The Scholarship of Project-Based Learning in a
Kindergarten Classroom
By Meredith Gaines.and Glenda Moss
Purpose
The purpose of conducting this research was to collect authentic data to
determine the impact of project-based learning on learning among kindergarten
children. What are the positive outcomes of implementing project-based learning
in the full day kindergarten classroom?
Perspectives Guiding the Project
Learning should be meaningful and inspire lifelong discovery of the world in
which we live. Many kindergarten classrooms today are overflowing with
worksheets, isolated activities, and rote learning. They leave no room for children
to enhance their natural tendencies to inquire. Project-based learning, on the
other hand, fosters deep learning and readies children to solve real-world
problems. Instead of being teacher directed, projects allow for children to study
something that is of interest to them. They use textbooks, trade books, the
Internet, people resources, and personal observations as resources to guide their
learning. Projects are generally conducted over several days or weeks and end
when children are able to share what they have learned with a real audience
(Diffily, 2002).
Some may say that projects, when implemented in the early childhood
classroom, resemble mere play. However, early childhood education has long
been a proponent of play as developmentally appropriate practice. Sometimes it
has not been credited for the learning that takes place during it. Youngquist and
Pataray-Ching (2004) present play in a different way, as a form of inquiry.
Youngquist and Pataray-Ching (2004) say inquiry is acquired while playing
because critical and reflective thought is taking place that promotes the
achievement of the full intellectual capacity of each student. Long term projects
are the perfect avenue for this type of “play” because children are given the
opportunity to explore and invent their own learning while a teacher scaffolds. As
a result, project work is a way to promote inquiry in the classroom. It allows for
children to create their own questions to ponder, provides hands-on experiences
with experts or places to find answers, and allows them to represent what they
have learned in a way that is meaningful to them.
When children are given time to explore a topic during project work it seems
probable that effective, lifelong learning will take place. In a study done in Turkey
by Gultekin (2005) many positive outcomes were established as a result of
project-based learning in social studies. Their data showed that project-based
learning was enjoyable, motivated students, and allowed them to have fun while
learning. It also improved the research skills of students, allowing them to inquire
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and find ways to find answers to their questions. Higher order thinking skills were
developed as well.
In the Youngquist and Pataray-Ching (2004) study, gains were made because
children were given extended amounts of time during project learning. This time
allowed for constructing knowledge and fully developing multiple sign systems in
order to convey what was learned. Collaboration also allowed children to
broaden learning through observing other children representing their knowledge
in a sign system they may not have been very familiar; thus, children scaffold
each other’s learning in project work.
Gultekin (2005) goes on to say, “When compared to the conventional teaching
approach, the project-based learning approach makes students happy during the
learning process by providing them with rich learning experiences. For this
reason, the use of the project-based learning approach...should be encouraged”
(p. 553).
Outcomes of project-based learning on special populations were also conducted
in two studies. Firstly, in the study of students with emotional impairments where
a “Project Hour” was developed, Massey and Burnard (2006) noted many
benefits that projects had on children who had difficulty learning using traditional
methods. They found that children who were low academic achievers in normal
subjects excelled in constructing objects and fostered problem-solving skills
through trial and error methods. These skills were then carried over throughout
the curriculum where children became more confident in sharing their ideas
(Massey & Burnard, 2006). Secondly, during a study on low-achieving pupils in
Israel, Doppelt (2003) found projects to motivate and increase self-image. During
this study low-achievers’ test scores were higher than the traditional highachievers after they participated in a project on electrical and control systems.
Their aptitude impressed teachers as they rose beyond what they were expected
to learn as “low achievers.”
