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The Project Method: The Use of the Purposeful Act in the Educative Process
29 Jan 2010-
Abstract: The word ‘project’ is perhaps the latest arrival to knock for admittance at the door of educational terminology. Shall we admit the stranger? Not wisely unless two preliminary questions have first been answered in the affirmative: First, is there behind the proposed term and waiting even now to be christened a valid notion or concept which promises to render appreciable service in educational thinking? Second, if we grant the foregoing, does the term “project” fitly designate the waiting concept? Because the question as to the concept and its worth is so much more significant than any matter of mere names, this discussion will deal almost exclusively with the first of the two inquiries. It is indeed entirely possible that some other term, as ‘purposeful act’, for example, would call attention to a more important element in the concept, and, if so, might prove superior as a term to the word ‘project’. At the outset it is probably wise to caution the reader against expecting any great amount of novelty in the idea here presented. The metaphor of christening is not to be taken too seriously; the concept to be considered is not in fact newly born. Not a few readers will be disappointed that after all so little new is presented.
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01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: In this paper, a brief history of the context and evolution of the idea of multiliteracies and its pedagogy is discussed, focusing on the roots of these orientations in what it characterizes as didactic and authentic pedagogies.
Abstract: After a brief history of the context and evolution of the idea of Multiliteracies, this chapter focuses on its pedagogy. Originally framed as Situated Practice, Overt Instruction, Critical Framing, and Transformed Practice, these four orientations were subsequently translated in the Learning by Design project into the ‘Knowledge Processes’ of Experiencing, Conceptualizing, Analyzing and Applying. The chapter explores the roots of these orientations in what it characterizes as ‘didactic’ and ‘authentic’ pedagogies. Learning by Design is by comparison ‘reflexive’, combining elements of each of these traditions into a new synthesis. The chapter goes on to spell out the pedagogical specifics of each of the Knowledge Processes, then their epistemological basis as distinctive kinds of ‘knowledge-action’. We conclude by contrasting the cognitive emphases of both didactic and authentic pedagogy with the epistemological theory of learning that underpins Learning by Design. Its focus is on action rather than cognition—not what we know, but the things we do to know.
149 citations
TL;DR: The study shows that students mostly hold positive attitudes towards the use of wikis for project-based learning, however, significant differences exist in 5 aspects, such as “Motivation” and “Knowledge Management”, in the questionnaire among all participants.
Abstract: Concerning the effectiveness of using wikis for project-based learning in higher education, this study compared the perceptions and actions among students in three undergraduate courses of different disciplines, English Language Studies, Information Management, and Mechanical Engineering, who used wikis in their course assignments. Using a triangulation methodology, the study shows that students mostly hold positive attitudes towards the use of wikis for project-based learning. However, significant differences exist in 5 aspects, such as “Motivation” and “Knowledge Management”, in the questionnaire among all participants. Additionally, the level of participation and core actions on the wikis vary among students of the three disciplines. These findings can be explained by the variations in participants' previous learning experiences, their technical backgrounds and the relationship between learning goals and collaborative learning. A series of insights are offered in the context of the use of wikis in project-based learning in higher education.
113 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define five main learning spaces in contemporary society and argue that transfer problems usually turn up in relation to the transition of the boundaries between these spaces, and especially between the school and education space and the spaces of everyday life and working life.
Abstract: For more than a century learning psychology has dealt with the so‐called transfer problem: that what has been learned in one context often can be difficult to recall and apply in a different context. This article, building on many years’ theoretical and practical work in the field, starts by defining five main learning spaces in contemporary society, arguing that transfer problems usually turn up in relation to the transition of the boundaries between these spaces, and especially between the school and education space and the spaces of everyday life and working life. Focus is then turned to contemporary theories of learning and knowledge and four different learning and knowledge types are described, which are activated in different situations and imply different transfer possibilities. Finally, two ways of dealing with the problem in school and educational practice are outlined and discussed.
104 citations
Cites background from "The Project Method: The Use of the ..."
...Project work is an educational design that can be traced back to the American educator William Kilpatrick, who in his efforts to transform John Dewey’s educational thought into practical directions almost a century ago, developed the so-called ‘project method’ (Kilpatrick 1918; Dewey 1934)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of the life of Gertrude Elise MacDougald Ayer, the first African American woman principal in New York City, is presented.
Abstract: This article examines the notion of “culturally responsive leadership” through a historical case study of the life of Gertrude Elise MacDougald Ayer, the first African American woman principal in New York City. I begin by situating Ayer’s leadership practice in light of the social and political context of Harlem in the 1930s and early 1940s. Then I compare her leadership approach to findings from historiographies of African American educators before 1960, as well as current case studies of African American women leaders. In the end I conceptualize the “culturally responsive” urban school leader as public intellectual, curriculum innovator, and social activist and argue that leadership for social justice must be analyzed in light of the historical, political, and social contexts in which it is practiced.
97 citations
20 Sep 2018
TL;DR: The Routledge Handbook of teaching English to Young Learners (RHTL) as mentioned in this paper provides a broad range of subjects from methodology to teaching in difficult circumstances and from Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) to gaming.
Abstract: The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners celebrates the ‘coming of age’ for the field of research in primary-level English Language Teaching. With 32 chapters written by international scholars from a wide geographical area including East Africa, Mexico, the South Pacific, Japan, France, the USA and the UK, this volume draws on areas such as second language acquisition, discourse analysis, pedagogy and technology to provide: An overview of the current state of the field, identifying key areas of TEYL. Chapters on a broad range of subjects from methodology to teaching in difficult circumstances and from Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) to gaming. Suggestions of ways forward, with the aim of shaping the future research agenda of TEYL in multiple international contexts. Background research and practical advice for students, teachers and researchers. With extensive guidance on further reading throughout, The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners is essential reading for those studying and researching in this area.
94 citations