What Project Learning Is

Project learning is one form of cooperative learning, but it has distinctive features.

A teacher who understands project learning can use it as a major teaching method. A teacher who confuses it with simple group activities loses much of its value.

What project learning is

Project learning has specific features:

1. One big idea. The project is organized around a central theme or problem. Not isolated tasks but unified investigation.

2. Common goal. Students work toward something specific. A product, a presentation, a solution.

3. Variety of skills and intelligences. Projects require many skills. Students apply different intelligences (Howard Gardner’s framework).

4. Meaningful activities. Activities connect to real understanding, not arbitrary exercises.

5. Multi-dimensional. Projects span subjects, skills, and time.

6. Real-world extension. Learning extends beyond the classroom. Students engage with their community, environment, and broader context.

A specific quote from research

This emphasizes:

1. Multi-dimensionality.
2. Real-world extension.
3. Developmental matching (next section).

How project learning differs from simple cooperative work

Jigsaw reading is a cooperative activity. It happens in one or two class periods. Students engage with a text and synthesize.

Project learning is bigger:

1. Time. Projects span days, weeks, or months. Single activities span one class.
2. Product. Projects produce something tangible. Activities may produce only learning.
3. Scope. Projects address bigger questions. Activities address specific learning goals.
4. Real-world. Projects extend beyond the classroom. Activities stay within.
5. Process and product. Projects develop both. Activities focus mainly on process.

A cooperative project produces both:

1. Process learning. How students work together (covered in cooperative learning chapters).
2. Product. What they actually create.

This dual focus is what makes project learning distinctive. Pure cooperative activities focus on process. Pure individual projects focus on product. Cooperative project learning has both.

Project learning is a learning activity, not a teaching activity

This is the same distinction made for problem-based learning. The teacher does not deliver content. Students learn through their own work.

The teacher’s role becomes:

1. Choose meaningful projects.
2. Set up structures.
3. Provide resources.
4. Coach students through difficulties.
5. Assess outcomes.

Not:

1. Lecture about content.
2. Demonstrate solutions.
3. Provide answers.

A teacher unable to make this shift will not run effective project learning. They will keep stepping in to “help” by giving answers. Students will become passive.

A teacher who genuinely shifts to facilitator can run powerful project learning.

Why projects matter

Several benefits:

1. Beyond bookish learning

Projects produce real-world capabilities. Students go past memorizing. They apply.

2. Problem-solving practice

Projects involve real problems. Students must think them through.

3. Communication skills

Project work requires communicating with peers, teachers, sometimes outside experts.

4. Life skills

Time management, teamwork, planning, presentation. All life skills built through projects.

5. Multi-subject integration

A single project can integrate science, math, language, social studies. The boundaries blur. Students see connections.

6. Innovation

Projects often involve creating something new. Students learn to innovate rather than replicate.

A teacher who values these benefits invests in project learning. The work pays off in student capabilities that extend far beyond test scores.

Two factors for planning projects

Two specific factors:

Factor 1: Student information processing ability

Different ages process information differently. Projects must match the level.

A library software project:

1. Grade 6 students: too complex. They cannot process the requirements.
2. Matriculation/O-level students: appropriate. They can handle the complexity.

A teacher must know what their students can handle. They calibrate projects to match.

For grade 1 students. Simple projects:

1. Grow vegetables.
2. Plant seasonal flowers.
3. Horticulture projects.
4. Simple art projects.
5. Toys from junk materials.

These are concrete, hands-on, with simple steps. Grade 1 students can handle them.

For older students. Complex projects:

1. Software development.
2. Website creation.
3. Research studies.
4. Multi-stage investigations.

These require more sophisticated thinking. They suit older students.

A teacher who matches project complexity to student level produces successful projects. A teacher who mismatches produces frustration.

Factor 2: How project will extend learning

A project must extend learning in identifiable ways. The teacher should be able to specify:

1. What students will learn through this project.
2. Which content areas will be extended.
3. How the new learning will integrate with prior learning.

A vegetable-growing project teaches:

1. Plant structure (biology).
2. How plants grow (life sciences).
3. Conditions plants need (water, light, soil).
4. Different plant types.

The teacher knows these are the learning outcomes. They plan to make them happen.

Without this clarity, projects can become activity for activity’s sake. Students do them but learn little. The teacher cannot say what was learned.

With clarity, projects produce specific learning. Students gain identifiable knowledge. The teacher can assess the learning.

Examples for different ages

Grade 8 scrap book project:

A scrapbook project teaches:

1. Color use.
2. Different art mediums.
3. Framing techniques.
4. Pasting and assembly.
5. Visual design.

These are specific skills. The teacher articulates them and assesses them.

Computer project:

Computer projects can teach:

1. Software use.
2. Programming basics.
3. Project management.
4. User interface design.
5. Documentation.

Again, specific learning outcomes.

Project learning is also new learning

A subtle but important point:

Some teachers think projects are only for review. Students apply what they already know.

Projects should also produce new learning. Students encounter new things during the project. They learn through doing.

This is more demanding. Students cannot rely on prior knowledge alone. They must investigate, learn, and apply simultaneously.

But this also produces more depth. The student emerges from the project with new knowledge alongside confirmed knowledge.

A teacher who plans projects for both application and new learning produces richer outcomes. A teacher who plans only for application produces narrower outcomes.

How project learning relates to thinking skills

Projects develop thinking skills because students must:

1. Plan their work.
2. Make decisions.
3. Solve problems.
4. Evaluate progress.
5. Reflect on outcomes.

These are higher-order thinking activities. Without projects, students may rarely engage in them.

Flashcard

What two factors must teachers consider when planning a project?

Tap to reveal

Answer

Student information processing ability and how the project extends learning

1. Information processing ability: project complexity must match what students can handle. Different ages process information differently.

2. Learning extension: the teacher must articulate what students will learn through the project. Multiple subjects can integrate.

Without considering both factors, projects may be too hard, too easy, or produce no specific learning.