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THE PROJECT APPROACH |
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THE PROJECT APPROACH |
| About Projects | Purpose of this
Web Site |
Structure of this Web Site |
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Projects |  |
| Invitation to Teachers | Project Story Outline | Submission of Projects |
| Projects Discussion Group |
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Project Approach
Publications |
These pages are written, or edited, designed and maintained by Sylvia C. Chard
ABOUT PROJECTS
The projects featured here are mainly collaborative studies of real world topics. Children do field work, develop personal interests in different aspects of the topic and pursue a variety of investigations. They represent their growing understanding in many ways through drawing, writing, designing graphs and charts, block construction and dramatic play.
Projects can be done by children in preschool and kindergarten settings, throughout the elementary school and later in high school. As they become older the children have more complex representational strategies at their disposal. Older children can also integrate computer technology into their project work.
Projects offer a way of teaching which is complementary to systematic instruction. Systematic instruction enables children to acquire new skills. Project work enables children to apply the skills they have in meaningful and creative ways.
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In this web site we feature stories of projects which teachers have carried out in their classrooms. Each story will be introduced through a summary based on the framework outlined in the text, Engaging Children's Minds: The Project Approach, by Lilian G. Katz and Sylvia C. Chard (1989), Ablex.
In addition, graphics show topic webs, children actively engaged in projects and samples of children's work.
Where there are interesting stories to be told in greater detail links are provided to additional texts and graphics. As these links are developed the hypertext will provide an increasingly rich source of examples of teachers' and children's experiences of project work in many different classrooms.
There are also pages which discuss theoretical issues and teachers' dilemmas. The discussion is illustrated with particular examples of project work.
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Many teachers have found the Project Approach helpful to them in a variety of ways. Developing projects is not easy. In these pages teachers can learn what other teachers have experienced as they have worked this way with the children in their classrooms. This web site is primarily designed to show successful project work. It provides teachers with a way to share a variety of experiences of project work with different age groups in different educational settings from preschool through junior high school.
Here the reader will be able to access a large amount of information about projects and easily be able to locate what they are most interested in and what is most relevant to them personally. The web site is a hypertext, an ever expanding collection of blocks of text and graphics which are joined by electronic links. The links will enable a person to:
The framework used in the summary accounts of the projects is designed to orient the reader to the basic three phase structure of a project. A similar structure could be used to describe many different projects. The reader can read the summary of any project and then use the links indicated in it to pursue particular details or to see how the teacher resolved certain dilemmas or contributed to the discussion of particular issues such as assessment or parent involvement.
The reader of the Project Approach Web Site can thus become a member of an extensive network of teachers with similar interests and concerns. There are instructions at the end of this document for sending material to the editor for inclusion in the collection. In this way, readers can contribute their own accounts of project work as well as read the stories of others.
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Here is a list of projects you can read about. You will find the summary accounts of projects together with pictures of the children engaged in various activities (click on the small pictures to enlarge them).
When the projects are first posted there will just be text. Gradually webs, pictures and samples of children's work will be added. The text is always written by the teacher who carried out the project and/or a participant observer in the classroom.
The
Cafeteria (Pre K-K)
The Hospital
(Pre K-K)
The Grocery Store
(Pre K-K)
A Project on Ants
(Pre K-K)
The Clubhouse
(Pre K-K)
Pets (Pre
K-K)
Flowers (Pre
K-K)
Pets (Gr.
2)
Reptiles (Gr.
2)
Rocks (Gr.
2)
Water (Gr.
2)
The School
(Gr. 2)
Food
(Gr. 3)
The Iditarod
(Gr.4)
Camping
(Gr.4)
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If you would like to submit a brief summary description of a project you have done in your classroom please make use of the outline which follows. It is the same outline as was used to structure the description of the projects you have seen here. In the next section, I have provided a `story' which is content free. It is designed to help remind you of the details teachers will be interested to read in your account. It is an information shell, the details of which can be filled in with real content according to the project being described.
Not all projects will take exactly the same form. Some parts of the story will not fit and there may be parts which are different from the basic script given below. However, the framework originally proposed in Engaging Children's Minds: The Project Approach is being recommended here because of the importance of the sequential structure in project planning and development.
The Practical Guides for Teachers in the Project Approach Publications section may be helpful if you wish to submit a story or try out the suggested framework for yourself.
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The teacher selects the topic of study based on the children's interest, curriculum, availability of local resources, etc. The teacher also brainstorms her own experience, knowledge and ideas in a topic web. This web can be used as the basis for planning the project.
The teacher tells simple stories from her own experience and the children share their experiences in a variety of ways, through talking, drawing, writing, construction, dramatic play, etc. A letter can be sent home to parents to let them know what is being studied and to ask if they would like to help with the project in suggested ways. The teacher finds out what experiences the children have had and how much they know about the topic. The teacher helps the children to formulate questions about what they would be interested in investigating. A list of these questions is compiled for investigation.
The teacher arranges opportunities for the children to do field work and speak to experts. The teacher provides for the children's investigations with books and other research materials and classroom activities. The teacher involves each child working at their own appropriate level in terms of basic skills, construction, art, music, and dramatic play. The teacher enables the children to be aware of all the different work being done through class and small group discussion and bulletin board displays.
The teacher arranges a culminating event for the children to share what they have learned. The children can tell the story of their project to others outside their classroom: another class, the principal, and/or the parents. The teacher helps the children to select material to share and in so doing involves them in reviewing and evaluating the whole project. The teacher also offers the children imaginative ways of personalizing their new knowledge and understanding through art, stories and drama. If possible, the teacher uses children's ideas and interests to make a meaningful transition for the children between the project being concluded and the topic of study in the next project.
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If you have a story of a project on a real world topic which you would like to share through this web site please send it to me by e-mail: at schard@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca; or by regular mail to Sylvia Chard at the Department of Elementary Education, 551 Education Building South, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G5. Please send only the summary description to begin with. A covering note would also be helpful indicating where the further details could be shared for the creation of links, for example to 'field work' or 'classroom organization.' Stories will be selected for presentation here and at this point I would ask for further information, photographs or other documentation which would be helpful.
For information about the Project Approach Discussion Group, click here.
In addition to Engaging Children's Minds: The Project Approach (Ablex), co-authored with Lilian Katz, two other books are available:
The Project Approach: Developing the Basic Framework
The Project Approach: Developing Curriculum With Children
These Practical Guides by Sylvia C. Chard were formerly printed at the University of Alberta but are now published by Scholastic as of August 1997 and can be ordered from any book store.
The easiest way to acquire them might be for you to call Scholastic at their Customer Service phone number: 1 - 800 - 325 - 6149
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Last revised: September 20, 1997
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