The project method in education

Front matter

Class

Book_3^-

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT

Preface

Modern education attempts to direct the child's development in such a way that the child will be a worthy participant of the institutional life of society ; at the same time, an attempt is made to develop the particular abilities of each child, since institutional progress is dependent upon individual initiative. Rapid evolutionary changes in society have emphasized the need of reevaluating and of reorganizing subject matter.

During the World War the children of the schools were called upon to assist in numerous ways. An unusual opportunity was presented of motivating the school work through out-of-school activities. The effects were no less marked upon the teachers than upon the pupils. They were inspired by the field of usefulness that was opened to them. Teachers, everywhere, now that the war is ended, are not satisfied to go back to the bookish, theoretical education of former days, but there is considerable uncertainty as to how the work can be motivated through the out-of-school activities of ordinary times. Other institutions, during the war, needed the cooperation of the schools; the schools now keenly need the assistance of other institutions. The problem can be solved if teachers will make use of the various activities and materials of society. The chasm that has encircled the school, separating it from out-of-school activities, forever should be blotted out. The teacher needs to be a practical man or woman, who can make use of the present in educating the child. The requirements are much

4 Preface

more exacting, but the recognition is correspondingly greater.

In an effort to relate the world's work to the child's interests and abilities, teachers of the manual arts have organized their work about situations, the manual efforts involved looking toward the completion of a particular unit of activity, which, to the child, has some value that makes the work meaningful. A project in agriculture may involve the care of a garden; a project in manual training may involve the construction of a chair. It is natural that the term, project, should be applied to this unit of activity that results in concrete, objective achievement. Because of the rather aimless, colorless, theoretical, impractical way that such subjects as history and geography have been handled, it has not been clear that projects likewise were involved. The manual projects were concerned with the refashioning of materials of the present. The "bookish" subjects may be concerned with the activities of any time and of any place, and may be any number of steps removed from real, virile twentieth century living. The real nature of mental activities, apart from manual activities, therefore, is obscured. For concrete materials, man may substitute imagery, and without engaging in manual activity, may "think through" a complete unit of purposeful activity, the result of which is fundamental in influencing behavior. Such a unit is as characteristically a project as the manual unit.

All educative effort, worthy of the name, affects behavior. An intellectualized, purposeful unit of activity is a project. All intellectualized work of the school definitely must be related to some project. The more effectively the material is selected and organized, the more economically will the development of the individual proceed. An efficient use of the project method requires that the materials shall be or-

Preface 5

ganized in such a way that, irrespective of whether manual activity is involved, the pupil will engage in a whole-hearted, purposeful unit of activity. All intellectual effort is worth while and is possible only because it functions in a project. The problem of the teacher is to bring about an intellectual development of the individual, along desirable lines, rapidly and efficiently. This can be done through the proper selection of material, and through its motivation in such a way that the child whole-heartedly attempts to overcome his difficulty, deriving much satisfaction not only because of the purpose and its realization, but also in the steps necessary to realize the purpose. A conscious recognition of projects as necessary units of human growth, in relation to the aims of education, should bring about a selection and reorganization of materials in such a way that maximum social and individual realization is effected.

From the standpoint of the teacher, who is interested in the child's world, the interpretation of a difficulty, and the enlarged child's world as a result of the new experience, the unit of activity is a project, and the development goes on through the project method. From the standpoint of the pupil, the primary interest is in the difficulty or problem, and its interpretation, and the development goes on through the problem method. Whether the method of human development, therefore, shall be called the project or the problem method depends upon the viewpoint.

This book has been written in response to numerous inquiries that have come to the author, since the publication of several magazine articles on the project method, last year. It has been written, in addition to other heavy responsibilities, with the hope that it may "do its bit" in helping the teachers to meet the additional responsibilities and opportunities that have come. The author wishes to thank his

6 Preface

colleagues of the Harris Teachers College, for their helpful encouragement in making this book possible.

Harris Teachers College, Mendel E., Bbanom*

St. Louis, Mo.

April, 1919.

