CCE 285: The Project Approach

1. CCE 285: The Project Approach Mondays 6:30-9:00 pm North Seattle Community College, IB 1409 Candice Hoyt, Instructor Course online: http://northseattle.angellearning.com/

2. 4/19/10 • Phases I, II & III overview • Reggio video examples • Amusement Park for the Birds • Silent Movies • Assembly & democracy • Your wetlands projects • Report assembly style • Monday: Bring & present documentation for Phases I-II • Following Monday: Complete through Phase III

3. Phase 1 DocumentationYoung Investigators p. 13 • Phase 1 (a): Teachers • What are the children interested in? • Teachers’ webs • Anticipatory knowledge web • Anticipatory questions web • Anticipatory Planning Web = topics derived from questions + curriculum opportunities • Explore resources & field sites • Provide focusing activities & common experiences • Based on resources & field sites • Decide if topic is appropriate and practical • Based on activities done • Phase 1 (b): Teachers & Children together • Children’s webs (teacher documents only, no questions, answers or additions) • Knowledge web – current concepts and understanding(What do the children know?) • Question web/list (What do they want to find out?) • Move to Phase II to investigate questions listed

4. Phase 1 notes • Practical Considerations in Topic Selection (Young Investigators, pp. 14-15) • Types of documentation (Windows on Learning, p. 21) • Narratives • Letter to parents • Teachers web • Meeting time between adults runs along-side these actions • Teachers’ journals • Products • Children represent • Children’s webs • Draw • Record words & conversations between kids • Feed kids/busy them to keep them talking - “coffee cloche” • “If anyone wants to make ____ out of playdough, I have the playdough here.” • Child self-reflections • Record their conversations/ themselves & play it back • Kids bring in artifacts/representation • Figure 3.1 (p. 21) for more

5. Phase 1 notes • Children’s web • Listen & write down • What they KNOW • What they WONDER • Do NOT correct • Do NOT answer • Write it and support that they are talking about “it” • Can say, “I want to write down what we all wonder about.” • Play “ignorant” on kids’ level • Essentials of Projects • “We are learning together” • Emergent Curriculum • Test root interest • Treasure spontaneous shifts in direction • Skill development opportunities • Numeracy • Literacy • Exploring with new media • Clay • Sugar cubes & colored glue • Shift from: • Asking kids to do something at our request

6. Phase 2 stages • Begin Phase II (Young Investigators, p. 28) • Note [P] = Parent Involvement Opportunity • Teacher • Re-examine anticipatory planning web • Revise to actual “planning web” • Teacher & children • Prepare for field work & expert visitors [P]

7. Phase II stages • Phase II continued(Young Investigators, p. 38) • Investigate (YI, p. 10) • Visit field sites • Talk to visitors & other experts [& read about?] • Examine artifacts • Conduct experiments • Teacher: document children’s experiences • Photos • Video • Transcriptions of discussions • Represent what was learned (as it is learned) • Writing & drawing • Writing/sketching on-site • Counting/measuring • Construction • Dancing & dramatic play • Teacher: document children’s experiences as in “Investigate” • Revisit web or re-web • What was learned • Identify new questions • Repeat Investigation  Representation  Re-web

8. Phase II documentation • Teacher journal (private) • Teacher & children: • Webs and re-webs • Teacher: document children’s experiences & representations • Children working: • Photos • Video • Transcriptions of discussions • Children’s work: • Construction • Dancing & dramatic play • Visitors • Field trips • Children: represent • Writing & drawing • Writing/sketching on-site • Counting/measuring • Construction • Dancing & dramatic play • “The Contribution of Documentation to the Quality of Early Childhood Education” by Lilian G. Katz and Sylvia C. Chard (1996) – optional

9. Moving into Phase III • Children begin to run out of questions • Project discussions fail to inspire much interest or participation • Class & teacher lose interest in the topic • Children choose project activities & examine project documentation less frequently • Phase III(Young Investigators, p. 52) • Teacher & students prepare: • Debrief • Plan culminating event for students to share the narrative & products of the project • Create narratives (see YI p. 21) • Teacher & students complete: • Do culminating event or activities • Do activity • Display/finalize narratives • Present to outside audiences • Teacher: • Review project & assess achievement of goals

10. Video Examples • Thinking Big • West Seattle people are going to meet up to watch together • Amusement Park for the Birds • Silent Movies

11. Reggio Video ExampleAmusement Park for the Birds

12. Thoughts • Direct questions / tutorials • The teacher pushed Simone to tell her what he thought made the fountain run • Isn’t this against D3 (etc)? • Cultural – • USA: Children expected to have the right answer • Reggio: Children invited into a conversation • Can create a culture in your own environment • Children want to sit and have a conversation – with a follow-up question • When do kids start writing (on their drawings, etc)? • When they want to - ask you to write something so they can transfer it • Mixed-age groups work great

13. Reggio Video ExampleSilent Movies

14. Thoughts • How to get a kid to start a web (never did one before)? • Show example: When I wanted to learn more about slimy water, first I made a web about what I knew, and then one about what I wanted to know. • Explain usefulness: I used the “what I know” to come up with the questions, then I used the questions to plan what to do to find out answers to my questions. • My kids are too young to do a web. • Do the teacher’s anticipatory webs, then do the focusing activities (trying out the idea) and watch for non-verbal cues about their knowledge about and interest in particular items and their questioning • When I started asking why he liked it he closed up and now doesn’t like cars anymore! • How do I keep a kid interested? • Kids in groups talk to each other – feed off of each other. • What if only 1 child in the group (or pair) is interested? • Focusing activities, etc, can help – do the field trip or read the books all together; maybe the other child will get interested.

