THE PROJECT TRAP
Deborah Tranter
"Cocoa, common name for a powder derived from the fruit seeds of the cacao tree
and for the beverage prepared by mixing the powder with milk. When cocoa is
prepared, most of the cocoa butter is removed and the residue is ground after
which small percentages of various substances may be added, such as starch to
prevent caking, or potassium bicarbonate to neutralise the natural acids and
astringents and make the cocoa easy to dissolve in liquids".
Food Project by Graeme.
The illustrations were superb.
No, this is not a highly advanced student, just an average 9 year old trying to
produce a "teacher acceptable" project which would satisfy an over-anxious parent,
with the minimum of effort. My suspicions with regard to his input on the project
had already been aroused earlier in the week. Graeme had consistently used
pronouns such as "we" and "our" reference to the work undertaken.
"Thank you for your project Graeme" I said. "What lovely pictures!".
"Oh, my Mum did those, I just traced over the top" he replied with disarming
honesty.
"Will you read some of your project to me, and explain something new you have
learnt?".
Silence.
I followed with several specific questions about chocolate, then, with fading
optimism asked "Did you write this Graeme?".
"No, my Mum wouldn't let me".
Graeme is a below average reader, has problems with spelling and writes very
untidily. It turned out that his Mother had copied a section from a textbook and he
had traced over her writing. Not surprisingly, Graeme could explain very little
about cocoa. I felt very sad for him, especially as his worried mother often referred
to his low self-esteem!
Later that day Graeme's mother arrived at my classroom with an expectant look on
her face. "Have you put the projects on display yet?". Her expression changed
somewhat when I asked how much of the work was Graeme's. In admitting that
she had done the work her rationalisation was that she had at least made Graeme
read one page of the encyclopedia out aloud. Later Graeme admitted to having
learnt nothing from this exercise.
This concerned me deeply. Surely a major reason for setting projects is to
encourage students to take some responsibility in their learning?
I had a long discussion with Graeme and his mother on the merit of doing his own
work. Unfortunately I was unable to follow up this discussion as she transferred
him to another school before we could meet again.
How do we manage children who do not meet our expectations? Are we too afraid
that it will reflect badly on us as parents or teachers if we allow children to do their
own work "badly"? Is this why some teachers feel the need to remain in control of
learning to the point of masking children's capabilities? Projects can be displayed
to enhance the classroom and in the process reflect well on the teacher. The art
work I have seen displayed in many infant grades consists of rows and rows of
coloured-in photocopied drawings. What messages does this give to children? We
risk indicating to children, from an early age, that their work is not good enough
when it constantly has to meet the teacher's criteria for it to be displayed. Children
soon become adept at ascertaining what the teacher wants and how to produce it
rather than be guided by the teacher in developing their own ideas.
This is not the first time that children have copied slabs out of textbooks, though it
is only the second time that I have come across work completed entirely by a
parent. More recently I have been handed computer-generated projects that have
been down loaded, illustrations included, from the Internet or a CD ROM. This
technology presents a major challenge to the teacher concerned with the need to
promote creativity and personal thought in children's work.
I imagine that the issue of parent over-involvement in projects is nothing new to
many teachers. The very word "project" seems to trigger a conditioned response
from many parents and students that culminates in the greater part of the project
being undertaken by the parent. It is not difficult to empathise with the harried
parent who in frustration takes the easy way out.
On reflecting how to deal with this problem I identified two changes that I wanted
to make. Firstly I was concerned about the assumption that a finished project
indicates a child has learnt something independently. I decided that I wanted each
child to demonstrate their knowledge on a chosen topic by presenting their work to
their peers. In order to do this the information would have to be pitched to the
students’ level of understanding. This decision stemmed from my own experience
as a learner that one of my most powerful incentives for really trying to understand
new information was the prospect of having to demonstrate or teach this
information to others. My second concern was that written projects favour children
who can express their idea and understandings neatly and well in writing, more so
than children with better oral skills than writing, or those with graphic or artistic
flair. Ideally, teachers should set projects that incorporate or utilise a wide range of
communication skills. This can be done by having separate written exercises, with
the option of including diagrams and drawings, or establishing conferencing
sessions focussing on the use of oral skills.
I began with Brad, who was refusing to do a project on a marine animal because he
hated writing as he was not very good at it. I began a dialogue with Brad on
alternative criteria for this work requirement. I was confident that I could appeal to
his desire to be different from the others and become the centre of attention for a
while! I made a deal with him that if he genuinely learnt something about a marine
animal and shared that information with the grade, then he could present his work
in any form he chose, without necessarily writing. He agreed that this was a fair
compromise. He was also receptive to the criteria I set down. That is, that he had
to first learn something about the current class topic before demonstrating that
learning by sharing it with the other children.
Brad normally sulks and refuses to work unless the subject is something that he
feels very confident with. He began with great enthusiasm and the support of his
parents. He kept me informed of his progress with regular oral reports.
Three weeks later he presented a home-made video on crabs and, surprisingly, a
booklet (see Figure 9) that he had written and typed himself. He asked that the
booklet be copied for the other members of the class, who were very impressed.
Brad had actually written more than I ever expected, even though he had been
given the option of not writing at all. More importantly, he was able to talk about
his project and effectively answer questions from the other children.
Did he write the booklet because he needed to clarify the information on the video,
or so that the other children would have a permanent copy of his work? When I
asked him about this he said that he just felt like making a book, even though
initially he did not want to write. Perhaps his confidence improved as he made the
video, or he may have enjoyed acting out a "teacher" role. Whatever the reason, his
attitude changed and he became self-motivated and much more positive towards
his learning.
This experience has had a significant effect on my teaching. Negotiating work
requirements with children is not a new strategy to me but allowing and
encouraging this degree of freedom and choice is. I have taken a significant step
away from the teacher directed approach. Although I have always been a risk
taker, I have always felt uncomfortable relinquishing control. I decided to follow up
by setting a similar project for the whole grade, and replaced the word "project"
with the term assignment.
Given the success of this approach with Brad, I anticipated that some of the
children would develop excellent ideas. Over to you grade 4, I said to them,
surprise me!
Mitchell, I. & Mitchell, J. (1997) Stories of reflective teaching: A book of PEEL Cases
p80
Figure 1: Brad’s Crab Booklet