Contents

CHAPTEB PAG*

Preface 8

I. The Nature of the Project Method 11

Chapter I

The word "project" should represent a definite idea. The term project has not been coined to meet a special need in the pedagogical field for a new word to represent a nameless concept. For many years the word has been used by the English speaking public, although with its customary freedom the public has used the word in a variety of ways. According to Webster's New International Dictionary, the meaning of project as a noun is "that which is projected or designed; something intended or devised; a scheme; design; plan." The dominant idea involved is a consciously planned activity. The use of the word has been limited, by some people, to a proposed activity of considerable complexity and difficulty, while other people have used the term to include every type of intellectualized activity whether simple or complex, difficult or easy. The popular use of the word is indicated by the statements made in recent newspapers and magazines concerning "the project to extend a lane of ships from the United States to Europe," "the project to revive traffic on the Mississippi River," "the project to train disabled soldiers and sailors for suitable vocations," and "the project to establish a league of nations." A less genii eral use of the word is indicated by statements concerning "the project of changing the time of the band concert," "the project requiring people to keep off the grass during dry weather," and "the project requiring the water to be cooled at all restaurants." Those who use the word in a general way to represent practically any type of intellectualized activity, also would include the types recognized by the more conservative groups. There is no fundamental difference of opinion concerning the meaning of the word, but the difference lies in the degree of elasticity that should be permitted. In every case a unit of purposeful, intellectualized activity is involved.

Since the word project has been secured by educators from the general English vocabulary, it is natural that similar misunderstandings with respect to its use should arise when attempts are made to associate the word with a definite educational concept. "A present need in education, therefore, is to determine and agree upon whether the use of the term should be confined to situations involving complex intellectual difficulties, or whether its use should be extended so as to include the simplest of intellectual reactions. An agreement upon the use of the word will afford a common ground for discussion, thus avoiding apparent but not actual differences of opinion in reasoning that arise, if the same word to different individuals represents materially different or even slightly different concepts. If the broader meaning of the term project is agreed upon (a) the varying concepts of the term will be included, and (b) since the difference between a simple intellectual difficulty and a complex intellectual difficulty is relative, and since these difficulties in reality are aspects of the same type of mental development, the word may well be used to include all types of intellectual difficulties, with the class further 1 subdivided into simple and complicated types.

The pedagogical word "project" should meet a real need. The word project may be used as a part of the general vocabulary that is drawn upon in discussing pedagogical problems without delimiting the use of the word in a specific manner. If the word is to be included in the nomenclature of the science of teaching, however, a specific use should be assigned to it. If there is another word in the pedagogical terminology that serves the same purpose, the recognition of the word project as a scientific term is undesirable, as there will be duplication of functioning, and consequent waste of energy.

In spite of striking similarities between man and other animals, it long has been recognized that there also are striking differences, particularly with respect to the possible activity level. In contradistinction to other animals, man can intellectualize his activities and direct them with a conscious purpose. There is need in education for a term that can be applied to the class of intellectualized activities that differentiate man from other animals. All such activities are purposeful although the quality of purpose differs decidedly. Since the word project as now broadly used, outside of educational circles, denotes this meaning, which finds its justification on the basis of need, with practically no violence to the meaning of the word, it readily can be included in the pedagogical terminology, to denote a unit of intellectualized activity.

The project method is the way of growth through which man is differentiated from other animals. All forms of life, plant and animal, instinctively make certain adjustments to their environments. These adjustments generally enable the life form to protect itself or to extend its influence in some positive fashion. A certain amount of development in making these successive instinctive adaptations occurs. Man, in common with other animals, makes these instinctive adjustments. If man's ability to develop were conditioned in the same way as that of other animals, practically no other method than the instinctive method would be possible. Since man can think, can plan, and can engage in sustained thought, he can intellectualize his activities in a way that somewhat abruptly differentiates him from other animals. Man develops, therefore, not only through the instinctive method, which is characteristic of the growth of all forms of animal life, but also through the project method, which is particularly reserved to man.

A project involves a complete unit of activity. The derivative meaning of the word project is "to throw forward" (pro — forward and jacere — to throw). As used in the educational field, the word project involves the idea of a plan that is to be carried out, but also carries with it something of the derivative meaning in that, through the project, material looms up before the child for interpretation, and the child, in grappling with this material, moves forward or grows. If a child seeks to meet a situation, he starts with the experiences and attitudes of his own life, and through his interpretation of the situation, increases or enriches his concepts. He starts with his own small world, or microcosm, and utilizes it in mastering situations by means of which his world becomes larger. Through the project the child relates himself to knowledge that is not a part of himself, but knowledge that is within his reach. He plunges out of his own world into the larger world, and returns with valuable experiences. These experiences, in turn, become a part of his ever enlarging world by means of which he again can interpret. A young child, with limited experiences, necessarily will engage in projects of a simpler nature, but as his personal world becomes larger and made up of more varied material, the situations that he can meet become increasingly difficult. The concept denoted by the word project therefore involves the various steps, starting with the personal world of the child, by means of which he interprets related unknown material, thus enlarging and modifying his world of experiences and attitudes.

