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June 1, 2005

The Project Approach and the Early Learning Standards

Sallee Beneke M.Ed.
Resource Specialist, STARnet Regions I & III

Contents

• Introduction to the Topic
• Online Resources
• Illinois Early Learning Tip Sheets
• ERIC Database - Selected Records

Introduction to the Topic

Many teachers of young children had mixed feelings when Illinois adopted the Illinois Early Learning Standards (IELS) in 2002. They were concerned that the pressure to meet standards would force teachers to give up teaching in a way that was responsive to the interests and development of the individual children in their programs. They feared that instead of teaching children to learn to be good thinkers who were eager to learn, they would be pressured to force children to practice and memorize narrow bits of knowledge and skills in order to demonstrate that they had met the standards. I know this, because I was one of these teachers. I used the Project Approach in my classroom, and I was afraid that the advent of the early learning standards would force me to give up this way of teaching. However, over time, it has become apparent to me that my fears were misplaced. Not only can the standards be met through the Project Approach, this approach is actually one of the most effective ways to support children in meeting and exceeding the standards.

When children are engaged in project work, they produce many products, either independently or with other children. For example, in a project on cars, children read, measured, wrote, researched, questioned, and much, much more. Each of these products demonstrated what knowledge and skills the individual child actually knew and was able to apply when motivated. All children do not learn at the same pace. These types of products or samples provide more accurate documentation of children’s individual progress toward meeting the standards than do the products of whole-group, teacher-initiated activities and can better help the teacher plan to move individual children toward mastery.

To take advantage of the capacity of the Project Approach to help teachers document the standards, they must become familiar with the standards and with the various ways in which children might demonstrate mastery of a given standard. It is important for teachers to recognize that planning an activity that covers a standard does not relieve them of the responsibility to move children toward mastery of that standard. The less individuality and child-initiation that are part of the activity, the less confidence the teacher can place in the accuracy of its products to represent each child’s learning. The Project Approach can help teachers have more accuracy in judging children’s progress toward mastery of the standards.

- Sallee Beneke

Online Resources

• The Project Approach: Meeting the State Standards
  This article describes the three phases of a project conducted by second-graders and discusses how, through the process of investigating a topic of interest to them, representing their new knowledge, and sharing their work with others, the children applied the skills identified as necessary for early elementary school students by the Illinois state learning standards.
  http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v2n1/schuler.html
• Projects, Engaged Learning, and Standards
  This publication discusses how teachers learn to both follow the lead of children and engage them in learning, but still assure that required curriculum is introduced and mastered.
  http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/books/projcat2/helm.html
• Project Based Learning
  This site discusses project-based learning, noting, “ With project-based learning, the inquiry process starts with a guiding question and lends itself to collaborative projects that integrate various subjects within the curriculum. Questions are asked that direct students to encounter the major elements and principles of a discipline.”
  http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning
• Implementing Project-Based Instruction
  This document, provided by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, recommends that teachers identify learning goals and objectives before a project is started, form clear academic goals, and map out how the goals tie into school, state, and national standards.
  http://www.nwrel.org/request/2002aug/implementing.html
• Project Approach Home Page
  This Web site includes various sections on the Project Approach, including theory, structure, and examples.
  http://www.project-approach.com
• Linking Standards and Engaged Learning in the Early Years
  This article recommends a decision-making process for documenting children’s performance as it relates to standards in a way that is consistent with how young children demonstrate their knowledge and skills.
  http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v2n1/helm.html
• The Project Approach
  The Project Approach, as practiced in early childhood, elementary, and middle-level education, is an in-depth study of a topic undertaken by a class, a group of children, or an individual child. This page of links from the Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting includes resources on the Project Approach.
  http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/poptopics/project.html
• The Project Approach
  This Digest by Dr. Lilian Katz (1) explains projects and the Project Approach; (2) describes the place of project work in the early childhood curriculum; (3) distinguishes among themes, units, and projects; (4) describes activities included in project work; (5) outlines the phases of a project; and (6) provides an example of a project.
  http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/1994/lk-pro94.html
• Illinois Early Learning Standards
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/standards/index.htm

Illinois Early Learning Tip Sheets

• The Project Approach for Preschoolers
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/projects-overview.htm
• The Project Approach: Phase 1—Choosing a Topic to Investigate
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/projecttopics.htm
• The Project Approach: Phase 1—Getting Started
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/projects-phase1.htm
• The Project Approach: Phase 2—Doing Fieldwork
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/projects-phase2-doing.htm
• The Project Approach: Phase 2—Getting Ready for Fieldwork
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/projects-phase2-getting.htm
• The Project Approach: Phase 3—Concluding the Project
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/projects-phase3.htm

ERIC Database: Selected Records

To search the ERIC database for resources on this topic, use this search strategy: project approach (Katz and Chard).

