learners will make best use of resources that are accessible to them and teacher’s responsibility or role is to serve as a facilitator or guidance for learners to lead in right direction.
We
came to know that this strategy will create a richer learning environment and
promote higher thinking level because it will engage learners in open-ended
discussion, authentic tasks and involve in decision making to have better/best
results at the end. But if we compare
the life style of western children, our learner are behind in cognitive
development or in other skills because of literacy, environment and lack of
advanced technology. In reality, schools in Bhutan most probably will not have
enough materials to conduct effective project based learning tasks as a result
our learners’ will not take active role in this leaning activity. In other
hand, a parent does not pay much concentrate to their child or our society
percept in other way. Hence, the project based learning in our schools is not
that much productive, meaningful and moreover teachers are not well equipped
with this projects strategy but hopping with this insights, definitely it will
help implementing in this academic year onward.
How can we as an educator
help learners to learn meaningfully? What are required to provoke children’s
interest to participate in this project based learning task? And does it really fit in Bhutanese
context/situation? After a long debate in a group, we have concluded that this
strategy is one of the best teaching methodologies in 21st century
to impart content to our children. In 21st teaching pedagogy, we
should focus more on skills rather than content as job opportunity is less due
to the population growth in the country. Teachers and parents need to impart
skills to our children order to survive in the modern world and have to keep
updating skills/knowledge in order to educate our children or for development.
As to make learning fun
and meaningful in the school, the project based learning is serving the purpose
and we teachers should be in position to influence the stakeholders to support
this strategy. The school administration should be in position to support,
provide feed backs and to make necessary information to concern authorities. The
subject teachers need to be active, innovative and risk taker to conduct
effective projects task; for that there should be proper/structured plan,
attractive and accessible learning materials, equal and enough distribution
of materials in order to get equal opportunity by learners. Making them to feel
real objects, talk politely, be frank, interact and create conducive atmosphere
to arouse interest to participate in projects task.
There is much to be said for the
old adage: Practice makes perfect, this approach cannot be successful within
short span of time, and it requires proper planning, enough materials and of
course active teacher in order to make this approach successful. We should make
learners to practice more to acquire good result and at same time we should
encourage, support, need to give proper feedbacks and conduct assessment in the
process of learning. We need to evaluate learner’s interest base on their
performance and need to provide necessary skills or concept to promote
interest/participation in project based learning process.
We have to bring
project-based learning/teaching into the classroom which needs to adopt new
instructional strategies to achieve curriculum goals. Having taken the role of
guide or facilitator is not enough for them to proceed; we have to give clear
and proper instructions with simple language which can be understood by all
learners. Direct-instruction methods that rely on textbooks, lectures, and
traditional assessments do not work well in the more open-ended,
interdisciplinary world of project-based learning. Rather, teachers do more
coaching and modeling and less "telling." They need to be comfortable
with "wrong turns" that students may make en route to completing a
project (Intel, 2003). Teachers may find themselves learning alongside their students
as projects unfold.
Conclusion
As to conclude this writing, we realized that the project
based learning is related with 21st teaching pedagogy which our
children learn through inquiry bases. In this approach inquiry encompasses a broad range of activities that give reign to our
natural curiosity about the world. Teachers who use inquiry as a strategy
typically encourage students to raise questions, plan and carry out investigations,
make observations, and reflect on what they have discovered. Even within a single classroom, definitely
inquiry activities are taking place along a continuum, from more structured and
teacher-directed on one end to more open-ended and driven by student interest
on the other hand. So, our duties in this strategy is
to assess, evaluate, provide necessary corrective measures, make more
accessible materials, give proper instructions and have effective plans in
hand.
References;
Harris H, J, & and Katz, L. (2000). Young
Investigators, The project Approach in
the Early Years
Boaler, J. (1999, March 31). Mathematics for the moment, or the
millennium? Education Week
Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (2000). How people
learn: Brain, mind, experience, and
School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Goodrich, H. A. (1997). Understanding rubrics, Educational
Leadership. 54(4)
Overview and Benefits of Project-Based
Learning; Retrieved from, http://www.behrmanhouse.com/blog/8-essential-characteristics-of-project-based-learning
