Implementing the Project Approach: A Beginner's Perspective

Abstract

This thesis is a case study of a first grade teacher in an urban school as she begins to change her teaching practices to implement the Project Approach. It describes the teacher's progress through the three phases of a project on the topic of her school. The project focused on the school workers including the principal, the cooks, the crossing guard, and the library clerk. The data were collected during classroom observations, and co-planning and debriefing sessions with the researcher, who served a dual role as a consultant to the teacher. In addition, the teacher kept an electronic journal through on-going correspondence with the researcher. The results depict the obstacles the teacher encountered while implementing project work including: (a) managing her children's challenging behaviors during small group investigations; (b) planning for project work within the time constraints of required curricula; and (c) encountering the barrier of a school climate focused on the direct instruction of basic skills in preparation for standardized tests.