"My ECE Assignment" series is meant to demystify ECE and make it a more pleasurable endeavour for those of us who are willing to commit to it :
Module: Action Research
Individual Assignment - Research Dissertation :
Maximizing the Value of Project Approach as a Teaching Strategy for K1 and K2 Children : 3 Key Areas for Teachers to Focus On
Abstract
The utilization of the Project Approach in teaching is fast gaining popularity in early childhood education (ECE) settings. Significant levels of money and time are being applied to make the traditional ECE curriculum come alive through Project Approach. But how can these resources be optimally utilized to provide for the highest possible return on the investments, for both the teachers delivering Project Approach in their classes as well as the children receiving these teachings via projects?
This research paper provides an insight into the mind of the teacher of the Project Approach. More importantly, it brings out the voice of the children who had previously received their first project, by telling us as educators, the areas of their project phases or activities that had made the most impact to them. With these insights, we can therefore explore ways of maximizing the effectiveness of the Project Approach to the most important constituents in any ECE school system – the children themselves.
Introduction
Project Approach as a teaching strategy has many proponents and admirers globally. The benefits that it can bring to any learning centre that has adopted it are plenty and significant. Children who are taught using the Project Approach are known to have an increased level of self-confidence, show a high level of enthusiasm for their work and display stronger levels of positive socio-emotional traits, amongst some of these benefits (Project Approach Website, 2008).
In the field of early childhood education in Singapore, Project Approach is beginning to receive the attention of many educators, and is now beginning to be adopted by more and more forward-looking ECE centres. A case in point is the Carpe Diem Childcare Group. Known locally as the first childcare group in the country to bring in the renown Multiple Intelligences curriculum by Dr Howard Gardner, the Group has begun the adoption of Project Approach as well. This has provided for further augmentation of its teaching strategies to their children of both the K1 and K2 classes.
But how do we ensure that the resources of money and time being applied to this new teaching approach provide the best possible return-on-investment for a typical preschool wishing to implement Project Approach in their learning environment? With preschools constantly facing lesser resources to deliver better education to the young in this country, the need to maximize the value of a newer teaching strategy like Project Approach therefore becomes even more apparent.
As a professional involved in this new adoption of the Project Approach teaching strategy in my childcare centre, this research will provide information to support the hypothesis that because the top 3 areas within a typical Project Approach process are being emphasized, the value of our teachings to the K-class students can be maximized. The research would then heighten the awareness of teachers to these top 3 areas, and in so doing, provide a stronger basis for them to incorporate these top 3 areas into their teaching methods, when commencing with the start of any new project.
This research had 2 components to it. Firstly, it began with an interview with a K1-class teacher who has recently completed a project, under the Project Approach, to understand from her perspective, the specific areas in the whole process of her project completion which excited her students the most. For example, were there certain aspects of the project that captures the attention of her students the most? Were her students changing their behaviours as the project progressed? Do they work better as a group for certain types of activities? These will be some of the questions that will be answered through this interview with the class teacher.
Secondly, the next component of the research involved interviewing all of the children who had completed the said project. The voice-of-the-children was therefore represented in the outcomes of these interviews, giving us a valuable insight into the minds of the children, in terms of what areas of the project activities interest them the most.
Feedback from parents whose children have completed a recent project were solicited and presented here.
This 3-way view of Project Approach therefore provided an invaluable insight into the minds of the teacher, the children and the parents. The top 3 areas or key activities in a project were identified. They can then become the focus for all teachers whenever they begin their own new projects. As a result, the values of teaching any project or topic of interest to the children can be maximized to the fullest, and with that, a better return-on-investment can be realized for any ECE centre planning to adopt Project Approach in their learning environment.
Literature Review
Theoretical Views of Project Approach
John Dewey
The Project Approach is based on the work of an American educator and philosopher called John Dewey, who maintained that education is the reconstruction of experience (Wikipedia, 2008). Dewey was the most famous proponent of hands-on learning or experiential learning.Dewey developed the approach over a period of seven years at his laboratory school at the University of Chicago. Dewey challenged the view that was current at the time that knowledge was a fixed notion of truth waiting to be discovered. Learning had been viewed as a possession that was a necessary and practical result of social standing.
For Dewey, knowledge is not absolute, immutable, and eternal, but rather relative to the developmental interaction of man with his world as problems arise to present themselves for solution. Views of Dewey on learning grew out of the basic assumptions of the newly evolved pragmatic theory of knowledge.
