Tag: Project Based Learning

Adults often do many things for children that they can do for themselves, especially when preparing for a project.  We all know how important it is to be prepared for a lesson with students.  But being prepared, and adults doing work that students can learn from, are two very different things.  Planning and gathering materials for a project are important activities that students can and should be involved with.  When plans miraculously happen, and materials just appear, many learning opportunities are lost.

When we presented the State Fair to other groups of students, many math opportunities occurred.  There was measurement to plan how to set up the fair in the space we had available.  There was discourse and compromise among students to agree on how to place each state in the fair – Alaska wanted to display the states alphabetically, Texas by size, California by population…   A schedule was developed – after the students figured out how much time each group would need at the fair based on number of displays to visit and how much average time would be spent at each display.  Groups were invited based on this schedule.  Then the schedule was adjusted for groups that had a conflict with the available times.  Then the schedule was re-adjusted after the first day when the students realized larger groups and older students needed more time at the fair than smaller and younger groups, etc.

There are many math opportunities for parents working with children at home as well.  When inviting other children over make sure your child is involved in this discourse.  You would be surprised how much math you use every day without even realizing it.   (Except of course when I balance my checkbook.  Then I totally realize how much math is involved as I try to make sense of the usual mess I have made!)

Doing projects with kids is a great starting point for learning.  But the goal should be for the authentic learning experience.

Following directions for an arts and crafts project, or following a recipe, is definitely great practice using reading and math.  However, if it stops there, the opportunity for real authentic learning is lost.  I don’t think we can state often enough that we are raising children to function in a world that we can’t possibly imagine.  Many of the jobs they will hold in the future don’t exist yet.  And more importantly, many of the jobs people hold today, will not exist in the future.  The children we are educating today need to be able to think outside the box if they are going to have a chance to really succeed in the world they will live in as adults.  Simply following directions to get from Point A to Point B, or repetitive drills filling in correct answers on a worksheet, is not going to prepare them for the future.

Following a recipe, or a set of instructions, should just be the starting point.  The real authentic learning occurs when adults listen to what children are saying while they are working, and follow up on this discourse.  Why just one cup of chocolate chips?  What would happen if we used two cups?  Do generic chocolate chips really taste the same as the more expensive Nestle brand?  Can you taste the difference in the finished product?  How can we test this?…

Sometimes adult prompting is needed to take the project to the authentic level.  But often, just listening to children, really listening, provides the springboard to that authentic learning experience.