How to Obtain ERIC Documents and Journal Articles:

References identified with an ED (ERIC document)or EJ (ERIC journal) are cited in the ERIC database. ERIC Documents (citations identified by an ED number) may be available in full text from ERIC at no cost at the ERIC Web site: http://www.eric.ed.gov. Journal articles are available from the original journal, interlibrary loan services, or article reproduction clearinghouses.

If you would like to conduct your own free ERIC database searches via the Internet, go directly to http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=advanced

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• ERIC Document No.: ED475650
  The Project Approach Catalog 4: Literacy and Project Work by the Project Approach Study Group
  Author(s): Helm, Judy Harris, Ed.
  Publication Date: April 11, 2003
  Availability: Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, 51 Gerty Dr., Room 29, Champaign, IL 61820-7469
  Abstract: This catalog on the Project Approach, the fourth of its kind, focuses on the ways that project work can help children move toward literacy. Section 1 of the catalog compiles six articles connecting project work with literacy, detailing strategies for incorporating literacy in project work at the preschool, kindergarten, and primary-grade levels, and for supporting literacy development among second-language learners.
• ERIC Journal No.: EJ676581
  Creating a Videotape about Hurricanes: Experiences in Project-Based Learning
  Author(s): Diffily, Deborah
  Source: Young Children, v58 n4 p76-81 Jul 2003
  Publication Date: 2003
  Abstract: This article asserts that project-based learning offers a rich, child-centered approach that organizes and integrates curriculum.
• ERIC Document No.: ED476815
  The Power of Projects: Meeting Contemporary Challenges in Early Childhood Classrooms--Strategies and Solutions
  Author(s): Helm, Judy Harris, Ed.; Beneke, Sallee, Ed.
  Publication Date: 2003
  Availability: NAEYC, Educational Resources and Products, P.O. Box 932569 , Atlanta , GA 31193-2569
  Abstract: The Project Approach allows children to explore a topic in depth and document their learning. This book provides guidelines for curriculum to meet these challenges, shows how project work provides a structure for classrooms focused on children's learning, and shares documentation of highly effective projects.
• ERIC Journal No.: EJ666733
  The Pizza Project: Planning and Integrating Math Standards in Project Work
  Author(s): Worsley, Marilyn; Beneke, Sallee; Helm, Judy Harris
  Source: Young Children, v58 n1 p44-49 Jan 2003
  Publication Date: 2003
  Abstract: This article illustrates how math standards were integrated into the Project Approach in a community college-based child care classroom of 3- to 5-year-olds. It describes project stages and math skills used in the in-depth exploration, lists practical strategies for meeting standards, and notes that the project provided hands-on learning opportunities and avenues for learning about the community. The article notes that there were many instances in which children met early learning standards.
• ERIC Document No.: ED468049
  Project-Based Learning with Young Children
  Author(s): Diffily, Deborah; Sassman, Charlotte
  Publication Date: 2002
  Availability: Heinemann, Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., 88 Post Road West, P.O. Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881-5007
  Abstract: Applied learning projects are ventures whereby students connect schoolwork to the real world and direct their own learning. Chapter 7 discusses how teachers can enhance skill learning by embedding academic, thinking, interpersonal, communication, and technological skills into project tasks. Chapter 8 presents suggestions for assessing student skills, knowledge, and dispositions and feelings, as well as ways to evaluate work products.
• ERIC Journal No.: EJ643794
  Explore, Question, Ponder, and Imagine: Projects Give Kids the Chance to Delve Deeply and Find Their Own Way through Challenging Intellectual Terrain
  Author(s): Sherman, Lee
  Source: Northwest Education, v7 n3 p2-7 Spr 2002
  Publication Date: 2002
  Abstract: This article notes that teachers can design projects that provide enough latitude for student initiative and direct students toward mastery of challenging standards.
• ERIC Journal No.: EJ637852
  Projects and Themes. Beginnings Workshop
  Author(s): Lutton, Alison; Bellomo, Sherry; Ramos, Maria Sylva; Gambetti, Amelia; Katz, Lilian G.; Forman, George; Hall, Ellen; Berglund, Kath; IKupu, Andres; Glover, Anne
  Source: Child Care Information Exchange, n141 p39-57 Sep-Oct 2001
  Publication Date: 2001
  Abstract: Articles present information on using the Project Approach and instructional themes in early childhood settings.
• ERIC Journal No.: EJ635780
  Children Are Born Mathematicians: Promoting the Construction of Early Mathematical Concepts in Children under Five
  Author(s): Geist, Eugene
  Source: Young Children, v56 n4 p12-19 Jul 2001
  Publication Date: 2001
  Abstract: This article provides suggestions for promoting emergent math for children from birth through 4 years, including using rhythm and music, incorporating mathematics concepts into everyday activities, using blocks and manipulatives, and using the Project Approach.

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