Project Method
Definitions:
“A project is any activity, individual or group,
involving the investigation and solution of problems, planned and carried out
to conclusion under the guidance of the teacher.”
Features
1.
It extends beyond classroom teaching.
2.
It is carried out in natural setting or real life
situations.
3.
It involves investigation and solution to practical
problems.
4.
It demands and ensures active participation from the
students.
5.
Involves effective interaction between the student and
the social environment.
6.
Creates an opportunity to acquire or practice social
skills.
7.
Enables the students to study functional aspects of the
subjects learnt.
8.
The teacher acts as a facilitator or a guide and thus
promotes independent learning.
Five Principles
of Project Strategy
1.
Principle of utility: The project
method attempts to study and investigate a practical problem or a situation.
The problem is concrete.
2.
Principle of readiness: The
teacher gives tasks and the students are given the opportunity to choose one
for the purpose of project and it depends on their own interest and choice to
ensure the readiness and willingness to work on that certain project.
3.
Principle of Learning by doing: The
learners acquire knowledge and skills through practical experience. Learning
becomes more realistic and it makes learning more enriching and memorable.
4.
Principle of Freedom at Work: The
teacher acts only as a guide and the students enjoy a high degree of freedom.
The learners learn to be responsible of their own duty and develop a sense of
belongingness to the work assigned.
5.
Principle of Socialization: provides
an opportunity for the learners to come into direct contact with the social
environment which enables the learners to acquire social skills necessary to
adjust and live in a society.
Types of project work
A.
Produce Type: Projects involving construction or
production of a useful article/object.
B.
Consumer Type: Projects providing opportunities for
appreciation of some aesthetic experience.
C.
Investigation Type: Projects
involving study and investigation of practical situations/problems.
D.
Drill Type: Projects providing opportunities for
mastery of certain skills.
The
Investigation Type has three stages:
Stage I: Classroom Planning
Step 1:
Providing a set of tasks/problems for study
Step 2:
Selecting a task/problem for study
Step 3:
Formulation of hypothesis (for problems undertaken)
Step4:
Planning/designing methods to investigate
Stage II: Execution
Step 1:
Collection of data
Step 2:
Organizing and interpreting data
Step 3:
Review
Step III: Conclusion
Step 1:
reporting and incorporating additions/deletions
Step 2:
Evaluation
How to
plan a project work?
·
While selecting the topics for project work the
points that should be considered are, the topic should be related to the
syllabus content and should be appropriate to the class level. The information
on the topic should be available in the school and the community. Students
should be given a range of specific topics to choose from. And the topic should
enhance the application of the concept learnt in the classroom.
·
The format for project work write up should
include, Title, Table of contents, Introduction (what
is the topic about? Why is it chosen?), Method
(How is the information collected, sorted out and analyzed), Conclusion (conclusion should reflect
Summary of the findings, Students’ experiences and opinion regarding the project
work), acknowledgement and the References.
·
To collect information for the project work, the
students should know what information to collect, identify possible sources of
information (persons, places, books, etc.), develop some questions to collect
the information, plan field visits if any keep notes of observations,
interviews, readings, collect samples, and make sketches, tables, graphs and
diagrams related to the topic.
·
While compiling information for presentation the
students should sort out and select the important information, put the
information order and use the information for writing the project work
DOs
i.
The project work should be written on a foolscap paper
in the students’ own handwriting.
ii.
It should be written in students’ own words and not
copied directly from the books except for quotes.
iii.
Necessary illustrations should be drawn or sketched
with pencil.
iv.
The students can use simple colors.
DON’Ts
i.
Use of pictures cut from books and magazines available
in schools and photocopying should not be allowed.
ii.
Students should not do unnecessary decorations of their
project work using sketch and marker pens.
iii.
Students should not decorate the cover page using
glossy and color paper.
iv.
Students should not use folders and folders to enclose
the project work.
·
Criteria
for assessing:
A.
Content (70 marks)
The information presented should be relevant to the
topic, accurate, ideas presented in a logical order, appropriate illustration,
appropriate language, good grammatical structure and the summing up or
conclusion should be done correctly.
B. Presentation (10 marks)
PW should be presented neatly, appropriate layout, legible writing and
the word limit.
C.
Process (20 marks)
proper
planning should be done, carry out as per the plan, sources of information should
be authentic and finally it should be handed on time.