The significant development of the child, from the educational standpoint, comes through the project method. The public schools have been established, not with the idea of preparing the children for an animal existence, but for the purpose of preparing them for a human existence. It follows, therefore, that the activities of the school are concerned primarily with the project method, which is Nature's particular way of developing the child as a human being. There is no other method. Mankind, in general, has found that his progress has been most rapid, when he intelligently has moved in the direction indicated by nature. To the extent that results have been secured in school room practice, the project method should be given credit. If results apparently or actually have not been commensurate with the energy put forth, in some way or other the natural growth of the child has been blocked, either by surrounding him with material too far removed from his personal world, by surrounding him with material that possessed no unknown elements for his stage of development, or by placing insufficiently related unknown material within his grasp. If sufficient material properly is related to the child's world, and if the pupil keenly is interested in the material, rapid growth for a normal mind is inevitable.

The project method may be abused (a) by keeping the child in the same environment. Undue repetition of material may be, and often is, deadening. In geography, it is an unfortunate but not altogether uncommon practice to disregard or to discount the work previously accomplished. A type study of the Eskimos may be made in the second grade. The third grade teacher may take up the same type and consider the same topics, concerning food, shelter and clothing. The teacher of one grade may consider the coal industry and the teacher of the succeeding grade may consider this industry practically in the same way. The teacher of history may consider the biography of Abraham Lincoln, or the development of the Erie Canal in one grade, and a succeeding teacher may consider the topics from a similar viewpoint. In the subjects of a mechanical nature, as arithmetic and spelling, a useless waste of time may be involved in drilling children upon material which they thoroughly have mastered. Many beautiful recitations are not so successful as a superficial examination indicates. A teacher, with respect to every recitation, should attempt to discriminate between what the children know and can do at the beginning of the recitation, and what they know and can do at the close. Each period should contribute something toward the definite enlarging of the child's experiences.

The project method may be abused (b) by placing insufficient, related, unknown material withm reach. Every adult can recall the restless days of childhood when he craved for something to do. The child energetically considers one thing after another, trying to find something to do that to him seems worth while and that he believes he can do. A child, discouraged in his quest, may lie down to take a nap, quickly to jump up to continue his search for something to do. In the vegetable world, a plant thrives best where it has available needed nourishment in the right proportions and an otherwise suitable environment. Many dwarfed plants, perched on the rocky bluffs or in an otherwise unfavorable environment, make a pitiable struggle for an existence. No one can measure accurately the amount of retardation in development that has gone on among children simply because they were not supplied with a favorable environment for growth. In the school room the class may "finish" the material assigned, and practically waste the rest of the period. A larger proportion of the study period is lost because the child does not know what to do. He gives himself up to the pleasures of "anticipations and retrospections" of his own choosing, aimlessly and unsystematically pursuing the line of least resistance. The teacher may have developed with the children the distribution of rainfall in Missouri. She may have assigned them the task of indicating the unequal distribution on an outline map of the state. The study period may be twenty minutes long, but if the child finishes the map in ten minutes, he has one-half of the study period for "woolgathering."

The project method may be abused (c) by confronting the child with material that is too difficult. The mistake of surrounding the child with material beyond his ability to master is just as unfortunate as the mistake of making the environment too easy. An occasional attempt to master, ending in failure, may be justified because of the future opportunities that may be suggested. One who fails habitually, however, not only becomes discouraged, but does not engage in sound, healthy growth. In the school room, if work assigned is too difficult, the child either slavishly will engage in a study of form (words) without the represented content, or will neglect the assignment. If the child faithfully follows directions, but cannot interpret, he is making little or no progress. His time, of great potential value, is being wasted. Because of his desire to succeed and his faith in the teacher, he may master the words, but real ideas are lacking. Another type of student loses interest, begins to question the value of school work, and if he is a typical wide awake American boy, finds material for himself that he can and desires to interpret. The child cannot be blamed, but this independence of spirit, unfortunately, often removes the child from school influences at too early an age.