Lilian Katz
More recently, Lilian Katz propose the Project Approach, based on Dewey's ideas, as a way of working with children so that they might arrive at deeper understandings of the world they inhabit. Research by Lillian Katz has shown that children learn best through meaningful activities. It has also shown that children’s skills are much more likely to be mastered if they have the opportunity to apply them in meaningful activities (Katz & Chard, 1989).
The Project Approach to teaching therefore is another way for students to experience how an inviting, dynamic environment can encourage learning.
Projects are defined as “an in-depth study of a topic or theme” (Chard, 1998). A project involves three phases. During the first phase, children and their teacher select and discuss a topic to be explored. In the second phase, the children conduct firsthand investigations and then create representations of their findings. The third phase typically includes culminating and debriefing events, which are likely to involve parents.
In the views of Katz and Chard (1989), projects can help children meet learning goals in the four major areas of knowledge, skills, dispositions, and feelings. Projects not only help children gain academic skills, social skills, and communication skills, they can help children form good self-concepts about themselves as successful learners. They can also help children gain positive dispositions toward learning.
These favorable dispositions toward learning are critical to their future success. Similar dispositions and feelings may be formed by teacher-preparation students who have the opportunity to experience active, engaging work, such as projects and centers in their own coursework. As students are learning about how to use the Project Approach with young children, they can be engaged in their own project, learning and seeing the benefits of using this approach.
Reggio Emilia
One of the earliest proponents of Project Approach and probably the most well-known is embodied in the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching (Giudici & Rinaldi, 2001). The Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children puts the natural development of children as well as the close relationships that they share with their environment at the center of its philosophy.
Early childhood programs that have successfully adapted to this educational philosophy share that they are attracted to Reggio Emilia approach because of the way it views and respects the child. They believe that the central reason that a child must have control over his or her day-to-day activity is that learning must make sense from the child's point of view. To make it meaningful, it also must be of interest to the child. That is one way they have control over their learning.
Do Different Educational Approaches Produce Different Results?
In a landmark longitudinal study conducted by Schweinhart and Weikart (1997), three different models of early childhood methods were studied, namely (a) the High Scope model which engaged children as active learner, which emphasized key experiences focusing learning in intellectual, social and physical domains, (b) the traditional nursery school model which focused on child-centred approach and (c) the direct instructional model which emphasized teacher-directed academic instructions using workbooks. It was concluded that the early childhood programs in which children initiate their own learning activities are superior to programs based on teacher-directed instructions (Hendrick, 2001). In the early years of the follow-up study, all three models were about the same. But at age 23, many differences became apparent when the children from High Scope and the nursery curricula were compared with those from the direct instruction program, including the fact that there were fewer felony arrests, fewer years of special education for emotional impairment and more members doing volunteer work, from children of the High Scope program.
These results put an even higher premium on the Project Approach method of teaching which also promotes active learners in its curriculum, and augurs well for this innovative method of teaching.
Methodology
Selection of Participants
The selection of the participants was determined by the goals of this research. The first participant was the class teacher who had recently completed a Project Approach exercise with her students. Her inputs provided the basis for comparison on what procedures and activities in her project constitute the most significant portions of the entire project.
These data from the teacher was then compared with the feedback from the children of her class that had undergone a recent project. The inputs from the children were crucial to our understanding of the three most important activities of the entire project, from the children’s viewpoints.
The third participants in this research were the parents of the children. They provided inputs on how they viewed their children’s own experiences in a project that was recently concluded.
Findings and Analysis
The entire process of the Project Approach was concisely summarized into 10 key activities the children had performed , under each of its 3 Phases, as follows:
Phase 1:
Activity #1. Sharing Experiences and KWL
Activity #2. Journal Writing
Activity #3. Drawing and Labelling
Phase 2:
Activity #4. Newspaper and Magazine Cuttings
Activity #5. Representational Drawings
Activity #6. Creating Models and Painting
Activity #7. The Field trip
Phase 3:
Activity #8. Setup of the Object/Topic-of-Interest inside School
Activity #9. Pretend Play
Activity #10. Exhibition and Display to Parents
The Teacher’s Perspective
The teacher viewed the top 3 most important activities in the whole Project Approach process and the reasons for them, as
1. The Field Trip – Activity #7
The children learnt the most through this real-life and hands-on activity.
