Wiki Comment on Project Based Learning

For our last project I read the articles on project based learning on http://iae-pedia.org/Project-Based_Learning.  I love project based learning and try to implement it in my class as much as possible.  Katz and Chard list five features of projects that I think are vital to a successful implementation.  They are: 1) discussion - this is the children talking to each other, 2) field work - this takes place outside of the classroom such as at the zoo, 3)investigation - as students become older there investigations will be more second hand research such as the Internet and books, 4)representation - students should be given choice in how to represent their learning, and 5)display - this not only includes a display of the students' work but materials as well so that the students can become more independent of the teacher.  Some examples of projects I've done in my classroom were natural resources and penguins.  The topics should be student selected and have to be something that they can directly investigate in the early childhood years.  The students will pose questions that will guide their projects.  On the website it discussed rubrics as an important way of assessing projects.  If you're new to projects or rubrics www.rubistar.com is a great site for making quick, custom rubrics.  Enjoy your next project!