The Project Approach for All Learners

A Hands-On Guide for Inclusive Early Childhood Classrooms

Sallee Beneke, Michaelene M. Ostrosky, Lilian G. Katz

• Publisher: Brookes Publishing
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781681253183
• Topic: Éducation
• Subtopic: Éducation de la petite enfance

Includes a complete package of training and implementation materials! A proven and popular teaching method, the Project Approach engages the natural curiosity of children through in-depth investigations of topics that capture their interest. Now there's a guidebook that helps you use this child-centered approach to reach and teach all learners in your early childhood classroom—regardless of background or ability. Developed by a team of experts that includes Project Approach leader Lilian G. Katz, this book is your go-to guide to implementing project-based learning in inclusive early childhood classrooms. You'll discover how to support diverse groups of students as they study real world topics that fascinate them, play detective with peers to find answers to questions, and show what they've learned in interesting and creative ways. You'll also get practical, start-to-finish guidance on how to apply the Project Approach, including a complete package of training materials, examples of successful projects from real inclusive classrooms, and a Project Approach Implementation Checklist that helps you use the approach effectively. LEARN HOW TO:

• Use the Project Approach in combination with universal design for learning (UDL) strategies
• Choose a compelling project topic that encourages hands-on learning in inclusive settings
• Teach children effective strategies for investigating the topic and conducting research
• Build on children's natural motivation by actively engaging and listening to them
• Make the most of each child's individual strengths and expertise during project work
• Support children in representing their learning through displays and presentations
• Offer accommodations and supports that meet diverse learning needs

TRAINING & IMPLEMENTATION MATERIALS: You'll master each step of the Project Approach with the comprehensive package of supplementary materials, including the Project Approach Implementation Checklist, 37 video clips that illustrate key concepts, 22 PowerPoint presentations on important elements of the Project Approach, and six sets of training materials that correspond with each chapter. Supplementary materials are available online to purchasers of the book.

Getting Started With the Project Approach

Ms. Carly watched with interest as a group of preschool children from Ms. Tamara’s class worked on constructing a semi-truck using cardboard boxes and found objects. She was amazed at their persistence and was especially impressed by the participation of children at varying developmental levels. Everyone seemed to have a way to help. Alex, a child on the autism spectrum, was busily working on taping boxes together alongside two other children. Ms. Carly knew this construction was the result of a project in which the children were engaged. She wished she knew how to get a project going in her own class. She had been to a workshop on the Project Approach once and had attempted to get a project started, but it had fizzled out soon after it began. The children just did not seem interested in pursuing it. Ms. Carly wished she knew more about how to begin and sustain project work. She wanted to foster the level of inclusion she observed among the children in Ms. Tamara’s class, but she did not know where to turn for support.

This chapter includes an overview of the Project Approach and introduces the Project Approach Implementation Checklist that is at the heart of this guide. The 52-item checklist is designed to support teachers who are new to implementing the Project Approach by prompting them to include important elements of the approach in each of the three major phases of a project. For teachers who already have experience implementing the Project Approach, the suggestions and examples provided here can help ensure implementation with fidelity. Our collective experiences have shown that when project work is not implemented correctly, teachers, like Ms. Carly, often struggle. We also provide an overview of the goals teachers can set and reach when they implement the Project Approach and explore the potential of the Project Approach as a context for universal design for learning. Finally, the chapter closes with an examination of the evidence base for the Project Approach and a brief overview of its historical roots.

GETTING TO KNOW THE PROJECT APPROACH

Many teachers have heard of the Project Approach, but they often have only a vague idea of what it entails. They may have misunderstandings or misperceptions about the goals of project work or how projects work. For example, they may believe the goal of a project is to come up with an amazing product, such as a mural or a three-dimensional construction, or they may think it is necessary to have transportation to a field site in order to do a project. In this guide, we clarify these misperceptions.

What Is the Project Approach?

Young children are naturally curious, and the Project Approach is a way of teaching that capitalizes on this common trait. In project work, the teacher identifies a topic of potentially high interest to the children in the class and facilitates an in-depth study of the topic through firsthand investigation and research. Essentially, the teacher strengthens children’s interest in a topic by involving them in project work. As they engage in project work, children learn about how the world around them works and develop confidence in their ability to figure things out. They learn how to work collaboratively with their peers, as they seek and find answers to their questions. They gradually develop confidence in their own abilities and build perseverance. Rather than focusing predominantly on academic achievement, the Project Approach strengthens children’s intellectual dispositions, such as analyzing, predicting, hypothesizing, and explaining, and the skills involved in each of these dispositions.

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As they engage in project work, children learn about how the world around them works and develop confidence in their ability to figure things out.

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Three phases provide a framework for inquiry-based learning, which is at the heart of project work. In Phase I, teachers introduce the topic and provide the children with opportunities to share what they already know about it through activities such as storytelling, dramatic play, and drawing. Teachers identify aspects of the topic that the children are curious to learn more about. In Phase II, teachers provide the children with activities that allow them to satisfy their curiosity, such as interviews with guest experts, field trips, experiments, and examinations of artifacts. When the children have satisfied their curiosity, teachers introduce Phase III, which provides opportunities for children to reflect on and share what they have learned and experienced.

