Summer Session 2

There was such an energy and excitement to our second study group session. Many of the participants are engaging in projects for the first time and it was amazing to see and hear about their investigations in trains, gardens and water. Not only was their evidence of the children’s stories, discussions, wonderings and questions, but also of the teachers. As we worked through their Phase 1 of their projects in their classrooms we charted successes, issues and questions while posing provocations to one another. It was the discussion and sharing about their projects that really created energy in the room and the pride in what they are doing in the classrooms was clearly visible. It was also great to hear teachers using the language of the Project Approach, for example I overheard one infant-toddler teacher state don’t you remember how Sylvia Chard called it Project Practice with infant-toddlers, not projects. Yes!

The quality of the documentation was also visible. We could truly see the questions of the children and their deep involvement and interest in the projects. What was clear is how the documentation made the learning visible, both of the teachers and of the children. The infant toddler groups really were able to show the potential of young children to be fully engaged in concepts, from water to trains. Their questions and knowledge are being discovered by the teachers. One of the questions raised was in relation to how you can hear their stories and have discussions for some of the children who are still non-verbal? What they soon discovered through discussions was the concept of the 100 languages and that through deeper observation infants and toddlers show us what they know, what they want to know and what intrigues them.

In addition to sharing about the projects one purpose of the study group is to also provide experiences for the teachers. This occurred in a variety of ways. We began with time for personal reflection and then moved towards some group experiences. One being what is called mirror in the performance arts where you pair up with another and must mimic as a mirror everything the other individual does. While fun, this is an aesthetic experience that helps individuals observe another in a different way, react and respond to them. The other experience was to engage with the visual arts while developing building on the language of the Project Approach. We began by doing memory drawing of the topic each teacher was engaging in. Following this, each then worked either on an observational drawing or informational drawings. During this various techniques were also introduced, particularly with using watercolors (terms such as wet on wet and dry on dry). All were engaged and discovering the materials that will support them using them in the classroom.

A tour through the classroom of one of our participants also allowed to see how she is making a project come alive in her classroom.  Her classroom is engaged in gardening and developing a garden outside, which is also working its way into the classroom.  For me what was truly amazing was to hear the teachers talking about the plants and knowing the names of different animals and plants (and this from one teacher who prior to this project hadn't ever pulled a weed).  This shows the true power of projects for teachers and the transformations that can occur when there is investigation and curiosity within the classroom.


As facilitator, it was wonderful to be able to step back and watch the teachers engage in talking about teaching. Not all of the barriers that often come up during a professional development and the yeah buts, but talk about the learning that is occurring in the classroom and the planning of a curriculum that emerges. Couldn’t have been a better day.