A CURRICULUM FOR ‘PROJECT BASED LEARNING’
Class 6-7 students
OBJECTIVE
To have an integrated learning about ‘World’ and ‘Life’ in direct manner, contextually and experientially- putting all academics into practical.
BACKGROUND
In our present education system, we have fragmentized the entire learning process. We have divided our knowledge of ‘World’ and ‘Life’ into different pieces known as ‘subjects’, and we try to make our kids learn them one at a time. Though the structure assumes that kids would later be able to bring these pieces together and make sense out of them, but in reality it seldom happens that kids are able to connect the subjects back to their real existence.
‘Project Based Learning’ proposes to handle the learning process in a different manner. The approach does not divide our World into pieces, rather it takes up one theme at a time and tries to address all pieces associated in one go. For example, while teaching about trees, the approach prefers to talk about everything associated with it- be it mathematics of tree’s growth, or science of its energy systems, or history of its existence, or its environmental significance, or its contribution to village’s culture, or its medicinal properties, or its poetic aspect, or its usefulness as birds’ home! The approach believes that life comes to us as a whole, not in pieces, and therefore our kids should be able to learn about it the same way!
STRUCTURE
The course aims to work upon six different themes in 12 weeks. Every theme shall be discussed for a total of 6 hours spread across a span of two weeks (three hours per week; one hour per session during school hours).
Suggested themes (selected as per local context):
Water Streams | Forest | Agriculture | Animals | Temples | Markets
Tentative structure per theme:
Day 1 60 Minutes Theme Introduction, sharing of local stories (History) and cultural context
Day 2 60 Minutes Discussion on Science, Mathematics and Economics of the selected theme
Day 3 60 Minutes Imagine the world without the subject/theme!
(Understanding importance in whole existence)
Day 4 60 Minutes Artistic and Social aspect of the theme (includes Drawing, making Poems, Storytelling etc)
Day 5 60 Minutes What skills/values/lessons do we learn from the theme?
Day 6 60 Minutes A Survey based Project on understanding the historical changes of at least one local sample
(Project to be introduced at the end of Day 5; Survey to be conducted in between Day 5 and 6)
OBJECTIVE
To have an integrated learning about ‘World’ and ‘Life’ in direct manner, contextually and experientially- putting all academics into practical.
BACKGROUND
In our present education system, we have fragmentized the entire learning process. We have divided our knowledge of ‘World’ and ‘Life’ into different pieces known as ‘subjects’, and we try to make our kids learn them one at a time. Though the structure assumes that kids would later be able to bring these pieces together and make sense out of them, but in reality it seldom happens that kids are able to connect the subjects back to their real existence.
‘Project Based Learning’ proposes to handle the learning process in a different manner. The approach does not divide our World into pieces, rather it takes up one theme at a time and tries to address all pieces associated in one go. For example, while teaching about trees, the approach prefers to talk about everything associated with it- be it mathematics of tree’s growth, or science of its energy systems, or history of its existence, or its environmental significance, or its contribution to village’s culture, or its medicinal properties, or its poetic aspect, or its usefulness as birds’ home! The approach believes that life comes to us as a whole, not in pieces, and therefore our kids should be able to learn about it the same way!
STRUCTURE
The course aims to work upon six different themes in 12 weeks. Every theme shall be discussed for a total of 6 hours spread across a span of two weeks (three hours per week; one hour per session during school hours).
Suggested themes (selected as per local context):
Water Streams | Forest | Agriculture | Animals | Temples | Markets
Tentative structure per theme:
Day 1 60 Minutes Theme Introduction, sharing of local stories (History) and cultural context
Day 2 60 Minutes Discussion on Science, Mathematics and Economics of the selected theme
Day 3 60 Minutes Imagine the world without the subject/theme!
(Understanding importance in whole existence)
Day 4 60 Minutes Artistic and Social aspect of the theme (includes Drawing, making Poems, Storytelling etc)
Day 5 60 Minutes What skills/values/lessons do we learn from the theme?
Day 6 60 Minutes A Survey based Project on understanding the historical changes of at least one local sample
(Project to be introduced at the end of Day 5; Survey to be conducted in between Day 5 and 6)