Although children need instruction in certain skills and subjects (e.g., counting, naming colors, tying shoes), their development is strengthened when they are provided with experiences that encourage their intellectual capabilities. Notably, project work can be incorporated into an existing curriculum, although it does not typically constitute the entire curriculum. For younger children, project work is typically woven into the fabric of the daily schedule. For example, new materials or concepts might be introduced at circle time, opportunities to investigate or represent new understanding might be incorporated into choice time, and opportunities to reflect on or summarize what has been learned might be a focus of class discussions. Academic skills in numeracy, literacy, and social-emotional competence can be reinforced within project work.

The content of projects varies depending on the topic a particular group of children and their teacher are interested in investigating and children’s strengths and needs. The Project Approach provides a context that supports the abilities of all children, including children with special needs (Beneke & Ostrosky, 2015). It provides opportunities for children to use their strengths and build new knowledge and skills.

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The Project Approach provides a context that supports the abilities of all children, including children with special needs. It provides opportunities for children to use their strengths and build new knowledge and skills.

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Project Approach Implementation Checklist

This book offers support to new implementers of the Project Approach and to those already familiar with the approach. A teacher who is new to the Project Approach can read the book in its entirety and follow along on the checklist, whereas experienced teachers may simply choose to review a section of the book referred to in the checklist. The 52-item Project Approach Implementation Checklist (or “Implementation Checklist”) is included as this chapter’s appendix. It contains items focusing on the three phases of projects, which we refer to as Phases I, II, and III. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 correspond to the sequence of the items in the Implementation Checklist and provide in-depth explanations and examples for each item listed.

The items in the Implementation Checklist were originally developed by Sallee Beneke (the first author of this book) as part of her dissertation research to assist teachers in inclusive early childhood classrooms who were attempting to implement the Project Approach but did not have a mentor or coach available on a daily basis to support their implementation (Beneke & Ostrosky, 2015). The teachers used the checklist as a source of ideas for implementation and as a basis for discussion with each other and with Dr. Beneke during weekly meetings.

Educators can use the Implementation Checklist to support their implementation of the Project Approach. Before beginning a project, educators should review the items in the Phase I section. They can use it to stimulate ideas and make notes about possible Phase I activities in the blank spaces in the right-hand column. As educators implement the project, they should revisit the checklist regularly to record how each checklist item was implemented over the course of the project. It is helpful to include dates because they can be used later to document the development of the project. For each checklist item, educators should record Yes, No, or N/A (not applicable) to indicate whether or not that checklist item was met. It can be helpful to review the activities that have been implemented with a coach, mentor, or teaching partner(s) as a basis for discussing what has gone well, what has been challenging, and what might be next steps in implementing the Project Approach.

A teacher does not have to implement every item on the checklist to engage children in the Project Approach because not every aspect of project work is used in every project. For example, a project on babies might begin spontaneously with a child’s announcement that his mother is expecting. Therefore, there is no need for the teacher to plan an introduction to the topic. Or, in a project on farms, a teacher might want to arrange a field trip to a farm, but in a project on worms, fieldwork can be done right on the school or center playground. However, the more items that are implemented, the more likely it is that the project will be successful during each phase. Checklist items were initially developed by Dr. Beneke, with input from the other authors of this book, based on their many years of experience implementing the Project Approach, training others to use the checklist, and working in a variety of early childhood settings. Revisions to the checklist were based on the collective wisdom of the authors and many colleagues who have implemented and coached others on the Project Approach. Numerous teachers who are experts in the approach reviewed and commented on the checklist before it was finalized. The coauthors of this guide provided input into the development of checklist items. The Implementation Checklist is included as this chapter’s appendix. Three sample completed checklists can be found in Appendix A.

Importance of Fidelity of Implementation

Fidelity of implementation is defined as “the implementation of a practice or program as intended by the researchers or developers” (IRIS Center, 2018a, p. 1). As educators who have written about, trained others in implementation of, and conducted research on the Project Approach for many years, the authors of this book believe that if implemented with fidelity, project work can effectively help teachers to reach their goals in inclusive early childhood classrooms. However, monitoring and measuring how an intervention is implemented are important for evaluating its outcomes (Harn, Damico, & Stoolmiller, 2017). The Implementation Checklist, in combination with this guide, can help teachers monitor how they implement the Project Approach and help them connect their implementation to child outcomes in a way that reflects progress toward achievement of their teaching goals.

THE PROJECT APPROACH AND TEACHING GOALS

What is important for a young child to learn? What will help a child succeed and live a life in which he or she feels fulfilled and satisfied? The goals of teachers who implement the Project Approach go beyond satisfaction of requirements for age- or grade-level standards. Their goals are for children to become curious, purposeful, thoughtful, collaborative learners who know how to learn more and who can communic...