The project method admits of growth either through good or bad experiences. The project method, it is to be noted, is exclusive of neither good nor bad experiences. The child may have experiences that socially are undesirable, but his horizon of knowledge thereby may be increased just as surely as if his experiences were the most valuable that society can give. The process in either case is the same. If the school loses its hold on the child, or does not afford him the desirable stimuli for growth, our active child will secure experiences elsewhere. In his haphazard wanderings he will come into environments that attract him. The experiences which he thus acquires may or may not be desirable. It is a particular function of the school to place the child in a favorable environment that not only will stimulate him to action, but that will give him experiences and attitudes that are socially desirable.

The project is concerned with four closely related parts. Four factors are related to the development of the child through the project method: (a) the macrocosm, or general world of knowledge; (b) the personal world of the child; (c) the movement of the child from his own world further into the larger world; and (d) the personal world of the child after he has met the new situation.

(a) The general world of Knowledge is represented by the several institutions of society. The personal world of the child may be regarded as a variable that approaches a limit, the general world of knowledge, but never reaches it. The child starts with no demonstrable knowledge of this world. He first instinctively, and then consciously and purposely reacts to his environment. His life is occupied in making more and more of the racial experiences and present conditions his own. The life of social groups is represented by organizations known as institutions. These institutions are economic, social, political, religious, educational, and aesthetic. The present organization of society has not been secured without effort. For hundreds of years man has struggled with his environment. In the days of Abraham the institutions of society were not sharply differentiated. In the primitive responses to nature, the institutions were not recognized as separate entities. Although to-day there is a saying "that religion and politics will not mix," the noble patriarch Abraham drew no such distinction. With the evolution of society, these institutions gradually have grown apart from each other, although even to-day they have numerous bonds of relationships to each other and are fundamentally interdependent.

The institutions of society have arisen in response to man's needs. Early in racial history the divine fiat went forth to man "By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou earn bread." Nature was not at the service of man, unless man were willing to put forth the effort necessary to subdue her. Plants of special value were selected and cared for, animals were domesticated and herded. The earth's resources gradually were placed under the control of man, through man's activities, intelligently directed. In response to a fundamental need of man, therefore, arose the industrial institution. As man developed, his wants and needs increased. He soon found that the resources of the earth are unequally distributed, and that materials of use to himself could be secured from his neighbors through barter. In the same community a subdivision of labor occurred. One person fished, another hunted, another made boats, etc. To facilitate trading operations a medium of exchange, as beaver, silver, and gold, was adopted. Transportation facilities were improved and the commercial operations of man became world-wide in scope. The establishment of commerce may be regarded as a further expansion of the industrial institution.

Man found himself instinctively interested in his own offspring. In common with other animals, he was willing to risk his own life in protecting his child, or in supplying it with the needs of life. Proper food must be secured, shelter from the elements must be provided, and protection from other animals, including other human beings, was necessary. Because of the interest of man in his children, there was a grouping of human beings on the basis of relationships, and the family institution was established.

In the struggle of man for a comfortable existence, he was not always careful of the welfare of others. He had a strong instinctive tendency to help others of his kind, but only rarely acted positively unless this assistance could be given without depriving himself of some benefit, or without affecting his increase in comforts. In numerous instances he even went so far as to rob another of the results of honest toil, or he even inflicted personal injury upon a fellowman. With increase in population it became more and more difficult for man to "live unto himself alone." Protection of life and property was found to be fundamental if life were to be enjoyed with greatest abundance. The political institution was created, therefore, to assist men to live together with a minimum of friction.

Man cannot "live by bread alone." While engaged in improving his methods in the utilization of the resources of the earth for satisfying his physical needs, he also was interested in ministering to his spiritual requirements. He could only in part master nature, he must also adjust himself to her laws. The welcome rains nourished his crops; the dry, hot wind withered the plants. His flocks and herds increased and flourished, until a drought or some mysterious disease or the attacks of wild animals reduced him to poverty. He did not understand the reasons for these things, in many instances, but was affected by the results. It was natural that he should think of evil spirits directing movements that were harmful to him, and of good spirits directing movements that were beneficial. It behooved him to show his appreciation of the good spirits, and to seek to placate the evil spirits. With the evolution of man further refinements in religious attitudes were effected.