2. Sharing Experiences and KWL - Activity #1
Personal experiences by the children allowed them to learn better.
3. Exhibition and Display to Parents – Activity#10
The opportunity for strong bonding between the teacher and the parents helped to
develop the child holistically.
Additionally, the teacher gave the following views on how the children in her K1 class were working together:
(i) the setup of the object/topic-of –interest inside the school (Activity #8) made the children work most cooperatively amongst each other, because they learnt to work together and set aside their differences to achieve one goal.
(ii) the pretend play (Activity #9) promoted social interactions the most between the children because role-playing helped to promote the language development and skills.
(iii) the exhibition and display to parents (Activity #10) derived the most amount of laughter amongst the children because they enjoyed sharing their knowledge and work with their parents.
(iv) the field trip (Activity #7) elicited the most amount of empathy amongst the children because they had sensorial and concrete experiences.
(v) the sharing of experiences and KWL (Activity #1) enabled the most recall amongst the children because story-telling helped them to relate their personal experiences better.
The Children’s Perspective
The top 3 activities that the children enjoyed the most and had the most fun with, were described by them as:
1. The Field Trip (Activity #7)
2. Newspaper and Magazine Cuttings (Activity #4)
3. Pretend Play (Activity #9)
It should also be noted that creating models and painting (Activity #6) and the setup of the object/topic-of-interest (Activity #8) were a close third. The bar chart below (Figure 1) showed the distribution of the votes by the children that were interviewed:
Q: Which activities are the most enjoyable for you?
Sample size: 39
The Parents’ Perspective
The survey received from the parents yielded the following results:
(i) The average rating given by parents was 6.6, that is, between the grades of “Very Good” and “Excellent”, when asked how they rated their child’s overall experience during the tenure of the project that their child was involved in.
(ii) When asked if their child had shown improvements intellectually, emotionally or socially during the project period, 72% of the parents said that their child had improved significantly, per the pie chart below (Figure 2):
Q: Do you think your child has shown improvements during the project?
Sample size: 11
(iii) When asked which part of the project was their child most excited about, 60% of the parents mentioned the Field Trip (Activity #7), followed by the Exhibition and Display to Parents (Activity #10) and the Setup of the Object/Topic-of-Interest in School (Activity #8).
Conclusion
The most crucial outcome of this research, based on these interviews and survey results, was that the views of the teacher, the children and the parents were identical when they were asked which activity within the Project Approach process was the most important in terms of its impact. And that is, the Field Trip (Activity #7) was at the very top. This confluence of the 3 perspectives would therefore suggest that the planning, and indeed its execution, of the Field Trip by the teacher should be given top priority whenever a project was initiated for the children in the classroom. If executed well, the children would be the biggest beneficiaries of the Project Approach. They seemed to revel in this activity, which in turn, provided the highest impact in positive learning for them.
There was however, a divergence of views between the teacher and the children when the 2nd and 3rd most impactful activities of the Project Approach process were analysed. Given these divergent views, it would be prudent on the part of the teacher to regard the voice-of-the-children as taking precedent. The teacher should therefore pay more attention to the Newspaper and Magazine Cutting activity (Activity #4) and the Pretend Play activity (Activity #9) so that the values of the children’s learnings in this Project Approach were to be further maximized.
This researcher believes that teachers practicing Project Approach will be more motivated to embrace and continue to utilize this innovative teaching method in their classrooms if they understand better the combined views of the children and the parents. They will be more fulfilled if they know that the children and the parents will appreciate the outcomes of the Project Approach more if the top 3 activities are properly planned and executed.
The second outcome, and perhaps the more important of the two, is that the children taught under the Project Approach will be become much more engaged in their understanding of subject matters, more confident in their disposition and as a result, better all-round learners, both in their early childhood and their adult lives.
Both of these outcomes will therefore provide a good return-on-investment on the resources deployed towards the implementation of the Project Approach in an early childhood education centre.
It is hoped that this research results can also provide the foundation for even more research to be conducted to understand the views of the children and their parents even more, so that this innovative teaching strategy called the Project Approach can be further enhanced for the benefit of the children.
References
1. Chard, S. C. (1998a). The project approach: Making curriculum come alive. New
York: Scholastic.
2. Giudici, C., & Rinaldi, C. (2001). Making Learning Visible. Infant-Toddler Centers
and Preschools as Places of Culture, p.38, Reggio Children, Piazza della Vittorio,
Reggio Emilia, Italy.