Design of the Study or Method
This research project was designed as a curriculum and instruction study in
terms of exempt status for IRB considerations. It was framed by action research
because the classroom teacher designed the project after reviewing research
and inquiring into her own teaching practices and determining a need to engage
her kindergarten children in more active learning. Data included instructional
plans, observation notes, teacher reflective journal, and student products. These
data were constructed into narrative texts for research purposes. The narrative
texts were analyzed for evidence of impact on student engagement and learning
as indicated by student activity, performance, communication, behaviors, and
productivity. We used narrative analysis (Polkinghorne, 1995) to present the
study in a nonfiction story format that includes kindergarten children’s voices in
the emergent curriculum process.
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Lessons Learned
Children’s and teacher’s questions are key to curriculum development during
project-based learning. Children raise questions about the topic of study and are
highly motivated to seek ways to answer them. During the course of a project,
children grow in curiosity. As they learn, new questions develop which leads to
deeper thinking. Teachers using project-based learning must ask their students
open-ended questions to guide their learning. Children work cooperatively
towards a common goal and often scaffold one another’s learning when given the
opportunity. Teachers can document state standards during a project by
assessing student products. It is important to have adult volunteers with the class
on the trip so pictures can be taken and adequate supervision can keep children
focused on their goal. Children discover and can report their findings as a way to
create new knowledge about the topic of study. Children can represent what they
learn through drawing, creating diagrams, writing, dramatic play, constructions
with blocks or found materials, or by utilizing a computer. Students are more
engaged during inquiry and experiential learning than during activities to
document their learning. Teachers using project-based learning must follow their
children’s interests and inquiry. Teachers must follow to lead. The emergence of
these lessons will be discussed more fully in the full paper.
Educational Importance
This project has educational importance on multiple levels. On the classroom
level, this project created space for a kindergarten teacher to develop a
scholarship of practice that engages children in their beginning educational
experience as inquirers. In an age when the public is calling for educational
reform, this project shows the power of teachers beginning true educational
reform in their own classrooms by reconstructing their teaching identity within a
scholarly frame and reconstructing their students’ identity within a similar
scholarly frame. The scholarship of project-based learning in practice engages
students and teachers as inquirers and learners. As students construct their
knowledge about the project topic, teachers are simultaneously constructing their
knowledge about engaging learners. It’s a recursive, cyclical process wherein
students are learning and growing alongside teachers.
On another level, this project contributes to the revitalization of a graduate
program (SOE, 2005), reconstructed within the scholar-practitioner leadership
model (Jenlink, 2000; Presenter, 2004). Scholar-practitioner teachers are social
agents of change, acting based on critical reflection in the stream of practice in
relationship to their individual students and learning community as a whole. The
SOE’s revised graduate program is designed to allow classroom teachers the
opportunity to learn the critical inquiry skills needed to engage in ongoing critique
of their work and the broader educational system in which their work is
embedded. This project is one example of how a kindergarten teacher can
transform her practice through critical action research.
References Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. In J.
A. Hatch & R. Wisniewski (Eds.), Life history and narrative (pp. 5-23). London: Falmer.
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SOE, (2005). Program guide & unit assessment system (UAS). Retrieved July 7, 2007, From
webpage. (presenter’s university) Diffily, D., (2002). Project-based learning: Meeting social
studies standards and the needs of gifted learners. Gifted Child Today, 25(3), 40-45.
Doppelt, Y., (2003). Implementation and assessment of project-based learning in a flexible
environment. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 13, 255-272.
Gultekin, M. (2005, November). The effect of project-based learning outcomes in the 5
grade social studies course in primary education. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice,
5(2), 548-556.
Jenlink, P. (2001). Beyond the knowledge base controversy: Advancing the ideal of scholarpractitioner leadership. In T. J. Kowalski (ED). 21 century challenges for educational
administration (pp. 65-88). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Massey, A., & Burnard, S.
(2006, June). “Here’s one I made earlier!”: A qualitative report on creativity in a residential
primary school for children. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 11(2), 121-133.
Presenter A. (2004).
Youngquist, J., & Pataray-Ching, J. (2004, March). Revisiting “play”: Analyzing and
articulating acts of inquiry. Early Childhood Education Journal, 31(3), 171-178.
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