The knowledge which man could acquire through actual experience with his environment was limited. Unless the knowledge gained through his contact with nature could have been transmitted to posterity, racial progress would have been impossible. These experiences could not be transmitted physically. It was necessary to record the knowledge in some available form. The present social groups, interpreting these records, can profit from the experiences of others who are outside of the immediate environment, either in place or time. Economy in the acquisition of the social inheritance required an organization for its transmission. In response to this need, the educational institution gradually was evolved.

Man rejoiced in his ability to do and in his accomplishments. His very being was swayed by the emotions and imageries that were aroused. His pent up energies, as represented in his thoughts, feelings, and aspirations, could not be contained. He found pleasure in cherishing and in indicating his ideals through self-expression. These expressions took various forms, — literature, music, and art.

The child's activities are severely limited by the mstitutional life into which he is bom. The various institutions of man, whether economic, spiritual, social, intellectual, or aesthetic, have been evolved and developed in response to man's needs. They are an outcome of the relationships of man. These institutions are fundamental, although the details change so as to reflect the varying viewpoints of successive generations. The child is born into these institutions and, to a certain extent, must conform to them. The proper development of the child demands that he shall understand the nature and purpose of these institutions, but that he also shall have initiative aroused by means of which he can aid intelligently in altering them so as to meet present and anticipative requirements.

(b) The personal world of the child is the apperceptive basis for further growth. The child's earliest experiences deal largely with home life, and before he enters school his horizon materially has been extended. He knows the different pieces of furniture and their uses, the various articles of clothing, various foods, and some values of heat and light. He has sat upon his mother's knee during the story hour, and has entered into the social life of the home in other ways. The older members of the family probably go to church and the child may go to Sunday School. The child may know at least one simple prayer and some member of the family may say grace at the table. He may tell his father and older brothers and sisters good-bye when they go to work, and he may greet them on their return. He knows that many things which he wants and many things that are secured for the family life must be bought, and that their purchase is associated with the income of the family. He has noticed roads being repaired or cleaned, streets being lighted, a fire department "making a run," and a policeman helping people across a busy street. He listens eagerly to stories and composes them, sings his own songs or songs that he has been taught, makes rag dolls, paper furniture, and mud pies. The phantasies of his imagination have been given full play. He has seen the older boys and girls going to school, and has talked about the time when he also will be old enough to go to school. At the time of entering school, therefore, the child has become acquainted with all of the fundamental institutions of society. Since he has made their acquaintance largely with respect to their relationships to his own life, he tends to interpret them in terms of their significance or use to himself.

This broad foundation, not nearly so restricted as many teachers are inclined to believe, is the apperceptive basis for school work. It is because of this great variety of apperceptive tentacles that a pupil often can grow, not necessarily because of, but frequently in spite of, the teacher. The personal world of the child is much more comprehensive in the upper than in the lower grades. The difference in ability is so marked that there has been a tendency to regard children as passing through periods of development, the periods being rather sharply defined. This may be illustrated by the fallacy, not yet extinct, that the child for some years is a memorizing creature, and on passing into the next period, becomes a reasoning creature. Recent researches indicate that the child is in possession of practically all of his mental abilities at a very early age, and that their development in part is conditioned by the natural growth of the child, and in part by the intelligence with which pertinent materials are furnished him. The child normally does not actually develop by plateaus, but by a constant although irregular climb. The child's world is constantly dynamic. It is impracticable, therefore, accurately to gauge the child's world without knowing the particular antecedent conditions that have influenced the child's development. Many of the experiences of the children, however, outside of the school, present elements of identity or similarity, and, fortunately, the general order of presentation of school material does not differ fundamentally in our various school systems. It is possible, therefore, for the teacher wisely to assume that the children of a particular grade have had certain fundamental experiences, and if she acquaints herself with the special environments of the children, she may, with comparative certainty, utilize their past experiences as a means of further growth.

(c) The teacher primarily is concerned with the steps by means of which the pupil moves from his personal world ■farther into the larger world. The teacher may select the material that she considers pertinent for the child, but she cannot think nor act for him. If the child is to master the material, he must make and interpret his own selection. The placing of appropriate material within his reach, however, will enable him to establish the relationships in an economical manner. The teacher has the child's projects in mind, while the pupil is interested in the problem or new situation presented. It is possible for the teacher to anticipate the needs of the child and systematically to provide for his growth.