The Project Approach
Children, by nature, are curious learners. They love to discover the world around them. They like to investigate, try new things and put fresh ideas into action. The Project Approach happens when topics that are of interest to children and are worth knowing more about, are investigated by them. There are usually three phases in the Project Approach. These are: 1) getting started, 2) collecting information and 3) concluding the project.
To get started, a topic needs to be determined. The teacher has to evaluate the interest and understanding of the children. An important aspect in doing the Project Approach is the subject that the project is all about. It has to be noteworthy enough that the children get interested in and is something they are familiar with. For instance, if a classmate brings a slice of pizza for snacks, they can talk about the ingredients found in pizza, how pizza is made and where pizza is sold – it can be an appropriate time to talk about food service and restaurants! With the teacher’s guidance, children choose what to investigate. She records children’s ideas while they work collaboratively and discuss what they already know about the topic.
With promptings from her, children come up with a list of questions they want to answer during their study. As they discuss more in-depth, they might come across answers to their questions. The teacher can then list their predictions.
In collecting information, the teacher can actually assist the children organize trips for places to visit and possibly find people knowledgeable about the subject that the children can interview. With the assistance of an adult, a teacher or a parent, perhaps, the children can use computers and books to find information. Children update the class on the status and findings of their fieldwork. The teacher can encourage them to ask questions and
discuss about each other’s findings. Drawings, pictures, words and labels and graphs are possible output of children’s findings. Children may revise these findings when they collect new information as they go along in the project.
discuss about each other’s findings. Drawings, pictures, words and labels and graphs are possible output of children’s findings. Children may revise these findings when they collect new information as they go along in the project.
To conclude the project, children put together the evidence they have discovered to help them answer their questions. They decide on how they should present it to class using their outputs in the form of drawings, pictures, graphs or possibly taped conversations or videotapes. Parents and other guests may be invited to the presentation about their project.
The Project Approach has many benefits. Because of shared work, children learn through their peers, are able to respect diverse ideas and experience a boost of self-esteem because they are a part of a group that has solved a problem. They feel valued for what they have contributed to the success of the team effort. On the account of the project being of interest to them, they are curious and are able to ask meaningful questions. This approach provides an opportunity for children to apply what they are learning in a significant manner.
The Project Approach can best be done a few times a week for a short amount of time and yet, the end-result will have a far-reaching effect on children’s learning.
Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) . The DAP Principles were established to ensure that the policies are aligned with the goals of education. It is made to help schools come up with a comprehensive and appropriate curriculum, taking into consideration the expertise of teachers in deciding the methods and strategies, instructional materials and learning experiences that are most effective to achieve their learning goals.
Accountability is the word. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has made such a big deal when it came to DAP. It is not to give schools and educators a hard time but to ensure that quality education for our children is being upheld.
It is like saying as well that as educators we should step up the standards we offer our children, after all they are highly intelligent beings. They deserve nothing less. It is in this light that they have come up with meticulous guidelines that may seem too rigid. However, if the good of the children is really in one’s heart, these guidelines will come as second nature and not much of a trouble in terms of complying with voluminous paper work.
What should be noted here is that in order for DAP to be effective, the guidelines adopted should be based on vast research and should fit the standards, practices and culture of the community it is being set upon, and not just a direct imposition of the said guidelines.
Here are some points with which we have referred upon to ensure that our curriculum is developmentally appropriate:
- Domains of Child Development
- Curriculum Order and Sequence
- Varying Rates of Development from Child to Child but Predictable Directions
- Children are Active Learners
- Influence of Multiple Social and Cultural Contexts in Learning
- Biological Maturation and Environment
- Play
- Opportunities to Practice Newly Acquired Skills and Face Challenges Beyond Level of Mastery
- Demonstration of Different Modes of Learning and Representing the Different Modes of What They Know
- Community Involvement