projects are fun
Sometimes when I am trying to talk teachers into trying projects, I try to explain how much fun it is.
I had a friend who taught second grade for several years, and she had folders of worksheets and crafts and activities that she would work her way through each year. She wanted to switch to a different grade, because she was a little burnt out on second, but she despaired of how many years it would take her to get back to where she was -- with everything already prepared.
Mmm, preparation. Planning. Getting organized. Knowing what's coming ahead. All considered good qualities in a teacher.
The thing about project-based learning (the way we do it) is that you can't really plan ahead. You have to think on your feet and react to things happening today. Once things are under way, you can look ahead a bit, but you never know if you are correctly anticipating where the project is going to go.
It's more like being a riverboat captain in 1825 than a subway conductor in 2007.
Looking ahead, you attempt to "read" the river, see if you can figure out where the deepest, most fruitful channels lay, try to anticipate what's around the next bend. But there's always an element of unpredictability.
It's an adventure.
This sounds great to someone who's bored with doing the same thing over and over, but it can seem frightening to someone who feels there's safety in folders.
When go into the classroom every morning know what's going to happen (whether you're at school or at home) ... well, that's boring. When you go in every day wondering what's going to happen ... well, that can reawaken a love of learning that has lain dormant in some people for a very long time, whether they're seven or fifty-seven.
Because, it's the same for the kids. When you go into the classroom every morning knowing what's going to happen ... well. And when you don't ... it's fun. It's exciting. It's interesting. And that spark of interest is what makes project-based learning work.
The teachers need only to observe and listen to the children, as they continuously suggest to us what interests them, and what they would like to explore in a deeper way. It is good when the adults' own interests coincide with those of the children, so they can move easily to support children's motivation and pleasure. --- Loris Malaguzzi, The Hundred Languages of Children
Lori
5 Comments
Reader Comments (5)
yes, stef, i know exactly what you are saying. and i think filling in the planners in reverse is exactly the way to do it! one of the things that holds classroom teachers back from using this approach is their schools' requirements that they turn in lesson plans a couple of weeks ahead of time .. the powers that be have to be convinced sometimes (other times, they are all for it and it's the teachers that have to be convinced!) that's it's okay to turn in reports of what *has* been done rather than what *will* be done.
i KNOW that it is good to document, but I hate it...
I make some loose goals at the beginning of the year, and then use them as a launching pad for exploration..
although I do struggle a little with feelings of nebulous guilt (we're not doing what i "planned to do") I enjoy the freedom to get rid of what was causing stress or simply not working and add new things that we are all benefitting from...
like your yummy art class... that was totally NOT in the plan, and was not in the schedule, but it was such a great opportunity, that I was more than willing to change our routine on Friday to be a part of it...
now that we all love it so much (well, maybe David doesn't love it THAT much *wink*) it has become more of a focal point of our week instead of an addition. So how can I make our art class the launching pad for project based learning? Or should I just leave it alone, and enjoy things the way they are?
Megan
e-mailing you about the launching pad...