15. Assembly & Democracy

16. Assembly & Democracy • Democratic Community • “Push it back” to the people • Ex: If teacher is concerned about too much noise, record noise & play it for kids so they can talk about it. • “Facilitating Civil Discourse in the Classroom” (Ashton, 2006) (PDF) (Word)

17. Socially-Constructed Reality • Socially-constructed reality in projects determine what we do. • Decide what is… • Right • Necessary • Worthwhile • Possible • To determine socially-constructed reality… • Voting: majority rules • Compromise: someone gives something up • Consensus: confirmed by silence • GOAL: Search for wisdom: through disagreement & continuous revision

18. Phase 2: Assembly/meeting • Teacher roles • Document children’s ideas and questions • Do not answer questions • Paraphrase to return them“So you are wondering if…” • Do not ASK questions • Can talk from “I…” to model how children should talk • I wonder… • I know that… • Facilitate the tempo & energy of the meeting • End meeting if too wild (with promise to continue later) • Have children split into smaller groups each with a teacher concurrently or consecutively • Break children into individuals and do a roaming assist of children documenting their own questions and knowledge before returning to a larger group to collect and document

19. Prepare for Assembly

20. Wetland Projects Assembly PHASE ONE • Your webs • What we know • What we want to know • Curriculum additions PHASE TWO • Your investigation activities • Your discoveries • Your new questions

21. Wetland Projects Assembly: Presentations & Discussion

22. Lilacs • Pretending each of us is a small group of children • Questions: • Meaning of a lilac • Curriculum • Senses • Pollination, photosynthesis • Seasons • Comparisons • Scents • Library research • Difficult/expensive to get lilac extract • Artificial • Could crush flowers with hands but didn’t smell on hand • Where they’re from • Caterpillars lay eggs on lilacs & eat when they hatch • New questions • How many lilacs in my neighborhood map • Colors, scents, etc • Bring in variety of lilacs • Memories connected to scents • Symbiosis

23. Slimy Water • Want to know • Safe to drink? • There all the time? Seasonal? • Who lives there? • How deep? • Curriculum • Geography/maps • Graphs on depth – math • Biology, science (safe?) • Literacy • Doing songs, etc • Investigations • Revisit pond • Water samples • Microscope – very alive! • Video • Maps • Wild life • Branch into water • Finding songs, etc • New question • Are there fish there? • Representation • Play dough model of pond • Drawings of the algae

24. Madrona Tree • What we know • Neighborhood named • Doesn’t grow straight • Grows taller than other trees around • Sheds bark • Flowers • Grows in NW climate • Want to know • Why bark sheds • Depth of roots • Weather (moist?) • Commercial products produced • Looks like in other seasons • Length to grow to max height • Other names (Latin) • Animal life / animal shelter • Curriculum additions • Math • Counting days of flowers/ bark • Blooms on branches • Science • Try to grow our own • Examine shedding under microscope • Arborist to talk • Investigations • Revisit & looking online • Flowers smell • Flowers: in clusters, variety of foliage around trunk • Bark peels to show golden bronze, very smooth • Edible berries– limited amt for humans • Called “The Madrone” – specific to West Coast • New questions • Why does the trunk bend? Following sun? • How long bark shed? • Berries & flowers grow together • Seasonal? • Cycle/direction of Flowers? Leaves? Berries? • Considered Evergreen

25. Beavers • We didn’t know much when we started • Build dams • Mammals • Probably not any in Seattle • Questions • Everything else • Curriculum • Literacy • Math – building • Geography, mapping distance • Try to build a sufficient dam • Investigations • Researching • Beavers chew on bark not eat them like Nutrias • European vs. N. American • Mate for life • Alter environment as much as humans (or… more than other animals) • Revisiting • It’s a pile of sticks • Q: What’s the difference? • Visiting actual beaver dam • Ask ranger what is in the pond?

26. Project Examples • Example of project with documentation: • “The Movie Theater Project”Windows on Learningpp. 85-109 • Optional to read this by 4/26 for assistance with your project’s documents preparation for Monday. • Required to read this by 5/3 (added) • “Multiple Symbolization in the Long Jump Project” (Forman) (PDF) – optional • Reggio • Look through the books in pairs or 3’s • Look around online yourself

27. Assignments • In class (team) • 4/26 – Present Phases I & II of wetlands projects • Bring ALL documentation, including drawings & photos • Submissions • 4/25 – Interval Paper A7b(3)4/26 – Read: pp. 51-97 • 5/2 – Interval Paper A7b(4)5/3 – In-class: Completed bound book • Readings • 4/26 • Required: “Facilitating Civil Discourse in the Classroom” • Optional (5/3 required): Windows on Learning, pp. 85-109 • Optional: “Multiple Symbolization in the Long Jump Project”