Project learning is organised around the creation, execution and finished production of an experiment, a review, a survey, etc. It is learning with a known focus, expectations of productivity and measurable results. The project usually occurs within a reasonable time frame, ranging from a week to a semester. The nature of the project is dynamic as it goes through conception, configuration, contradiction, confusion, reconfiguration and eventually culmination and celebration (Fogarty, 1997). Project learning is hands-on learning in all its glory.
Project learning is built on the foundation of two constructivist approaches to learning: ‘active learning’ and ‘learning in context’. Active learning refers to the idea that people learn by engaging in a process of sense making which requires the learner’s orchestration of a collection of cognitive processes. Besides hands-on activities, successful project learning engages the learner’s cognitive processes. Learning in context refers to the idea that each subject discipline requires its own ways of thinking that are best learned from concrete experience on realistic tasks, for example, a project.

In project learning, students take the role of active (in terms of cognition), hands-on learners. They are responsible for the final product. Students may work in teams, with each person responsible for certain tasks. Teachers may take a directive role in some projects and a non-authoritative role in others. Structured projects require a teacher to be directive because the parameters of each project are strictly set. Open-ended projects, in contrast, require a teacher to act as a coach or mentor. Factors to be considered here are the types of project involved, the age of the students, the sophistication of the project, the timelines set and the style of the teacher.

Many activities are required to construct authentic projects in the classroom or laboratory; these activities can be grouped into three stages (see Fogarty, 1997, for details). In the first level of activities, a project is either selected by students from a bank of ideas or defined by the teacher. After the teacher sets the guidelines, the initial stages of reading, researching, interviewing and fact gathering consume the student or student team. This phase of the project engages students in tasks they are most familiar within the school setting (i.e. to use references, find resources and collect data) and lays the groundwork for the inventiveness of the latter two stages. There are a myriad of activities appropriate for this first phase: reading for background information, researching and taking notes, building a reference list, interviewing experts, viewing films and videos, developing an outline, talking with peers, surfing the Internet, checking and double-checking sources, visiting sites, as well as gathering charts, maps and illustrations.

As a project enters the second phase, students become immersed in facts and begin to try to make sense of them. They discover that some information is relevant and some is not. At this level, the students try to analyse whatever information they have, sort the information into meaningful chunks, and synthesise it in order to move the project forward. If a team of students is involved, members must find ways to share their information. A number of activities are often employed in this stage, including: brainstorming ideas, analysing data, charting information, drawing and sketching models, drafting ideas, developing prototypes, filling in missing information, visualising the big picture, reconciling conflicting data, finding a focus, assigning a theme, creating a metaphor, looking for patterns, seeking connections, playing with ideas and finding materials.

At the third phase, the students understand what needs to be done. They divide and prioritise tasks, check timelines, take any necessary emergency measures and stay alert. The activities involved at this stage are model building, construction, assembling, synthesising ideas, rethinking or re-conceptualising, finishing touches, decorative details, evaluative testing, peer review, self-assessment, evaluation against criteria, expert review, final submittals and celebrations.

Project learning not only facilitates active learning in students, but also challenges them to develop higher order thinking skills. It also exemplifies Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. As Gardner (1983) has suggested, intelligences seldom work in isolation. When learning experiences within a project are considered holistically, it can be seen that different intelligences are exercised and are interrelated with each other. As pointed out by Fogarty & Stoehr (1995), students may use their logical/mathematical intelligence to think through a situation; their visual/spatial intelligence to visualise it; their interpersonal intelligence to empathise with people; their bodily/kinaesthetic intelligence to immerse themselves in a situation through an experiential learning process. In addition, the musical/rhythmic and verbal/linguistic intelligences may come into play as students use music to depict the mood or theme of a problem and discuss, write, listen and read about related issues.

References

Fogarty, R. & Stoehr, J. (1995). Integrating Curricula with Multiple Intelligences: Teams, Themes, and Threads. Arlington Heights, III.: IRI/SkyLight Training & Publishing.

Fogarty, R. (1997). Problem-based Learning and Other Curriculum Models for the Multiple Intelligences Classroom. Arlington Heights, III.: IRI/SkyLight Training & Publishing.

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence. New York: Basic Books.