3. Hendrick, J (2001). The Whole Child. What Makes a Good Day for the Children, p.32,
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall
4. Katz, L. G., & Chard, S. C. (1989) Engaging children’s minds: The project approach.
Greenwich, CT: Ablex.
5. Project Approach Website [Online Database]. Retrieved September 24, 2008 from
World Wide Web:
http://www.projectapproach.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
6. Wikipedia Website [Online Database]. Retrieved September 19, 2008 from the World
Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dewey
Appendix
A. Ethical Clearance from Childcare Centre
B. Timeline for Research
C. Sample Questionaire to the Teacher
D. Sample Questionaire to the Children
E. Sample Questionaire to the Parents
(A) Approval for Ethical Clearance
1. Investigator : George
2. Name of the Training School : Nanyang Institute of Management
3. Description of Work : To interviewing the class teacher, the students and the parents
of the K1 class in the childcare centre.
4. Title of Project : Maximizing the Value of Project Approach as a Teaching Strategy
for K1 and K2 Children : 3 Key Areas for Teachers to Focus On
5. Objectives : To ensure that teaching resources are better deployed, and to build better
students through a more effective deployment of the Project Approach.
6. Design of Study : Questionaire and interviews with the teacher and children of her K1
class. Survey forms to be used to obtain feedback from the parents.
7. Consent and signature of Principal/Centre Director:
…………………………………………………………………………..
8. Signature of the Investigator :
……………………………………………………………………………
Student Teacher Contact: George
Project Supervisor Contact: Dr Sepalika
(B) Timeline for Research
1. Research Proposal design … 15 September
2. Obtain ethical clearance from Centre Director … 19 September
3. Submit Research Proposal … 26 September
4. Interview and questionaire from K1 Teacher … 29 September
5. Interview and questionnaire from K1 students … 02 October
6. Survey Form sent to Parents … 29 September
7. Survey Forms returned from Parents … 10 October
8. Compile and analyse data … 13 October
9. Preliminary Research Dissertation … 20 October
10. Final Research Dissertation … 30 October
11. Submission of Dissertation … 03 November
(C) Questionaire/Interview : Teacher
1. What are the 10 key steps/activities in the whole process of Project Approach?
1. ______________________ 2. _____________________
3. ______________________ 4. _____________________
5. ______________________ 6. _____________________
7. ______________________ 8. _____________________
9. _______________________ 10. _____________________
2. Out of these 10 steps, which (and why):
- made the children work cooperatively the most ____________________________
____________________________________________________________________
- promoted social interactions between the children the most ____________________
____________________________________________________________________
- derived the most laughter amongst the children ____________________________
____________________________________________________________________
- enabled the most recall amongst the children ______________________________
___________________________________________________________________
- elicited the most amount of empathy amongst the children ____________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. What do you think are the most important steps/activities in the Project Approach that
a teacher should be focused on to maximize her teaching to her students? And why?
1. _______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
(E) Parents Feedback Form: K1 Class
Dear Parents,
On 26Aug, we held our “Parents Day” to exhibit and present the outputs of your children’s “Doctor” project under the Project Approach teaching method. We hope you have found the evening of value to you, and to your children. To further plan for our future projects for the children, we seek your feedback on the following important areas of the Project Approach experience, and the Parents Day itself. We thank you very much in advance for your valuable feedback.
(Please return this form back to the class teacher or the centre by Thurs, 25 Sept)
******************************************************************
1. How would you rate your overall experience during the Parents Day evening?
(pls circle)
Poor Good Very Good Excellent Exceptional
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. How would you rate your child’s overall experience during his/her whole period of the
“Doctor” project (09June – 26 Aug), based on your casual observations? (pls circle)
Poor Good Very Good Excellent Exceptional
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. What part of the Project period was your child most excited about (eg setting up the
School Clinic, or visiting the Doctor, or the Parents Day)?
……………………………………………………………………………………….
4. Do you think your child has shown improvements intellectually, emotionally or
socially during this “Doctor” project period (09June – 26Aug)? (pls tick)
No change ___ Yes, a little ___ Yes, significant ____ Yes, a lot _____
5. Can you suggest 2 project topics (eg Doctor project) that you think your child would
be interested in for his/her future projects?
(1) ______________________________ (2) ________________________
Name of Child : ………………………………… (optional)
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