The socio-economic changes that are taking place in the modern world put forward new requirements for public educational institutions. Society needs active, active, creative young people who could adapt to modern realities, would constantly develop themselves and improve their level of education.
The importance of design technology
The activity of mental activity, critical thinking, the desire to seek and find new knowledge and skills are the most important qualities of a modern person. The pedagogical technology of project-based learning is aimed at developing all these qualities in schoolchildren.
Teachers are convinced that the time has come to change the didactic paradigm, focused on the reproductive option (classic view), to individual learning. To solve this problem, new forms and methods are needed, the introduction of the latest technologies in educational institutions.
Project-based learning methods focus on individual independent work and the development of communication skills.
Meaningindependent work in projects
This type of activity is an indispensable element of the modern educational process. It allows you to eliminate all the problems, gaps in knowledge that children have. The technology of project-based learning at school is impossible without independent work, because it allows the teacher to identify talented and gifted children.
Independent activity contributes to learning motivation, guarantees the transition from the level of material reproduction (reproductive approach) to creative learning. Their own work, without which not a single project can do, teaches schoolchildren to plan their activities. Within the framework of the project-based learning technology, the children receive skills in working with information sources (newspapers, magazines, the Internet). These skills are especially relevant given the huge amount of information that falls on a modern person every day.
In a narrow sense, the term "independent work" involves the performance of certain specific tasks by schoolchildren. These actions come in a variety of forms:
- oral;
- written;
- front;
- group.
This element of project-based learning technology is used both in classroom and extracurricular activities. Teachers note an increase in the quality of knowledge, an increase in the working capacity of children, an increase in the cognitive activity of their pupils involved in independent activities.
Rules for organizing project activities
In order to properly organize independent work on a project, it is important to consider the following features:
- be sure to pre-plan all self-study;
- do some serious work on the content;
- systematic knowledge is important;
- periodic self-monitoring.
In order for project-based and problem-based learning technologies to be effective, certain pedagogical conditions must be met:
- presence of positive motivation among schoolchildren;
- precise setting of goals and objectives, concretization of the way to solve them;
- determination by the teacher of the version of the report, its volume, form and time of delivery;
- selection of advisory assistance, selection of evaluation criteria.
The creative personality of a pupil within the framework of project-based learning technology develops only if the teacher is able to guide this process. Only an enthusiastic and caring teacher, constantly improving his own intellectual potential, is able to stimulate the child's desire to acquire new knowledge and work independently.
The teacher must direct the student's creative thinking in the right direction, stimulate the process of cognition. Project-based research learning technologies give impetus to analysis, systematization, and the selection of their own ways to solve a particular problem.
History of design technology
In the worldpedagogy, project-based learning technologies are not innovative. This technique appeared at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States of America. Then project-based learning was called the method of problems, and its founders were the American teacher and philosopher J. Dewey.
He suggested teaching children on the basis of activity, taking into account the personal interests of the student himself. Dewey suggested taking problems from ordinary life - familiar and important for schoolchildren. Solving them, children put some effort. The significance of their work is the greater, the more important the problem is for the child himself.
An American educator, whose meaning of life was the technology of using project-based learning, offered his own methodology. The teacher, in his opinion, should play the role of a tutor (consultant), directing the pupil's thoughts in the right direction, and proving the importance of the work performed. His technology of modern project-based learning involves the transition from theory to practice and the integration of scientific knowledge with practice.
In order for the student to be able to solve all the tasks assigned to him by the teacher, it is important to predetermine the results: internal and external. The external version is visible visually, it can be used, understood, analyzed. The internal result is to combine skills and knowledge, values and competencies.
Project methodology in Russia
Educational technologies (project-based learning) aroused interest among representatives of the Russian pedagogical school as well. Almost simultaneously with the developmentAmerican Dewey has a Russian interpretation of the design work.
A group of enthusiasts led by the teacher S. T. Shatsky at the beginning of the 20th century introduced the technology of project-based learning in elementary school. Because of the revolution, collectivization, industrialization, all pedagogical experiments were suspended for some time. And by the decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, design and research teaching technologies in 1931 were completely banned for use in public schools.
Even after such a ban was lifted, for a long time this technique was not used in the OU. Researchers identify several main factors that did not take root in the technology of project-based learning in elementary school:
- lack of teachers ready to work on school projects;
- illiterate connection of the design methodology with the classical program;
- there was no clear methodology for project activities at school;
- replacement of individual credits with collective tests and credits.
While in European countries there was an active use of project technology in education, in the USSR they acted according to the classical method, which did not involve individual work with talented students.
In European countries, the technique was improved, acquired technical and resource support, and gave excellent results. Gradually, in the UK, Belgium, and the USA, the technology of modern project-based learning has turned into a practical technique that allows the child to adapt to the surrounding reality. The modernization of the method has not changed its main goal - the practical application of theoretical knowledge.
Project technologies in education of the XXI century
Many educational systems try to find harmony between pragmatic skills and classical knowledge. Thus, the main thesis of project-based learning technology in mathematics is: “I understand why I learn. I know how I can use what I have learned.”
The development of critical thinking involves all modern educational technologies. Project-based learning solves this problem by involving students in independent activities. For a certain period of time, groups, couples, individual students are required to do the work given to them by the teacher. Its result should be tangible - to solve a clear problem and be fully ready for practical application.
The use of the project methodology in their work is an indicator of the professionalism of the teacher, his desire to develop and improve himself.
Classification of study projects
American professor Collings proposed his own classification of student projects.
