1. Giving some examples from your teaching, describe
the difference between theme/unit teaching and the project approach.
When we are discussing the teaching we use in our
class it revolves around the children where we build up a “curriculum” or a
“study”. This is basically what the children are interested in. Through this we
build up the curriculum using the fields of art, math, English, blocks,
science, basically all the areas of the center and we bring the focus into the
center. So usually the first couple of weeks we observe the children and we see
the different types of interest and try to focus the interest on an area that
the class is interested in. So for example the focus or the “curriculum” that
we have in our classroom is foods, the different taste and how we make food. So
in certain areas we changed dramatic area into restaurants, or a grocery store.
So from this the children are learning and developing personality through there
own personal experience when they are in the area. But we also cook once a week
with the children with the food that they are most interested in. This past
week the children showed a huge interest towards Italian food so we have been
talking a lot about pizza and slowly moving towards pasta and the country from
where it originates. Usually if there is a area of study or “curriculum that
the children are not interested in anymore then the curriculum changes with it.
So if the children are no longer interested in food and are interested in what
are communities then we usually close off the first curriculum and transition
from the old focus moving into the new focus. This is the type of teaching that
is done.
In the project approach there isn’t much difference
that I see because the goal is to be able allowing children to question a topic
and help them seek answers and ask others like your teachers or parents. The
only thing that might be different is that for the focus of study the project
approach goes really in-depth with the focus and strives to do the activities
strictly through the focus or study.
2. Katz reminds us that in the project approach
children pose questions, generate theories and make predictions concerning
possible answers to their questions. How can this be done in a preschool
classroom?
Just like in our own classroom children are able to generate
their own kinds of observations and try to make their own solutions towards
problems. So the way this “project approach” being used in a classroom is that
you are able to grasp a focus that the children seem to show a lot of interest
in and be able to turn that in to a focus of study and be able to support and
provide the children with the materials needed for their observations through
the activities that you provide for them. Like many of us that work in
classrooms we always try to strive and allow children to be able to understand
and grasp the material without them realizing that they are really learning
through what they enjoy.
Hi Jasmine!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your insights about theme and units versus the project approach. And thank you for sharing a little bit about your classroom. I am the same way in my class. My lessons and unit of study is based on what the children are interested in for the time being. I think there is a slight difference with the project approach because it's an in-depth investigation. This is something that am trying to bring in to my classroom. I'm still trying to figure out how to implement it in a way that is appropriate for my younger and older children. With a limited amount of time in the classroom, I am trying to figure out how to go about doing in-depth investigations with the children in small group at a time. Hopefully in time I will be able to figure out ow to go about in making this work with the children.
Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome how you incorporate hands-on learning such has cooking activities with your children in class. I believe they gain so much new knowledge through hands-on experiences. We too also work hard in providing children with learning that focuses on what their interest are. With the project approach, did you have any ideas that would be able to be done with your students that they are interested in? From the example in our reading I thought that the Ball investigation was really simple for them to do. I myself have been pondering on something simple that my own students would like to investigate more in-depthly. I have see the project approach done in another co-workers class and it was a very long process but they choose to learn about house and building them.
Hi Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteOne of the big differences between the Project Approach and themes/units is the depth of the study. Take a look at this website:
http://www.insatiable-critic.com/Article.aspx?id=1349
This is a kindergarten class in NYC that created a restaurant in their classroom. They studied the topic for almost an entire year before the class culminated their studies with this activity. They hosted their family and community members to a breakfast, taking on all of the jobs (except making the french toast, but they did help mix the eggs and spices beforehand) that a restaurant would need. Though this is a kindergarten classroom, many of these same ideas could be applied to preschool aged children. Do you think you could do something similar in your own class since you are learning about food? What else would you need to do in order to prepare for a project this big? What do the children get out of doing a project like this - and how does providing a culminating event like this help solidify all that they learned? How does the application of the knowledge help children better understand these concepts?
Let's say your overarching theme for the year is food - are there ways to incorporate different topics into this study? For instance, let's say the children were interested in bugs and insects. How do bugs and insects help us get food (e.g., pollination)? What do bugs and insects eat? What eats bugs and insects? Or, let's say the children were interested in All About Me - what kinds of food do you eat at home? Can you bring in recipes? What are some foods that your family has been eating for generations? What's your mom/dad/auntie/uncle/grandma/cousin's favorite food? Or, let's say they wanted to study the community - where does the food come from in their community? What kinds of stores/markets do you get food from? What about restaurants? Who is providing the food? Are there farmers, cooks, delivery people, etc. that the children could learn about? Really getting to the bottom of a topic, even if it branches out into different focuses, and listening to the children's ideas and interests is what the Project Approach is about. What do you think of this kind of study? Thanks!