METHODS OF TEACHING

METHODOLOGY OF INTERNATIONAL PROJECT WORK

HISTORICAL ASPECTS

The methodology of international project work has its origins in a variety of approaches that were developed in Germany, the United States and Russia around the turn of this century.

The so-called “Reformpдedagogik” was introduced by education specialists such as Georg Kerschensteiner, Hugo Gaudig, and Fritz Karsen to involve headmasters, teachers and students in the development of the curriculum of their schools. The pedagogical plans of a school therefore should no longer be imposed totally by an administration outside the school environment, but should be created by the cooperation of those who are directly part of the teaching and learning process.

In general, the term “project” was used to describe a framework for teacher-student cooperation that is based on the individual and social needs of the persons involved, as well as the requirements of the society in which they live. The main aim was to bridge the gap between “learning for school” and “learning for life”. Education should provide relevant knowledge and applicable skills for the students, and enable them to participate as responsible members of a modern democratic society.

The “American Pragmatism”, elaborated by social philosopher John Dewey and education specialist William Heard Kilpatrick focused on “action” as the nature of human beings. Following this paradigm, pedagogy must no longer be based on strictly defined knowledge and valid cognition. We have to see education as a process of interaction between teachers and students in which solutions for existing problems can be generated. As a so-called “complete set of thinking,” Dewey proposes to consider three steps: definition of a problem, draft of solution and simulation of solution. In this understanding, “project” means a “whole-hearted purposeful activity” that allows the improvement of democratic life.

Another root of project work can be seen in the concept of the “work school” that was developed by Pavel Petrovic Blonskij and Anton Semenoic Markarendo during the twenties. Their main criticism focused on the curriculum and the methodology that was applied in schools at that time. To them schools did not seem to meet the needs of young people or the demands of the society. They stressed the necessity of cooperative action at school in order to improve the responsibility for social relationships and to provide training of social skills to students.

In the 1960s the above-mentioned approaches were rediscovered. Mainly schools in France, Great Britain, Germany and the United States experimented with project work, which was then seen as a valuable means not only to promote the learning of relevant knowledge and skills but also to increase mutual respect and understanding in the environment of schools.

These experiments were very much influenced by the works of education specialists like Ivan Illich and Paolo Freire, who accused schools of contributing to the alienation of the individual instead of enabling students to become self-assured and self-determined adults.

Finally, psychological approaches (e.g. Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, Ruth Conn) have contributed to the practical elaboration of the project work methodology. This understanding firstly stresses the needs of the individual to be respected as a valuable and responsible person. Secondly the dynamics of social interaction in the group of learners are taken into account. Together with the approached topic these elements build a triangle of the pedagogical interaction.

Today the main characteristics of project work are seen as the following:

• supports cooperation rather than competition between students
• aims at relevant knowledge and skills that can be applied in everyday life
• combines cognitive, affective and motor dimensions of learning
• tries to build on and make use of individual skills and competencies of students
• relates school to out-of-school life
• motivates the initiation of cross-curricular activities
• stimulates motivation of both students and teachers
• contributes to a continuation of development of the school organisation.

On an international level project work has been applied more often during the last 10 years. Due to the variety of educational goals that are accomplished by international school links and exchanges, project work has proved to be more successful and sustainable than traditional methods of teaching.

Education for tolerance, for an understanding of the values of democracy, for pluralism and respect for fundamental human rights, definitely need a methodology that allows participation and involvement of both students and teachers to a high extent.

STRUCTURE OF PROJECT WORK

Project work is based on a new understanding of the relationship between teachers and students. It is no longer the teacher’s responsibility to plan the educational process in general, to give theoretical input, to correct homework, to evaluate tests, or to discipline students. Teachers and students are partners in education. In spite of the fact that the specific knowledge and various skills of the teachers might, in many cases, be more developed, the characteristics of the social relationship between students and teachers should be equality and mutual respect.

While the classroom topics themselves are determined by the framework of the curriculum, the theme as well as the methods of planning, collecting, analysing and evaluating data should be chosen in cooperation between teachers and students. Project work focuses on the interests and needs of the students in order to keep their motivation at a high level and to share the responsibility for the learning process between teachers and students.

The setting of project work is different from traditional lessons. Instead of the teacher “giving” and the students “receiving,” the work is carried out in small groups which can structure the internal communication itself.

A very important aim of project work is the development of management skills. This means in particular that students learn to plan the project in a cooperative way. Negotiations take place in student groups to find out which one of the different proposals mentioned by the group members seems to lead to the most satisfying results. During this democratic discourse, emphasis is put on the persuasive power of ideas and arguments. Besides planning the management of project needs, the distribution of tasks and responsibilities among the group members must also take place. Finally, information has to be collected, tested and summarised, which again supports the improvement of management skills.

