PHASE III Concluding the Project

In the third phase children bring work to completion and

summarize what has been learned. It is important that children are
able to elaborate what they have learned so that its meaning is
enhanced and made personal (Katz & Chard, 1989, p.94).

Sharing with Others What We Have Learned

What evidence of childrens learning can be gathered and discussed with them?

x Drawings/sketches x Paintings x Constructions x Language Products

x Final webs x Lists x Play x Discussions among
children

Discuss the project with the children. What do the children think they have learned? The
children definitely know what harvest is. They have learned that it involves a lot of people,
time and machinery and is not just tractors cutting corn. They said they have learned that
Bobby works hard.

With whom would they like to share their project? They have shared this project with their
parents and family members. They have shared it with the other children in the daycare that
are not in the preschool classroom.

How might the children share what they have learned?

x Exhibit: maybe make a huge poster to hang on the wall about harvest
x Role-play in play environment: they are farmers in the dramatic play area
x Make histories of the project: take lots of photographs
x Write reports: write brief encounters about what happened each day
x Plays, dramas, music: we are creating a video of farming
x Make individual scrapbooks or files: We have created 2 photo albums of pictures
x School presentation: plan to show the video at our holiday open house
x Open house for parents: plan to have a holiday party with parents
x Presentation for parents: parents can view the video and the photo albums
x Take home books: they could make a book from start to finish about harvest
Community displays

Reviewing the Documentation

What types of documentation have I used to document this project? Review the following list of
varieties of ways to document (see Chapter 5; also Helm et al., 1998a, 1998b).

Project narratives
x Observations of child development
x Checklists of knowledge and skills in curriculum
x Anecdotal notes
Individual portfolios
Individual and group products:
x Written language products: Signs, letters, books
x Verbal language products
x Webs and lists
x Pictures
Representational pictures: Time 1/Time 2 pictures, symbolic pictures
x Music and movement
x Constructions: Play environments, sculpture, blocks, or building toys
x Self-reflections of children
I have watched these children throughout this project to notice their involvement in it. This
project has been one of the best that I have ever done with the most feedback from the
parents.

Consider the Next Project

Is there another topic that has emerged for further investigation? Yes, for a brief 2 week period,
the children became interested in big machinery. This is because we were having a complete
new septic system put in and dump trucks and backhoes were all over the place. This made for
super great conversation and hands on experiences for about 2 weeks until they were done
with the septic. Since then we have been focusing primarily on holidays around the world.
Definitely in the spring, I want to go back to the whole farming thing and how the farmer gets
to the harvest season. The children will enjoy watching the fields be plowed and planted and
then we can plant our own garden in our tractor tires. I think a community helper project may
be in order after the holiday season is over. I can find lots of hands on activities to involve the
children in their community.

Would this be a topic to investigate now or at a later time? We already investigated big
machinery but we could definitely go back to it at another time. We filled the sensory tub with
dirt and put bulldozers, trucks and back hoes in it. We made mud and then tried to work the
ground. I think big machinery could lead to building things, construction of huge buildings and
other types of equipment. In the spring, I know the children will enjoy planting and talking
about planting season and how that leads up to harvest.
 Evaluating the Project:
Learning How to Do It Better

Teacher Journal: Review the Project. What have you learned about topic selection? Was this
Project Evaluation a good topic? Why did it work or not work for childrens investigation?
According to the parents involved, and my staff this was an awesome
project. The children learned so much by using the hands on approach to
learning. I have learned that the best way to keep the children interested is
to keep them engaged in their learning process. By getting them involved
with familiar people and places, it kept them interested. I think I could
repeat this each year and still find different things to do. The children had
so much fun and of course, I did.

Review page Phase II. Did the children gain the content knowledge and skills that you hoped they
would? I believe absolutely they did. They are still talking about the things they learned.

What did you learn about Phase I? I learned about the whole web thing. Honestly, I knew what a web
was, however I never realized that this makes for a good start on a project. Just getting the feel from
the children on exactly what they know or dont know about a topic allows you the opportunity to know
where to start with it. If the children know a lot, then you can start a little more in depth. If they dont,
then start with the basics. I have now been using the big board to discuss new topics right from the go
before I proceed any further. This has been the best thing I have learned.

What did you learn about Phase II? I learned that it is good to know if the children are learning and it is
good to take an evaluation to see if their interests are still there. Pushing the topic when the children
are not interested just makes it boring for them. It is good to take an evaluation to see where it stands.

What did you learn about Phase III? I loved this because this allowed me the opportunity to close it
without just going to something else. I love the ideas of putting it all together in pictures, books,
drawing, videos, etc. to keep for memories. This not only allows the children to have memories to keep,
but also allows for families to be together and mingle and socialize. We have a dinner every year where
all of the parents are invited but this year at least we can have a little production of our preschool
project. I am excited and looking forward to it.

What would you do differently in the next project? Maybe more field trips even though we took a lot. I
would look for different ones although the ones we took were super and hands on. I would do more
planning with my staff for when I am not there. A couple of times when I was not at daycare, I will have
to admit they did not do what I wanted but maybe it was because my instructions were not clear.

What suggestions do you have for other teachers working with the same age group or topic? My only
suggestion is to keep it hands on for sure. Books are wonderful and always read to the children daily,
however do not expect the children to stay focused and interested based on books and books alone.
The children must have hands on experiences that are memorable through pictures and videos.
Evaluate Engagement in Learning

Apply the concepts of engaged learning to your project (see Chapter 5).