- Projects - games. They include theatrical performances, dances, various games. The main goal of such projects is to involve schoolchildren in group activities.
- Projects - excursions. Their purpose is to study some problems related to public life, the environment.
- Narrative projects. They aim to convey information throughoral speech or musical accompaniment (poetry, essay, song, playing a musical instrument).
- Constructive projects. They involve the creation of a practically significant product: the manufacture of paving slabs, a school flower bed.
Besides, let's single out the basic requirements according to which the innovative learning technology is carried out. Design technology involves:
- practical significance of research, the ability to solve specific problems;
- possibility of reproducing the results obtained;
- clear project structuring;
- independent work of students on the project;
- identification of the research problem, the correct formulation of project objectives, the selection of work methods;
- conducting research, discussing results, correcting conclusions.
Goal setting in project-based learning
A special skill is the correct formulation of the goal. This is where the project starts. Purpose is the driving force behind any project activity, and the efforts of team members are directed towards its full achievement.
Project work within the framework of the GEF involves the allocation of time precisely for the careful formulation of the goal, since the final result depends on this stage of work. First, several common goals are determined, then they are detailed, and each team member (if the work is collective) is allocated their own specific goal. The project involves a step-by-step transition from simple tasks to complex actions.
A highly qualified teacher knows that one should not get carried away with excessivedetailing, as small elements can negatively affect the achievement of the overall result.
Objectives in project-based learning
The following goals apply to modern educational systems:
- Cognitive. They involve the study of the surrounding reality, the solution of issues that are associated with objects of nature. The implementation of such goals forms the skills of schoolchildren to work with information sources and laboratory equipment.
- Organizational and active. They consist in the formation of skills for independent work planning. Students learn to set their own goals when working on a project, master the skills of scientific discussion, and develop communication skills.
- Creative goals are related to creative activities: modeling, construction and design.
How to choose a school project theme
Depending on the specific situation, the topics of training projects will be different. In some situations, the topic is taken taking into account the requirements of the school curriculum. For example, in technology lessons, projects for the manufacture of sewing or knitwear are mandatory. And since some of the projects are offered by the teacher to deepen knowledge on the subject, their direction is chosen by the teacher himself. The ideal situation would be when the student himself chooses the subject of the project, taking into account his interests: applied, creative and cognitive.
Mostly projects raise issues relevant to a particular region. For example, questions related toenvironmental pollution, household waste disposal, or road improvement may be considered by high school students. Such projects combine several areas at once: ecology, chemistry, physics, geography and biology. And for younger students, topics related to the characteristics of fairy-tale characters are suitable.
The results of the completed projects must be material, properly designed. Albums, almanacs, videos and newspapers can serve as confirmation of the results of the work. Solving the project problem, the guys attract skills from a variety of sciences: physics, chemistry, geography.
Primary school students can be offered a project related to growing onions on the windowsill. For high school students, studies related to the study of consumer demand, sociological research, and surveys are suitable.
Distinguishing characteristics of the design method
Personal development in the pedagogical process is impossible without the use of project technologies. Education should be aimed at revealing the abilities of each student, mastering their self-educational skills and forming their personal parameters.
These requirements are fully met by the teaching methods of John Dewey. When combined with information technology, the teacher solves an important task - the formation of a comprehensively developed person. The educational process turns into a real self-learning. The child participates in the choice of the educational trajectory, is fully included in the educational process. While working ina small team formed for a course project, students gain experience in social interaction.
Purpose of project-based learning
The main purpose of project-based learning is to create conditions under which students could independently acquire knowledge from various sources. Children gain communication skills by working in creative groups. The thinking of schoolchildren also develops in the process of performing practical tasks. In addition, children learn to identify a problem, collect information, observe, conduct an experiment, analyze a situation, build a hypothesis and generalize the results.
Theoretical aspects of project based learning
The student is at the center of the learning process, which is aimed at shaping his creative abilities. The educational process itself is built on the logic of the activity that is aimed at the personal growth of the child and increasing his motivation for learning. For each member of the project team, their own pace of work is selected, taking into account the individual developmental features of the child.
In addition, the project technology allows you to take a comprehensive approach to the learning process, based on the mental and physiological characteristics of each student. The basic knowledge gained by schoolchildren during traditional lessons, they can deepen and develop by doing extracurricular project activities.
Sample project for high school students
Currently, much attention is paid to the patriotic development of schoolchildren. The project methodology is fully suitable for this activity. For example, you can offer schoolchildren a project related to the revival of ancient methods of obtaining s alt from sea water.
In the course of working on this topic, the guys get the skills to build drawings, work with historical sources, and communicate with old-timers. In addition to creating, as a result, a finished drawing of a s alt pan and a description of the method for obtaining s alt from sea water, children will be able to become active participants in the practical implementation of the project. For example, they can be involved as guides for groups of tourists who will visit the existing s altworks. This project will unite the efforts of schoolchildren, local authorities, representatives of the museum, creative art associations and private entrepreneurs.
Conclusion
In order for the project methodology to be as effective as possible, the teacher must master it perfectly. Each stage of work has its own distinctive features, nuances, without which it is impossible to solve the tasks set at the beginning of the work.
The theme of the project can be proposed by the teacher, students or parents. Whoever initiates the research, it should be interesting for the children, otherwise the design technology will be meaningless. The direction of work should be narrow, otherwise it will be difficult for children to cope with the tasks that the teacher has set for them.
Graduates with skills in project activities easily adapt to life. They are more successful while studying at higher educational institutions, it is easier for them to implement their ideas inspecific cases.
