1. Welcome to new members!
Introductions this week from:
Lois Main, Cairo, Egypt
Gwen Coe, Springfield, MO, USA
Carol Koehler, Phoenix, AZ, USA
I have enjoyed all of your contributions. Please continue to share the details of your project work with us.
2. I have to mention an erratum for my Weekly Review #7.
In the paragraph beginning, "I am drawn back again to thinking about the distinctions between thematic units and projects," the last word of the paragraph should be 'unit,' not 'project.' Apologies, as I am really trying to help clarify rather than confuse the issues!!
3. This week I have been much enjoying the increased activity in the group. There have been excellent descriptions of project work. Specifically:
There were some wonderful examples of the chaining of successive events in a project through following up on the children's interests, wishes or intentions.
a) In the case of Barb Smith's clubhouse (described by Gwen Coe):
"The children wanted it to be built without windows until they took a field trip to a cave and determined what it would be like in the clubhouse without light.
"We learned about "transparent" and "opaque" and ended up using plexiglas around top of walls to let in light.
"Then children wanted birdhouses in the surrounding trees so they could watch the birds from their clubhouse.
"Small groups of 3-4 children designed and with parent help constructed bird houses out of siding."
The children were encouraged to make their preferences known and the teachers facilitated their exploration of what the consequences of their decisions were likely to be. They were shown the real dark of a cave and encouraged to talk about it using new words to further discriminate levels and qualities of darkness. The high up windows allowed for seeing the birds, which led to the construction of bird houses.
b) In the case of Mary Jane Elliott's apartment building:
"After gathering their data I raised the possibility of the class doing an investigation of the apartment building where I lived which happens to be adjacent to the school. The children weren't too sure and decided to first have a site visit and then decide. Upon walking around the building...and checking things out pretty well, they decided there were lots of questions to explore concerning my building."
It is clear from Mary Jane's description that she and the children were negotiating the topic of the project.
It is also evident that a good deal of class discussion went on so that children were able to brainstorm, focus on particular interests and share their work with one another:
"After brainstorming questions to investigate, we determined four main focuses and children selected which team they wanted to work on. These teams stayed together for the entire project but reported to one another daily, so that at all times the entire class knew what was going on."
c) Carol Koehler gave us the example of classes of children participating in a replanting of saguaros on a hillside near the school. This story shows how the children set out to achieve something big and important. Any endeavor on this scale is bound to require learning about the conditions and requirements for success:
"Our school purchased five year old saguaros (about 6 inches high) and also had some donated. Each class that wanted to participate brought 3-10 plants up the mountain and learned how to find nurse trees and correctly position their cacti for optimal survival. All this of course was preceded by learning as much as they could about desert plants and animals."
This involvement of the children and the teacher in facilitating investigation, decision making, and commitment really does convey what Mary Jane describes as the "intensification of learning" which characterizes project work. There is an active partnership between children and teachers in the pursuit of the work.
4. I would like to remind you here of my intention for the Home Page on Projects. It is primarily to collect stories of projects. Firstly, summary descriptions which give the reader brief overview of a project. Then through the wonderfully responsive technology of hypertext, it is possible to provide access to elaborations of the stories. The words in color will be key words which you can click on to access further information instantaneously. The further information will be of three kinds:
First: Additional descriptive details.
e.g. "The children are planning for a "drawbridge-like" door that would lock. Their thinking moved from a "tunnel-like" door to a "dog-like door" to the drawbridge. They have been experimenting with the height of the door and how far it would extend onto the ground when it is lowered. The children each want their own key, so that they might return to play in the clubhouse next year when they are in kindergarten---an incredible example of "forwarding-thinking."
Second: Structural features of project work. e.g. Field work: "Each class visits their cacti at least once every two weeks bringing water and checking on the surrounding environment. Observations and drawings are recorded while we're there."
Third: Issues which are important to every teacher. e.g. Evaluation, as in Mary Jane's list of six elements: "The essential elements of learning I used in my screen were, (1) be able to communicate; (2) be able to use technology; (3) be able to problem-solve effectively; (4) be able to work cooperatively in a team; (5) be able to initiate learning; (6) be able to apply what you have learned."
5. Please help me add to the Project Approach Home Page. If you have visited the home page more than once recently you will have noticed that it has remained static for the last little while! One day I hope to have armies of graduate students helping me to expand it. Meanwhile I am collecting material and looking forward to having time soon to ensure that it changes every week!
I have decided to start today by adding these weekly reviews to a section on the home page so that newcomers to the list can gain easy access to earlier reviews and see what the group has been discussing.
I think I shall also have a new section entitled "Projects at a Glance." Perhaps I can e-mail those of you who have described your projects on this list to request permission to put your description on the home page. What do you think?
It is also possible for me to show photos on the home page, for example to illustrate Gwen's project:
Her photographs "include---original site before construction, children marking and "clearing" the site, parents and children on field trip to construction site, parents and children "framing" the structure, children working on the exterior with hammers and nails, and photographs of the birdhouses that have been constructed and now hung in the trees." (Please send them to me Gwen, if you would like them added to the collection with your clubhouse project story!).
6. Lilian Katz and I met in Illinois last week to discuss the program for our Fifth Annual International Institute "ENGAGING CHILDREN'S MINDS: THE PROJECT APPROACH" (for teachers, administrators, consultants, teacher educators, etc.).
This is a four day residential immersion in the Project Approach in August at the beautiful Allerton Park Conference Centre near Monticello in central Illinois. This year we are offering two such institutes (4-7 & 11-14 Aug) separated by a two day conference (8-10 Aug, a sharing opportunity) for people who have attended the institute in a previous year.
For further information about this institute please e-mail:
engaging@c3po.ceps.uiuc.edu
Have a good week!
For the Easter weekend the temperatures in Alberta are going high enough to melt a good deal of snow and it is great to see the grass again and the birds actively beginning work on their nests.
Keep us posted on your projects!
(April 8 '96)