1. Did the children take responsibility for their own work or activity?
x Did they show that they have a voice in what they study? Yes
x Did they take change of the learning experience and explain or show the teacher
what they wanted to do? We discussed a lot of the upcoming events and the things
that were planned. I did not force the children to do any of them. If they did not
want to take part they did not have to. I also let the children help to decide on
certain foods that we were going to eat and let them help to prepare it.

2. Were children absorbed and engrossed in their work?

x Did they find satisfaction and pleasure in their work?
x Were they developing a taste for solving problems and understanding ideas or concepts?
These children were very proud of everything they did. I specifically remember when
we were shucking the corn for lunch that day and one of the little girls told me she could
do it herself. When she got done, she raised it way above her head as if to say tah-
dah I did it. In the sensory tub, they had problems fighting over tractors and trucks but
they worked it out almost every time.

3. Were children strategic learners?

x Were they developing problem-solving strategies and skills?
x Did they apply what they learned in one experience to a similar experience?
I think they did. They would go to another area and if the same problem was there
such as fighting over a toy, they seemed to have it all worked out. In the sandbox I
noticed arguments over buckets and scoops but it always seemed that I did not have to
intervene because they had it worked out before I could do that.

4. Were the children becoming increasingly collaborative?

x Did they work with other children? I heard them a lot say things like help me, or let
me help you
x Could they talk about their ideas to others? They talked a lot to the other parents
about their harvesting experience
x Were they fair-minded in dealing with those who disagreed with them? Not sure if
you would call this fair minded or not because all children think what is mine is
mine, what is yours is mine, etc.
 x Did they offer each other support, suggestions, and encouragement? We talked a lot
in group time and shared a lot of ideas about things
x Did they recognize their strengths and the strengths of others? We encouraged
them a lot and clapped for them when they did things and showed that we liked the
things they were doing

5. Were tasks in the projects challenging and integrative?

x Were they complex, requiring sustained amounts of time over days or even weeks? The
tasks werent really complex but did require thinking over a few weeks in that we saw
what the corn looked like in the beginning of the project and watched it over the course
of the project change.
x Did the tasks require children to stretch their thinking and social skills in order to be
successful? They were always thinking and asking questions
x Were children learning how literacy, math, science, ad communication skills are helpful?
We learned literacy skills in writing stories about our experiences, we learned math skills
in learning rows, counting, realizing how large an acre of ground was, how large a tractor
was and the size comparisons of tires and equipment. They learned science when talking
about the weather and communication skills when asking questions of people involved in
the field trips.
x Were all children encouraged to ask hard questions, to define problems, and to take part
in conversations? Yes and most of them did ask a lot of questions

6. Is childrens work from the project being used to assess their learning?
x Is there documentation of how children constructed knowledge and created
artifacts to represent their learning? Pictures, drawings, etc.
x Is there documentation of achievement of the goals of the curriculum? pictures
x Does the documentation include individual and group efforts? yes
Does the documentation make visible childrens dispositions in the project such as
to solve problems, to ask questions, and so forth?
x Does the documentation include drafts as well as final products? Some pictures
show when they started and when they finished
x Were children involved in the documentation process and encouraged to reflect on
the documentation? They were always asking me to take pictures
x Were children encouraged to generate criteria, such as what makes a good
observational drawing or a good question?

7. Did you, as a teacher, facilitate and guide the childrens work?

x Did you provide a rich environment, rich experiences, and activities?
x Did you encourage sharing of knowledge and responsibility? I feel like on this project
 I did my best to provide the best environment possible for learning. I planned for
rich experiences and activities that were hands on. I dont think I could have done
any better but I am sure that next time I will be able to make it better based on
what I have learned.

x Did you adjust the level of information and support based on childrens needs? If I
saw that the topic was a bit over their heads, I would tone it down a bit until I got
them interested.
x Did you help children link new information to prior knowledge? What started out as
tractors cutting corn ended up with a wonderful adventure into farming and harvest
x Did you help children develop strategies to find out what they want to know?
x Did you model and coach?
x Did you feel like a co-learner and co-investigator with the children? Absolutely! I
learned just as much as they did and cant wait to do another one.

Teacher Journal: Write a final narrative on this project, Was this project an engaged
Final Narrative learning experience for you and your children? What might you have
done differently to increase engagement? Closing thoughts:

In looking back at this project, I am very pleased. I always thought I

had done the project approach to learning, I just hadnt actually
called it that. Following the three phases really helped me to
understand the whole project approach to learning. In the future,
this will be the only way that I will teach. I plan to follow the 3
phases and make sure that the children are getting everything they
need to know. This project was definitely engaged for not only the
children but for myself and my staff. We enjoyed some of these
field trips just as much if not more than they did. To increase
engagement in the project, I might have planned a few more field
trips than what was taken. I would have liked to focus more on what
happens to the grain once it is harvested. The children saw the grain
elevator and were taken there and explained what happens there,
however, the farmers were so busy with harvest and getting the
crops to the elevator that they really didnt have a lot of time to
explain what was going on and what happens next. All in all, I feel it
was a very worthwhile project and I am very pleased with the results
of it. I look forward to the next one and look forward to using the
approach I have learned.