In order to develop strategies, to achieve good results, or even to find solutions to existing problems, it is necessary to gap the traditional borders between subjects and to make use of the advantages of interdisciplinary approaches.

Another quality of project work can be seen in the involvement of various senses. In order to analyse a specific phenomenon, it is important to look, to listen, to touch and sometimes also to smell. In this way a subtly diversified awareness can be raised that goes beyond a theoretical insight into facts.

All this, of course, definitely changes the role of the teacher. Besides giving theoretical input, it is much more important to help students to structure their planning and decision-making processes, to raise awareness of the social dimension of communication, and to support the application of new methods and techniques.

In practice the methodology of project work follows certain phases. In the beginning, time has to be spent to define the project idea. Teachers and students should intensively discuss the focus of the project and finally reach an agreement on a project theme.

As a second step, main objectives have to be established which should be considered during the following planning sessions. Planning stands for the analysis of available resources of information, the means of accessing useful data, the distribution of responsibilities among group members and the development of a work plan and time schedule.

Having clarified the framework in which the project can be carried out, the group then prepares for the practical work. Relevant information often cannot be found in the classroom, so students have to go to libraries, meet experts, interview public officials, observe certain areas of the environment, visit companies, etc. During this phase substantial information is recorded in written form, documented by means of tape recorder or video, etc.

If necessary, interim reflections help to overcome problems, and stimulate students to try out different approaches to gain the desired knowledge. Sometimes it becomes the task of the teachers to provide emotional security and to support the development of self-esteem.

A very important phase is the analysis of the collected information. Selection and structure of data and the verification of the initially developed hypothesis are the key issues of the analytic process.

Finally, the results need to be presented in a proper way. Depending on the audience and the aims of the project, different ways can be chosen: newsletter, video presentation, survey, role play or drama, exhibition, etc.

In order to reflect the quality of the educational process, an evaluation should be carried out. The topic of this evaluation is the educational interaction in general, rather than the knowledge and the skills the students have acquired.

PROJECT WORK AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Since project work is based more than any traditional teaching methodology on the interests and needs of the involved students, it can provide an exceptional insight into the phenomena of everyday life. On the one hand, project work enables students to gain a deeper understanding of their own way of life. On the other hand, it allows students from another country to enter a new culture in a unique way. The results of a project truly reflect the experiences of individuals or groups and because of this it is possible to overcome standardised and superficial images of lifestyle, culture and society.

Experience gives evidence that a mutual understanding between people from different countries can be established easier when personal points of view, rather than official or distant interpretations, are focused on. Besides that, the opinion of students expressed in their work is much more interesting to peers in another country than a designed and impersonal report that does not answer relevant questions of young people.

International educational projects often start with a mutual introduction of the students and teachers involved, the school, the environment of the village or city, the history of the country, and the most famous representatives of that country. Already at this very beginning, project work can be recommended to both partners of a school link, starting with questions like: “How do we want to present ourselves to our partner school? What are the main elements of our identity? What do we consider to be important in our school? What do we like in our village or city?” It is obvious that these questions consequently lead to a complex and significant reflection of the participants’ lives and their circumstances, rather than copy stereotypes or even prolong prejudices that exist in other countries. The exchange of materials about issues of everyday life (posters, letters, collages, “pieces of culture”, photos, drawings, etc.) by mail can be most valuable for a fundamental mutual understanding.

A next step in international cooperation between students can be a common project which is carried out from the different schools at the same time. In the beginning the partners propose topics they want to work on. The topic finally chosen often depends on if it fits into the curriculum or can somehow be related to it. Architecture, future perspectives of young people, historical connections between the countries, visions of Europe, environmental issues and the arts, were among the most popular topics of international school projects during the last years. In general students follow the steps of project work while preparing materials they like to exchange with their partners. They choose a certain aspect and define a theme; they plan, collect information and analyse it; and finally prepare products to be sent abroad. When students receive materials from their partner school, this is obviously a highlight in their project, and motivates them to want to continue learning about that country.

These projects work successfully if the students know that they would be able to visit the English-speaking country someday. During the last three years we have been in an ongoing exchange program with Detroit Western International High School, the Principal of which is Mr. Paul Gray. The program not only motivates students but helps keep their interest in learning English. The students have made a lot of projects about the USA and Detroit Michigan. They e-mail USA students, find the material which helps them to familiarise themselves with the culture, the history and the life-style. We have discovered 24 differences in cross-cultural behaviour between our two countries. So now we are developing a new project with the Detroit school. It helps both students and teachers grow professionally, to develop cross-cultural awareness, increase language competence, and facilitate understanding between Russian and American cultures.

Such exchange is very beneficial for young students who are involved in our project. Quite a few students have been able to continue their linguistic studies in the English Language Departments of Universities in Penza and Moscow.

Dr. Alia Kourova Assistant Minister
of Education for Foreign Relations,
Head of the English Department In-Service
Teacher Training Institute, Penza